With just two episodes to go, it was pretty clear going into The Penguin Episode 7, “Top Hat,” that by the end of the season not everyone was going to make it out alive. While we speculated that either Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) or Francis Cobb (Deidre O’Connell) would be taken out via crowbar by Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti), we were wrong. Dead wrong.
That’s because — and spoilers past this point — Victor, Francis, and Sofia all make it out of “Top Hat” alive. Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) does, too, despite Sofia trying to blow him up with a bomb, and taking out a good chunk of Gotham City in the process. Nope, the character who goes down this episode in surprising fashion is Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown).
In the hour, while Sofia tries to get info on Oz out of Francis, eventually turning to Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) and his hypnotizing red lights, Sal and his gang go right after Oz in Crown Point. He surrenders immediately, hoping to turn the tables on the gang. But Sal, after beating Oz with a golf club, forces him to take them to the center of his Bliss operation. Once there, Sal kills a few of Oz’s guys, shoves Oz to his knees, and tells everyone they now work for the Maroni/Gigante crime family.
Oz is, as usual, at least one step ahead of Sal. He taunts Sal by talking about what his wife and son smelled like while he burned them to death, asking whether Nadia (Shohreh Aghdashloo) wore any special hairspray. Sal, just as Oz intended, freaks out and starts beating Oz, which is just enough distraction for Zeke (Ade Otukoya) to cut the lights in the trolley station. Oz’s men attack Sal’s men, while Oz takes on Sal solo.
They end up battling right into a trolley car and in the middle of the fight… Sal has a heart attack. And dies. Seriously.
Oz can’t believe it, either. He holds on to Sal as the life passes from his eyes, yelling at him. “I beat you, Sal,” Oz says. “You hear me? I beat you. I win.”
A bit of it is Oz convincing himself, and some of it is clearly a stage play for anyone listening outside. Sal Maroni didn’t die of a heart attack caused by too much yogurt on his Khoresh Bademjan; he died in a final battle with Oswald Cobb. So despite Sal already being dead, Oz shoots him several times, and once again says, “I beat you, Salvatore Maroni.”
Then, like Thanos collecting Infinity Stones, he takes Alberto Falcone’s ring back — the same one he gave to Sal as a sign of trust. Having properly set everything the way he wants, Oz heads out to get his men organized, get a leg up on Sofia, and take over Gotham City.
But Sal Maroni won’t be there to see it. He’s left lying on the floor of a trolley, dead of a heart attack. We don’t see what they do with his body next. But the whole trolley station is blown up Sofia’s bomb, so it’s possible Sal’s body was, too. If so, then Oz led to the immolation of three members of the Maroni family. And now, they’re gone. RIP, Sal. It was always better with yogurt.
Where To Watch The Penguin:
The Penguin Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first episode of The Penguin premieres Thursday, September 19 at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max. There will be an encore airing on Sunday, September 22 at 9 pm ET, and then the show will move to its regular time slot of Sundays at 9 pm ET starting on September 29.
Here’s the full list of episodes in The Penguin, with premiere dates:
- Thursday, September 19, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 1: “After Hours”
- Sunday, September 29, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 2: “Inside Man”
- Sunday, October 6, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 3: “Bliss”
- Sunday, October 13, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 4: “Cent’Anni”
- Sunday, October 20, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 5: “Homecoming”
- Sunday, October 27, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 6: “Gold Summit”
- Sunday, November 3, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 7: “Top Hat”
- Sunday, November 10, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 8: “Great or Little Thing”
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