Welcome back to the blog readers. I could not have asked for a better start for The Penguin with its first two episodes. All of the performances in those episodes have been stellar, and I have been so locked in to what they are providing us in terms of story. I really hope that we can continue this upward trend for the remainder of this season. Would we continue to do that with this episode, titled "Bliss," written by Noelle Valdivia, and directed by Craig Zobel? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
Like I said in the introduction, I could not imagine this show getting better as the episodes go on because that is usually a House of the Dragon (2022-) type of thing. Obviously, this show had to have already peaked with the second episode, right? There is no logical way it could have gotten better. Except there is a slight problem: it did get better. Every episode has gotten better and I was left with mouth agape at the end of the episode. Rhenzy Feliz gives a stellar performance and I am a big fan of the power dynamic brewing between Oz and Sofia.
Over the previous two episodes, Rhenzy Feliz has been somewhat of a secondary player as opposed to people like Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti (who are already earning their Emmy love and give great performances themselves this week). I have been rooting for his character to finally break out and prove why he belongs in this series, and he absolutely does that this week. Not only do we get heartbreaking backstory for his character Victor, we also get a moral crossroads for his character that is gut-wrenching. Feliz is asked to do a whole lot emotionally in this episode, and I really do think he excels. Between the PTSD that he is clearly suffering from and the feeling he is trapped in a situation he cannot escape adds to the complexity of his character. And the final scene between Victor and Oz in the bathroom is one of the most gripping scenes I have seen all year.
Just when we thought we were about to take two steps forward, we wind up taking one forward and three steps back. And I am talking about the story here, by the way. We start this episode with a flashback to Victor's family life before the events of The Batman (2022), where he has a sister, mother and father. He tries to get his father to leave his chef job as he wishes for him to be happy. He argues for a chance to and out with his friends and girlfriend and his father hastily agrees. While he is on a roof with the group of people, the seawalls explode due to the Riddler's attack and his family is drowned by the water. We later learn in this episode that this event has given him post-traumatic stress. He reunites with his girlfriend as he learns she is leaving to California, and he gives her some of the money Oz gives to him so he can go with her. Getting to see this side of Victor has been refreshing because we are getting some more humanity to this character (more than just his disability), and the moral dilemma he finds himself in later on only adds to it.
Meanwhile, Sofia introduces Oz to the drug she had been receiving at Arkham and she has been manufacturing (that they wind up calling "Bliss"). To get this operation rolling, the two meet with the leader of the Triads to set up a test trial at their club but they need the approval of an underboss. They go to recruit Johnny Viti by force and call the leader of the Triads as a sign of trust. In a meeting with Feng Zhao, he shows his hesitance based on Sofia's reputation and her stay at Arkham, but she curbs his fears by ensuring him that the people of Gotham will embrace this drug because they need an escape from everything they have been going through since the Riddler's attack.
At night during the test run, the run is successful and Zhao approves their partnership. However, Sofia is still upset because she still believes Oz is trying to undercut her and take everything for himself. He denies this and offers to earn her trust back after he was the one to sell her out when she was sent to Arkham. Maroni gangsters led by Nadia Maroni discover Oz's treachery and attempt to kill him. Victor (who was told to leave and go to his girlfriend but didn't and decided to go back) arrives in time and rams one of the henchmen into a truck. He aids Oz in escaping but they leave Sofia as the episode ends. I am not sure what will happen in next week's episode, but I think Sofia will be absolutely fucking pissed at Oz now that his treachery has been revealed.
The Penguin has been extremely good with each episode getting better as we go on. The performances are all amazing and the story is weaving into so many threads that are all amazing. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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