@@Sephirothkingdom782 he wasn't good, but at the begining i thought penguin is an antihero, not a evil villian. Like Joker in the first movie, I enjoyed when he defeated his enemies, and he cared about his mother a lot, But when i found out he killed his brothers and killed vic at the end i realized i had sympathy for the wrong guy. Best show of the year 👏
What's great is that the showrunner is a woman, most episodes are written by women and several female directors directed the episodes and there's zero virtue signalling about all of it. That's what we've always wanted. Just pick a director, let them do a good job and who cares about the gender, skin colour or sexual preference (as long as it's with adults) about any of them? Everyone involved in the making of this show did a great job.
They finally captured a compelling female villain who didn't have to be super, just deeply challenged and even conflicted... but always horrifying and intimidating.
I mean the writing after the 4th episode was actually horrible. I loved the show at the start but how many times did Oz escape death with a gun to his head lol? like it just gets annoying after a certain point. And I think the show runner is probably good, it was definitely a great idea of a show, but I doubt the directors are good because the writing at the end is absolutely atrocious. The last episode was game of thrones season 8 level bad writing.
@@SolDizZo Agreed Sophia is a great villain, the episode of her in the asylum was grotesque but it really helped you understand her better as a character. But Sophia and all the other characters in the last few episodes weren't great
@@brendan6618It’s honestly hard to pick. I thought both were phenomenal. I’d give it to the Penguin as its writing and lead character are a tad bit better. Shogun takes a very close second place.
And it’s so weird to consider. I remember when Farrell was cast, and everyone went “huh, really?” Most thought they’d do the slimmed down TellTale version, but nope. That’s him. Fat, big nose, balding, the whole thing.
I love how the show lets him be a VILLIAN theres no question by the end of the series. Theres always an attempt to make the bad guys sympathetic and anti heroes but sometimes a villian is just a bad person with no reason.
What I got from this show, is an answer to a question I’ve had for a while; how did those people always seem to have loyal henchmen around, willing to bat for them? And they showed us how, by showing us exactly who he truly is, but we still rooted for him throughout. Great stuff. It wasn’t until the very end when he killed Victor that most considered him irredeemable, but that would be too late if we were in his shoes.
That drives me crazy, too!!! Very indicative of the state of our society right now. I would say it even started way back with Pirates of the Caribbean. Like yes, I know it’s supposed to be a “fun” film and all that. But when you stop and think about it - pirates are BAD PEOPLE!! They are the bad guys, there are still pirates today and they are not cool and to be emulated!! And the British navy is demonized. No no, British Navy: good guys. Pirates: bad guys. I swear that started us all off… (Then we got Malificent, Cruella, Joker…all of a sudden we are obsessed with bad guys back stores 🤦🏼♀️
@alexman378 thats such a good point. People like penguin look for broken down on luck people show them alittle kindness show them alittle of the good life let them in just a bit and when they have your loyalty and used every bit of you your no more
Batman is an extreme character. For his existence to be justified, he needs to contend with extreme threats. The fact this show - this iteration of the Gotham universe - is willing to have mob bosses that violate and strangle women, district attorneys that allow bribes to steer their prosecutorial discretion, victimized orphans to take bloody vengeance, and hobbling blue-collar dudes to throw absolutely everyone under the bus to climb the ladder of power (to say nothing of Gotham's ubiquitous petty criminal activity) all makes the character of Batman completely necessary. I don't think there's been a live action version of Gotham to pull that off.
Agree 💯 There's never been a Gotham on screen before that really felt to me like the real Gotham. The Nolan trilogy is great, but the Gotham was just big, bright US city (Chicago if I recall) that never made me picture Gotham at all
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Batman Begins that had a pretty good representation of Gotham (the overall grime, the monorail, the Kowloon-inspired Narrows). TDK and TDKR stepped away from that and got things looking a little too clean and everyday.
It’s still crazy to think that’s Colin Farrell.. if he doesn’t win an award that’s just ridiculous. He has truly transformed into another character, Colin Farrell is diminished while playing the penguin. Not one trace of the dude.
