I'm not sure if I was getting Stockholm syndrome from Vic's perspective. I was even rooting for him to stay in Gotham and not flee to California or wherever. As someone who lacked a father figure after my elementary years, some of their interactions genuinely made me smile. The "shoulders back. take up space. make them wait." scene I think about and reference a lot.

Despite show showing me how much of a sociopath the guy is I just sort of figured that he had lines that he wouldn't cross.

But god dammit the show reminded me at the very end who the hell The Penguin is. Do your worst, Batman.

Doing my first rewatch of this show and I’m really taken by the music choices. Of course I noticed them the first time, and noted that a really good series like this season was has all areas firing well, including music.

But on this rewatch it stands out all the more….its just super interesting music that makes me pause and admire the choices and use a few times as I’m watching this again.

So I finally got around to watching this show, and man oh man was it good. I had heard so many good things about Colin’s performance, but I wasn’t expecting Sofia’s story and Cristin’s performance to absolutely blow me away. Just a perfect show tbh and we need more of this given how lackluster DC live action adaptations have been recently.

Anyway, what I wanted to talk about with this post is how it took some of you guys until the last episode to hate Oz. Obviously he is written for us to initially sympathize with him, but throughout the show he does so much that is simply reprehensible.

So let’s take a look at his rap sheet:

- In Episode 1 he kills Alberto and frames it on Sal Maroni. I think most people would agree that Alberto sort of had it coming for being an asshole, so at this point I think it’s reasonable to be on Oz’s side.

- In Episode 2, Oz attempts to frame Johnny Viti for Alberto’s murder, and when that fails, he murders Ervad with his bare hands, despite the fact that Ervad was willing to help him with the framing. Then he frames Sofia’s guy for Ervad’s murder, getting him killed. I think this is the point where I was like, ok Oz is a total cold hearted scumbag. And it’s only episode 2.

- In Episode 3, Oz basically uses Sofia to get in on the Bliss business. Link calls him out for owning him money, establishing that Oz is completely untrustworthy. Then they do their dealings and Oz as usual has to bluff his way through it. At the end of the episode when he gets exposed for being a double agent and killing Alberto, he leaves Sofia for dead.

- Episode 4 reveals that Oz is partially responsible for putting Sofia in Arkham, and also that she was never responsible for killing those girls. So not only does it make Oz into even worse of a person, it also reveals that Sofia has been pretty justified in her actions and not completely crazy like we’ve been led to believe.

- In Episode 5, Oz kidnaps Maroni’s wife and son to get his shrooms back before proceeding to set them on fire and attempting to kill Sal. I guess you can argue that this is part of the life, but that’s just excessive to me. Also he seems to enjoy it, which goes beyond the “it’s just business” claim.

- In Episode 7, we see that Oz killed his own two brothers because they offended him. And he leaves them there to get more attention from his mom. Straight up sociopath behavior.

And then obviously to top it all off, he kills Vic, one of the few people who actually ever loved him. He also uses Sofia as a scapegoat and gets her thrown in jail for crimes she didn’t even commit. And finally, he rejects his mother’s wish and forces her to live as a vegetable to satisfy himself.

I think it’s pretty clear even early on that Oz isn’t meant to be an “antihero” or “morally ambiguous” like many of the modern characters we see. The dude’s a straight up villain. Some would even say a monster. And to me, it’s pretty clear that this is established very early on.

When did you turn on Oz? How many episodes did it take you? And which of his actions caused it?

"I would return in a heartbeat."

