Diksha Sundriyal
Things heat up in the third episode of HBO’s ‘The Penguin’ as Oz (Colin Farrell) takes his collaboration with Sophia a step forward. The tension between them has yet to disappear completely, especially with the history they have, not counting all that happened in the first two episodes following Alberto’s death. But considering how things are for her, Sophia needs Oz, and he needs her to figure out the plan that Alberto had talked about before Oz shot him for insulting him. This episode shows how well the duo, despite their differences, can work together, but it also points out the obvious issues that need to be resolved and how the distrust between them is completely justified, especially with all that happens in the last scene. SPOILERS AHEAD
Victor’s Past Messes With His Present
Before diving into Oz and Sophia’s next step, the show takes a break by going into the past. This is before the Riddler destroys the city of Gotham when Victor’s family is still alive and well. He and his friends, including his girlfriend, Graciela, go to a rooftop on the day the results of the mayoral elections are revealed. They want to enjoy the fireworks that are to light up the sky, but instead, they are met with a series of explosions that breach the city’s walls, flooding it with the river that was held at bay. A helpless Victor watches the war rise through the streets and reach his house with nowhere left for his family to go.
The trauma of that night, especially of watching his family die, stays with him and interferes with his psyche in critical moments. It also puts him in a bind when Graciela comes around, revealing that she is ready to leave the city now that she has nothing left for her here. She asks Victor to come with him, but he knows that things are not that easy. He needs to talk to Oz about it, and he fears that the boss will kill him before letting him leave. As he prepares a statement to tell Oz of his predicament, he also finds himself facing the question: does he really want to leave Gotham?
Oz and Sophia Start Their Plan of Domination
Completely unaware of the going ons in Victor’s head, Oz prepares to find out the secret drug that Alberto had talked about. It turns out that the drug and the plan were never Alberto’s but Sophia’s. The drug, which Oz later spontaneously names Bliss, comes from Arkham. Sophia has quite an experience with it because the doctors used to give it to her to make her calm and submissive, like the rest of the residents in the hospital. When she finally got to get out of there, she saw an opportunity in the drug, knowing that no one outside of Arkham would ever truly know of its potential. While she has the production of the thing in hand, what she needs are distributors, and this is where Oz comes in.
Considering that the Bliss thing happened without the knowledge of her uncle, Luca Falcone, Sophia needs to collaborate with the people who will not rat her out. Oz suggests they try things with the Triad and set up a meeting with a mediator who can get them a meeting with the boss. The smooth sailing hits a difficult point when Oz is asked who else is backing Sophia’s claim. He names Johnny Viti, considering that this is the only person that Oz actually has something against. He blackmails Viti, who is having an affair with Luca’s wife, to vouch for him and Sophia without letting him know of their plan, and the trick works. However, it also opens an old wound for Sophia.
The Maronis Come Calling
Sophia’s memories of Arkham still haunt her, and it turns out that the person responsible for her fate is none other than Oz. He used to be her driver and knew everything about her whereabouts and the things she did. He told her father about it, who then sent Sophia to Arkham. During the blackmail, Viti points this out to Sophia, and while Oz tries to explain his actions, he knows that she is not going to let this go so easily. The only thing that works in his favor is that she already knew about it, so it doesn’t create a fresh wound. She continues to work with Oz, with whom she eventually lands a deal with the leader of the Triad. Still, she makes it clear that she hasn’t forgotten what Oz did to her.
Oz accepts that he was at fault, but he claims that he was trying to look out for her and never imagined that Carmine Falcone would send his own daughter to Arkham. He also claims to care about Sophia, and it seems that despite the severity of his actions, his words make it through to Sophia. But their conversation is suddenly halted by the arrival of Nadia Maroni. It turns out that the Maronis had been keeping an eye on Oz and were alarmed by his sudden collaboration with Sophia, especially when they got wind of a new drug on the market. They were ready to execute Oz and Sophia, but then Victor arrives on the spot and kills one of the Maroni men by hitting him with the car. While he recovers from the hit, Oz quickly jumps in and tells him to drive away.
What’s interesting is that Oz doesn’t think twice before leaving Sophia to her fate, who is completely helpless, with no one coming to rescue her, considering that her loyal bodyguard was killed in the last episode after Oz framed him. This is after Oz says he cares about Sophia and is backing her claim simply because he wants to see her succeed. Clearly, his lies have run their course, and it will be interesting to see how he talks his way out of this. As for Sophia, she wasn’t sent to Arkham without cause. While she might have been abandoned, we cannot exactly consider her helpless as she is sure to have a card or two down her sleeve.
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