The Penguin Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Homecoming

The Penguin Season 1 Episode 5, “Homecoming”, continues putting the show’s best foot forward by really showing the ruthlessness shared between Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone.

While “Cent’anni” built upon Sofia Falcone’s motivations as to why she’s looking to make a name for herself, “Homecoming” allows her to bend those motivations to her will. If you really thought that “After Hours” truly captured her brutality, then you’d be surprised as to where “Homecoming” takes her.

Although, Oz and Victor also return to the picture as Oz continues to manipulate Gotham’s corrupt system to his advantage. Yet, there are also certain undertones that suggest that Oz’s personal life with his mother isn’t necessarily at its best.

On Sofia’s side of things, she continues to hold this facade that she’s in the right. In the aftermath of “Cent’anni”, Sofia’s friend’s daughter, Gia, made it out alright while everyone else died. Sofia forges this alibi about Johnny Viti’s whereabouts in such a threatening manner that seems to hint at her turn, yet she keeps it under wraps for now.

Throughout the entirety of The Penguin so far, it seems like Sofia is being developed to fully encompass this criminalistic character that her father, Carmine, painted her to be. She’s certainly shown how rageful she can truly get as shown previously with Magpie. Here, she continues to do so by keeping Johnny Viti under extreme hostage conditions.

Could her actions be seen as being for her own personal gain? Given how Carmine Falcone and the rest of the family treated her, absolutely. Yet, Sofia resists due to her dedication to Dr. Rush, who tries to relate to her deeply.

While their relationship hit a rocky start, watching Sofia and Dr. Rush actually have this connection works in adding a layer of sympathy to her arc. He’s able to sympathize with her because of his own similar circumstances in Arkham’s systematic hierarchy. Dr. Rush wants to be part of something he sees as “good” and Sofia is the answer.

As such, it’s perhaps why she’s keeping Johnny Viti alive just long enough to finish a deep, cutting speech about reforming the Falcones under her image. She wants a clean slate where she can control all the cards by manipulating these yes-men, like giving them her father’s hidden money.

Meanwhile, Oz is still trying to develop his criminal empire while Victor protects his mother from the Maronis striking back. Unfortunately, Oz’s relationship with the Maronis has deteriorated to a certain point where everything can go to hell.

Oz’s arc in “Homecoming” is mostly played straight to propel the story, yet it gives us some really intense sequences between him and Sal’s family. Specifically, when the deal between the two sides finally gets made, it gets all crazy in a bloody shoot-out. Not only does this increase the stakes with the deaths of Sal’s wife and son, but it also captures Oz’s desperation perfectly.

At this point in The Penguin, everything that Oz has done has only been successful with the help of Victor. However, when he’s out of the picture, Oz almost loses his own confidence because he doesn’t have his “expendable” to rely on. Due to this, Oz isn’t able to be as cunning as he usually is.

It’s nearly all for naught once Oz discovers that the shipment he was supposed to recover was nearly cleaned out, save for a few shrooms remaining. It’s this recklessness that allows Sal to take advantage of Oz, which is done with a terrifying phone call.

As for Victor, he’s able to keep Oz’s mother, Francis, safe even though it feels like she’s still keeping much hidden. For most of The Penguin, it’s been teased that Francis has this medical condition, yet there’s a feeling there’s more to it. She continually asks for Oz’s brothers to help her even though they’re nowhere to be seen, adding to the mystery behind what Oz did in the past.

However, Victor’s worlds are also colliding for the worst as he tries to escape from “Squid”, one of the gang members who tried to enlist Victor. Yet, it still feels like it’s taking a backseat for now as Oz and Victor finally find their base of operations as Sofia and Sal team up to take Oz down.

What The Penguin Season 1 Episode 5, “Homecoming”, does results in a fascinating exploration of these power dynamics that are shifting. Given how Oz is manipulating each and every one of these characters, it’ll be exciting to see how these details will line up with one another.

Stray Thoughts:

• I knew at a certain point that certain characters would have to be killed off in order to up the ante, but “Homecoming” really killed it with that superb action sequence.
• I also like how they’re starting to weave Victor’s storyline that was introduced in “Bliss”, which was really emotional. This could be a great way to finally have Victor make that transformation.

What did you think of this episode of The Penguin? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Penguin airs Sundays at 9 PM ET/PT on Max.

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