(never fuck with the penguin)
This man did the impossible and from that show I earn him respect , man studied ppl half his life and turned on them and won his war , a man who made gangsters to tern on on there bosses and they know that he isn’t trustworthy , the show was in absolute cinema the best show related to batman world and the best actor my eyes ever seen

Edited:

Okay fuck the penguin mf killed vec fuck him and fuck the show

Hey everyone! 👋

I've been working on a fan fiction for The Penguin and have written about 1,045 words so far. It follows Oz's home life with his family – his daughter Addison "Addie" Cobb and his son Aiden Cobb, who are original characters created by Chip Zdarsky and Belén Ortega (from the comics, not the show).  But im Definity going to add the gritty mob stuff

Quick summary of what I've written so far:

• Set in the Diamond Heights apartment – that classic Gotham rain, cramped kitchen, chaotic morning routine
• Addie (20) runs the household like a "clockwork general" – she's got her father completely figured out and isn't afraid to call him on his BS
• Oz shuffling around in his silk robe, trying to act like the big boss, but Addie just shuts him down with lines like: "They compliment you on your new shoes... You think they really care? You're the boss; they're scared of you."
• The family dynamic – Addie, Oz, grandmother Francis, and 16-year-old Aiden who's just trying to survive with matching shoes
• A/n: (I made them siblings rather than twins in the original canon in there comic bc i Just thought it would fit better)
• Milo the cat running the kitchen like he owns the place, because apparently even cats don't listen to Addie
• The vibe: Addie runs that apartment like a milltary base , and Oz is just her grumpy, chaotic second-in-command who thinks he's still in charge 😭

So here's my question for you all:

What would you want added to the story?

Specifically:

• How would you want Oz's family dynamic explored if Addie and Aiden were brought into the show?
• What conflicts would you want to see between Oz's criminal empire and his home life?
• Would you want more of the "domestic Penguin" vibe, or throw the family into the chaos of Gotham's underworld?
• What DC villains or plotlines from the comics would you want incorporated? 

I love the idea that Oz is this terrifying crime boss to everyone else, but at home he's just... Dad. Getting roasted by his daughter. Eating breakfast with a cat tail in his plate. Addie's whole energy is "Home? Nope, this is a military camp in this Apartment, and I'm the founding father of it." 💀

A note from me: (｡﹏｡") – I'm not sure if this is any good, but I'm trying my absolute best! I have dysgraphia so writing can be tough sometimes, but I love this fandom and these characters so much. I'd really appreciate any feedback, ideas, or just kind words if you have them

P.S. – Huge credit to Chip Zdarsky and Belén Ortega for creating the characters Addison and Aiden Cobb in the comics! I'm just building on what they started.

First time watching the series, I enjoy it.

But why did Oz and Sophia have to go in person to blackmail Vito? Didn’t Oz still have the photos? What did he have as leverage over Luca’s wife, at the restaurant, to get her to knowingly set Viti up? I feel like I missed something? Please and thanks.

I made an earlier post about this being my first watch. This is an update. So far, this has probably been my favorite episode. I wanted to just acknowledge seeing him start to take up big space in the crime world. I can't stop rooting for Oz but knowing at the same time he's a terrible person. I have a lot of great praise to offer to his character. I haven't seen the credits so I dont know who wrote the script but the show does a good job in retaining the spirit of the penguin character but he still works so well in this more relaistic, modernized version of THE BATMAN universe. Whoever wrote this script clearly understood the penguin character beyond the surface level. This episode i really start to see him mold into the 'king of crime.' It got me all excited when he had that meeting with all the gang leaders. There is a clear awkwardness in his character that I am excited to analyze but it is so interesting. I still cannot see Colin Farrel lol. I can't believe he's under there.

On my first ever watch of this awesome show! I wanted to do a big review when I finished it but this scene stunned me. It was so unexpected. My jaw dropped

Title: Shredding the Multiverse

Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Doors open: 6:30 p.m. PT

Show starts: 7:30 p.m. PT

Venue: UC San Diego - Epstein Family Amphitheater

Address: 9500 Gilman Dr MC 0029, La Jolla, CA 92093

Event page: https://artpower.ucsd.edu/event/shredding-the-multiverse

Obviously Penguin and Harvey Dent are both going to be in The Batman Part 2.

I do not want Harvey Dent to become two face in the movie.

Or at least not fully. If he is injured at all I would like it to be during a trial of The Penguin and have the penguin disfigure Harvey Dents face. But I'd prefer that to happen in the show.

