The Penguin: Every Episode Of DC's Best Live-Action Show Ranked Worst To Best

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The Penguin

The Penguin has already cemented its place as arguably the best live-action series that the DC Universe has ever produced, with a sequence of incredible episodes worth looking at in order of quality. While audiences await season 2 updates for The Penguin, it is imperative to look at this past season's successes and make sense of how effective this story was in deciding the franchise’s future. The show started incredibly strong and finished in that same fashion, with only a few flaws along the way in an otherwise excellent series.

With an incredible cast of characters, led by two dynamic and excellent performances by Cristin Milioti and Colin Farrell, the ending of The Penguin raises questions for the future. It seems inevitable that the creatives behind the franchise will consider the success of the series when looking forward, especially with the reported upcoming Joker series. Understanding what worked in The Penguin will likely be imperative for the future success of this burgeoning universe, whether that is in the story of The Batman - Part II or subsequent series.

8 "Homecoming"

Episode 5

Seeing the consolidation of power occurring in The Penguin episode 5 helps to highlight it in the series overall. Scenes like Sofia bringing Johnny Viti to a meeting only to shoot him as a public display make for strong and disturbing sequences, amplifying the tensions at this point in the show. Sofia's rise to power after killing her family and seeing how loyalties play out also makes for a compelling narrative. As Sal and Sofia come together, Oz takes actions of his own.

While "Homecoming" is a strong episode of television in general, it feels minor in the overall scheme of The Penguin. Much of what occurs here is simply to set up for future stories, even the brutal death of Taj and his mother. Sal's escape from Blackgate is rushed over, and Julian's joining Sofia's side does not amount to much here. While still a strong episode, this generally feels like a necessary filling of events to set up for later episodes and the finale.

7 "Inside Man"

Episode 2

Episode 2 of The Penguin seems to be setting up a very different show than it winds up being, with Oz pinning the murder of Alberto on the Maronis and beginning an alliance with Sofia. This relationship appears to be strained but interesting, and the history of how long the two have known each other begins to come out. While the show would take some twists and turns in its subsequent installments, this chapter of the show sets up an intriguing premise of Oz and Sofia taking over the underworld together.

Episode 2 sets up what could have been an excellent direction for the show to go, especially as it looks into the Falcones and how they treat Sofia under their new leadership. Oz too, has some excellent moments in this episode, and a friendship between Sofia and him seems like it may nearly come to fruition here. Unfortunately, much of what appears in this episode is necessarily undone, making it seem a little less important in the end.

6 "Gold Summit"

Episode 6

Oz has a thrilling win in The Penguin episode 6, where he strikes back against Sofia and Sal by making his product free across the city. This helps to buy addiction and to buy loyalty, but Sofia also has a number of huge wins throughout the same part of story. The scene of Sal and Sofia eating dinner together in the kitchen is strong, but it works more to explore an emotional connection that doesn't amount to much; Sal and Sofia's relationship is only a minor part of the series.

Where this episode is strongest is in the tense scene between Sofia and Eve, where Sofia is trying to find Oz’s location. The examination of Eve's character and her relationship to Oz becomes much more apparent here, and her shifting loyalties here say more about Oz than they do about her. A similar tension occurs here when Vic kills Squid. With a conclusion that sees Sofia finding Oz's mother, the series sets itself up for a bombastic conclusion from here.

5 "After Hours"

Episode 1

The premiere episode of The Penguin did an incredible job in setting up the character of Oz in a much bigger way than had occurred in The Batman. Several strong scenes comprise this episode, beginning with a long, tense moment with Alberto Falcone. This sets the stage for Oz, showing off his ability to defuse complex and tense situations with lies, and ending with his anger breaking through as he kills Alberto in cold blood for disrespecting him.

In this episode, audiences get a genuine feel for Oz's moral code, which appears to be fairly loose. When he takes Vic under his wing in this episode, it seems that he has no issue with the prospect of killing him, too, and only hesitates because the young man appears to remind him of himself on some level. This episode does an incredible job at setting up the lead and supporting cast of the series, creating a truly compelling show in the process.

4 "Top Hat"

Episode 7

The flashback in The Penguin episode 7, which sees Oz as a child, is one of the most chilling scenes in recent television history. During a casual game of hide and seek, Oz follows his brothers into the water overflow for the city. As they laugh and play, Oz grows angry with his siblings. This leads him to trap his brothers beneath the city, which later fills up with water and leaves both Jack and Benny dead. All the while, Oz sinks his hooks into his mother.

The twisted relationship between Oz and his mother is one of the most important parts of this episode, and the series as a whole, but other scenes stand out too. The shootout with Sal beneath the city is a strong sequence, and Sal's death is terrifying. As Oz stands over Sal in his final moments, letting him know that he has won, it's clear he finds so much terrifying joy in his enemy's defeat. This sets the series up for an incredible conclusion in its subsequent final episode.

3 "Bliss"

Episode 3

Following an incredible setup, episode 3 of The Penguin kicks off the genuine conflict of the series. After a tense back and forth between Oz and Sofia, things come to a head at the end of this installment, where Oz's duplicity falls to pieces around him. The episode ends with Sofia learning about Oz's working with the Maronis in addition to the Falcones, and sets up a violent conflict between them that will escalate over the rest of the series.

In addition, more context is given to Vic's character in this episode. Vic's past and his relationship with his family help to understand the character and his motivations, and also to highlight the differences between Vic and Oz. For Vic, the connections that he has with the people that surround him are of the highest importance. Seeing Vic in this light helps to humanize him and have audiences empathize with him for the rest of the series.

2 "A Great or Little Thing"

Episode 8

The finale of The Penguin is an incredibly satisfying conclusion to an already brilliant series. Above all else, what the episode does as it closes this story is to remind audiences that Oz Cobb is not a good person. Oz is a truly selfish figure, and he shows this many times throughout the episode. This happens first when he refuses to admit his involvement in his brothers' death to his mother - even though everyone knows, and she will lose his finger if he doesn’t - and then most chillingly when he kills Vic on a park bench.

Oz is not someone to be trusted and, despite having no superpowers, he is a genuinely terrifying villain. This episode provides perhaps the best live-action Penguin iteration yet, as it genuinely creates a horrible and yet remarkably real seeming villain who could be a real threat to Batman. As the show ends with the bat signal in the sky and the Penguin dancing in his penthouse, it seems likely that the villain's shadow will loom large over the future of this universe in an effective and exciting way.

1 "Cent'Anni"

Episode 4

The true star of The Penguin is Cristin Milioti, who plays the terrifying Sofia Falcone. Following an incredible performance in its first installments, episode 4 of The Penguin gives Milioti the spotlight as it examines her past and her transformation into an actual villain after being framed as one. With a dark look at her father's own betrayal, and how she was set up to be The Hangman to pay for crimes she never committed, this stands out as the strongest episode of an excellent show.

While The Penguin worked hard to remind audiences that, despite some positive acts, Oz is a deeply cruel and arguably irredeemable person, it did the opposite with Sofia. Though Sofia does many horrible things throughout the show, the extent of the torture she was put through places acts like her killing the rest of her family in a different context. This episode of The Penguin is tragic, because it shows - through Arkham and beyond - that Sofia could have been a better person, had her own father not committed himself to destroying her life as she knew and valued it.

Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022's film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family's empire.

Cast Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O'Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi

Release Date September 19, 2024