The Penguin: on Gotham TV Podcast

Derek and John are back one final time to discuss The Penguin, announce our winner of The Iceberg Lounge Pub quiz and chat about the Making of documentary released by Max.

The Penguin Making Of

John and Derek are back to discuss the finale of one of the best shows of 2024 The Penguin episode 8 "A Great Or Little Thing". This is spoiler filled podcast so make sure you've watched the episode before listening along with us.

The Penguin Episode 8 "A Great Or Little Thing" Synopsis

Based on characters created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane for Detective Comics.

Spinning out of Matt Reeves The Batman under showrunner Lauren LeFranc

Episode Written by: Lauren LeFranc

Episode Directed By: Jennifer Getzinger

At the former Monroe Jazz club, Sofia Gigante uses Dr Julian Rush’s experience to take Francis Cobb back to her youth. She recalls meeting with local gangster Rex Callibrasi to discuss her son Oz. She always knew that Oz was the one who killed her other sons Jack and Benny. But despite being given every opportunity Oz never took responsibility for their murders. Rex gives the struggling mother two options. Either nurture Oz’s tendencies, give him purpose, and he could be something great or Rex will help her let him go.

Planning to have Rex murder Oz, she takes him out to Monroe’s for one final night. But as Oz promises to take care of her if she’ll give him a chance, Francis calls off the kill. 

In the present day, Sofia uses this knowledge to encourage Oz to finally admit to murdering his brothers. But, even with the threat of Francis losing a finger, Oz continues his lies. Incensed, Francis disowns him and stabs him with a broken bottle. But Francis has a stroke and falls to the ground. 

Using this as a distraction, Oz breaks free, killing Sofia’s guards and GCPD Detective Marcus Wise before driving his ma to the hospital. 

Meanwhile Victor Aguillar fails to convince the leaders of the other gangs of Gotham to help Crown Point following Sofia’s car bomb. Oz Cobb calls him to the hospital where Victor convinces him that he’s important to the city. 

Oz makes a final play. He meets with Councilman Hady at City Hall telling him the car bomb was just the latest in the tit for tat battle between the Falcone and Maroni family. If the Councilman brings in Sofia Gigante the city will be very grateful. All he wants in return is the ear of the influential people of Gotham.

Elsewhere, Sofia has decided to leave everything behind so she offers the gang leaders the Falcone’s home, territories and business to the one who brings her Oz Cobb.

The Triad’s second in command, Ling, uses his relationship with Victor to get to Oz. As Sofia is burning her past she arranges for Oz’s transfer at another location. But it’s a trap. Spurred on by Oz and Victor, Ling turns on his boss Mr Zhao, killing him. As Oz captures Sofia and turns her over to the GCPD, the tide of Gotham’s underworld changes. All the bosses are taken out by their disrespected underbosses and followers. 

Oz takes Victor back to the hospital to celebrate his final success with Francis. But he learns that her stroke has left her immobile and non-verbal. Unable to get the approval he sought from his mother, Victor commiserates with Oz. Realising his closeness with the kid has become truly familial, Oz strangles and kills him. Disposing of his ID in Gotham bay and his last shred of weakness.

Sofia is unresponsive as she sits in a cell in Arkham, once again under the care of Dr Julian Rush. He brings her a letter from someone claiming to be her half sister, someone called Selina Kyle.

Now the king of Gotham’s underworld, Oz finally sets the vegetative Francis up in a penthouse overlooking the city. As a tear rolls down her face, Oz dances with Eve. She’s dressed as his Ma and tells Oz how proud she is of him. He believes there’s nothing left to stop him as, unseen by Oz, the Bat Signal rises over Gotham.

The Iceberg Lounge Quiz

Put on your top hat, tie up your white tie, brush off your tails and join Derek and John as we chat all about The Penguin Episode 7 "Top Hat" in spoiler filled detail.

The Penguin Episode 7 “Top Hat” Synopsis

Based on characters created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane for Detective Comics.

Spinning out of Matt Reeves The Batman under showrunner Lauren LeFranc

Episode Written by: Vladimir Cvetko

Episode Directed By: Kevin Bray

When he was a boy, Oz Cobb was resentful of the attention that his mother gave to his brothers, Jack and Benny. He wanted all of her focus to himself. After they play a joke on him during a game of flashlight hide and seek, Oz leaves his brothers trapped inside an overflowing sewer tunnel where they drown.

In the present, Oz returns to his apartment and finds an injured Victor, who reveals that Sofia Gigante has kidnapped his mother Francis.

Oz sends Vic to find an army for him right before Salvatore Maroni arrives with his men; Maroni beats Oz and makes Oz take him to his underground lair, where he intends to seize Oz’s base of operations, but Oz and his men stage an ambush, and Maroni dies of a heart attack while fighting Oz.

Meanwhile, Sofia has Dr Rush interrogate Francis Cobb about Oz's weaknesses. While Sofia goes to visit the last surviving member of the Falcone family Gia Vitti. The young orphaned girl intends to cooperate with the police.

