After eight episodes of increasing Gotham City violence, that’s a wrap on The Penguin with this week’s series finale, “A Great Or Little Thing.” As you might imagine, not everyone made it out alive… And those who did might wish that they were dead, after what happens. And what does happen? Well, that’s where our The Penguin ending explained comes in.
And a lot goes down in the final battle — for now — between Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) and Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti), leaving the crime world of Gotham a very different place by the end of the hour.
With that in mind, you might have some questions about the fates of Oz, Sofia, Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell), and also how it all sets up The Batman Part II. So let’s break it down, starting with a recap of the episode, and then The Penguin‘s extremely messed up ending, explained.
And I hope it goes without saying, but spoilers past this point.
The Penguin Episode 8 “A Great Or Little Thing” Recap
We start the episode in a surprising place: last episode. Or rather, we’re now seeing the events of “Top Hat” back in 1988 from Francis’s perspective, thanks to Dr. Julian Rush‘s (Theo Rossi) red light/hypnotization machine.
The way Young Oz (Ryder Allen) saw things, it seemed like Francis had no idea he left his brothers to die in a flooding tunnel underneath Gotham City. She, in fact, did. In a neat conceit Agatha All Along also employed just a few weeks ago, we see Old Francis play her younger self. And the broken mother confesses to gangster Rex Calabrese (Louis Cancelmi) that not only does she know what Oz did… She hates him for it. “I got the devil in my house, Rex,” she says.
But Rex looks at things another way. He knows that kids who are basically bad like Oz can be used for his business (you know: crime). And either you build their devotion through giving them an avenue for violence, or through giving them a father figure they lack. Meaning Rex, himself, but he has another idea there, too. Francis can use Oz’s intense love for her and weaponize it.
Francis has another idea entirely… What if she wants Oz gone? Rex says he can take care of it. He’ll take Oz on a little drive, and she’ll never see him again. So we get to see the other side of the scene where Francis got dressed up and took him out dancing at Monroe’s. While Oz might have never known why his mother broke out of her funk, it’s because she wanted to take him out for one last nice night before Rex killed him.
That’s not what happens, though. And after Oz basically says the same lines to her that she later says to him on the dance floor, she changes her mind and lets him live.
We’re also not in the past — we’re in the broken-down husk of Monroe’s in the present (aka, 2022). And Julian and Sofia have all the info they need to break Oz.
Before we get back to that particular Oedipal situation, it’s over to Vic who discovers the smoking crater Sofia left in the middle of Gotham after blowing up Oz’s Bliss lab. The gangs Oz gathered in the “Gold Summit” immediately abandon him, proving cracking a beer with your buds means nothing in this town. Or as Feng Zhao (François Chau) puts it, “we’re here for the product, not The Penguin.” Vic yells at them to come back, but only Feng’s lieutenant Link Tsai (Robert Lee Leng) seems sympathetic to Vic’s message. Remember that for later.
Back in Monroe’s, Oz is bound and gagged, and so is Francis. Sofia proceeds to tell a thinly veiled metaphorical story about a baby bird killing its brother bird… Only to sort of give up at the end there, and lay out — in front of both Oz and Francis — everything that happened. And that everything isn’t just that Oz killed his brothers, but also that Francis wanted Rex to kill him.
But even with the truth spoken out loud, and Francis admitting to it… The goal is to get Oz to admit it, and he won’t. Even when Sofia threatens to cut off Francis’s pinkie finger, he won’t tell the truth. “Jesus, just say it, tell her,” Francis screams. “I already know.”
That’s when Sofia lets Francis go, and Oz’s mom proceeds to gut him — figuratively and literally. “I had enough to give all three of you,” she says, sobbing, about her love for her sons. “I wake up every day sick that I’m your mother.” And then Francis stabs Oz with a broken bottle. But as she does she sees a vision of Jack (Owen Asztalos) and Benny (Nico Tirozzi), drowned, and falls to the ground.
Francis collapsing is enough for Oz — remember, he’s just been stabbed in the gut with a broken bottle — to break free and kill everyone except Sofia and Julian, and escape with his mother. In the process, Oz shoots Detective Marcus Wise (Craig Walker), aka the Drops addicted cop with the skunk hair, through the eye and steals his car. He drops (no relation) his mother at the hospital, calls Vic for help, and hides away in a supply closet to fix up his gaping wound.
Vic arrives, and gives him a great pep talk about how “you gave people dignity,” explaining that what Oz did wasn’t about selling Bliss, it was about getting the power back on in Crown Point and bringing the low-level people together to make the Bliss.
Hooray for Vic, but Sofia is continuing to go full-on Gotham City villain by making a proposal to the gangs: find her Oswald Cobb, and they get everything. The whole Falcone/Maroni empire is theirs. She’s leaving town and is done with it. The one last thing she needs to do? Kill The Batman. I mean, The Penguin.
Remember earlier when Link seemed sympathetic to what Vic was laying down? He calls to give him a heads-up, though it’s unclear whether he wants to help Oz or capture him.
But back to Oz, he’s making some big moves by walking right into City Hall. There, he lays out a twisted version of events for Councilman Sebastian Hady (Rhys Coiro), the guy whose nose he lightly cut to get the power back on in Crown Point. He blames the explosion on Sofia (true) and says that it was due to her attacking Sal Maroni’s (Clancy Brown) Bliss operation (false). He also says they’ll find Sal’s body in the crater (true, but because he had a heart attack fighting Oz), and that the man — meaning Hady — who reveals this all will be on a fast track for the next mayoral election.
