The Penguin Episode 1 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

The first episode of The Penguin Season 1 is now streaming on HBO GO and HBO (Astro Channel 411 / Unifi TV 401).

The events of The Penguin take place after 2022’s The Batman, as he rises to become the iconic villain from the comics. It will consist of eight episodes in its first season.

Subsequent new episodes continue every Monday, from 30 September 2024.

Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka “The Penguin”), the DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ The Batman epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster The Batman. Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the series centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.

Cast includes Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb), Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo) and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).

The Batman Part 2 is slated to premiere in October 2026. In the meantime, you can head on over here for my breakdown of The Batman’s ending and post-credits, as well as what to expect from the upcoming sequel.

The Penguin Begins With A News Report Of The Ending Of 2022’s The Batman

The news report is basically a recap of the ending to 2022’s Batman, during which The Riddler flooded Gotham and Batman saved those affected by the flood. For more details, you can head on over here for my breakdown of The Batman’s ending and post-credits, as well as what to expect from the upcoming sequel.

The news report also confirms that it’s only been a week since the events of The Batman, and while a lot of Gotham is flooded, it only really affected the poorer parts of Gotham while those who live on the richer outskirts were unaffected.

Alberto Falcone Becomes Head Of The Crime Family After The Death Of His Father in The Batman

Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen) replaces his father, Carmine Falcone.

However…

The Penguin AKA Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb Kills Alberto Falcone

This is what truly kicks off the chain of events of The Penguin, as Oz kills Alberto after the latter keeps disrespecting and insulting him to his face.

It looks like this version of Alberto Falcone won’t become the Holiday Killer villain like he did in the Batman The Long Halloween comics…

What follows is Oz trying to hide Alberto’s body, which is how he meets…

Victor Aguilar

Played by Rhenzy Feliz, Victor “Vic” Aguilar is forced to help Oz and become sort of his unwilling partner in return for Oz not killing him. Victor Aguilar is not from the comics, so it remains to be seen how important his character will be moving forward.

Sofia Falcone

Later in the episode, Oz meets Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Carmine Falcone and sister of Alberto Falcone. She’s played by Cristin Milioti, best known for her roles in How I Met Your Mother and Black Mirror.

In the comics, Sofia Falcone is quite a major character in the Gotham crime underworld. She made her debut in the acclaimed Batman The Long Halloween comic and she would later become the killer and villain known as the Hangman in Batman The Dark Victory.

They actually make a reference to the Hangman name during this episode.

Oz Meets Salvatore Maroni

Salvatore Maroni is played by Mr. Krabs himself, Clancy Brown.

In the comics, Salvatore ‘Sal’ Maroni is a crime boss best known for being the one who originally caused Harvey Dent to become disfigured and turn into Two-Face.

In the universe of The Batman, Salvatore Maroni was the biggest crime boss and kingpin before he was taken down by Carmine Falcone, who then stole his criminal empire and his ring.

Oz Tries To Run Away But Sofia Falcone Kidnaps Him Because She Suspects Him Of Murdering Alberto

However, it turns out that Oz saw this coming and had planned with Victor Aguilar to frame Salvatore Maroni for the death of Alberto Falcone. He did this by returning Salvatore’s ring to him when he met him in prison, so that the Sofia Falcone would immediately accuse Salvatore of killing Alberto, since Alberto was the last one who possessed the ring.

What follows will probably be a gang war between the Falcone and Maroni families, with The Penguin ready to take advantage and slowly take control of the criminal underworld in Gotham.

Until the next episode, excelsior!