As a longtime fan of Batman and Gotham City lore, I find myself utterly captivated by the portrayal of Sofia Falcone in The Penguin. Coming from someone who grew up on Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies and the iconic animated series, it feels like a dream come true to witness an actress as talented as Milioti bring this complex character to life.
If you’ve enjoyed Cristin Milioti’s portrayal of Sofia Falcone over the past few weeks, then the origin story within this series (specifically “Cent’anni”) promises to be one of its most captivating aspects. This episode delves into the background of the show’s secondary antagonist, offering a fresh perspective on Sofia’s origins as the Hangman, originally depicted in Tim Sale’s Dark Victory comic. Instead of portraying her as a cold-blooded killer of high-profile Gotham PD members, this version presents her as a victim of a harsh, manipulative society and the consequences of her father’s actions.
The episode, aside from its initial setup, primarily consists of an extended flashback and a chilling, delightfully macabre climax that resembles a thrilling, heightened version of a Lifetime prison drama. This unique presentation effectively shares the events leading to Sofia’s tragic decision to eliminate her entire family.
The story begins with the initial encounter where she was compelled to deal with murders that would later be linked to her. In the midst of her routine duties associated with family philanthropy at another event, a reporter questions her about a string of killings involving women employed by businesses belonging to her father. Realizing she’s speaking with a journalist, Sofia hastily leaves the conversation. However, she fails to escape Oz, her faithful driver, who observes the exchange, as well as a sudden memory resurfacing – the traumatic moment when she found her mother’s lifeless body in her parents’ bedroom.
In the following scene, we find ourselves at a cozy family dinner with just three people: Carmine, Sofia, and Alberto. This is where Mark Strong makes his entrance as Carmine Falcone, stepping in for John Turturro who was unable to appear in The Batman due to scheduling conflicts. Strong brings an intense chill to the table, his icy glare from behind the character’s “redrum”-tinted glasses sending a shiver down your spine. He fits perfectly as a convincing mob boss with a psychopathic streak.
A late-night encounter with the reporter further substantiates that the person responsible for choking those women must have held a clandestine position of power, as he skillfully concealed his actions. The police records claim suicide by hanging in every instance, yet the neck marks suggest the unmistakable grip of a strangler. Moreover, defensive injuries point towards these women resisting their attacker at the moment of their demise. Sofia recalls her recently deceased mother’s hands, her fingernails cracked and stained with blood from a fierce struggle.
“You have no clue about my dad! He’s a genuinely good man!” Sofia yells, her voice betraying her conviction as we speed away. Oz gently cautions me against meeting with the reporter again, and I retort sharply, “I don’t need your guidance; I couldn’t care less about your opinion. Frankly, nobody does. You’re just my driver, that’s all.
A fatal mistake on Sofia’s part, making Oz feel small when she’d been the only person in the Falcone family to treat him like an equal. A momentary lapse of kindness is all it takes for Oz to sell out a friend, fair-weather or otherwise, for a status upgrade. Later, at the family party, Oz summons Sofia to talk to her father. Oz is wearing a flashy new suit — our first tipoff that he’s already ratted her out to Carmine. As for Gotham’s reigning Godfather, he’s all “How could you”s and “I trusted you, my ‘No. 1 boy’ of a daughters”s and all that bullshit. Just enough to make Sofia feel scolded and get her in the car home, where she’s met by the police to arrest her for the murder of the reporter and all the other women who worked for her father.
It becomes apparent that Carmine’s strategy is revealed when Sofia’s attorney provides her with a predetermined punishment: six months of confinement in Arkham for psychiatric assessment, followed by a trial. Carmine alleges that Sofia has a background of mental instability, and everyone else in the family except Alberto has submitted affidavits supporting this claim. In his own daughter, he found the perfect scapegoat for his most heinous acts, subtly twisting the title “hangman” into a chilling symbolism. The Falone family finds an ideal suspect, Sofia – their cousin, niece, and outcast, to conceal their involvement in the crimes they have committed.
In the grimiest, most exploitative version of Arkham Asylum, Sofia’s situation is as dire as one might expect. A distressing and humiliating delousing scene transitions into an introduction for the sadistic Dr. Ventris and reluctant Dr. Rush. Additionally, we meet Magpie, Sofia’s manic pixie cellmate who irritatingly uses the small hole in their shared wall. Upon her first meal at the cafeteria, Sofia is ominously greeted with a chant of “Hangman” from the other women, and shortly after, she faces an unexpected attack by a towering, unchained woman, high on her “clinically prescribed” dose of Bliss.
