The Tragedy and Triumph of 'The Penguin' Finale, Explained

The Penguin came to a jaw-dropping conclusion on Sunday, ending Oz Cobb's tumultuous rise to power. As an ancillary tale within Matt Reeves' The Batman universe, HBO's The Penguin sets itself apart by crafting a world and characters distinctly different from their big-screen counterparts and comic book origins. 

This is Oz Cobb's story, not Oswald Cobblepot's, and believe me when I tell you, things got brutal.

That journey to the top didn't come easy for Oz. Throughout these eight episodes, Cobb's relationship with Sofia Falcone goes through the wringer. From friends to partners to mortal enemies, Oz weaved his way through her fingers until their final face-off transpired in Sunday's episode.

It wasn't all about his conflict with Sofia, though. Through her dementia, Francis Cobb revealed a devastating truth of her own -- which cut Oz on many levels and showed Sofia (and us) what kind of monster he really is.

Family was a theme that played heavily in the series, highlighting Oz and Sofia's strengths and weaknesses. Opposite sides of the same coin, their bad-versus-evil dynamic kept the series firing on all cylinders and, dare I say, brought the anti-hero trend back to TV. The Penguin is a Sopranos-level drama with a grizzly Breaking Bad edge. 

Now that the show has concluded, how has it set the stage for the next Batman movie? Let's dig into the final episode of The Penguin: Great or Little Thing. I advise you not to scroll on if you haven't yet watched the episode on HBO or Max. There are spoilers below.

A calculated (yet clumsy) criminal mastermind

In the penultimate episode of The Penguin, Sofia Falcone sends a car full of explosives into Oz's underground drug lab. She kidnaps his mother to use her as bait. Cobb rose from the ashes of the attack, and while he falls into Sofia's trap, their big face-off doesn't go as anyone had expected.

Dr. Julian Rush put Francis through a hypnosis session, which revealed that she knew Oz killed his brothers all along. She could've sent him to his death when he was a child, but she decided otherwise and has held onto this unfortunate truth since. Through her dementia, she remembered. And even though she ended up stabbing her son in the stomach with a broken bottle, he refused to come clean.

After a gunfight, Oz escaped with his mother in tow. But the damage had been caused -- she fell into a vegetative state due to the trauma. From the beginning, Oz had a dream of one day having all the power in Gotham. He promised his mother when he was just a boy that he'd get them the finer things in life. And now that he was on the precipice of making it happen, she was unresponsive.

Oz Cobb, man of the people

Let's not forget Oz's political aspirations. While this whole cat-and-mouse fiasco was going on between him, Sofia and Salvatore Maroni, Cobb found the time to strong-arm corrupt Councilman Hady and, after serving up Sofia as the one behind the bliss lab and Maroni's death (she wasn't), a path cleared for Oz to find his spot in Gotham's city council.

In the New 52 Batman comics line, Sebastian Hady was the mayor. Is it possible he'll fill that top spot moving forward? It seems that way. However, something tells me Oz will be the voice in his ear when he gets there.

In the finale's final moments, we see The Penguin dressed in his iconic top hat, coat, tails and cane. He started from the bottom, and now he's here -- with the money, the status and that penthouse apartment he promised Mom back when he was just a fledgling sociopath. 

Victor's unfortunate end and Sofia's sisterly surprise

Toward the end of the episode, after Oz takes down his enemies and sets things in motion to be the top dog in Gotham, he takes a quiet moment to reflect with his loyal sidekick Victor. From trying to steal Oz's car to being his right-hand man, one has to admire this young man's journey. He's the Jesse Pinkman to Oz's Walter White. However, while Jesse ultimately escapes Walt's murderous tendencies, Vic isn't as lucky.

All it took was Vic admitting he viewed Oz as family for the man to choke the life out of him right then and there. It was a jarring moment, to be sure. We really underestimated this monster, didn't we?

Back in Arkham, the Hangman (er, I mean, Sofia) received a letter from Selina Kyle. It turns out they're half-sisters. Can you imagine what sort of anarchy this duo will be able to accomplish once they meet face-to-face? It really leaves you wondering.

So, what exactly will happen next? There's a possibility that this limited series will expand to a second season. Right now, though, all eyes are on The Batman 2. The Penguin has positioned himself as a formidable villain for Batman to tangle with in the sequel. As for the Selina Kyle reveal, one has to wonder if we'll get a different sort of dynamic duo with the Hangman and Catwoman teaming up. 

Remember, this is comic book territory, y'all. Weirder things have happened.