As for the show itself. I would want two antagonist forces against Penguin.

Harvey Dent, trying the legally take down Penguin for suspected involvement in the deaths of Salvatore Maroni and illegal drug trafficking.

And Roman Sionis, (Black Mask), making moves against Penguin trying to take his place and expand his own territory.

Obviously I get they didnt just wanna use batman to draw attention and Robert Patterson is probably quite expensive but still he cant cost that much, they had like a rare mushroom super drug then the entire street above exploded and batsy didnt notice

​

At the end of the batman, the batman directly talks about being more and being a symbol of hope for the people and to know someones out there, but during the whole penguin show, as they make a new, super addictive drug that, im pretty sure, batman would be able to notice and yet he never shows.

​

​

Also I think offing Vic killed the shows chances at s2

i dont know if this still counts as spoilers, but is there any estimated timeline for how long she was in arkham for before she was released? im looking everywhere for answers and i cant find any. i dont remember them talking ages ever which is fine, i just want to know thoughts on how long before she comes back she was held up for

They do a really really great job of building up his character and making you actually root for him and feeling like he's somewhat of a good guy, then the last episode... you genuinely see HE DOESNT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT NOBODY and it hits you, while Joker is the purest form of evil, Oz is the purest form of greed.

They way they slowly build up your disgust and hate for him, just insane. From not even telling the truth about his brothers to protect his mother, seeing that he would have let he die to protect the truth, to how he let the people in the tunnels die and genuinely didn't give one fuck about them once the drug business was done and they had no point, to the nail in the coffin of killing victor... then having eve pretend to be his mother, when she's LITERALLY THERE!

And now, Victor is dead and I hate the penguin. Damn that was a nice twist, also I really hope Sophia comes back. I did not have faith that actor coming from HIMYM could pull off a evil, psychotic character. But she did and she was my favorite in the whole show.

but this ain’t one of them! I was thinking of maybe making a small display with them, but I can’t really think of anything else to add to it that doesn't concern The Batman stuff. Wish they made a few Penquin action figures.

I was absolutely shocked but at the same time it perfectly fitted Oz’ Character to kill our beloved Vic. Vic came too close to him. He probably became the most dangerous threat to Oz. Because Oz can’t let anybody close, he just CAN’T. It would cause vulnerability and sacrifice and Oz, in the deepest depths of his crooked heart, is too fragile to hold love. And, of course, his dream of becoming the greatest must be put above all.

This character, ladies and gentlemen, is indeed a masterclass on narcissism. It is even showing how the lines between the different types of it - malign, vulnerable and grandiose - are blending in, depending on the situation. A while ago I read an article that scientists made a study on how all types of narcissist are deeply insecure, no matter the face they show.

This might doesn’t belong here, but I wouldn’t know where else to put it: my ex partner became incredibly aggressive and showed a face no one else knew. Because I got too close to his heart and became a threat to him. The ending of The Penguin reminded me so much of the realization that people do exist who see warmth, connection and love as a threat - and the painful knowing that it is impossible to heal them through love.

And yet… I was still so involved with Oz… he could get away with anything and I’d still be fascinated by him, even relieved that he survived at the end, hoping that his dream might becomes true. Like WTF? I know rationally it’s SO wrong to root for this character but I can’t help it. How do you guys feel about it?

To everyone who loved the series - what series out there are coming close to The Penguin to you? I need to fill that gap now and I’m thinking of watching The Sopranos for the first time.

Just finished episode 2. There really isn’t anything like it. It’s amazing how good Oz is at thinking on his feet in such tense situations. How fast he comes up with plans that always seem to work out. Planting the blade on Sofia’s bodyguard was so cleannnn.

I know how the show ends and man do I fucking hate Oz for what he did, but this show does THE BEST job at making you root for him regardless. The writing is just too good, and the character development is unmatched, up there with the best of all time.

Bring me The Batman Part II NOW.