For most of HBO’s latest series PenguinSofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) suffers at the hands of men. We learn how she was forced into Arkham Asylum by her father after she questioned the cause of her mother’s death, then repeatedly violated by the male doctors there and stripped of her rights until she effectively went insane, And, ten years later, after being released from prison, she is still questioned and vilified by members of the Fallon crime family. But like a chartreuse phoenix rising from the ashes of the patriarchy, Sophia gets hers at the end of Cent’anni, and we get PenguinHe is the real protagonist.
“People have been lying to me for ten years. Then I come home and everything is the same. They think I’m broken. I’m not broken. I’m not the sick one. And neither are you.” Sophia told Dr. Arkham’s assistant Zhu Dr. Leanne Rush (Theo Rossi), who repeatedly subjected her to shock treatments despite her protests and declared her unfit to stand trial, forcing her to stay there for ten years.
Sofia was a victim of men who used violence and coercion to build empires—we learn in this episode that her father, Carmine Falcone, not only strangled her mother, but also the man he hired Several other women. When Sofia confronts him, he tells her that she is not herself, causing her to fall in love with Arkham involuntarily. Such men fear losing power, and someone as capable as Sophia is a threat, but her femininity makes her an easy target.
Sofia’s time in Arkham seems painful and terrifying. We see an innocent woman thrown into a mental institution for daring to question a man, forced to watch as the system destroys her until she is no longer a person, but a feral thing. Her perfectly manicured nails turned into dirty, ragged claws. Her carefully styled hair became wild and tangled, and her pristine skin was red, swollen and bruised from the electroshock treatments. When she picked up her neighbor’s head and smashed it against the cafeteria table repeatedly until she died (RIP Magpie), we learned that this place and whoever put her there actually killed Sofia Falcone .
Milioti gives an award-worthy performance, deconstructing the character until she’s as distrustful and shrill as a feral cat. You feel angry for her and, in turn, for any woman who is falsely accused or falsely accused. You want her to win.
She did win. After the episode’s lengthy flashback, Sofia attends her final family dinner. After all, the men told her that she had to get on the flight to Sicily or risk death because, in their opinion, she had become too much of a responsibility to the family. Wearing a dark green silk gown, she dominated the family dinner, delivering a gut-wrenching speech and then toasting to a new beginning.
She took her cousin’s little daughter to spend the night in the greenhouse, her beautiful dress trailing behind her. She woke up next to her in the morning, the orange light of the sunrise accentuating her silhouette as she sat up. Back at the Falcone mansion, the young girl, pink backpack in hand and no shoes on her feet, paused at the door to put on a gas mask. Then, like a silent killer gas, Sophia stood on tiptoes, danced, and joyfully walked through the mansion, happily opening the doors and windows to let the sunlight in. curve.
In the final room, she removes a pistol from the coffee table and awakens Johnny Vitti, whom she chooses to spend the night with. “Put some pants on Johnny, we have to talk,” she snapped in her New York Italian accent. Mamma Mia, I’m in love. Talk about gaslighting, janitors, girl bosses, am I right?
next episode Penguin Airing on HBO Max on October 20 at 9pm ET.
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