I love (and hate) how the first season of Penguin played with my emotions in the penultimate episode.

Warning: SPOILERS for Penguin The Cylinder series is coming!

HBO Penguin was one of standshow of the year, and while I hope we get news of a second season as we enter the new year and TV schedule for 2025I have to give this series flowers. It’s been a while since I watched a show that played with my emotions so much, especially in the penultimate episode.

I both love and hate Top Hat, but I have to say that the negative part of this statement is also said with love. Penguin can be disappointing in the best way, so before what could be the final chapter of its story, I thought I’d talk about some of the things that bother me going into the ending.

Colin Farrell in the movie — (Image credit: HBO)

I love and hate how the Penguin reminded us that Oswald is a bad guy

Penguin hit me in the gut in Top Hat and reminded me of exactly the kind of guy Oswald Cobb is with a deep dive into his past. I’m referring, of course, to how Oz grew jealous of his brothers receiving equal attention from his mother, and ended up leaving them to drown in the sewer so he could have a quiet night at home with his mother. At some points it was clear that he knew what would happen to his brothers and he didn’t care.

I hated myself for being tricked into sympathizing with Oswald. In every live action Batman movie and in the project he was involved in, he was an untrustworthy snake. Of course, the show didn’t portray him any differently than those shows, but I think it was because he was only fooling people who were also bad that I was able to see it differently.

Penguin was a master at telling the story, making us both understand and sympathize with Oswald, only to ruin it all and remind the viewer that he is a bad person. I guess we need to keep that in mind ahead of the ending, which looks like it’s going to be tough on Oswald, Sofia, or possibly both characters. The only thing I can say is that I doubt I’ll ever feel sympathy for a Batman villain so easily again, and if Sofia succeeds in getting her revenge on Oz, I don’t think I’ll feel sorry for him.

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone in Penguin

(Image credit: HBO/DC)

What I love and hate is that I have no idea how Sofia will get back at Oswald.

Sofia Gigante may not be the Executioner, but she is everything Penguinshe has shown herself to be more than capable of violence. unexpected murder of Batman villain Magpie and some of her more chaotic actions throughout the series leave me wondering how she will ultimately get revenge on Oswald for locking her in Arkham Asylum.

I thought it was her big move it would be to kill Victorbut since he’s raising an army for Oswald before the finale, I don’t think she’ll have any more of a chance than after she hit him with a tire iron. I think he will Get out from the finale unscathed, although given that he’s an original character not from the original DC story, there’s a chance he’ll be removed before the next Batman movie.

I can’t help but love and hate the fact that we have no idea what Sofia will do in the next episode, but I have theories. There is a chance that Sofia will end up killing Oswald’s mother, Frances, but not before discovering that it was her son who killed her other boys. Oz will see the disappointment on his mother’s face right before she dies, leaving behind unpleasant memories that he will have to live with.

While I initially thought Sophia might spare Francis, I don’t think her revenge on Oswald would be as effective, assuming she actually discovered his dirty secret. Frances suffers from some form of dementia, so even if she were told this right now, there is a chance that over time she would eventually forget. Given Oz’s type of person, he would probably be fine if his mother forgot about it and moved on with her life in denial that he was the family’s perfect favorite son.

Screenshot of Oz Cobb with a big smile in the movie

(Image credit: HBO YouTube)

I love that I don’t know which of these two villains would be more appropriate in Batman: Part II.

When Penguin was first announced, I thought it was the perfect way to further introduce Oswald Cobblepot as a threat in 2026s Batman Part Two. That’s still the case, and we’ve seen him go from being a member of the Falcone family to building his own empire selling Drops and teaming up with the smaller gangs of Gotham. It seems like he’ll be in a much better position in Gotham’s criminal underworld than he was in the first film, and he’s not the only one.

Gotham’s major crime families have fallen apart, and now Sofia Gigante is taking on the mantle of traditional mafia operations in Gotham. Again, we don’t know for sure how this show will end for her, but there’s no shortage of rumors about Cristina Milioti’s character starring in it. Robert Pattinsonthe next Batman movie.

Of course, we still have no idea what exactly Batman Part Two will be about. CinemaBlend’s Mike Reyes has his own theories about who the sequel’s main villain will be. thinks Penguin actually hinted at this. There are also many iconic Batman villains Who would fans like to see this version of the Dark Knight fight with, so who knows how relevant any Penguin villain will be by the time this movie comes out?

Catch PenguinFinale on HBO Sunday, November 10th at 9:00 pm ET. Part of me is expecting a big surprise at the end of this episode, although I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. Perhaps we’ll find out where Batman has been throughout the series. I’d be okay if we didn’t, but it would be great.