HBO Penguin resumes its season with a suspenseful second episode. Episode two serves as an overview for the overarching goals and obstacles facing each character, and isn’t doing a bad job diving further into what makes them tick.
Whereas the goal of your pilot should be to establish the conflict and characters your audience should be familiar with for the duration of the series, the job of the second episode is to tease how far we really have to go. For example, the pilot episode of Netflix’s spin-off of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman spends most of its runtime setting up the reasons the protagonist entangles himself with his brother’s antics and the mob, and letting audiences in on his overall “why.” As in, why he’s doing what he’s doing, and why not doing it isn’t an option. In that show, his lie is that he can save his brother and not be a gangster. Naturally, the second episode usually reveals the true scope of the problem and often makes things far worse. In Penguin’s case, this involves expanding on Oswald’s instability within his own house of lies, and how the walls can and will close in on him in a second. After surreptitiously getting away with murder by reigniting a gang war, Oswald attempts to play both sides. As Oswald would later directly explain to his unwitting sidekick later in the same episode, adaptation is the only way he knows how to survive.
Two main things are at play in “Inside Man.” Firstly, the writing team reestablishes Oswald’s lie, and secondly, we understand the promise of Oswald’s goals. Penguin’s lie is simple, he thinks he can get away with it. More specifically, he thinks he can rise to the top without anyone seeing him coming. It isn’t like he doesn’t want power, but Oswald respects the power of being invisible. Moreover, the flexibility of his loyalty plays as one of his major assets, especially in this episode’s action packed van heist. At the same time, Oswald is being boxed in by his inability to pick any one side comfortably. Still, when guys like Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) don’t hesitate to insult and dismiss “the Penguin” as a bumbling henchman, it gets under his skin and just like Alberto, Viti becomes Penguin’s next target. In episode one, we see Oz Cobb escape from certain peril over and over, and this episode reinforces his confidence in his lie by putting him in peril at no less than three important moments. Namely, improvising who to shoot in the heist, deciding Ervad’s fate, and who to frame with the switchblade. To Colin Farrell’s credit, each subtle choice plays brilliantly in his performance with slight hesitation, but with unrelenting faith that his despicable gambles will pay off.
Not only is his uncanny ability to figure his way out of bad situations something he attributes to all of his success, but Vic’s lack of it is a point of disappointment. Particularly, Victor’s failure and inability to to frame Johnny Viti. Unfortunately, everything Vic does is do or die. So, although Oswald and his new driver may share an intimate story, laugh, or relaxing evening, the two men aren’t friends. On one hand, Penguin sees a lot of himself in Victor. He empathizes with his living situation, and his disability, but the second Vic fails, all Oz can see is the kind of liability he’s avoided being seen as his entire life. Bluntly speaking, because of how similar he is to Vic, every obvious flaw Vic displays becomes an intolerable reflection of how he may seem to others. On principle, the more he believes in the favorable parts of himself he sees in Victor, the less he worries about his own inadequacy. Similarly, Eve Karlo represents the fruit of his goodness. Oswald may be an unrepentant monster, but he isn’t one dimensional. At his core, Oswald wants to be like his hero Rex, and take care of the people he loves or wants to be loved by. Although, Eve understands that Oswald isn’t invincible, and everything he does can trickle down to her if he isn’t careful.
Regardless, Inside Man expands the promise of Sofia Falcone and Oswald’s dreams. Where Oswald is relying on what little he knows of Alberto’s plan to get him ahead, Sofia’s future is only fueled by revenge. While Sofia doesn’t entertain any delusions of grandeur, by the end of the episode, she understands that the only way to get what she wants is to commit herself to the pursuit of power. In her perspective, no one in her family respects her after her time in Arkham. Even with the family labelling her crazy like a scarlet letter, none of the males respect her. Additionally, the always slimy Theo Rossi (Shades from Luke Cage) appears as Dr. Julian Rush to explore the truth behind her troubled past as “The Hangman.” Which, upon listening to the girlhood stories of Lake Como her friends and family eagerly remind her of, may not be what it seems. Part of this possibly ties into the mystery within Jeff Loeb’s Dark Victory graphic novel which explores various members of the Falcone family taking the fall for crimes attributed to both “Holiday” and “the Hangman killer.” Regardless, episode two clarifies where Sofia and Oswald really land in the hierarchy of the Falcone family.
In the coming episodes, the enigmatic Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabbs from Sponge Bob) and always crisp Shohreh Aghdashloo (Avasarala in The Expanse) will certainly be motivated to get even with Oswald for his part in their misfortunes this episode. The two lovers take Oswalds bait and play into Oswalds fake war with their interesting blended Italian/Persian mob crime family. Yet, everything Oswald does only seems to expose the folly of making any kind of deal with him, the devil. However, that is precisely the kind of instability that The Penguin is relying on to carry it throughout this season. In spite of the Falcones, Maroni, and Sofia herself doubting Oswald over and over, he has the ability to play the entire field against itself, proving time and time again that The Penguin’s true nature only comes out when he is cornered like an animal.
New Episodes of HBO THE PENGUIN come every Sunday night on HBO & MAX. Images from YouTube.