After The Penguin detoured into Sofia Falcone's past, episode 5 returns The Batman spinoff to the current drama. Oz Cobb and Colin Farrell's Sofia are on two sides of a war for power, as Gotham deals with the fallout from the Falcons' murder. Add to the mix more drug dealing, another growing crime family, and plenty of betrayal, things are seriously heating up as we pass the halfway point of the season.
Below, we delve into all the important details in our The Penguin episode 5 recap, plus delve into some of the Easter eggs we saw in The Batman spin-off. Although, needless to say, we'll be going into a lot of spoiler-filled details from now on, so make sure you're up to speed on the superhero crime drama before venturing out.
While you're here, why not also check out our guide to The Penguin's release schedule?
Penguin Episode 5 Recap
Oz Cobb goes into hiding in the latest episode of The Penguin. We pick up with the gangster after he escapes the altercation outside the Iceberg Lounge. He burns his purple car as he and Victor begin their new alliance. Your next goal? The Maronis, and particularly their son, Taj Maroni, whom the couple kidnaps. Oz wastes no time either and heads to Blackgate Prison, blackmailing Salvatore and Nadia. It is here where he discovers what happened to the Falcones.
Sofia is seen leaving the destroyed house when Chief Mackenzie Bock approaches her, suspecting her involvement in the family massacre. It is revealed that Johnny Viti is not among the dead and Sofia does not know where he is. The police chief doesn't believe him at all, but without evidence, he is a formidable enemy.
It's not long before we find out where Johnny really is: Sofia keeps him underground in the family crypt to torture him. She's looking for untraceable cash and promises to let him go if he tells her where to find it. She tortures him with cold water while Johnny reveals what really happened to his mother: Isabella was going to leave Carmine the night of his death, taking the children with her.
Across town, Oz is happy with the news of the Falcones, as he hides out with his men in his girlfriend Eve Karlo's apartment with Taj Maroni in tow. However, Victor is assigned another task: taking care of Francis, Oz's mother. He starts helping her with the dishes and promises to keep her safe while everything happens with the Falcones and the Maronis.
Back at Blackgate, Salvatore is stabbed by a prison guard on Oz's orders, while Oz goes to meet Nadia with his son. He wants the 'mushrooms' to grow the drugs, which is what he has been negotiating for. Things go wrong quickly when a shooting occurs, but Oz has a sadistic backup plan: he sets Nadia and her son on fire and they burn to death. Unfortunately, most of the mushrooms are also destroyed in the crossfire.
Salvatore steals the keys to the prison and escapes, calling Oz to tell him it's the end of the road for him. “You're cooked,” he warns him, before Oz reveals that he has killed Maroni's wife.
Meanwhile, Sofia is enjoying her life as head of the Falcone family when she receives a visit from Dr. Julian Rush. He wants to work with her and become part of “whatever's next” she's planning. Johnny Viti is out and safe, while Sofía reveals that she killed the entire family and, with them, killed her father's legacy. Sofia Falcone is gone, meet Sofia Gigante. As soon as Johnny raises a little issue, she shoots him in the head. Now it's a new era for the crime family.
That's not all, either, as Salvatore and Sofia form a potentially devastating alliance, united by their suffering at the hands of Oz. “We join our families,” he suggests. Watch out for Oz.
Victor is told to find Francis a place to hide, so he takes her to his old neighborhood in Crown Point. She brought her essentials (a flashy-looking lamp), but Victor sees someone from his past and is a little worried about drawing attention. The area brings back many bad memories for Victor, and also for Francis. Meanwhile, Oz goes to his girlfriend to try to get her to join him, but she doesn't want to go with him. The walls are closing in around him.
At the end of the episode, Oz joins Francis and Victor at the apartment, but not even his mother wants him. “What kind of man doesn't take care of his own mother?” he asks, before Oz hints to Victor that something happened to his brothers when he was younger. “The city took them away,” Oz says wistfully.
It's not all doom and gloom though, as of course Oz has a plan. Take Victor to the city sewers, where they will establish their new base, growing mushrooms in hopes of dominating Gotham's underground network.
The Penguin Episode 5 Easter Eggs
The Penguin's Purple Car: RIP to the Maserati. At the beginning of the episode, Oz burns his iconic car, which is a nod to his character's love of the color purple in the Batman comics.
Rex Calabrese: Oz mentions the name of a local gangster he used to admire named Rex Calabrese. This is actually a character from the Batman Eternal comics, where he was depicted as a Gotham City mobster and local crime lord.
Taj Maroni: In The Penguin, Salvatore Maroni's son is named Taj Maroni, but in the comics he actually has two sons: Giuseppe 'Pino' Maroni and Umberto Maroni. It is unclear why this was changed.
Crown point: Victor and Oz return to Crown Point in the latest episode, and it's known for being one of Gotham City's worst neighborhoods in the comics.
The Penguin airs weekly on Sky and NOW in the UK and on HBO and Max in the US. Read our review of The Penguin to hear our verdict.
For more streaming picks, read our lists of the best movies on Max and the best shows on Max you can watch right now.