Penguin's journey from umbrella boy to iconic villain on Gotham meant that he never formed too many close relationships that didn't involve betrayal, trickery, and/or murder at some point, but he did have two relationships that were nothing but loving: with his mom and with his dog. While Penguin's mother died several seasons ago, Edward the Dog -- named after Ed Nygma, of course -- was still alive and well in his last appearance in the penultimate episode of the series.
Ed the Dog's last known whereabouts were in the cargo hold of Nygma and Penguin's submarine, where he was stashed after Penguin decided to go back and help defend Gotham and Nygma realized he needed a second pair of hands to operate the sub. For his many lovable qualities, Ed the Dog could not help run the submarine. He was still on board the sub when Nyssa al Ghul stole it and returned to the mainland.
What happened to Ed the Dog afterward? Actor Robin Lord Taylor has thoughts. Speaking with CinemaBlend's TV Editor Nick Venable, Taylor said this:
Ed the Dog lived out his years very lovingly with Olga the maid. Like, both of them somehow found each other. You know, Olga was this awesome character that we established in Season 3 or 4, and then she comes back in 5, and it's like, 'Oh wait, there was like a constant presence in Oswald's life.' Even though we don't know very much about her. And I feel the same with the dog. It's like the people that take care of the mess that Oswald leaves behind. Those are those characters. So yeah, he's somewhere with Olga.
Unlike many people in Penguin's life, Olga the maid did not die due to one of his temper tantrums, as collateral damage, or because she relocated to Haven after he continued starving his underlings while feeding fine steaks to his dog. According to Robin Lord Taylor's vision for Ed the Dog's life beyond the end of Gotham, Olga somehow reunites with Ed the Dog, and they live happily-ever-after together.
Well, somebody from Gotham deserves a happy ending with no strings attached, and we won't know about everybody else until the finale airs! Penguin would surely appreciate Olga taking Ed the Dog in and not view it as dog-napping, especially since Nyssa was technically the unintentional dog-napper. Even if he misses his dog, Olga is a better alternative to Nyssa, and Penguin might be too busy trying to work his way back to the top of the criminal game to spend much time with the pooch.
Anyway, Penguin may well be occupied with the other Ed in his life. He and Nygma may go about crime differently and came close to literally stabbing each other in the back while hugging in the penultimate episode, but they seemed likely to continue working together to rise back to the top. Throw in his snazzy new look, and Penguin will have plenty going on.
Besides, at least a little bit of why Nygma came back to help save Gotham City was because of his pal Penguin, right? Self-interest and an inability to run the submarine solo may have been most of it, but what's Riddler without Penguin?
Now, all we need is for Gotham to get a sequel series on DC Universe or elsewhere to continue to action from however the finale leaves things. Ben McKenzie revealed long ago how the series is going to end; if that ending stayed true after all these years, then perhaps there will be stories that could easily continue and perhaps feature Ed the Dog and Olga. We can dream, right?
Be sure to tune in to Fox on Thursday, April 25 to catch the series finale of Gotham on Fox. The finale will feature a new Selina Kyle, and the extended finale trailer revealed a ton of Batman references, including an epic shot of Jeremiah with his hand impaled by a batarang. As for Robin Lord Taylor, he already landed an exciting new TV role to follow his run as Penguin on Gotham.
