‘The Penguin’ episode 4 just gave us a new protagonist, Sofia Falcone

Up until this point, it seemed like the Penguin was just a sleazy underboss trying to get to the top, but maybe with a heart of gold. But you know, Batman world. His foil would be the different crime families he played, but also Sofia Falcone in particular, hiding the fact that he killed her brother and tried to use her. She herself would gain power after her time in Arkham, when she was convicted as a serial killer.

Episode 4… changed things a lot. Spoilers follow.

Not only has Sofia already discovered that Oz killed her brother and was playing her from the beginning, but now it looks like Sofia Falcone is the real Penguin protagonist we should be rooting for here. Oz may care about Victor and other people here and there, but Sofia has I really didn’t do anything wrong. And even after murdering a house full of people she I really didn’t do anything wrong.

We learn her entire backstory, and while “backstory” episodes can be hit or miss, this one was a hit and was an Emmy-worthy turn for Cristin Milioti. It turns out that Sofia was faced with the unfortunate truth that her father had apparently murdered a bunch of prostitutes, presumably those he had affairs with, masking their strangulations as suicide hangings. But Sofia then also realizes that his own mother’s suicide was also a murder perpetrated by him.

Oz reports her to Carmine for talking to the press, albeit briefly, where she was getting facts about the case, and she is forced to confront her father. Whether Oz intended it or not (it doesn’t appear he did), Carmine throws her into Arkham and bends the family and legal system to his will by keeping her there for a decade. She enters perfectly sane, but after years of abuse is driven to be at least a little crazy, although now that she has emerged she is bent on cold revenge, even though her own father is dead.

The scene where Sofia transforms from mob socialite to Arkham inmate almost instantly, complete with stripping, hoses, and cavity searches is harrowing, and I now completely understand why there was originally a plan to make an entire series based on her time in Arkham, now relegated to this flashback. Interestingly, we are briefly introduced to another minor Batman villain, Magpie, who Sofia ended up beating to death after believing she was a spy (it’s unclear if she was, it didn’t seem like it to me).

The episode ends with a wild moment in which Sofia kills her entire family with carbon monoxide poisoning in her uncle’s mansion, sparing only her cousin and Johnny Vitti’s daughter, presumably to help cement her rise to power. Incredible sequence. Incredible episode.

Now, of course, she will seek revenge on Oz, and there is certainly no going back on that relationship now that she knows he killed her brother. But after last night I don’t understand how we… don’t want Sofia to win? She deserves it, and Oz is a selfish traitor.

But that’s the point, isn’t it? He is the penguin. Batman villains aren’t exactly known for being heroes, for the most part, and Colin Farrell himself has repeatedly warned viewers not to get too confused about Penguin. He promises something especially brutal in Episode 8, whatever that may be.

I think this is great. I don’t need Oz to be the misunderstood gangster hero. I don’t need Sofia to be an evil mafia queen. Changing that dynamic like we saw last night was excellent and I can’t wait to see more. I’m increasingly convinced that The Penguin could be the greatest superhero TV show we’ve ever seen, if it manages to hit the mark.

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