The third and fourth episodes of Penguins featured two major revelations. In episode three of the miniseries, Sofia and Oz decided to leave their troubled past behind and build a future together based on a new drug called Bliss. Oz did much of the heavy lifting of establishing relationships with the Triads to allow for the transport and distribution of the drug. Johnny Vitti was at Sofia's mercy. Things seemed to be going well, but then Nadia Maroni showed up to remind Oz of the deal, ruining the dynamic between Sofia and Oz. In episode 4, Sofia sheds light on her past and shows how Carmine, the Falcone family, and even Oz contributed to her imprisonment. After this happens, Sofia says "enough is enough" and wipes out the whole family, leaving only Vitti alive because he stuck his fingers in so many pies. The fifth episode of The Penguins builds on these two storylines and intensifies the animosity between Oz and Sofia.
Oz's situation with the Maroni family worsens
The PenguinsS01E01 begins with Oz and his men planning to kidnap Taj Maroni to get back the Bliss mushrooms that Nadia stole. Not that hard to accomplish. While Taj is in captivity, Oz goes to Nadia and Salvatore Maroni to warn them that his son will die if they don't return the mushrooms. On the way back from the meeting at Blackgate, Oz is shocked to find out what Sofia has done. Eve and Oz's men are on edge because they know that Sofia is very crazy and is after them all. But Oz reminds them that Sofia has done a great job of wiping out one of Gotham's two major crime families, so now they only have the Maroni family to deal with. Salvatore is stabbed by a Blackgate guard who was bribed by Oz.
Meanwhile, Oz and Bruno meet with Nadia to exchange Taj for the mushrooms. Things seem to be going well, as Oz has his eye on the mushrooms and Taj is relatively unharmed (though, by the way, he's doused in flammable liquid). However, as soon as Nadia thinks Taj is safe, she fires at Oz and Bruno to stop her men from getting at the mushrooms. Oz and Bruno fight back, and Oz sets Taj on fire, not only killing Taj but also charring Nadia. Oz and Bruno escape with the mushrooms, but because the mushrooms are highly sensitive, they only make it to Oz's headquarters twice.
Not having many options at this point, Oz tells his men to make sure the remaining mushroom pots are in perfect condition. Oz then receives word about Salvatore, who appears to have survived the assassination attempt. Oz then tells Salvatore the shocking news of his wife and son's death. Oz is also aware that Sofia or Salvatore may try to hurt him by hurting his mother. So he tells Vic to get Francis to a safe place as soon as possible.
Sofia Builds a Huge Crime Family
Episode 4 saw the introduction of William Kenzie, who first appeared in The Batman, but Episode 5 sees GCPD Commissioner Mackenzie Bock, who makes his first film appearance, visiting the Falcone family mansion to talk to Sofia about the deaths. Mackenzie knows that Sofia murdered his family, but can't do anything about it, and Sofia knows it too. Mackenzie tells Sofia to call the GCPD if she knows anything about Johnny Vitti. Publicly, Vitti is missing, but in reality, he is being held captive by Sofia in the Falcone Mansion graveyard. She wants access to all the unaccounted cash her father hid, but out of misplaced loyalty, Vitti doesn't want to reveal the information right away. So Sofia tortures him by running cold water over his body to marinate so he can think about his life choices while hypothermia sets in. Vitti tells Sofia a little story about how Isabella became Carmine's wife through Vitti's introduction. When things got tough, it was Vitti who tried to lure Isabella away from the Falcons. However, Isabella was too worried about Sofia and Alberto to run away, which ultimately led to her death. Vitti says that he can't help Isabella, but he can help Sofia gain the respect she needs to rule Gotham. So he asks her to be his right-hand man and get Luca Falcone's men into her army.
We see a brief scene between Julian and Sofia where Julian asks Sofia to add him to the team. The focus then shifts to Sofia, Vitti, and the meeting with the guys who once worked for Carmine and Luca. Sofia essentially announces the end of the Falcone family and the beginning of the Gigante family (his mother's maiden name). Vitti objects to this sudden change and Sofia shoots him straight in the head. Well, she didn't need him anymore. Sofia needed money, but Vitti had already given it to her.
She then dumps all the money Carmine had in his hiding place on the table and tells everyone to collect it, as it was earned while the Falcones hoarded it. She promises to make sure their work doesn't go unnoticed as long as they stay loyal to her. With the minions shouting at each other to get their hands on the blood-soaked gold, Sofia's power play seems to be a success. Sofia further visits Salvatore, telling him that there is no need to keep fighting, as the Falcones no longer exist. Instead, the Maroni and Gigantes can work together to pursue their common enemy, Oz. With the Penguin out of the way, they will be able to dominate Gotham. Salvatore does not explicitly accept Sofia's offer, but says that given his situation, this is the best option at the moment. And if Sofia's ploy succeeds, Oz will be in for a very tough fight.
Oz and Vic find a new hideout
Sends Vic to look after his mother while Oz is at work. Vic is hesitant to walk away from what is going on, but respects the fact that Oz trusts him enough to put Francis' safety in his own hands. At first, Francis is a little confused to see Vic in his house, but eventually comes to his senses and becomes very excited as he listens carefully to what Oz is doing to become the king of Gotham. Vic, who receives orders from Oz to take Francis to a safe place, packs up all of her belongings and prepares to take them to an abandoned apartment that once belonged to her friend Calvin. Vic thinks this is the best place for Francis to hide, since Crown Point is the last place Oz's enemies will try to harm Oz and Francis. However, while Vic is taking Francis to one of the buildings, she is spotted by the Squid. Not much is known about the Squid, who appeared in the third episode of the miniseries, but it is clear that he is a scheming character.
He then learns that there is money to be made if he reveals the location of Oz Cobb's mother, and takes advantage of it. And yes, there is a character named Squid in the comics. He is a Gotham crime boss who frequently encounters Batman and keeps a giant pet squid named Gertrude. Considering how "realistic" this part of the series is, I guess a live-action version of the Squid wouldn't be that weird.
Anyway, back to the plot. At the end of episode 5 of The Penguin, Oz comes to Calvin's apartment with mushrooms. He tries to earn his mother's affection after causing her so much trouble, but Francis scolds him for disappointing him so much. Vic thinks he has disappointed Oz by taking his mother to the "dumpster", but Oz says he did a good job. The Cobbs are originally from Crown Point, but supposedly moved there after Oz's brothers (Jack and Benny) died. While searching for a jar of coins, Oz finds a coin from a Gotham City streetcar, which gives him an idea. Gotham's abandoned streetcar system stretches throughout the city. The Transit Authority office that manages the streetcars is an underground office, and it's humid, making it the perfect place for Bliss mushrooms to grow. So, by rediscovering the places where Oz and his brothers used to travel the city as children, Penguin solves the problem of growing and distributing mushrooms without being seen by anyone, hiding from Sofia and the Maroni family, and gets his own, cartoon-like hideout. Of course, Sofia and Salvatore are no fools, so Oz will face many obstacles on his way, but he will be in a better position than he was at the beginning of this episode. And I think that after five episodes, Penguin giving Oz his own hideout is starting to fascinate me. Watch All the latest episodes on the afdah movies.
