The Penguin: on Gotham TV Podcast

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

Time to go back to Arkham as we discuss The Penguin Episode 4 "Cent'Anni". We chat all about this Sofia Falcone centered episode in spoiler filled detail.

The Penguin Episode 4 “Cent'Anni” Synopsis

Episode Written by: John McCutcheon

Episode Directed By: Helen Shaver

Under the gunpoint of Nadia Maroni and her men, Oz Cobb pleads for his life, explaining that he was only working with Sofia Falcone to get access to her drug business. But Nadia doesn’t believe him and reveals to Sofia that Oz is the murderer of her brother Alberto. As Victor arrives and saves Oz, Sofia calls Dr Julian Rush to help her.

Sofia recalls the events that led to her time in Arkham State Hospital. Ten years ago after being approached by Summer Gleeson from the Gotham Gazette, Sofia realised her father, Carmine Falcone, could be behind her mothers death and six other women connected to his business. But Sofia tells the reporter she’s investigating the wrong man and leaves the meeting.

When Oz Cobb, her driver at the time, reports the meeting to Carmine, Sofia is brought before the family leader. She tries to have a conversation with her father so he can clear her mind of suspicion but Carmine sends her home with Oz.

But on the way home, the GCPD arrest Sofia for the murder of the Gotham Gazette reporter and all the other women. Due to written letters from her father and most of her leading family members, Sofia is committed to Arkham State Hospital for a six month evaluation ahead of her trial. 

Under the watchful eye of Dr Ventris and his assistant Dr. Julian Rush a brutal incarceration follows with Sofia being subjected to a violent beating by another inmate and results in her receiving daily electroshock therapy. 

After the six months her brother Alberto tells Sofia that Dr. Ventris has deemed her unfit for trial and she is to remain in Arkham State Hospital. In the present day, now free, Sofia discusses her predicament with Dr Rush, who convinces her she needs a break.

She returns to the Falcone family home and surrounded by all the heads of the family she calls them out for their part in her incarceration. She announces her plans to start a new life as she doesn’t fit into the family anymore.

Late that night, Sofia enacts her plan, using gas to suffocate all the members of her family apart from her most hated rival Johnny Viti. She holds him at gunpoint while they discuss Sofia’s next steps.

The Iceberg Lounge Quiz

Join us fellow Gothamites for our podcast all about The Penguin Episode 3 "Bliss". More focused this time on Victor but still some brilliant moments between Oz and Sofia and we chat about it all in spoiler filled detail.

The Penguin Episode 3 “Bliss” Synopsis

Episode Written by: Noelle Valdivia

Episode Directed By: Craig Zobel

Before the Riddler’s explosions, Victor was hanging out with his friends and girlfriend, Graciela, on a rooftop in Crown Point, dreaming about their future. Unbeknownst to them, everything was about to change as the election night fireworks turned to explosions flooding Crown Point, killing their families and destroying their homes. Now, Victor and Gracelia discuss getting out of Gotham and starting a new life together, but only if Oz Cobb will let Victor leave. 

Meanwhile, Sofia Falcone’s business opportunity comes through, and she takes Oz to the production warehouse for the new drug “Bliss”, a sap from a mushroom prescribed to Sofia when she was locked up in Arkham. Oz sets up a meeting with the Triads to help distribute the sample batch of the new drug, but they have to blackmail the cheating underboss of the Falcone Family, Johnny Vitti, to support their new business. Vitti tries to undermine Oz, telling Sofia he’s the one that sold her out and landed her in Arkham. But Oz pressures him further and they get their way.

With a nightclub trial arranged to showcase Bliss to the Triad leader Feng Zhao, Sofia has to reveal her traumatic past to him to seal the deal. She begins to get concerned that Oz believes he is an equal partner in her business and as he apologises for his part in Sofia’s 10 year incarceration in Arkham, Nadia Maroni and her men arrive, angry at Oz’s betrayal of the Maroni cartel and they hold the two at gunpoint.

Victor makes his decision to return to Oz’s side and arrives just in time to save his boss. As they speed away Oz tells Victor to leave Sofia behind. They are really in it now.

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