Episode five of the HBO series, The Penguin, deepens as the series explores the characters ambitions and backstories. Tensions are beginning to rise and new alliances begin to form as Oz is exposed as a ‘rat’ to Sofia.
After Oz leaves Sofia to the Meronis, he begins to form a new plan to get the cultured mushrooms into his hands. Oz kidnaps Sal’s son, Gio, as ransom and plans to make the trade with Sal’s wife, Nadia. As Oz works out his new plan, Vic takes charge of the well-being of Oz’s mother.
Sofia remains victorious after executing her plan to become the head of the family. Only she and Gia were the only survivors of the gas leak within the Falcone home, wiping out the Falcone name. Sofia secretly keeps Johnny Viti prisoner so that she can find her father’s stash of money.
While Oz’s new plan unravels, it’s revealed that he had already paid a guard at Blackgate Penitentiary to murder Sal. During this time, the tradeoff between Nadia and Oz goes wrong. Nadia’s men begin shooting as Nadia and Gio reunite. This reunion quickly goes to ruin as Oz had previously doused Gio in gasoline, allowing him to set the two into flames.
As Oz escapes with the new drugs, he quickly finds out that the mushrooms had died due to being in a poor environment. He’s left with only two bins of mushrooms still thriving. Not only did he lose many of the goods, but he also found out that the hit he put on Sal failed. Sal has survived and escaped prison.
With this news, Oz quickly goes into hiding, alerting Vic to take his mother far away from the heat. As Oz goes into hiding, Sofia stands proud as the new head of the family, renaming the family as the Gigantes instead of the Falcones. Sofia shows her ruthless leadership by murdering anyone questioning her, that being Johnny. With her new authority and power, Sofia makes alliances with Sal, now making their target Oz and his group.
This episode is finally starting to kick-off the series and fasten the pace. Audiences now know the character’s backgrounds and character development, and the plot is deepening. Oz’s character is becoming more apparent as the villain he is and is further becoming. In the episode “Homecoming” viewers are shown the present plot, in contrast to previous episodes diving into the past. The Penguin is finally getting some action and is able to execute large, heinous plans. With only three episodes left in the series, fans are thrilled with the series’ current tempo, though hoping they come to a successful conclusion in the first season.
Rating: 9/10