The Penguin Recap: This Is Gotham

As a seasoned observer of the criminal underworld, I can’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity when I read about the intricate web that is weaving itself around Victor Aguilar and Oz Cobbs. Having spent my fair share of time navigating the treacherous waters of Gotham City’s criminal landscape, I can tell you firsthand that the journey from an innocent bystander to a hardened criminal often starts with a single, fateful decision – a choice made under the weight of circumstance and the allure of opportunity.

In most Batman tales, the villains are portrayed as complex individuals who resort to criminal acts due to a mix of societal cruelty, economic hardship, and systemic injustice prevalent in American society. For instance, Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke” presents the Joker as a struggling blue-collar worker turned comedian driven to crime out of necessity to support his pregnant wife. In the latest episode of “The Penguin,” the show delves into Victor Aguilar’s tragic backstory, revealing him as a second-generation immigrant who lost his entire family in the citywide flood caused by the Riddler’s attack, providing a compelling narrative for the series so far.

As a movie enthusiast, I’d rephrase it like this: “It seems you think yearning for more is wrong, but don’t you aspire for something greater than this ordinary life? That was the essence of our last conversation before I left to join my peers. Now, under the influence of the Penguin, I’m witnessing the stark reality that my father had always known but never could express: In the gritty heart of Gotham City – a dark comic embodiment of all American metropolises – the journey from having nothing to possessing something substantial is an unyielding path that demands your hands to be truly dirty.

Victor isn’t particularly excited about socializing with, or even driving near, Sofia “The Hangman” Falcone when he and Oz take a break at Oz’s place. However, Oz manages to persuade him by downplaying the graveyard incident from the last episode as water under the bridge, and offering him a stack of $1,000 in cash for his cooperation. When Sofia arrives, displaying her unnerving blend of calmness and edginess, Victor gains a more precise understanding of his boss’s character when it comes to the people he works with and those he aims to overthrow. Is Oz Cobb really capable of outsmarting a cunning psychopath like Sofia?

While Oz and Sofia head to the docks to investigate Alberto’s supposed large shipment, Victor stays behind at Oz’s place. As it turns out, the cargo was primarily intended for Sofia rather than Alberto. Since the delivery originated from Arkham State Hospital, it seemed like Sofia’s endeavor right from the start. Upon inspecting this warehouse that grows mushrooms, Oz mentions that you can find similar fungi in any dorm room in Gotham City. However, these particular mushrooms are not just mind-altering; they provide a party-like sense of exhilaration. The source of their effect is not the mushroom itself but the red sap produced by the spores, which is known as Bliss.

Sofia seems unresponsive when Oz suggests she might have been given the substance at Arkham, and the gathering wasn’t particularly enjoyable for her. However, they now have a small sample ready for distribution, which gives Oz an opportunity to shine: he needs to find a distributor for Sofia, and if successful, they’ll make quite an impact. The concerns raised in the previous episode about Sofia accepting Oz’s setup too quickly are mostly addressed, thanks to Cristin Milioti’s exceptional acting – her eyes and subtle humorless jokes hint that she doesn’t fully trust Oz yet. The route he has planned for them still seems a bit too convenient, making one question his true allegiance. This trial run of Bliss is essentially a test of his loyalty.

At Oz’s residence, Victor is renewing his acquaintance with his former love, Graciela, who was last encountered during the Riddler’s assault. She proposes a fresh escape route for Victor from his emerging life in criminal syndicates. Graciela plans to depart the city on a bus tonight, and it appears that Victor is strongly considering this option, hesitant due to a Stockholm syndrome-influenced blend of fear and loyalty towards Oz.

The following day, Oz escorts Sofia to Chinatown to discuss business with Link Tsai, his Triad associate. With the Falcones driving the Triads out of the drug trade, Sofia is hesitant about this meeting. However, Oz insists they require backup from someone who won’t betray them. They attempt to persuade Link using a vial of Bliss, but he shows reservations regarding his involvement in a power shift amidst an ongoing gang conflict. “This isn’t really a coup,” Oz explains. “It’s more like corporate reorganization.” Additionally, Oz and Sofia claim they have support from Johnny Viti within the Triads, although this is a fabrication. Despite the lie, Link appears to believe their story when Sofia vouches for Viti’s backing. The only condition is that Viti must contact Link’s superior, Mr. Zhao, to confirm his participation in the “reorganization.” It’s time to use the blackmail photos as leverage.

While Victor is outside in the car, he’s experiencing firsthand how justice functions in Gotham and demonstrating his ability to manipulate it. A police officer, wary of a young person of color sitting behind the wheel of this flashy, expensive vehicle that resembles a plum monstrosity, approaches him for questioning. Victor perceives this as an opportunity to bribe the officer with the $1,000 he received from Oz the night before. However, just when it seems like this young man might escape, they draw him back in. (I couldn’t resist the phrase.)

In the following sequence, Oz continues to intensify the strain on Vic, urging him to persist with the Penguin. During an apparently spontaneous gathering with Tina, Luca’s wife, at a restaurant, Oz exhibits the same oscillating emotional manipulation that his mother seemingly instilled in him, albeit subconsciously. He advises Victor to assert himself more, “claim space,” and ends a discussion about cooking by proposing a toast in honor of Victor’s father. Vic appears to be aware that he’s being controlled to some extent, but he also believes the companionship is sincere. Oz is a potentially harmful individual, yet one who has always felt insignificant – his encouragement to stand tall among the elite is inspiring.

