The Penguin Season 1 – TV Series

Episodes 01

“After Hours”

In November 2022, one week after the assassination of Carmine Falcone and the destruction of Gotham City’s seawall,^[b] Oswald “Oz” Cobb is caught by Alberto Falcone, Carmine’s son and heir-apparent, as he recovers a stash of Falcone’s valuables from the Iceberg Lounge. Alberto reveals plans to revolutionize the Falcone drug operation; after Alberto ridicules Oz’s aspirations to be a powerful mobster, Oz impulsively shoots him dead. Oz attempts to dispose of Alberto’s body and threatens a group of juvenile delinquents who attempts to steal rims from his car. He spares Victor “Vic” Aguilar after hearing him stutter and recruits him. Oz learns that the Falcones’ plan to assume control of his drug ring while Alberto’s sister, Sofia Falcone, newly released from Arkham Asylum, suspects Oz is responsible for Alberto’s disappearance. Oz’s plans to skip town are discouraged by his mother, Francis. Oz visits Falcone’s rival, Salvatore Maroni, in Blackgate Prison, offering to bring the drug operation back into Maroni’s control. Maroni is reluctant, but reconsiders after Oz returns a ring that Carmine had taken from Maroni. Sofia later captures and tortures Oz, but is distracted by the sudden recovery of Alberto’s body, staged by Vic to implicate Maroni’s crew. Oz is released and begins plotting with Vic to take control of the Falcone crime family.

Episodes 02

“Inside Man”

Though irate that Oz framed him, Maroni continues their partnership by allowing Oz to help with a Falcone drop shipment that is subsequently taken by Maroni’s crew. Carmine’s brother, Luca, arrives to head the family. Meanwhile, Francis is revealed to be suffering from dementia. Sofia suffers PTSD from Alberto’s death and becomes increasingly unhinged, and is convinced someone in the crew is a mole for Maroni. She bribes a retired GCPD detective formerly on her father’s payroll to investigate the heist, and the man kidnaps Ervad, one of Maroni’s henchmen. Maroni’s wife, Nadia, assigns Oz to retrieve Ervad before the Falcones get him to talk. During Alberto’s funeral, Oz assigns Vic to plant evidence to frame Falcone underboss Johnny Viti for Alberto’s murder, while he reaches Ervad to have him implicate Viti. However, Vic is caught trying to plant the evidence and barely escapes; Oz murders Ervad with a switchblade and frames Sofia’s enforcer Castillo as the mole by planting the weapon on him. Luca executes Castillo, denying Sofia’s demand that she do so to avenge Alberto, and orders her out of the family business. Oz makes Vic dig a grave for Ervad and Castillo, threatening to kill him if he fails him again. He then meets with Sofia, who proposes a partnership to wipe out the Falcone family hierarchy so she may take control.

Episodes 03

“Bliss”

In flashbacks, Vic is left orphaned after the seawall explosion drowns his family. In the present, Sofia introduces Oz to a new drug that was used on her and the other inmates at Arkham; Oz names it “Bliss”. Together, they make a pitch to the Triads to help distribute the Bliss, but they refuse to do business with the pair unless they gain the support of Viti. Oz and Sofia blackmail Viti for his support by threatening to expose him having sex with Luca’s wife. The Triads then enter into business with Oz and Sofia. Meanwhile, Vic is torn by his desire to leave Gotham with his girlfriend in pursuit of a better life, or staying with Oz to potentially become rich and powerful; he also fears that Oz will kill him if he tries to desert. When Oz learns of Vic’s intentions, he admits he genuinely respects him and allows him to leave. Vic chooses Oz over his girlfriend and returns, only to find Oz and Sofia held by the Maronis, who have realized Oz’s duplicity. Before a hitman can execute Oz, Vic crashes Oz’s car into the hitman and they escape, leaving Sofia abandoned to her fate with the Maronis.

Episodes 04

“Cent’Anni”

In flashbacks, Sofia learns from a reporter that Carmine is suspected of being “the Hangman”, a serial killer who strangles and hangs women; her mother had died under the same circumstances when she was a child. Desperate for answers, Sofia meets with the reporter privately. Oz alerts Carmine, who retaliates by framing Sofia for the murders and having her committed to Arkham Asylum, horrifying Alberto and Oz. Though she is only to be confined for six months, Carmine extends her stay to over a decade. She is constantly mocked by the inmates, while her doctor, Ventris, subjects her to electroshock therapy. Ventris’ associate, Dr. Julian Rush, eventually realizes that Sofia is innocent and quits. The mental and physical strain leads Sofia into a breakdown, and she murders her cell neighbor Magpie. In the present, Sofia is extracted to safety by Rush. Having learned from Nadia that Oz murdered Alberto, Sofia decides she can trust nobody. That night, she kills everyone in the Falcone mansion by using Carbon Monoxide from the generator, including Luca. She spares Gia, her cousin’s young daughter, and Viti, whom she holds at gunpoint.