Oz’s goal? Maybe someday he could meet the mayor, Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson), which sounds pretty ominous. Hady explains that Reál is starting an Anti-Corruption Squad to clean up the Gotham PD and government, and if Oz wants to be involved in any way he’s going to have to look clean. Oz smiles. “As a f**king whistle, pal,” he says, and the deal is made. Oz even sees Reál in a ***surprise exclusive The Batman cameo!!*** from a distance, looking up at her with a mixture of envy and hope.
…Only as soon as he walks out of City Hall, Link grabs Oz. Oops. Feng calls Sofia, and they agree to meet at the aircraft hanger the Falcones own. Meanwhile, Sofia sets every piece of her family’s legacy on fire, burning the house to the ground.
And now, the endgame.
The Penguin Episode 8 Ending Explained
Given the amount of things that happened prior to this, you would think there wouldn’t be a lot left at the end of the episode. You would be wrong! Things spiral wildly out of control from here, as Sofia and Feng discuss what she’s going to do to Oz… Only it becomes clear that Link and Vic did make a deal. Everyone who isn’t aligned with Link and Oz, including Feng and all of Sofia’s men are killed.
Oz takes Sofia for one last drive, and in the process explains that all the number twos in the gangs were tired of never getting to run things… So they all killed their bosses. Now, they’re all in charge and work directly for Oz. Sofia is out of moves, and she’s stricken, because all she wanted to do was escape Gotham and start a new life. Now, Oz has her back in a cage — and is clearly going to execute her down by the water.
With nothing to lose, Sofia starts to throw things out like, “How’s your mom? Has she told you she loves you yet?” Oz shoots back, “You’re going to hell,” to which Sofia answers, “I’ll save you a seat.”
Sofia is ready for Oz to shoot her in the head… But it never comes. Instead, the police are there. Hady came through for Oz and framed Sofia. The world still thinks is the Hangman killer, though viewers know that’s her father Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong). And Chief Mackenzie Bock (Con O’Neill) pops up, taking her back to Arkham.
Oz is ready to celebrate with his mommy, but it’s not to be. Francis is catatonic, in a vegetative state after having a stroke. And despite shouting at the doctors, nothing can be done. Oz breaks down, desperately needing her to know he won, that he gave her everything she asked for, and that she tell him she’s proud of him. “I’m the f**king king,” Oz says, sobbing at her bedside. I’ll remind you, in case you forgot, that the one thing Francis asked of Oz is that if she ever ended up trapped in her own body because of her dementia, he kill her. And he agreed. Hold on to that thought for a moment.
Later, again by the water, Oz and Victor bond. “You think she forgives me?” Oz says. “For what?” Victor asks, not knowing about Oz killing his brothers. “I don’t know. All kinds of things,” Oz answers. They talk more, and Oz tells Victor he did good. And Victor responds in kind, saying, “You’re like family, you know,” to Oz. It’s the first time Victor has stuttered all episode. It’s also his last.
That’s because he screwed up. Oz can’t take someone like Victor with him to the top. “Your family,” Oz says as he chokes Victor to death, “It’s your strength. Makes you weak, too. I can’t have that no more.”
Oz dumps Victor’s dead body on the ground, and then apologizes, telling him, “I’m sorry. You’re a good man, Vic. You’ve got a good heart. It wasn’t for nothing.” Not that Victor can respond, because I’ll remind you, he’s dead. Oz makes it look like a robbery by taking the money from Vic’s wallet, and throwing his driver’s license in the river. You might recall that the ID was the insurance Oz took from Victor in the premiere episode. It’s no longer necessary.
Over at Arkham, Sofia is back where she started, in her old cell. And so is Julian, working once again as a doctor for the facility. He brings her mail, which is mostly fan letters and proposals of marriage… Except one. “This one is different,” says Julian, handing her a black envelope. “It’s from Selina Kyle. She says she’s your half-sister.”
Sofia reads it, and smiles, and though we don’t get to see what’s in the letter, in case you don’t remember from The Batman: yeah, they’re half-sisters. Is a Catwoman & Gigante spinoff incoming?
There’s one final sequence of insanely messed up things to come, though. Oz has a new Ozerati, and pulls up to his palatial apartments. He’s wearing the classic top hat and tuxedo from the comics. In one, empty room, Francis is there on life support. “I know,” Oz says to her. “It’s everything you wanted.” Is he really that deluded? Or is he punishing her for hiring Rex to kill him back in the day, and stabbing him in the gut? We may never know, but a lone tear falls down Francis’s face.
In the other room? Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo) who, get this, is dressed like Francis the day she took Oz to Monroe’s. It’s the same dress and hair, and he makes her pretend to be his mom. “Tell me you love me,” he says, and she does. “Tell me you’re proud of me,” and she tells him that, too.
“Gotham’s yours, sweetheart,” Eve says as they dance. “Nothing’s standing in your way now.”
“You’re goddamn right,” says Oswald Cobb, as the camera pans to the Gotham City skyline. But there is, of course, one thing standing in his way, as a light turns out, shining over the city. The Batsignal.
See you in 2026 for The Batman Part II, everyone.
Will There Be The Penguin Season 2 On HBO And Max?
There most likely will not be a Season 2 of The Penguin on HBO and Max. This was always meant as a singular season bridge between The Batman and The Batman Part II. There are other related series in development, though nothing official has been announced yet.
However, never say never. If Oz survives the Batman sequel — and if he’s proven anything over the past eight episodes, he’s a cockroach — we could always end up with a second season. HBO has certainly greenlit shows that seemed like one season and done for a Season 2 before (see: Big Little Lies).
If we do get a Penguin Season 2, though, nothing will be announced for a good long while, as The Batman Part II currently isn’t coming out in theaters until October 2, 2026.
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