She explains that she encountered a violent altercation, where a woman attacked her brutally while others looked on, labeling it as an “incident.” Later, when speaking with Dr. Rush, she reveals this information. He expresses sincere empathy and appears genuinely concerned about her welfare. Despite his potential involvement in Carmine’s scheme, he seems to be sincere in wanting to assist her. However, he offers standard medical advice, and Sofia remains resolute in her beliefs. She is convinced that the woman who assaulted her was intentionally left unhandcuffed, and she believes her family has framed her for murder.
At Arkham Asylum, the deranged physicians are unable to crush Sofia’s spirit or silence their arch-nemesis. Instead, they manage to create the very monster that brings about their downfall. During a staged confrontation in the mess hall between Sofia and her attacker, the latter repeatedly stabs herself in the neck (possibly as a desperate attempt to escape the effects of Bliss experiments). This event triggers Dr. Ventris to subject Sofia to repeated electroshock treatments, leading to vivid hallucinations that plunge her into a never-ending cycle of memories of her mother’s death.
In Dr. Rush’s house, Sofia emerges from a long spell of reminiscence, understanding fully the consequences of her choice to trust Oz Cobb given their past. Cornered and with no other options, she decides to turn the tables on the “family annihilator” situation and prepare for every potential threat. This quick move is symbolized by her readiness to wield a scythe. The intensity of Milioti’s performance as Sofia delivers her vengeful speech at the Falcone family dinner table cannot be overstated. Her chilling words echo through the following scenes as we accompany Sofia on her destructive tour of the Falcone house of terror. Every member of the family is silenced by gas that she redirected within the house, with the exception of her cousin Gia, who was with her in the greenhouse overnight, and Johnny Viti, who had his window open for the night. It remains uncertain whether Johnny’s survival was intentional or not, but with the rest of the family eliminated so swiftly and brutally, he now stands only by Sofia’s side.
From a film enthusiast’s perspective, when I ponder over crime as an inescapable consequence of “poverty, misery, mental illness, and social inequality,” as Pauline Kael aptly stated in her review of Dirty Harry for The New Yorker, even the most pulpy (or comics-inspired) American crime narratives offer deep insights into the impact of crime on the American psyche. As Lauren LeFranc, the showrunner of Penguin, explains, they serve as a mirror to our world, showing who we protect and who we blame. The Hangman was merely a fabricated monster, born out of another monster’s need to shield himself from the repercussions of his monstrous acts. Instead of continuing to be the monster her family had shaped her into, Sofia transforms into a powerful embodiment of her own anger and the anger of the women her father murdered. In Gotham City, one either dies as a victim or survives long enough to become the criminal of the week.
Under the Plum Hood
In the comic book portrayal of Sofia Falcone, as penned by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale in “The Long Halloween” and “Dark Victory”, Sofia makes her appearance as a relentless and muscular figure in the intricate web of Falcone family affairs. Despite Carmine’s hesitation, she exhibits an unquenchable thirst for involvement in the family business and vengeance against any threats to the Falcone dynasty. In “Dark Victory”, it is revealed that Sofia is the true Hangman responsible for the Hangman killings; her victims include prominent members of the Gotham Police Department, a move aimed at avenging her father’s demise. Sofia’s unyielding ambition, thirst for vengeance, and role as a link between Gotham’s criminal past and future serve as a strong basis for developing a new character in “The Penguin”, providing an intriguing exploration of how greed can transform ordinary people into monsters.
In interviews, Milioti has frequently discussed how playing a Batman villain fulfills a childhood dream for her, pointing back to 1995’s Batman Forever and the classic Batman: The Animated Series as her early influences (just like me!). Though many actors claim to be longtime fans of the IP they’re working in, Milioti’s dedication seems genuine. Her performance aligns with the tone of a Joel Schumacher Batman movie, given her involvement in another gritty project following the rise of villains after The Joker. At first glance, this may seem like an odd combination, but the entire show appears to share the same dark and moody atmosphere, primarily driven by Milioti’s strong connection with the material. Even Farrell’s performance seems to resonate more on the level of Milioti’s character at this point.
Sofia’s action of making Oz feel inferior was unfortunate, considering she was the only one in the Falcone family who acknowledged him as an equal. However, it seems questionable that a brief moment of unkindness would lead Oz to betray his only friend in the family so easily. Yet, it appears clear that Oz believed the consequences for Sofia’s actions by the boss wouldn’t be severe (certainly not a decade-long stay at Arkham). Regardless, there seems to be a lack of clarity about Oz’s actions and reasons behind them, which might necessitate further explanation if his betrayal continues to play a significant role in emotional discussions.
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2024-10-14 06:55