*** THE PENGUIN *** (The Batman Spin-Off Series)

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Fuzzy Dunlop
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Fuzzy Dunlop
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As someone said earlier this is a mob show. Reminds me a little of the Sopranos in a way.

I'm not a comic book guy and had no previous knowledge of most of the characters. Of course I knew Penguin from the 60s TV show and the 90's movie. This is nothing like that.

I did go back and re-watch The Batman movie earlier this week to see if I needed any refreshing. The re-watch helped me better understand some of the settings but that is all. No real need to go back and watch.
Double Talkin' Jive...
YouBet
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Ervin Burrell said:

Been hearing an unreal amount of buzz about this show, to the surprise of nobody who will read this. Is this something that somebody with absolutely zero knowledge of backstory/prior films can consume and still enjoy? The extent of my Batman consumption, ever, is watching The Dark Knight (I despise the superhero genre but I've heard this isn't "superhero-y" at all).

edit - and sorry if it's been asked ten times already on this thread.


I would argue you still should watch Matt Reeves The Batman. It sets this series up. This show literally begins at the end of that movie. And it's a damn good movie in its own right.

And MR's The Batman is about the least superhero version of Batman we've seen.
TCTTS
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This.

You can *technically* watch The Penguin without having seen The Batman, but man I feel like I would be so incredibly lost at the outset. Yeah, you would get the gist eventually, but not understanding why Maroni's in jail, how/why Falcone died, how his death affected Oz, or who the Riddler is and how/why he flooded the city is all pretty crucial info.

Not to mention, it's just a damn good movie and basically only three episodes worth of runtime. If you're going to devote the time to watching eight episodes, why not just watch the movie first and make it eleven?
TCTTS
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There's also the timeline/summary of events I posted toward the bottom of the first page of the thread, but even then I recommend just watching the movie instead. Especially considering how incredibly good it is.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Ditto
Madmarttigan
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I think I've lost any interest in seeing Oz succeed at this point. He seems ready to flip loyalty on literally anyone to save his own skin. He's kind of a weasel more than a genius at this point. I fully expect him to **** over Victor at some point.

Sofia however I'm kinda rooting for. She has grown up rich but also had a lot of ****ed up **** happen to her and is an interesting character.
Formerly tv1113
YouBet
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I hope Victor doesn't succumb to the darkness.

Plot twist: in this world Victor ultimately becomes Stuttering Robin.

"Ho...ho.....ho....ho.....ho......Holy switcheroo Ba....Ba......Ba......Batman!
fig96
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Got behind on watching so took a break from this thread, just caught up on eps 3 and 4 over the past few days.

Holy crap this show is good, love that they're taking advantage of the format to bring the Batman universe into a bit more adult/mature world.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Watching the episode. Not sure I buy Oz and his guy pulling off that exchange so clean. Somehow the Maronis were standing in the exact place they needed to and both went up in flames instantly. And they also took out like 6 guys without taking any injuries.

That's the first part of the whole show that's bugged me.

Edit: Also they pretty much hand-waved how Sofia knew where Sal's hideout was.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Nitpicks aside, another solid episode. I had a feeling the two families would end up teaming up against Oz. Again, this is feeling very Breaking Bad. This feels like Walt and Jesse having to figure out a way to bring down Gus. (Plus Sofia wiping out the family was very Gus taking out the cartel with the tequila.)

Love that they're incorporating the tunnels/sewers. Was Penguin associated with sewers in the comics or did that originate in Batman Returns?

Either way, it didn't even occur to me we'd have an underground lair in this show, but it's perfect.
PatAg
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

Watching the episode. Not sure I buy Oz and his guy pulling off that exchange so clean. Somehow the Maronis were standing in the exact place they needed to and both went up in flames instantly. And they also took out like 6 guys without taking any injuries.

That's the first part of the whole show that's bugged me.

Edit: Also they pretty much hand-waved how Sofia knew where Sal's hideout was.
Seemed to me like eh had the kid drenched in flammable liquid, and also gagged so he couldnt warn.
TCTTS
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Exactly. The kid was doused in flammable liquid, created a trail as he walked to his mother, then all Oz had to do was ignite the trail. Seemed pretty straightforward to me, and was gnarly to watch.

That said, I'm agreement that Sofia knowing the location of Sal's hideout was hand-waved away way too easily, as was Sal's escape from prison. I realize he got the guard's keys or whatever, and that maybe he had some sway with other guards, but still. The amount of hoops he no doubt had to jump through to escape, after stealing the guard's keys, is far too much to just skip past and cut to him being out so easily/suddenly. They could have made an entire sequence out of that with minimal runtime.

Also, Dr. Rush randomly showing up and pleading his allegiance to Sofia was by far the lamest thing this show has done so far. That felt like something out of a network series, like something out of Gotham.

I don't know, there were just a lot of little cheats and suspensions of disbelief that made this episode feel a little wonky times, which is unfortunate. And yet… SO MUCH happened, and so many key players died, in thrilling fashion, that overall I still came away satisfied and excited for what's to come.
TCTTS
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Oh, and…

"My ma, she's what keeps me good."
= Oz's mom is definitely going to die and will be the final straw that sends Oz over the edge.

"I'll take care of her, I promise."
= Victor will inevitably fail, Oz will in some way blame him for her death, and Oz will then kill Victor in the process.

(I'm convinced on the first one, less certain about the second one.)
Brian Earl Spilner
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True, I missed that. Still a little convenient how easily they got out.
Brian Earl Spilner
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She's definitely gone, but not sure Victor will die so soon.

