Episode six of The Penguin kicks off with a time skip, revealing Oz’s new lair complete and fully functioning. The mushrooms he stole have multiplied, and he’s now getting them distributed throughout Gotham. As Bic returns from his shift, he explains to Oz that Sal and Sofia continue to search for them, following Vic but never finding their lair. Oz continues to lay low, ultimately avoiding any enemies as he grows his business.

Sal and Sofia’s bond grows stronger as Sal takes refuge in her mansion. The two continue to plot against Oz, seeing that their men can never find his hideout. They then conspire to ruin his business by interfering.

Oz, Vic, and his mother continue to stay in the abandoned building that no longer has power. Oz’s mother is shown to grow weaker, her disease slowly starting to take her whole. Oz, overwhelmed with work, tries to turn an eye to his mother’s worsening illness, leaving her frustrated and spiteful. At that moment, Oz is notified of asap and Sofia’s new move. They’re killing his men and hanging them in the streets. Oz decides to turn up the heat and grow his allies. He makes the decision to give away his product for free.

Vic also has his own issues as he helps distribute the mushrooms. He runs into old trouble, Squid, who pesters Vic, wanting to get in on the business. Meanwhile, Sal and Sofia dig through Oz’s apartment, grinding remnants of his lover, Eve, aiming to use her to get back at him.

As Sofia asks around the streets looking for Eve, Oz meets with councilman Hady. Oz threatens the man who owes money to multiple groups, all while cutting off power to the less fortunate. During this time, Vic meets with Squid to talk things out, hoping he’ll back down and stop asking about Oz and the business. Squid doesn’t take it seriously and continues to disrespect Vic. He threatens the business, leaving Vic no other choice but to take him out. In horror, Vic watches his first kill die slowly.

Sofia reaches Eve’s apartment just to find out Eve led her there through her colleagues. They both know why there standing face-to-face. Eve is able to explain to Sofia they’re platonic, physical relationship, though Sofia is still skeptical. While Eve actively protects Oz, Sofia explains the truth; they’re both victims of Oz. Oz got Sofia put in Arkham, and Oz kept quiet about the murders of Eve’s friends. He claimed he cared for both women but actively left both in the dark because it benefited him. With this, both are left unharmed, and Sofia leaves with the details of Oz’s hideout.

Oz begins to execute his new plan, growing bonds with different groups and distributors. He meets with a dozen of these leaders in a secret location just to hand them beers and chat. They all know his history of betrayal and murder, but he decides to play on that truth. He makes himself relatable, as he has done the most heinous things, so have they, and everyone is just trying to get by. They all drink to that, acknowledging they will do business with him.

Oz is now becoming more successful, business is good, and he’s gaining allies. After his threats to the chairmen, as shown earlier in the episode, the Eastside of Gotham finally had power. Oz’s mother and Vic celebrate by dancing to the music from the working record player, only for them to meet my Sofia.

This new episode of The Penguin rich in plot and new developments, such as Vic character developing, Oz gaining allies, and Sal and Sofia’s teamwork. The series added another mention of a character in the D.C. universe, one of the first being Magpie earlier in the season when Sofia was at Arkham. In this episode, Oz mentions Elliot Bridge, which references the supervillain Hush in the D.C. comics. This was also an easter egg in The Batman (2018) film, further foreshadowing a possible emergence of this character.

Oz’s character continues to trick and play the audiences, constantly drifting from a sociopath to a loving self-made man, though that’s exactly what Oz wants his peers to think.   His moment of connecting to his allies was followed by a small sneer as he celebrated amongst the other gangs, revealing that Oz it is playing his part right to trick others into winning their favor. Similar to other shows such as The Sopranos, audiences are shown a character who is a killer and a cheat but is also a family man. These conflicting traits leave audiences keen on finding out where this captivating character will end up as his enemies corner his loved ones in the last few minutes of this episode.

Rating: 10/10