REVIEW: The Penguin – Episode 2, “Inside Man”

Review: The Penguin – Episode 2, “Inside Man”

With its second episode, “Inside Man” penguin is in progress, causing tensions to rise within the Falcone family as deception begins. Mercifully, Colin Farrell tones down his cartoonish performance, playing Oz mostly straight, and the result is a much more intense crime story. That being said, it still can't hold a candle to Cristin Milioti's seductive Sofia Falcone, who effortlessly steals the show from the titular character.

Oz begins to execute his plan to destroy the Falcone family piece by piece by using the Maronis as his pawn, but his efforts are hindered and he is forced to improvise in order to survive. Sophia is convinced that there is a traitor in the Falcone family and that he has killed her brother. Carmine Falcone's brother Luca arrives to take over as boss of the family.

The introduction of Luca Falcone in “Inside Man” marks the arrival of Mark Cohen, yet another veteran TV actor managed to join the series. penguin It has a top-notch cast, and Cohen's presence provides the necessary gravitas for the new leader of the Falcone family. Luca is very low-key, which helps contrast him with the unruly Sofia, and although he only has five minutes of screen time in the first episode, Alberto's drug-addled enthusiasm. Luca, an original character unlike some of the reimagined Falcons and Maroons from the pages of DC Comics, appears to be a measured boss who knows when to be forceful and when to use a deft touch; He's probably the best leader the Falcone family could ask for, which makes it amusing that we're supposed to root for his downfall. But penguin He does this because his opponent is such a compelling character… and I don't mean Oswald.

***spoilers***

Sophia is further fleshed out in “Inside Man” and is even more complex than she was presented. when we met her for the first timeShe loved her brother and was driven to find his killer, but it didn't end there; Sofia and Alberto were going to support the family with the new designer drug that Alberto had developed. His death not only breaks Sophia's heart, but also derails her ambitions, and she is sidelined while her uncle and her old school friends take power. Now, she has two choices: either she can leave for Italy and get out of the way, living a peaceful but luxurious life with nothing but unlimited money and time, or she can face overwhelming odds and take away the family. Can fight against decades of tradition. Luca and Johnny Vitti. This story is so entertaining that I wish it was the main focus of the show; Sofia's motivation for taking over the family is more interesting than Oz's, and that's why I want her to beat Luca, even though he'd probably be a better boss than her crazy niece.

A lot of the credit for this goes to Cristin Milioti, who continues to deliver a stellar performance as Sofia. She's almost certainly crazy, but Milioti balances this with intelligence and humanity, making Sofia someone who is both sympathetic and oddly lovable, despite being a deranged killer. In the scene where her cousin, Carla Vitti (a change from the comics, where Carla was Carmine's sister and Johnny Vitti's mother), is clearly nervous about her daughter getting too close to Sofia, Sofia very subtly suggests Granted she could kill the girl, and Carla couldn't do anything about it so she did. It's scary, but it comes from a place of sadness and resignation, as Sophia realizes that her former best friend also sees her as a dangerous maniac and treats her almost like a child, as if she were Saying, “If she thinks I'm a sociopath, I'll give her a sociopath.” As far as I feel this series is being over praised (I love it, especially now, but people are acting like it's a second coming). sopranos or something), Milioti gives an excellent performance.

Reluctantly moving away from Sofia to focus on Oz, he is actually much better in “Inside Man” than in the first episode. batmanExcept for one scene where he falls back on his habit of overacting, Colin Farrell is more serious this week, making the Oz scenes more entertaining to watch. His road to victory begins here – apart from his partner Victor handing over Alberto's body at the end of the premiere – with Maroni's hijacking of the Falcone drug shipment, which goes wrong when Johnny Witty finds Oz in one of the trucks. Insists on sitting on one. This leads to a fallout, as Falcon is angry at Oz for screwing him, while Maronis thinks Oz has foiled the heist. Keeping Oz struggling to save himself and maintain his plot seems to be the key to making his story successful, as it not only increases the tension but also forces Farrell to play up the drama rather than the awkward comedy aspect of Oz. Is.

Oz is a strong character in “Inside Mad” also because of the plot. Last week, he came across as an impulsive fool who was lucky when some of his stupid decisions paid off, like keeping the ring he foolishly took from Alberto. Now, he looks like a shrewd tactician, throwing punches when his plans fail and thinking on his feet when he's in trouble. The way he takes care of the captured Maroni thugs ranges from alerting Johnny Vitti (and, as a result, Luca Falcone) about his location to killing the hostage to save himself and Sophia's bodyguard for the murder. Even motivated by entrapment. Now, not only has he hidden his involvement with Maronis, but he has also slowly destroyed the one person Sophia trusted. He now has Sofia as an ally, which means he has resources and access to the upper echelons of the Falcon family. He can play to his power with a little more confidence, knowing that Sophia is supporting him because she feels she is supporting him. Not bad for a guy he almost tortured to death a week ago.

Almost everything with Oz works better in “Inside Man.” His scene with his mother is much more charming; It's clear he loves her, and his dancing with her to the jazz record is sweet. Oz will take time out from his desperate struggle for power and survival to make sure his mother knows how special she is to him. His scene with Victor when they bury the bodies after the funeral is also good, as he impresses upon his disciple how important it is to be ruthless and never hesitate because that way one would dig a grave rather than lie in it. Is. And his conversations with Eve about his intentions show that he cares about her too, he needs her help but he doesn't want to put her or his girls in too much danger. I was confident that Colin Farrell's performance would be no better, but if he can deliver a similar performance throughout the rest of the series, it will be much easier to follow the Penguin on his journey to rule criminal supremacy.

As penguin Also, I would like some of the other actors to get more work. Clancy Brown still presents more than his presence as Sal Maroney (though Shohreh Aghdashloo is great as his wife), as does Michael Kelly as Johnny Vitti. Victor is a bland character who appears to be there just so Oz can get away from someone; Similarly, Oz's mother feels like she is more of a device to explore Oz's personality than a character in her own right. otherwise, penguin There has been a lot of momentum and now I am eagerly waiting for the next episode.

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