Although...if they want to make Oz a full, unsympathetic villain, then killing Vic is definitely how they'll do that.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Quote:

Also, Dr. Rush randomly showing up and pleading his allegiance to Sofia was by far the lamest thing this show has done so far. That felt like something out of a network series, like something out of Gotham.
Agree with this. It felt way more cheesy than anything the show has done thus far.
Maroon Elephant
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I really liked this episode. One of the coolest things to me was how they slipped in the awesome, haunting intro to The Forest in the last scenes. Robert Smith almost smiled, I'm sure.
TexAgs Firestorm Survivor
11.25.23
#NeverForget
DannyDuberstein
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Really enjoying it, although each week is getting a bit more comic book movie-ish vs. organized crime-ish when it comes to belief suspension required
PatAg
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

True, I missed that. Still a little convenient how easily they got out.

The one guy with Oz just turning and spraying down thr 3 henchman in the rafters, lol
PatAg
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Dr. Rush is probably the single worst thing about the show, but it's primarily just the actor that ruins it for me.
I'm sure he is a good dude irl, but he has just been awful anytime I have seen him in a show or movie
Madmarttigan
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Because you can't past his awful role as shades, just like me
Formerly tv1113
PatAg
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Madmarttigan said:

Because you can't past his awful role as shades, just like me
I'd have to get past his awful role as Juice in SoA before I can even begin to forgive his turn as Shades.
But Luke Cage sucked as a show in general, so its not as offensive.
Orlwm_Ag
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I'm in. Great show. My only minor complaint is the actor playing his assistant. Doesn't give me the Gotham street thug vibe. Looks more like a Disney channel character.
PatAg
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RKG_Ag said:

I'm in. Great show. My only minor complaint is the actor playing his assistant. Doesn't give me the Gotham street thug vibe. Looks more like a Disney channel character.
At this point in his life, he is just a good kid who's parents died in a horrible terrorist attack.
Brian Earl Spilner
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This. He's not meant to look like a hard street thug because he's not.
FL_Ag1998
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Agreed on the Rush character. I don't see what he brings to the show or Sophia.

But other than that another fantastic episode that just turned up the intensity to 11. I love anytime a show can do away with cliches and surprise me. The cliche move to do would be to drag out the whole Vic storyline and make him waver between good and bad for the rest of the season. I love that he's just all in now with Oz.

Killing the Maroni wife and son like that was perfect, as was Sofia just offing Johnny right there in front of everyone.

And the underground hideout is perfect. My son tells me he's seeing online chatter that it's the same underground trolley system that Bruce Wayne uses to hideout in. Not confirmed, just speculation, but still an interesting, and I think legit, guess.
The Lost
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Bummed there are only 3 episodes left, it's been really enjoyable
Prosperdick
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PatAg said:

Brian Earl Spilner said:

True, I missed that. Still a little convenient how easily they got out.

The one guy with Oz just turning and spraying down thr 3 henchman in the rafters, lol

He's a trooperstorm.
TCTTS
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FL_Ag1998 said:

Agreed on the Rush character. I don't see what he brings to the show or Sophia.

But other than that another fantastic episode that just turned up the intensity to 11. I love anytime a show can do away with cliches and surprise me. The cliche move to do would be to drag out the whole Vic storyline and make him waver between good and bad for the rest of the season. I love that he's just all in now with Oz.

Killing the Maroni wife and son like that was perfect, as was Sofia just offing Johnny right there in front of everyone.

And the underground hideout is perfect. My son tells me he's seeing online chatter that it's the same underground trolley system that Bruce Wayne uses to hideout in. Not confirmed, just speculation, but still an interesting, and I think legit, guess.

Technically, the Batcave is in "Wayne Terminus," which was apparently a "private train station" of some sort that was shut down in the 1980s. So not public, and not a trolly system, at least according to The Batman Wiki. That said, I had the exact same thought, as they have to be setting up some kind of connection there. It's simply too coincidental that both Batman and Penguin's base of operations are now in closed down train/trolly systems underneath Gotham.

That, and they've teased this guy twice now, both in the mid-season trailer and the episode six trailer...






I'm not saying he's Wayne's "Drifter" character on the same motorcycle from The Batman, but both trailers open with him, as if they at least want us to think it's him, for whatever reason...


TCTTS
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ScottishFire
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Finally caught Episode 5 last night.
Definitely did not see him taking out Maroni's wife and heir, and in the moment it seemed that he got Maroni too.

Pretty ingenious, if he saw Sophia and the Maronis potentially teaming up to take him out, yet choosing to be preemptive with an attack

I'm very perplexed about where this story will end: especially as involves Oz's mom and Victor.


Side note: It was also cool to see the Police Chief, from the Batman interrogation room scene. Very much like Robert Kennedy Jr., I just want that guy to clear this throat every time he talks.
All I do is Nguyen
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TCTTS said:

Oh, and…

"My ma, she's what keeps me good."
= Oz's mom is definitely going to die and will be the final straw that sends Oz over the edge.

"I'll take care of her, I promise."
= Victor will inevitably fail, Oz will in some way blame him for her death, and Oz will then kill Victor in the process.

(I'm convinced on the first one, less certain about the second one.)
Agreed! I bet the finale has Oz's mom die in the penultimate episode and he fully embraces the moniker of "Penguin"
No matter what!
Epstein didn't do, you know, the thing...
I'm the rare Astros/Cowboys/Spurs fan. We do exist
amg405
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Is the sidekick's stutter something that's from the comics? Hate to say it but it's getting a bit annoying…
Quad Dog
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TCTTS said:

Also, Dr. Rush randomly showing up and pleading his allegiance to Sofia was by far the lamest thing this show has done so far. That felt like something out of a network series, like something out of Gotham.
Sofia is the Joker and Dr. Rush is Harley Quinn.
 
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