One of the best things aboutHBOsThe Penguinis that it doesnt need Batman.
Its revealing parts of Gotham City weve never seen before.
Digging deeper than any Batman cinematic universe ever has.These are all things we loveand wouldnt change about the show.
Colin Farrell is running Gotham on The Penguin.Image: HBO
Because his absence has finally begun to have some ripple effects, even if theyre subconscious.
So lets step back here for a second.
Gotham City is in turmoil.
Crime families are falling left and right.
Others are combining and gaining power.
Thanks to Oz, theres a new drug called Bliss on the street.
The previous drug of choice, Drops, has dried up.
We see Oz even having an impact on a local politician.
Hes not even mentioned.
Wasnt it established the fear his existence instills is his biggest power?
That he basically roams the streets every single night?
Whats going on here?
Now, pragmatically, the reason for this isThe Penguindoesnt want to get into all that.
Once you introduce Batman, or even the idea of Batman, it overshadows everything else.
So we get it and respect it.
Truly, we do.
Honestly, Im happily surprised he hasnt been mentioned yet.
It takes some serious restraint not to play the ace up your sleeve.
On the other hand, by not mentioning him, the show kind of knocks him down a peg.
That may be true, but we dont see it here.
Hes bad at his job.
Of course, the whole point of crime syndicates is to be criminals in secret.
Maybe Batman just hasnt gotten a whiff of it all yet.
Its only been a few weeks since the events of the film.
Maybe hes still licking his wounds.
Plus, there are two episodes left.
We have to assume he gets some kind of name-drop in one of them.
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Colin Farrell May Go FromThe PenguintoSgt.
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