Penguining Time!
It is officially Penguining Time in the Reevesy-verse, and after personally feeling let down by The Batman, I went into the first episode ready to hate this show. But after the first moment, where Oz looks into the camera and goes “I am…THE PENGUIN!” and starts Penguining all over the place, I was hooked. Through the first three episodes, the show slams its foot on the pedal, diving straight into Oz’s struggle to the top while also taking time to flesh out the emotional components surrounding the story. Amid the excitement, Cristin Milioti and Colin Farell steal the show, fully embodying their characters and making the ride as satisfying as possible. That said, here’s my thoughts on the first three episodes and no, there will be no full season review from me except on letterboxd(this will be one sentence):
Episode 2 (Inside Man) - A bit of a snooze fest if you ask me. This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it, but there was a lot to like and not a lot to love. Mostly just felt like setup and some grounding of the characters. Also, no Batman, Jonkler, or super powers, so I’m not sure what was going on here.
Episode 1 (After Hours) - Spectacular opening scene (it happens EXACTLY how I described it above)—Gives us everything we need to know and sets up the episode perfectly with a lovely surprise at its end. From the teaser on, the show enjoys the boiling tension of its slower moments. Through this setup, our growing connection to Oz—highlighted by his decision to take in a terrified, stuttering teenager named Victor as his driver—clashes with an unhinged Sofia Falcone's intense suspicion of him. By the end of the episode, despite Oz’s commitment to staying in the game, things seem to go astray for him as we get to see just how frightening Cristin Milioti can be. Just when we think it’s no longer penguining time, though, we see Oz penguin all over the screen as his plan unfolds in a really satisfying way and at the end of the day, it tastes better when you mix the flavas.
Episode 3 (Bliss) - This episode was fairly predictable I suppose, but I did not care in the slightest. It truly gave me everything I had hoped to see in a Victor episode—exploration of his backstory in conjunction with emotional interactions that build tension and develop his character. Additionally, the show has a lot of fun dissecting the relationship between Oz and Sofia, with both Colin Farell and Cristin Milioti refusing to let up in these roles. In the end, a fairly predictable episode wonderfully subverts expectations when Oz finds trouble when we least expect. His way out once again relies on Victor coming forth in his darkest hour, this time in an absolutely crushing sense. As Victor leaves his past behind and buys into Oz’s narrative of digging his way to the top, the realization comes that it will be another week of problem sets before I get to see more.
In conclusion, after three episodes, the show is off to a great start. It’s always a blast to watch a man who looks absolutely nothing like Colin Farell waddle around and screw over every person he knows. Not sure when Doom comes in, but I am so ready to see how the rest of the season plays out with that. Hopefully it keeps its footing and sets up The Batman Part II to actually be good this time around.