The first episode of The Penguin really sets the tone: This isn’t really a Batman show, it’s a Gotham gangster series. This is The Sopranos with DC characters. Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot is Tony Soprano with a limp and gold teeth. He drives a plum sedan and listens to Dolly Parton when no one is listening. His hero is an old gangster from his youth who helped people. They gave him a parade when he died. A parade.

I’m reminded a little of the show Gotham when it first came out, or at least what I hoped Gotham would be. That was a series about Jim Gordon as a young man who first went to war with the Falcone family, but later with all kinds of strange villains. The young Bruce Wayne had a role in that series. I’m not sure where The Penguin will go, but right now it only touches on the Caped Crusader briefly, as we see news reports of The Riddler’s handiwork. That’s a good thing.

As for the title character, Farrell’s performance is delightful. The prosthetics are incredible. I admit, when I first saw The Batman in 2022 I had no idea it was Farrell. He disappears not only into the fat suit, but into the role. The gravelly New York accent, the gruff but friendly demeanor. He’s cute, honestly. A big softie. I’m deeply impressed by how well Cobblepot is drawn in just one episode. We see so many sides of the man: his idealism, his desire for mercy, his cunning and ruthlessness. His taste in music.

Spoilers for the series premiere follow.

The first episode picks up just hours after the events of The Batman. Carmine Falcone is dead. The future of Gotham’s most powerful crime family hangs in the balance. Oz, as he’s known here, is currently just a low-level mafioso running ground operations for the family. He runs into Falcone’s son Alberto under less than ideal circumstances, and when their conversation over drinks takes a turn for the worse, he shoots him dead.

This is a surprisingly funny scene, which cuts to the title card as Oz realizes what he’s just done and the hot water he’s just dove head first into. He needs to get rid of the body, and he catches a couple of punk kids breaking into his car on the way out of his club. They run off, but he catches one of them before he can get away. This is Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), who he eventually takes under his proverbial wing (instead of killing, which was his initial impulse). This proves to be a wise act of mercy, as Aguilar proves to be a helpful ally by the end of the episode.

Oz is summoned to the family estate, a sprawling mansion in the nicer part of town, where he is told that they are closing down the factory where the Drops (a popular local drug) are produced. In a moment of panic, he reveals that he knows that a shipment is coming to town soon that could change the future of the organization – a piece of news that Alberto revealed to him before he left this mortal existence. Unfortunately for our hero, Sofia Falcone overhears this and realizes that something is wrong. Only she and her brother knew about this shipment, and he has not shown up today.

Sofia has only recently been released from Arkham Asylum, where she was incarcerated after being convicted of a string of serial murders. Her previous secret identity was that of the Hangman, a notorious serial killer and one of the character’s comic book origins. Cristin Milioti is perfect in the role. There’s a moment, after she and Oz have lunch, where she leans in and whispers, “You know, Oz, people underestimate you, but they don’t underestimate me. I always knew you were capable of more.” Her smile turns cold. Ice cold. Menacing music plays. She may not know it, but she clearly suspects it.

From here, Oz and Victor hatch a plan. They visit his mother, Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell), in the wilderness. She’s a little crazy, but when she hears that he killed Alberto Falcone, she changes. “This town is meant for you, honey,” she tells him. “What are you going to do to get it?”

Oz isn’t done with his visits. He goes to the prison to talk to Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown), a rival mob boss. He offers an alliance. They can work together to take down the Falcone family from the inside. Maroni isn’t interested. He doesn’t trust Oz. But when Oz delivers his old ring, stolen from Alberto’s corpse, the mobster is surprised. “Maybe I’m more than you think,” Oz tells him.

After a fun chase scene, Sofia’s goons take Oz back to headquarters, where she tortures him for information on Alberto. Here we see the real wonder: Farrell’s fat suit. The details are striking. You really can’t tell it’s all prosthetics, although I did get a kick out of this hilariously awkward sketch I think you should leave:

This is also when Oz and Victor’s plan comes to fruition. In the middle of his torture, there is the sound of a car crashing outside. It is the car they dumped Alberto’s body in, and when Sofia runs outside to see what has happened, she discovers that there is no driver, only a concrete block on the gas pedal. Her brother’s body is in the trunk, his pinky finger missing, the word “PAYBACK” scratched into the metal.

In the end, Oz and his little buddy are slurping down slushies—the mixed flavors, because they’re better—and dreaming big about the future. It’s kind of cute.

All in all, this is a great opening episode to this limited series and a great new addition to the shared Gotham universe that Matt Reeves started. The Batman. I didn’t know what to expect, but I had high hopes. Farrell has quickly become one of my favorite actors in recent years, something that was further confirmed by his performance in the excellent Apple TV black series, Sugar. I would love to see him in something with Gary Oldman. We’ll see where the show goes from here, but I’m 100% invested in it right now. Definitely give it a shot.

Let me know what you think TwitterInstagram or Facebook. Also subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.