‘The Penguin’ ending, explained: How does the limited series tease ‘The Batman 2?’

While The Penguin did a phenomenal job of keeping the focus on Colin Farrell’s mesmerizing Oswald Cobb, the series still leaves enough loose threads for fans to follow as we try to anticipate the plot of The Batman: Part II. Furthermore, The Penguin’s ending gives a clearer picture of how dangerous Oz can be as Gotham City’s new kingpin and where we’ll see some beloved characters next.

Francis’ and Victor’s fate reveals the true nature of Oswald Cobb

When the credits of The Penguin’s final episode roll, there’s no question: Oz is a sociopath who doesn’t honestly care about anyone but himself. Since he’s so good at talking his way out of trouble, Oz managed to charm the audience, using the façade of a self-made man to hide his devious nature. After a few episodes, one could wonder if Oz was a villain or just a misguided soul trying to survive in Gotham City.

A look at Oz’s past, in Episode 7, helps to clear the matter. After all, Oz’s compulsion to be loved led him to murder his brothers, all while pretending to be Mommy’s good boy. Yet, Episode 8 hammers the point by showing how Oz’s need for validation has sealed the fate of Francis (Deirdre O’Connell) and Victor (Rhenzy Feliz).

In the final episode, Victor, inspired by Oz’s grandiose speeches about the less fortunate rising against the wealthy, convinces every second-in-command of Gotham’s gangs to seize power. This revolutionary coup gives Oz the throne he always dreamed of. Sadly, Victor is repaid with blood, as Oz chokes his apprentice to death without any previous warning. 

It’s not that Oz is not fond of Victor, per se. It’s just that Oz doesn’t want to share his crown, and Victor proved himself too bright and reliable for Oz to trust him to keep to his place. Victor is a liability for Oz, who has to cater to the boy’s big expectations on how the Penguin should rule. In short, by contacting every gang in Gotham to support Oz, Victor proves he’s too cunning to stay alive. Victor’s value expired once he showed Oz he could be more than a loyal lapdog, which gives us a spine-chilling peek at the Penguin’s head.

As for Francis, what she feared the most comes to pass. By the end of The Penguin, Francis is in a vegetative state, trapped inside the flesh prison she once called her body. Oz had promised to terminate her life if that ever came to pass, but of course, he doesn’t fulfill his oath. Oz is incapable of loving his mother and respecting her as a person. To him, Francis is just the source of the affection he needs to feel good about himself. That’s why he keeps her alive. Oz still has use for Francis, and he won’t let her final wishes get in the way of what he wants. The Penguin is a cruel narcissist, and the way he treats his mother at the end of the limited series proves it.

Is Sofia Gigante showing up for The Batman: Part II?

While The Penguin is primarily about Oz, Cristin Milioti stole our hearts with her take on Sofia Gigante. For a moment, it looked like Sofia was marked for execution since she was the biggest obstacle in Oz’s way to absolute power over Gotham’s underworld. However, instead of killing Sofia, Oz sends her back to Arkham Asylum, which is genuinely hell on Earth. This move allows the Penguin to blame her for all the chaos he helped spread in Gotham’s streets.

Oz believes he’s dooming Sofia to a fate worse than death. He would be correct if it weren’t for two reasons. First, Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) gets his job back at Arkham to protect Sofia as best as possible. That means this time, she won’t be subject to psychological torture the same way as before. More importantly, though, Sofia gets a letter from Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), aka Catwoman.

The Batman reveals Selina is the daughter of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) with one of the sex workers from the Iceberg Lounge. That makes her Sofia’s half-sister. Since Selina contacts Sofia at the end of The Penguin, Catwoman most likely knows their father is the actual Hangman. So, Selina might help get Sofia out of Arkham. Plus, the two women might be involved in the plot of The Batman: Part II.

What does the ending of The Penguin mean for Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight?

One of the highlights of The Penguin is how the limited series shows the corrupt and inhumane modus operandi of Arkham Asylum. Since the prison for the mentally ill is such a cornerstone of the Dark Knight mythos, Pattinson’s Batman will probably revisit the place in The Batman: Part II. When that happens, he might learn what truly happens behind Arkham walls and try to take the place down or reform it. That would be the perfect way to tie The Penguin and the movies.

In The Batman, Bruce learns that his mother spent some time in Arkham, a fact his father did everything to hide from the press. Being the obsessive investigator we love, Bruce will probably dig deeper into his family’s past, taking him to Arkham. With Selina keeping in touch with Sofia and Catwoman being an ally to Batman, the three characters might work together to expose the nefarious things that happen in Arkham.

Following the events of The Penguin, The Batman: Part II also has to explain Batman’s inexplicable absence from the show. There’s just too much death and destruction in The Penguin for it to go unnoticed by Gotham City’s nocturnal protector. The Bat-Signal at the end of The Penguin teases how the Dark Knight will investigate Oz’s actions as Gotham’s new kingpin. Nevertheless, the movie must also explain why Batman was nowhere to be seen for weeks without end, as a new drug flooded Gotham and prominent crime lords fell like flies.

In an interview with SFX Magazine, Reeves revealed that Part II will deal with “digging into the epic story about deeper corruption.” Arkham is part of this corruption, for sure. However, the depths of the issue mean some influential people are pulling the strings in Gotham and might have subdued Batman during the events of The Penguin. Whatever the case might be, it’s going to be hard to wait until 2026 to see how the story of The Penguin unfolds.