top of page
randazzojj123

Episode Review: The Penguin Episode 8 - "A Great or Little Thing"

Welcome back to the blog readers. The Penguin has been so fucking good, and I cannot believe how well the creators have been able to maintain the quality of this show. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as we have arrived at the end of the road for this show. I will miss seeing these characters (although Oz will be in The Batman Part II (2026)) on my screen every week. But was the ending worth it? Stick around to find out in my review of the finale, titled "A Great or Little Thing," written by Lauren LeFranc, and directed by Jennifer Getzinger.


NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the film.

 

Usually shows have a bit of difficulty in terms of sticking the landing, and I was a little nervous that this show would suffer from the Disney+ fate. This film is supposed to lead into The Batman Part II, so I was hoping that we would get some closure on some of our favorite characters in this show. And damn Colin Farrell was right: I hate Oz Cobb more than I did before this show started because this episode was bloody brilliant. Everything from the performances to the closure to the darkness shrouded over everyone and everything. This is how you do a finale.


The first performance I want to praise is that of Deirdre O'Connell. O'Connell has been one of the more under-the-radar performers in this show as Francis Cobb, and I was very close to giving her a paragraph in my review of last episode because her scenes with Cristin Milioti were so damn juicy and palpable. But this episode sees a bit of a turn for O'Connell as I believe she gives an acting clinic in this episode. Call it her finest hour, because her performance in this finale is so meaty and full of life. There is so much pent-up emotion that she displays in her scene with Colin Farrell's Oz, and the demons that she is able to latch on to for this scene make it one of the most heart-wrenching of the year across all media. My hand was on my heart the entire time.


Finally, I know I sound like a broken record but Colin Farrell will be one of the Emmy nominees for limited series, and this is just another slam dunk performance from him. Every week Farrell has been absolutely killing it as Oswald Cobb, and I find myself shocked just how far he is willing to go to become this character for our entertainment. But in this episode, we get a duality to his performance. On one hand, we see him vehemently defend the ones and the things Oz loves with so much heart and passion that it leaves you as weepy as O'Connell's performance. On the other, you are left absolutely despising Oz based on the dark things he does in this episode, and Farrell is able to tap into that darkness shockingly well. Bring on the Emmy already!


We have to talk about this story because it is incredibly satisfying and emotional all at the same time. We start with Francis continuing her interrogation at the hands of Dr. Rush, as him and Sofia discover Francis knew Oz left his brothers to die the entire time, and even attempted to hire Rex to kill him at the jazz club before chickening out out of love for her son. In the present, the two take her there as the detective brings Oz there as well, leading Sofia to reveal the truth and make Oz tell his mother the truth. Francis reveals to Oz under threat of having her pinky finger cut off that she knew the entire time and she hated being his mother, leading her to stab him with a broken bottle. After seeing a hallucination of Jack and Benny, Francis suffers a stroke and Oz is able to break out of his restraints and escape with his mother.


Victor arrives to the scene of the explosion with the other gang leaders who abandon Oz when they discover the drug compound has been destroyed, despite Victor's pleas. He meets Oz at the hospital, who tells him that it is not his fault, as the gang leaders meet with Sofia. She puts a bounty on Oz's head: the first gang that brings Oz to her will inherit her father's mansion and all of his businesses. Victor takes Oz to City Hall to meet with Councilman Hady to offer him a chance at immortality: he blames the death of Alberto on Sal Maroni, and the deaths of Nadia and Taj and the car bomb on Sofia in exchange for a spot on the council (as long as he stays clean). Zhao's deputy Link contacts Victor and develops a plan. Zhao is the one who brings Oz to Sofia, but Link betrays Zhao and murders him and Sofia's gang, leading Oz to kidnap Sofia and bring her to docks overlooking a bridge.


The gang leaders are all betrayed and killed by their deputies as Sofia mocks Oz's mother. Accepting her fate, she prepares for Oz to execute her, but she is shocked to see police approach her to arrest her. She is taken back to Arkham where she receives a letter from Selena Kyle (her half-sister) that gives her a bit of hope. Oz returns to the hospital to learn of his mother's stroke and subsequent vegetative state, where he breaks down and begs his mother to claim she is proud of him, and that all he did was for her. Victor consoles Oz outside the hospital and tells him that his mother knows he did it all for her, and that she will forgive him for whatever he did. Oz thanks Victor for helping him and for seeing him at his lowest, to which Victor responds by saying Oz is like family to him. Oz suddenly tells Victor he cannot join him this time and strangles him to death, telling him with his dying breath that it is not personal. He steals Victor's money and throws his driver's license in the river.


Sometime later, he goes to his penthouse, where he has kept his mother, and says that he has finally achieved his dream of ruling Gotham. He goes downstairs to see Eve dressed up as his mother, making her role-play as Francis and telling him that she is proud of him and that Gotham is finally his and nothing will stop him now. As the two dance to music, the Bat-Signal is lit outside, signifying the impending arrival of Bruce Wayne as the show ends. I cannot believe how efficiently done this finale was, and I feel that every character got their own resolution in a way. For Sofia, she was returned to the one place that kept her up at night and made her fear for her life. I think this was a genius move because it is kind of a full-circle moment for her. For Victor, his life was extended because he was going to be killed all the way back in the first episode had Oz not taken pity on him. For Oz, he shreds any last vestibule of humanity he had left and choked it away (quite literally). Now I cannot fathom the first meeting between this fleshed-out Oz and Bruce.


In conclusion, The Penguin throws its hat in the race for one of the best finales of all time with amazing character work and an incredible conclusion to the incredible story told. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.

0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page