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How do you solve a problem like the Penguin? Sure, he’s been a member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery since his 1941 debut, but creators have never been sure what to do with him. He has the same grotesque features common to most of Batman’s Chester Gould-inspired villains, but he uncomfortably straddles the line between realistic gangsters and over-the-top supervillains, never fully making sense in either camp.
After one episode, it’s clear that The Penguin, an HBO spin-off of The Batman from 2022, hasn’t solved the Penguin problem.
The Penguin begins a week after the events of The Batman, which ended with mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro in the film, replaced by Mark Strong in flashbacks on the show) getting killed after the Riddler (Paul Dano) reveals him as a rat who turned on previous boss Salvatore Maroni. Control of the Falcone family falls to Carmine’s son Alberto (Michael Zegen), but Oz (played by Colin Farrell, though the amazing team of make-up artists led by designer Michael Marino deserve just as much credit) embarks on his own mission to fill the gap. His path gets complicated by the return of Alberto’s sister Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), recently released from Arkham Asuylum after being captured for serial murder.
Written by Lauren LeFranc and directed by Craig Zobel, the pilot episode “After Hours” tries to transition viewers out of The Batman into The Penguin. It opens deep in the tone of the Matt Reeves film, with a movement from Michael Giacchino’s film score playing over images of news footage, recounting the ending of the movie, and shots of Oz standing at a window, bathed in the rich reds Reeves used in The Batman.
But by the time Oz makes his way into Falcone’s office to plan his own power grasp, Zobel does away with the dramatic music and visuals of The Batman. In its place, Zobel defaults to the visual style common to modern dramatic television. He and director of photography Darran Tiernan shoot dialogue scenes in close-ups and two shots, restricting the color palette to grays and earth-tones, save for Oz’s purple outfits.
The shift in visuals signals a change in perspective from The Batman. Where Reeves opted for a type of emo-noir, constantly reminding viewers of the high stakes of people in masks punching each other, Zobel goes for something more grounded. Most of “After Hours” goes for mundane, even procedural bits of drama.
After catching Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) and his pals trying to steal the rims off his tires, Oz forces the boy into his service, seeing himself in another poor kid trying to make his way in the criminal world. We follow Oz as he oversees the production of Drops, Gotham’s drug of choice, and we watch as he butts heads with Michael Vitti (Michael Kelly), the Falcone consigliere. We even follow Oz as he checks in on a friendly working girl (Carmen Ejogo, playing Eve Karlo, a name with some significance in the world of Batman) and later with his working-class mother, Francis (Deirdre O’Connell).
In the conversations with Francis, who plays psychological games by, in turns, praising and demeaning her son, that The Penguin reveals its clearest inspiration. Where The Batman gave its superhero story depth by following David Fincher’s Seven and Zodiac, The Penguin cribs from The Sopranos. Like Tony Soprano before him, Oz has nostalgia for gangsters of the past, deals with a browbeating mother, and wrestles with his psychological state.
Unfortunately, Colin Farrell is not James Gandolfini. Or, more accurately, Colin Farrell under pounds of prosthetics is not James Gandolfini. Farrell’s Oz injected a welcome dose of humor into the sometimes too serious proceedings of The Batman, shouting about the heroes’ Spanish and calling Batman “Mr. Vengence.” It worked because The Batman gave space for Farrell to go big, battling through his heavy make-up.
With its close-ups and backstory concerns, The Penguin suffocates Farrell and renders his performance embarrassing. When surrounded by actors giving naturalistic performances, the growling and waddling and sneering feels out of place, as if Oz is a comic book character who wandered into a realistic crime drama. Which, of course, he is. In quieter moments, such as the above Gilda scene, Farrell’s natural vulnerability shines through Oz’s massive frame, making for a compelling character. But such moments are rare in The Penguin‘s first episode.
Farrell’s performance works much better when The Penguin commits to being a comic book show and brings in other big characters. The always-welcome Clancy Brown drops by for one scene as former boss Salvatore Maroni, and his gravitas creates room for Farrell to shine.
Even better are scenes that pair Oz with Sofia Falcone. Milioti uses her wide eyes and puckish grin to make Sofia a playful psychopath, a dangerous presence who lives in her own reality. A welcome break from the boisterous madmen played by former Batman baddie actors Dano or even Heath Ledger, Milioti does more by doing less. She builds menace just by softly asking a leading question and waiting for a response, which in turn makes Farrell’s manic shuffling and coughing feel at home in the world.
Readers of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequels know what Sofia is capable of. And while The Penguin breaks away from Loeb and Sale’s story almost immediately, it’s clear that Sofia will remain a going presence in the show.
That’s good news for The Penguin‘s long-term success. Whether Oz likes it or not, he does not belong in the world of grounded wise guys and believable mafiosos. He’s a supervillain and he works best with other supervillains, like Maroni and Sofia. Without them, Oz is at once too big and too insignificant, straddling two worlds without ever fitting in either.
The first episode of The Penguin is available to stream on Max now. New episodes premiere Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
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