Disillusioned after seeing the pain she has caused Gia, Sofia considers accepting Oz's ultimatum to trade Francis for his Bliss supply, but Rush convinces her to go through with her desire to see Oz suffer.

During the trade, Sofia sends in a bomb, instead of his mother, that destroys Oz's base and kills his entire crew. Oz survives and resurfaces, only to be knocked out by GCPD Detective William Kenzie to be brought to Sofia Gigante at the Monroe Metropol where she is holding Frances hostage.

The Iceberg Lounge Quiz

The new Gigante Maroni Alliance takes steps to get to Oz Cobb but he's not taking it lying down. Derek and John chat all about The Penguin Episode 6 "Gold Summit" in spoiler filled detail.

The Penguin Episode 6 “Gold Summit” Synopsis

Episode Written by: Nick Towne

Episode Directed By: Kevin Bray

It’s winter in Gotham and in the weeks since he set up his underground base under the city, Oswald Cobb has been growing his empire significantly. He employed most of Crown Point’s residents to reproduce and distribute the drug Bliss throughout the city to as many gangs as will take it.

Sofia Gigante and Sal Maroni are irritated by other gangs dealing with Oz. They string up three members of The Sullivan gang as a warning to the rest to stop dealing with him. 

Oz makes a decision to give Bliss away for free, for one night only, to anyone who wants it. This seeds the drug into all the boroughs of Gotham. He sets a meeting with the leaders of all other gangs in the city, calling it the “Gold Summit”. At the meeting, Oz convinces the gangs to work together against the Gigantes, Maronis, and upper elite. Together they will take back Gotham. 

Meanwhile back in Crown Point, Victor is confronted by Squid, an acquaintance and drug dealer, who asks Victor to let him join the operation. But given their past Victor is reluctant to bring him in. He tries to pay off Squid but when he threatens to expose Oz’s operation, Victor kills him and flees the scene.

Oz learns that the Gotham City council have been redirecting power away from Crown Point to richer neighbourhoods so he threatens a corrupt councilman to return the power back to Crown Point, so his mother, Francis, can feel more comfortable. But Francis’ condition deteriorates further, and she forces Oz to promise to kill her if she becomes severely ill. 

Elsewhere, as Sofia and Sal try to uncover someone close to Oz, Sofia discovers Eve. Visiting the Gotham red light district Sofia finds Eve, initially threatening to kill her to get to Oz, but Eve gives up his location after Sofia reveals Oz was aware that she was framed for the murders of Eve’s girls by her father. 

As power is restored to Crown Point, Oz’s flat buzzes into life with music and lights, Francis takes advantage of it and both her and Victor dance to the music, unaware that Sofia Gigante is looking on from the doorway with a crowbar in hand.

The Iceberg Lounge Quiz

The old rules of Gotham are gone as Oz and Sofia make their plays. Derek and John chat all about The Penguin Episode 5 "Homecoming" in spoiler filled detail.

The Penguin Episode 5 “Homecoming” Synopsis

Episode Written by: Breannah Gibson & Shaye Ogbonna

Episode Directed By: Helen Shaver

Annoyed that Salvatore Maroni’s wife Nadia stole his drug business out from under him, Oz Cobb and his crew kidnap their son, Taj. Oz issues an ultimatum to the Maronis, offering to return Taj to them in exchange for the mushrooms used for the drug “Bliss”. 

During the exchange, Oz, who has bribed a prison guard to assassinate Sal Maroni and covered Taj with gasoline, kills Taj and Nadia by setting them on fire. However, his plot doesn’t go as planned as Sal Maroni survives the attempt on his life, escaping prison and the fire activates the chemical fire extinguisher destroying most of the Bliss mushrooms. 

Meanwhile, Victor is tasked with bringing Oz’s mother Frances to safety while he deals with the failure of his great plan. Vic chooses to hide her in the one place no one would suspect, the flood damaged ruins of Crown Point. When Oz finally arrives to lay low with them, after being shunned by his girlfriend Eve. He’s left with nothing. But it sparks a memory in Oz of when he and his brothers used to have the city as their playground. He brings Vic to a hidden abandoned underground trolley station where he plans to set up his brand new base of operations. 

Meanwhile, after the death of all of her family Gia Viti is sent to a children's home and, following hours of torture, Johnny Viti decides to support Sofia bid to head the family after they reminisce about her mother, Isabella Gigante. 

Joined by Dr Julian Rush, who has fallen in love with her, Sofia rebrands the family under her mother's name and earns the loyalty of Carmine's men by arguing how they were similarly mistreated and neglected under Carmine's rule. 

When Johnny objects to her plans to make peace with Sal Maroni, Sofia executes him, severing the last tie to the Falcone Crime Family. To cement her new place in Gotham she meets with Salvatore Maroni to form an alliance of their families and take over the city. But first they’re going to kill Oz Cobb, the common source of their problems.

The Iceberg Lounge Quiz