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The Penguin Finale Review: Chaotic but exciting

by November 11, 2024

The following review contains spoilers for The Penguin finale, “Great or Little Thing.”

In great media, a story goes places the audience didn’t expect or even knew they wanted and delivers something fresh and unique. It’s something modern audiences struggle with in a time of never-ending fan service (I have many thoughts on this topic), but is often the result of an artist with a vision for a project that is so thoughtful and well-rounded that it succeeds despite trends. The Batman is a great example of this: Matt Reeves takes a character full of possibilities to serve fans, creating something both familiar and unique that audiences didn’t know they wanted. Because The Penguin emerged from this wellspring of creativity, it has benefited greatly from it. The tone, characters, and aesthetic of The Batman can serve as a blueprint. And heading into the finale, the series has done a solid job of giving the film a “yes” without being overly concerned with overtly flattering or pandering to its most ardent supporters (or those of Batman in general).

Now The Batman is not entirely innocent on this front. The Joker bit at the end is a huge fan teaser (and probably my least favorite moment in the film). “The Penguin” also saved its fan treatment until the end, with the series’ final shot almost literally handing over the baton The Batman Part II. Reeves has said that The Batman would lead directly into The Penguin and then The Penguin would lead directly into The Batman Part II, but the series makes it crystal clear. That, in addition to a message that Selina Kyle aka Catwoman sent to Sofia Falcone, gives audiences a lot to look forward to in the follow-up film.

Part of me thinks that “The Penguin” could have eliminated these moments. They impetuously stir up anticipation of what is to come. But at the same time, it was enough to get me excited about continuing the Batman Epic Crime Saga after The Penguin added so much backstory to Matt Reeves’ small pocket dimension of the DCU.

The Penguin does a really good job of finishing the most difficult part of its own story: how do you finish something like that or even start telling it when the protagonist is a villain? I mentioned this before when I reviewed the series, and I think The Penguin has always done the right thing in this regard. There was never any attempt to portray Oz as a good guy – maybe likeable, but never Good – and the more time you spend with him, the harder it becomes to be on his side. And “Great or Little Thing” isn’t a happy ending. No matter how hard he will try to convince himself that he has won and that he has gotten what he always wanted, in these final moments it is easy to see how empty his success is. That his quest for power over Gotham led him to become his worst self, and he was already pretty terrible. “Great or Little Thing” leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and that’s exactly what “The Penguin” wants and should do. Oz is not the hero of this story, and the finale stings deeply.

However, it’s the pacing of the finale that really brings it down. The story logically continues along the path it set for itself last week, but in a way that sometimes meanders. It takes time to get to the better moments towards the end. I feel like I’ve talked about this every week about how every scene is necessary and impactful and it’s just the order they’re placed in that throws off the rhythm. It’s a symptom that much of The Penguin’s second half suffered from, and Great or Little Thing is no exception. While each scene adds up and makes sense of where the characters are and who they are as people, it just doesn’t always flow. “Great or Little Thing” has a number of impressive moments that will delight and dismay (in a good way), but they would have been more impressive if the episode’s smaller moments had done them justice.

The most powerful moments are the final scenes we experience with these characters. Vic’s final scene in particular is terrible to watch, as the boy talks his way into trouble just by being human and lets Oz know how much he means to him. Vic was always too good for this world, and his death at the hands of his supposed mentor and protector underscores that we can no longer excuse Oz’s actions. At least Sofia escapes with her life, but is sent back to Arkham and ends up back where she started, thanks once again to Oz.

“Great or Little Thing” leaves a bad taste, and that’s exactly what The Penguin wants.

But where we leave Francis is perhaps the scariest thing of all. Spending the rest of her life in a vegetative state, the one thing she thought she could never do, while she’s forced to stare at a Gotham she’ll never truly see again. And yes, she sucked, but no one deserved what she got. Where Oz leaves those around him behind is the ultimate indictment, putting the final nail in the coffin of his soul. He sold it and really became a penguin.

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