The Penguin and his various criminal cohorts have been fairly busy as of late as one of the most consistent shows out at the moment spent its last two weeks dealing out double servings of brutal hits, calculated power grabs and opportunistic immolations, so it’s probably not much of a surprise to learn that this crime epic lodged firmly in the bat-bossom of Matt Reeves’ The Batman needs a week to take a bit of breather.
That means that (for the most part) all the frenzied attempts of Gotham’s various criminals to kill each other are on hold as this universe gangsters and goons re-adjust to the new power structure that’s in place and we make a teensy time jump in order to catch up on Oswald Cobb’s drug operation as it finally spreads its wings. But make no mistake, this shift from Sopranos style gangster shit to focus on the business side of the Gotham drug business (Breaking Bat, anyone?) doesn’t mean that The Penguin has gone off the boil. Far from it in fact.
After a short time after the events of the previous episode, we return to our major player to find that his operation to get a foot hold in Gotham’s organised crime is going pretty well. Moving his operations to a disused railway line has been incredibly fortuitous as the damp conditions means he’s managed to grow the mushroom based components of his new wonder drug, Bliss, from a mere two buckets to a thriving amount and he also now has underground access to almost everywhere in Gotham without having to break cover. It’s a good thing too as the vengful union of Sofia Gigante and Sal Maroni is still fiercely looking for Oz to get even for all the shifty, vicious acts he’s managed to perpetrate upon both of them and are desperately looking for leverage to make him pay.
One such example could be his mother, Francis, if they knew she was still alive; but Oz is having issues there himself as she’s getting continually ravaged by both Parkinsons and dementia and the lack of power at their hideout isn’t exactly helping. However, watching Francis is Oz’s right-hand man, Victor, who finds that peril rears its head in the form of Squid, an old crime acquaintance/bully who wants in on the Bliss racket and is willing to rat on Francis’ location if he doesn’t get what he feels he’s owed. Elsewhere, Sofia locates Eve, Oz’s old squeeze and hopes to finally find the pressure point she’s been so diligently hunting for, but after a woman to woman chat reveals that Eve didn’t really know the extent of Oz’s knowledge about the truth about woman murdering serial killer, the Hangman, it seems that the head of the newly minted Gigante family finally has the info she needs.
However, as the walls start slowly closing in, Oz makes a hail Mary play to try and unite the individual gangs against the Gigantes and the Maronis as he also enacts a ploy to get the power turned back on in the most impoverished parts of Crown Point.
At this point, The Penguin has done enough to build sufficient momentum over the last few weeks to mostly hold off on massive shifts in status quo and grisly executions, but that doesn’t mean that the show is resting on its laurels. One of the most tantalising aspects of the last episode was that Oz had managed to find his very own comic book villain lair (or a more grittier version of it anyway – no henchmen running around dressed as sailors here), and the bulk of Gold Summit is given over to seeing how it’s all working out. The short answer is pretty fucking good, actually and after it looked like Oz was on the ropes last week, he’s managed to bounce back with style and despite some teething issues (power supply is a bit shitty), that move to the underground train line has proved to be the godsend that’s put him back on near equal footing with his enemies.
As a result, Sofia and Sal seem to be floundering a bit in their efforts to locate their waddling nemesis and it’s yet another neat trick of the showrunners to constantly change up who is doing better than who without resorting to just a basic gang war tactics (even though that where we’ll probably end up), however, The Penguin never truly writes anyone off either and Sofia’s telling meeting with Carmen Ejogo’s Eve really helps reaffirm that even though we’re kind of supposed to be on Oz’s side (I think), Sofia really does almost every right in the world to be as pissed as she is. In fact, it’s all laid out to Eve pretty plainly – especially the fact that it was Sofia’s father, Carmine, who was really the Hangman and nor Sofia herself. The mob boss could’ve just waved her gun around and done the whole intimidation thing, but the fact that Oz knew full well what was going on when it was Eve’s fellow call girls getting preyed upon is enough for Cobb’s ex to spill some rather important beans.
Those beans eventually will lead to Oz’s mother, Francis, who ailments are getting so bad she pleads with her son to kill her if she gets too bad, but she has another guardian angel in the form of Victor who finally crosses a line he’s been edging toward since we first met him. You see, up until now, Vic’s been a fairly decent kids just trying to make his way under Oz’s tutelage – but with Squid trying to make waves and making threats and Oz preoccupied with all the numerous, intricate moving parts that comes with supplying the hottest drug in town, Victor realises he has to finally take matters into his own hands and finally steps into the world of True villainy with a single bullet to Squid’s throat. It’s messy and it certainly isn’t quick, but after being appropriately horrified at what he’s done, he’s ultimately rewarded by his crime boss patriarch with a grateful hug and a chilling promice that “it gets easier” – and with that, that last vestiges of Victor Aguilar’s soul starts to wither on the vine and it seems the only warmth he has now is for Francis. Of course, that’s going to be something of a problem as the episode ends with Sofia discovering her under the guidance of Eve – but that’s for next week.
However, the lead here is that Oz is now finally on the verge of becoming the beloved, amiable, crime boss he thinks he’ll become. By the time the episode ends, Cobb has not only got the power restored to the poorest areas affected by the Riddler’s flood, but he’s somehow achieved the impossible and managed to get all the smaller gangs in one place and actually got them to agree to stand together by using that smash mouth, down to earth charm that’s gotten him so far. It’s been a fascinating ride, watching both Sofia and Oz rush to the top of their chosen fields, but now they’ve gone as high as they can go, the only place left is through each other and with Sofia last seen entering Francis’ hideout while holding a crowbar, it seems that the next bloody point scored will belong to her.
Once again, it’s exhilarating that a show blatantly called The Penguin still feels like it’s somehow not a foregone conclusion and all credit has to always go to Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti and everyone else who sell this expanding web of bastards so goddamn hard. It’s it still a little baffling that Batman hasn’t tried to break up the Bliss ring or investigate the gassing of an entire crime family – but when the bad guys are getting business done this well, the Bat can continue to take a break for a little while longer.
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