THE PENGUIN - EPISODE SIX REVIEW & BREAKDOWN

Warning: This review contains heavy spoilers!

It's Halloween! (Or at least, it was at the time of me writing this review). What better way is there to celebrate the holiday than diving back into The Batman universe, and marvel at the continuous level of high quality delivered by the soon-to-be completed Penguin series? At this point, it's safe to say that the show has no intention of getting worse any time soon, which only leaves higher anticipation as to how it will resolve the especially-impactful plot points weaved into this week's episode, one that is sure to leave you shocked and gutted by the time the credits roll...

THE STORY

Episode 6 starts off with Oz finally reaping his rewards after a constant back-and-forth battle for the Bliss mushrooms. Their organization has grown significantly, leading Oz to once again contact the other crime families of Gotham in hopes to strike up a proper deal to distribute the drug. Even Victor seems to be doing better off for himself, gaining more confidence and working closer with his mentor than ever before. However, we soon find that things have hardly improved between Oz and his mother, especially due to the power in Crown Point being cut off routinely, forcing her to live in darkness for hours on end.

Meanwhile, Maroni struggles with the loss of his family, subconsciously preparing his son's favorite breakfast dish in Sofia's kitchen. His sorrow quickly turns into vengeful anger, fueled with a desire to kill someone Oz cares about just like he did. Even after interrogating Eve (Carmen Ejogo), Oz's most trusted alibi girl, she tells them that he has no surviving family, and nobody to truly care for. Back at Crown Point, Victor is stopped by Squid, who clearly knows that he's joined a hidden organization since his sudden disappearance from the neighborhood. He forces Victor to let him join or he'll rat them out to the Gigante family, leaving Oz's mentee with a troubling dilemma.

Everything seems to suddenly spiral for Oz as his mother's mental illness only gets worse, and the triads cut off any potential deals with them. To retaliate, he orders his men and Victor to distribute a free sample of Bliss towards as much of the city as they can travel, and leave them with a sweet spot for his highly-addictive drug. As they do so, Oz pays a visit to his government official pet, Councilman Hady (John Rhys Coiro), and forces him to turn the power back on in Crown Point, Victor is soon stopped by Squid again, and after his attempt to negotiate peacefully spirals into a violent confrontation, he shoots the gangster on the spot, marking his first kill.

Oz can't comfort him for long, however, as the triads are finally interested in meeting with him once again. In his usual slimy manner, Oz delivers a speech about the importance of loyalty and how he always follows a strict moral code, eventually convincing all the other families to join his ranks and "take over Gotham". The episode ends with power being restored to Crown Point, and whilst Oz's mother celebrates the success of her son by dancing with Victor, Sofia watches them eerily from the shadows with a crowbar in hand... now aware that Oz's mother is actually alive.

THE GOOD

This week's episode of The Penguin finds itself on the slower, more dramatic side for good reason. After the intense, action-packed thrills of its previous entry, "Gold Summit" takes its time to once again reintroduce the audience to the new status quo since the small timeskip, one that sees the show's characters itching closer and closer to what's sure to be a violent confrontation. Everyone gets their own time to shine in the episode, whether it be Oz's duplicitous lying finally showing results, Victor's inner turmoil from killing Squid, the fractured relationship between Oz and his mother, and even Maroni's remorse towards the death of his family. Being a TV show, The Penguin has the opportunity to take its time whilst unfolding its narrative, something it definitely makes use of in its entirety.

Furthermore, the performances in the show continue to brush excellence, with notable standouts being Sofia and Eve's tension-riddled confrontation. Their paths crossing has been teased since the beginning of the show, and finally seeing Eve's worst nightmare come into fruition is both frightening and long-anticipated, making for one of the most dramatic back-and-forth conversations The Penguin has shown us. Oz's mother, Francis, also gets a significant portion of the episode dedicated to her relationship with her son, one that's sure to end with tragedy and heartbreak at the hands of Sofia. Finally, one of the standout performances of the episode was Clancy Brown as Sal Maroni, who's silent but grief-stricken demeanor adds a whole new layer to his (previously underused) character.

THE "BAD"

Although episode 6 of The Penguin has no detrimental flaws, I would've still liked to see Victor's side plot with Squid fleshed out more than two scenes together. It leads to the interaction between the two feeling somewhat rushed, which could've easily been avoided if we had more time dedicated to exploring why Victor fears Squid so much, and why Squid is suddenly interested in Victor once again. It's a small critique, but seeing as the episode is specifically tailored to flesh out its characters further with a slower-burn runtime, getting more time between the two would've made for an undoubtedly interesting story in of itself.

VERDICT/WHAT'S NEXT?

"Gold Summit" serves as a teaser for what's to come, but still manages to stand out in its own right. Beyond the somewhat underwhelming lack of time spent between Victor and Squid, every other part of the episode masterfully builds up the tension in every scene, reminding the audience that Oz is still far from winning the war in Gotham's underworld. Based on the episode's heart-dropping ending, it's only safe to assume that episode 7 and 8 will likely be the show's darkest episodes yet.

8.5/10