I loved The Penguin. It was definitely one of the best shows streaming on Max, and maybe one of the best DC-related shows ever. I’ve already illustrated how I think the show is a great feminist drama, but now I want to write about something that seriously irked me about the show, and that’s Penguin himself!
Now, I don’t mean that Colin Ferrell didn’t do a good job, as that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, like others on this site, I think I like Colin Ferrell as Penguin more than I like the movie he originated from. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever detested a character more than Oz Cobb, and I have 5 reasons why.
Oh, and MAJOR spoilers up ahead if you haven’t finished the series yet. You’ve been warned.
He Never Actually Showed Remorse For Killing His Brothers
Okay, so there was a point in The Penguin where I actually felt sympathy for Oz Cobb. It was early on when other characters referred to him as the Penguin in order to belittle him for his hobbled gait. I immediately felt bad for him, and I liked when he eliminated the people who called him names. It felt well deserved.
That said, Episode 7, titled “Top Hat” destroyed any sympathy I had for the character. In earlier episodes, we hear mention of Oswald’s brothers, and vague notions of how they died. Oz made it seem like they were gangsters themselves, and that they met a grisly end.
However, at the start of Episode 7, we’re brought back to Oz’s childhood, and we learn that no, Oz’s brothers weren’t bad guys. In fact, they seemed like really good kids; kids who Oswald was extremely jealous of.
To call Oz a “mama’s boy” is an understatement. Oz didn’t just want some of his mom’s attention. He wanted ALL of it, which might not be the exact reason why he locked his brothers in the sewer, but he definitely didn’t feel bad for doing it. Not when he had that smug look on his face when he sat on the couch with his mom and watched movies with her in their absence.
And no, I can’t reconcile this. The worst part, though, was that Oz never seemed to show any remorse for what he did, even as an adult. It seems like he compartmentalized his actions, and might even blame them for their own deaths–like, if they wanted to live so badly, they should have found another way out. What a terrible human being Oz is, just disgusting.
He Honestly Shouldn't Have Beaten Sofia
Honestly, who doesn’t love Sofia Falcone? Besides the fact that she could take out most of her enemies in one fell swoop, we also learned in the Sofia-centric episode “Cent’Anni” that she wasn’t really “The Hangman” at all, but rather a tragic figure who had been wronged by her own father!
In that way, Sofia kind of shifted from being a villain to being a woman scorned and one who rightfully took her vengeance out upon the people who wronged her. When she murdered everybody connected to her family, we understood why she would do such a thing. She even made sure to spare her innocent niece–which is more than we could say for what Oz Cobb would have done in a similar situation.
So when it came to the startling final episode, I was honestly expecting Sofia to get the last laugh. I don’t know why I had this impression since the show is titled The Penguin, not Sofia Falcone, but I really didn’t want Oz Cobb to defeat her in the end.
Not only that, but it was the WAY that Oz defeated her that really bugged me. If Oz had actually shot her in the back of the head, which she had ostensibly made peace with, then I might have been okay with the fact that he won.
However, Oz made it so that Sofia would be sent back to Arkham Asylum, which is a fate worse than death for her, so that really made me hate Oz all the more so. Yes, Sofia did turn his own mother against him, but I feel like she was justified in doing so, and I really wanted her to win. Alas, it just wasn’t to be.
He Selfishly Wouldn't Let His Mother Die, Even Though He Promised Her That He Would Kill Her
Speaking of Oz’s mother, we could see that she was suffering even in the first episode. We didn’t quite know what she was going through at the time, but throughout the season, we learned that she had Lewy Body dementia, and that she was very much aware of her steady decline.
In fact, she even asked her own son to kill her if it got too bad. And even though he was reluctant, he said that he would do it if it ever got so bad that she was drooling all over herself, which she ends up doing by the final episode after a debilitating stroke.
And, look. I get it. What son could honestly kill his own mother? I understand that Oz was never going to actually put her out of her misery, but did he have to remove her from the hospital, bed and all, and put her up in the penthouse that he always promised her?
Plus, you could tell that she just wanted to die since a tear leaked down her face. Maybe she couldn’t express her misery, but it was definitely evident to the viewer, if not to Oz Cobb, who now seems to be in his own little world.
The ending to The Penguin was perfect (well, almost), and that’s because the show has always operated as a tragedy. What could be more tragic than seeing Oz’s poor mother, who’s suffered all her life, to be kept alive when she obviously doesn’t want to be? God, Oz is selfish.
His Oedipus Complex Went From An Interesting Character Trait To An Extreme That I Wasn't Ready For In The Final Episode
I just mentioned how Oz is selfish, but he’s also sick. Very, very sick.
We could tell early on that Oz had a sort of Oedipus Complex by the way he would dance with his mother or sleep next to her like a lover. But I had no idea just how sick he was until the last few minutes when he had his prostitute girlfriend, Eve, actually look like his mother.
Now, I never actually noticed it before the final episode when he had Eve wearing a dress like his mom, but in a lot of ways, Eve kind of looked like her, even without the dress.
In hindsight, this makes perfect sense since Oz genuinely seemed like he was a bit too in love with his mom, but it really took those final moments for me to put two and two together, and to cringe my way into those final seconds.
In a sense, I kind of felt bad for Oz again. Yes, he was a terrible human being who couldn’t be trusted by anyone–even his closest cohorts (which I’ll get into next), and yes, he killed his own brothers and helped put Sofia in Arkham–twice! But he was obviously mentally unstable, so maybe he was just completely damaged.
But then, I remembered what he did in the scene before this last moment, and I hated him all over again.
He Killed Victor!
Not too long ago, I wrote about how much I loved Rhenzy Feliz’s portrayal as Victor, and one of the things I said I loved about the character is that he humanized Oz.
Sure, Oz was a bad person, but he also could have killed Victor in the first episode, and he didn’t. In fact, he took him under his wing and was almost like a second father to him after the tragic events that robbed Victor of his family.
Time and time again, Victor was there for Oswald, and in Episode 3, Victor made a choice that would alter the course of his life forever, as he saved Oz from certain death.
How does Oz Cobb thank Victor for everything he did for him? He mercilessly choked him in the park while Victor pleaded for his life, and then left Victor for dead just so he could be back with his precious mother.
I swear, this was the moment that made me HATE Oswald, and I could never forgive him. I don’t even want a Season 2 now. I can’t stomach this character a second longer!
And that’s why I hate Oz Cobb. For any new developments of The Penguin, be sure to swing by here often.