Episodes 05

“Homecoming”

Oz and his crew kidnap Maroni’s son, Taj, as ransom in exchange for the Bliss shipment stolen by Nadia. At the same time, Oz has Vic look after Francis. During the trade, a guard bribed by Oz tries to assassinate Maroni in Blackgate, while Oz kills Taj and Nadia by setting them both on fire. The fire activates chemical extinguishing sprays and destroys most of the Bliss, while Maroni survives the attempt on his life and escapes prison. Meanwhile, Gia is sent to a children’s home and Sofia tortures Viti until he decides to support her bid to be the family head. Joined by Rush, who has fallen in love with her, Sofia rebrands the family under her mother’s name and earns their loyalty by arguing how they were similarly mistreated and neglected under Carmine’s rule; when Viti objects to her plans, Sofia executes him. She and a grieving Maroni later form an alliance to kill Oz. Elsewhere, Oz is in a panic upon learning of Maroni’s escape, losing the support of his lover, Eve, while his mother berates him for forcing her to hide in a condemned apartment. Oz remembers an abandoned underground railway, showing it to Vic, and declaring it their new base of operations to regrow the Bliss.

Episodes 06

“Gold Summit”

Oz has managed to grow his empire significantly, reproducing and distributing the Bliss in the underground trolley. Sofia and the Maronis kill several Bliss dealers as a warning, leading Oz to decide to give away Bliss for free to raise demand across all other gang territories. Vic is confronted by Squid, a drug dealer from his neighborhood, who asks Vic to let him join the operation. Vic attempts to pay him off, but when Squid threatens to expose Vic and Oz unless he gets a meeting with Oz, Vic shoots him dead and flees. Francis’ condition deteriorates further, and she has Oz promise to kill her if she becomes severely ill. Oz threatens a corrupt councilman to restore electricity to Crown Point, and sets a meeting with the heads of the other gangs, who he convinces to work together against the Gigantes, Maronis, and upper elite. Sofia and Sal break into Oz’s apartment to find leverage against him, and Sofia discovers a photo of Eve. Sofia visits Eve, threatening to kill her to get to Oz, but Eve gives up his location after Sofia reveals Oz was aware of the true identity of the Hangman. Francis and Vic dance to music after power is restored to Crown Point, just as Sofia enters with a crowbar.

Episodes 07

“Top Hat”

As a child, Oz is resentful of the attention that his mother gives to his brothers, Jack and Benny. After a game of hide and seek, Oz leaves his brothers trapped inside an overflowing sewer tunnel where they drown. In the present, Oz returns to his apartment and finds an injured Vic, who reveals that Sofia has kidnapped Francis. Vic escapes right before Maroni arrives with his men; Maroni beats Oz and has Oz take him to his underground lair. Oz and his men stage an ambush, and Maroni dies of a heart attack while fighting Oz. Meanwhile, Sofia has Rush interrogate Francis about Oz’s weaknesses and visits Gia after learning she intends to cooperate with the police. Disillusioned after seeing the pain she has caused Gia, Sofia considers accepting Oz’s ultimatum to trade Francis for his Bliss supply, but Rush convinces her to go through with her desire to see Oz suffer. During the trade, Sofia sends in a bomb that destroys Oz’s base and kills his entire crew. Oz survives and resurfaces, only to be knocked out by the detective Sofia bribed to kidnap Ervad.

Episodes 08

“A Great or Little Thing”

Using EMDR therapy, Rush learns that Francis already knew about Oz drowning his brothers and tried to have him killed but could not bring herself to do it. Oz is brought to Sofia, who makes Francis confess the truth. Oz refuses to admit his actions even as Rush tortures Francis, causing her to disown him before suffering a stroke. Oz escapes, kills the detective, and brings Francis to the hospital. Meanwhile, the local bosses abandon Oz for Sofia, who puts out a bounty for Oz as she prepares to leave Gotham. Vic arranges for the bosses to be murdered by their deputies, who help Oz abduct Sofia. Instead of killing her, Oz has his police contacts return her to Arkham. Oz and Vic visit Francis to celebrate, only to learn that she entered a vegetative state, causing Oz to break down. Later that night, Vic tells Oz that he views him as family, which Oz reciprocates. Oz then murders Vic, saying that family makes people weak. Meanwhile, Rush, who has returned to Arkham to care for Sofia, hands her a letter from her half-sister, Selina Kyle. Oz takes the vegetative Francis to a new penthouse suite, where he dances with Eve dressed as Francis, as the Bat-Signal shines in the sky.