While the new HBO Max series Penguin Clearly a super gritty take on DC’s Batman universe, set in the world created by Matt Reeves, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Not because it’s bad (it’s very good), but because there are so many heart-warmingly funny moments in this show that happen so fast you might miss them, like the explosion of a kid slamming onto the pavement Same, then exploded with a sharp crack. Most of them are led by Colin Farrell, whose unrecognizable character as Oz Cobb aka The Penguin, adds to the otherwise heavy-handed crime drama Adding to the briefest moments of relief.
The latest episode begins with tragedy: The Riddler floods Gotham, first seen in 2022 batman. We see how this affects Oz’s reluctant new follower Vic (Renzi Feliz), who slowly settles into his role over the course of the episode and discovers that he might Really like being flush with cash and being able to bribe the police. This is also the beginning of Oz’s partnership with the unhinged Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), who seems perpetually on the verge of killing anyone in her sight, as Like a cobra coiled in the grass. Despite all the tension brewing in episode three, I couldn’t help but laugh.
At one point, Sofia takes Oz to the factory where her team is working to produce a new psychotropic drug that she has smuggled out of Arkhan. An eccentric chemist explains the drug created from some weird-looking mushrooms in an increasingly scientific way, throwing in some Latin words. Ozzy immediately snapped, “What the fuck did you say to me?” like Tony Soprano with his hand on the butt of his gun. I burst out laughing.
Just before that, Sofia shows up at Oz’s apartment, and a terrified Vic is forced to play gracious host. She walked around the room, clearly disgusted with Oz’s interior decorating choices, and picked up a remote control like it was covered in toxic waste. Vic goes to tell her what it’s for, but before he can finish, she clicks on it and a giant electric fireplace starts up. “Tacky,” she muttered.
But she wasn’t here to hang out, they had things to do. Oz instructs Vic to stay in his apartment rather than follow him. “Don’t move,” he said, closing the door behind him. He immediately turned it on again and hissed, “If you do anything stupid, I’ll feel it.” This is a master class, folks.
Even though the rest of the episode is pretty high stakes, the humor throughout always kept me laughing: Oz responds to a rival gang leader asking if they’re staring at a coup, “What is” you, reading a book or something? , just when you thought our penguins were doomed, Vic splits a gunman in half with Oz’s plum-colored Maserati (it’s not purple, as he reminded us in the first episode), and Oz Z responds “Fuck it, get away from her,” when Vic asks what they should do about Sophia, who is also in the line of fire. They speed away in the destroyed Maserati as “Me and the Devil” plays.
every episode Penguin That’s how it has been so far—Ozzy uses the skin of his one gold tooth to get away with extremely tense gangster moments, punctuated by surprising carnival riffs. It’s the best show on television right now, and surprisingly one of the funniest. Episode 4 Penguin Airs Sunday 13th October on Max.
