Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Penguin episode 3The Penguinepisode 3 ends on a major cliffhanger while also setting up Oz Cobb’s next big challenge as he seeks to take control of Gotham’s underworld. Set one week after the events ofThe Batman, the new Max series starring Colin Farrell as The Penguin has seen Oz consistently having to be on his toes as he navigates new foes and threats from all sides. Now, his latest alliance inThe Penguinepisode 3 may have already ended despite having just begun.
In episodes ofThe Penguinreleased thus far, Oz Cobb has predominately been dealing with and two-timing both the Maroni and Falcones, playing each side against the other in a bid to claim greater power for himself. To that end, he’s just recently joined forces with Sofia Falcone in particular, an outsider to her own family due to her complicated past in Arkham.Keeping that in mind, here’s our recap ofThe Penguinepisode 3 and its surprising ending explained.
The Penguin Episode 1 Spoilers & Key Story Takeaways
Penguin Admits He Doesn’t Regret What He Did To Sofia Falcone
Despite their alliance against the Falcones by kickstarting a new drug operation together,Sofia is still having a hard time trusting the man who was her former driver, especially consideringOz was the one who sold Sofia out as “The Hangman"to her father and got her institutionalized in Arkham State Hospital. InPenguinepisode 3, Oz admits that he had no idea Carmine was going to put his own daughter in Arkham. However, The Penguin also confirms he doesn’t regret his actions either, and that he’d do it again considering all that it got him.
The Penguin Show Cast & DC Character Guide
Set to release in 2024, The Penguin will continue to flesh out Matt Reeves' Gotham with Colin Farrell set to reprise his role as Oz Cobb.
At the end ofThe Penguinepisode 3, Oz definitively answers Sofia’s questions about whether turning her in was worth it. For Oz, it certainly was seeing how he would become Carmine’s right-hand man. Not only that, but he was also given The Iceberg Lounge and 44 Below to run, along with the Falcones' former drug operations with drops. All the power Penguin had with the Falcones under Carmine came from turning in Sofia.While Oz does tell Sofia he regrets what happened to her, he confirms the better life he received as a result was indeed worth it.
Why The Maronis Are Looking For Revenge On Penguin
He Promised Them Sofia’s Drug Operation
By the end ofPenguinepisode 3, Oz and Sofia seemingly find common ground despite Sofia’s struggle to trust Cobb. Essentially, Oz promises that he’ll keep showing her how to trust him by continuing to prove himself going forward, seemingly supporting her and their shared interests with the new drug operation.However, it’s more than likely that the interruption of the Maronis is going to change all that.
WhileSalvatore Maroni may still be incarcerated in Blackgate Prison, his wife still runs the Maronis in his name. To that end, Nadia arrives with armed men at the end ofPenguinepisode 3, guns drawn on Oz and Sofia.Confirming they’d been watching Oz, the Maronis aren’t pleased with Oz making new deals with Blisswhen he’d already promised the new drug to Salvatore in exchange for taking credit for Penguin’s murder of Alberto Falcone. As such, their intent to kill Penguin for his betrayal is certainly bad news, even though Oz does end up surviving the altercation.
Why Victor Leaves Oz (And Why He Decides To Come Back)
His Ambitions Won Out Over His Morals
As seen throughoutThe Penguinepisode 3,Victor is struggling with his work for Oz as well as the trauma of recently losing his family during The Riddler’s flood. Knowing that his father wouldn’t be proud of his new job with Cobb, Victor strongly considers leaving Gotham with Graciela who was with him on a roof when the flood hit Crown Point. When Penguin discovers this, he grows bitter and angry, feeling as though he’d been giving Victor the opportunity of a lifetime.
Although he does leave the club and heads to the bus station where Graciela had been waiting for him, Victor never leaves the car. Instead,Victor Aguilar decides to stay in Gotham and return to Penguin,likely because Victor’s ambition has outweighed his previous moral convictions. As such, Victor returns just in time to save Oz from the Maronis who had guns to the Penguin’s head, likely meaning that all is forgiven between the duo in the episodes ofThe Penguinthat are still to come.
Why Oz Abandons Sofia At The End of The Penguin Episode 3
There Are A Few Different Options
While Victor rams Oz’s car into one of the Maronis and drives off with Cobb jumping into the passenger seat, Penguin tells Victor to leave Sofia behind. Remarkably, this was followed by gunfire, the implication that something bad might have happened to Sofia off-screen. However,Sofia dying at the hands of the Maronis is an extremely unlikely outcomeconsidering future footage fromThe Penguins’trailers and how much of Sofia’s past remains a mystery.
Oz abandoning Sofia to the Maronis more than likely means their brief alliance inThe Penguinhas already come to an end…
Instead,it’s more likely that Sofia was either captured and/or something that was said either to or by the Maronis unheard to viewers. Perhaps the Maronis exposed Oz and what he did to Alberto, or perhaps Cobb himself sold out Sofia again for the sake of his own survival. Either way, Oz abandoning Sofia to the Maronis more than likely means their brief alliance inThe Penguinhas already come to an end.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