In a rather unexpected turn, when Oz and Sofia interrupted Johnny Viti and Tina’s private hotel rendezvous, Oz’s actions were somewhat inappropriate and drew attention. This action seemed to enrage Viti who retorted with a harsh comment, “The Penguin is kept around for amusement because everyone knows you’re a complete farce.” Instantly, Oz lunged at him, forcing a phone into his mouth so forcefully it neared breaking his jaw. He commanded Viti to make a call and left the room in a fury. Sofia appeared unimpressed by Oz’s outburst.

As a captivated moviegoer, I found myself drawn into the heart of the action when Oz presented Bliss to a select crowd at the club through Eve and her companions. It was evident that Sofia harbored doubts about the relationship between Eve and Oz, a suspicion that could potentially cast a shadow on Oz’s alibi from the night of Alberto’s tragic demise. Moreover, Sofia couldn’t help but notice Oz’s effortless assumption of authority within their intricate plan, fueling her growing unease.

“Hey, you can’t treat me like some kid from the block anymore,” Sofia firmly tells him. “Zhao’s here for me, not my old driver. Let that sink in.” However, Oz doesn’t seem to back down from his aggressive approach during their meeting with Zhao. He points out that they’ve successfully raised the price of Bliss twice without a drop in sales, asserting it forcefully. “Massive, MASSIVE potential,” he’s essentially saying, mimicking Trump’s style in the heat of negotiation. But Sofia takes charge of the conversation and presents a compelling argument for moving this new drug forward from a deeply personal perspective: “Look around you,” she says. “Their city has been destroyed. Our former mayor was murdered. A lunatic flooded our streets. People lost their homes, their families. The world they knew is gone.

In the ordinary hustle and bustle of the nightclub, I find myself swept up in a drug-induced scene reminiscent of Scarecrow’s terrifying hallucinations (it’s interesting to note that this whole red goo party drug feels eerily linked to Arkham Asylum and Scarecrow). The pulsating rhythm of the music stirs memories within me, bringing back fleeting images of the Riddler’s assault – bursts of explosions and crowds in a perpetual motion through water.

Sofia adopts a firm stance in negotiations since Zhao understands their situation – it’s take the deal or leave it. She doesn’t seem to mind who their representatives are. This leaves Oz in a state of distress when he encounters Victor attempting to abandon him at the bus station for his girlfriend. Victor strives to comply with everything Oz demands, but he continues to be drawn towards the emotional chasm that propels every villain from Gotham deeper into a life of criminal chaos. Oz finds this deeply offensive. He brandishes a weapon at Victor, implying: “You feel threatened by me even though I’ve given you so many chances?” It’s tough not to feel threatened when, in reality, there is a gun pointed at me. Eventually, Oz delivers a double-edged parting message to Victor: If he desires an insignificant existence, he’s already living it.

In the Plum Penguin Special, Victor hastily departs, forcing Oz to confront Sofia’s growing suspicion all by himself. The agreement has been sealed, with the triads now involved, but Sofia isn’t thrilled about it. She’s shrewd enough to realize he can’t be relied upon. To win over Oz’s compassion, Victor admits his past wrongdoings – he had a hand in sending Sofia to Arkham while they were together. However, he never thought Carmine would allow such an incident involving his own kin.

Sofia firmly rejects him and brings him back down to his level. He had betrayed her, and “for what? So you could gain a higher rank? You’re not even fully initiated.” It turned out to be worth it for Oz, he finally concedes. And for someone like him – a street-fighting kid from Gotham with no other options but to survive the streets – he hit the jackpot. He doesn’t regret his gains, but he’ll never shake off what happened to Sofia. “You mattered to me,” he says, and there’s a trace of sincerity in it. Sofia appears to acknowledge this sincerity, but she also seems to understand that meaning something to Oz Cobb doesn’t mean he won’t still murder you for the money in your wallet.

By the time Nadia Maroni arrived, she pointed a gun at him. The Maronis had been keeping tabs on him, so they were well aware that he had double-crossed them in the gang conflict. This action would probably confirm Sofia’s victory too. The man was now being questioned by his new ally, who was clearly suspicious due to his actions. Meanwhile, Victor found himself unable to act as Graciela boarded a bus out of town without him. His only hope for escape seemed to be fully immersing himself in the situation: he had no other option but to make bold moves and reap significant rewards, regardless of the consequences.

In a swift instant, Victor Aguilar reverses course and heads back to the club where he finds Oz and Sofia in a precarious situation with guns pointed at them, effectively marking him as “Vic,” the Penguin’s driver. He collides with Nadia’s gunman and escapes with Oz. He realizes that his father’s attempt to warn him was painfully clear: Occasionally, a single glance at a deal with the devil is enough to bind you irrevocably.

I’ve always dug the contention the Batman comics make between the more traditional organized crime families like the Falcones and Maronis and the masked-and-maimed psycho-villains of Gotham City like Two-Face and Scarecrow as a kind of horrific comic-book reflection of crime mutating across generations as the American superstructure degenerates. In the final moments of its third episode, The Penguin finds its signature rhythms and makes a clearer invitation to join its wavelength — sufficiently meeting the awkward demand of an “IP-based HBO crime show” while telling its own type of broad, exaggerated but meaningful American criminal origin story. Gotham is America, America is the world, and if Oz is to be believed, the world could be yours.

2024-10-07 06:58

The Penguin Recap: This Is Gotham

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