@@Bfettrulesyup true, but don't be to surprise if he doesn't, unfortunately it's because we live in a woke generation they'll put other actress in front of him
That final scene with Victor was gut wrenching to watch. I didnt realize how attached I'd become to Victor and Oz's sort of Walter White / Jesse Pinkman relationship until Oz did that.
what wouldve made it better is if vic gouged one of oz's eyes -Oz has a permanent reminder of his betrayal of vic -Vic doesnt go down without some sort of middle finger -Vic knew how to defend himself, so it feels a little more real and brutal
Lol there’s definitely wokeism in there as sofia constantly says men made her the way she was, and they severely under utilized maroni because they wanted a woman to take precedence than a literal mafia boss. She is automatically shown to be superior to him in all ways which is very silly and on the nose feminism, but the show is almost perfect other than that tbh 8/10
@@ssk58607 Are women never allowed to show strength or try to fight for themselves? I hate woke shit but this was done well and I had no issue with it. You people will literally cry woke at everything
@@ssk58607 To play devil's advocate a little bit for Sofia, she _was_ in the position she was in because of her father's... let's say unhealthy relationship with women, including her mother. And she only ended up in Arkham because he put her there for putting the pieces together about it. She was quite literally shaped by her father's decisions and those decisions were all wrapped up in a context male/female relationship patterns. She was also subjected to her "treatment" in Arkham by two men, was eventually freed by the power of two men (her brother and Julian), and was constantly pushed aside by the council who was composed of male relatives like Luca, Milos, and Viti. So as far as that kind of thing goes, making a character who ends up with a "men did this to me" point of view, they wrote it about as best and believable as they could (when what you usually get is no explanation at all, it's just sort of assumed as the default).
@@Adam25826overrated. Its a good show, dont get me wrong. But i have seen people calling it a masterpiece. I personally dropped it after season 2 because it bored me. But season 1 was really good. But i still wouldnt call it a masterpiece. Its like a 8/10 show for me( season 1 i mean). Daredevil born again is looking good. It might be worth the hype
Cristin Milioti (Sofia) and Dierdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb, Oz’s mom) should both be nominated for supporting actress Emmy’s. Their contributions to this show were nothing short of stellar. Now the obvious - if Colin Farrell doesn’t WIN best actor for this, it will be a crime.
Agreed! I’m so sick of that “they’re not evil, they’re just misunderstood” crap. It IS ok to have a straight up villain do villain things. It was a great shoe
They were talking about the makeup in one of the behind the scenes, and Colin Farrell said the first time he walked onto the set, one of the producers got angry and wanted him thrown out. Farrell saw the producer angrily talking to the director and pointing at him. Then, after the director explained the situation, the producer went over to Farrell, and asked, “Colin?” A lot of times, makeup looks good on screen, but totally fake in real life. This was so good, it was fooling people who knew him.
Love it when they let you actually root for Batman to beat somebody. It's surprising how rarely the films ever did that when he's supposed to be the hero.
1) This is the best high level summary I ever heard on TH-cam 2) I am thinking Ben should have done a weekly in depth review of each episode 3) I just discovered Ben has another hidden talent. He could totally create a second channel or review top level TV shows more frequently on this channel. Such a great analysis 4) I also think it would be great if Jordan Peterson reviewed each episode lol
I think it is a tie. Both versions of the Penguin were pure evil and criminal masterminds. Both amazingly acted. Colin Farrell really does transform in this role though.
@@Chumgeysernah the Gotham one is nothing compared to this. That show was good, but just missing something. Idk what it was, but this penguin is quite literally the most perfect representation of the character you could possibly ask for in a realistic version of gotham
I think the Gotham show had a more lightly softer touch to it. Where realism meets comic is the penguin more realism and just as dark as these characters would have been taking it outside the comics - now Batman comics are some of the most brutal you can find but its rare seen in the live action movies until this show and The Batman.
Should have mentioned that Vic saved Oz's life several times so showed great loyalty on top of him seeing Oz as a mentor. It makes Oz murdering him all the more horrific. What brave writing by the show runner and NOBODY complains about competent women being put in charge of stuff.
Throughout the series I kept forgetting that Colin Farrell was the Penguin, he was so good. I definitely found myself routing for Sophia on more than one occasion. Such a good, dark, brooding series, and no woke pushy shit.
Well, Ben Shapiro and I finally agree on something. Maybe he can take a second look at The Batman? He was too harsh on it I think. I know Catwoman says "white privilege", but why is that bad? It doesn't mean Matt Reeves is trying to spread woke awareness or anything, just that Selina sees things that way. it makes sense that her character would. Just because one character in a movie is saying that, dosent mean it's the like the "message" the movie is trying to send. IN the movie, Batman struggles with thinking dead cops deserved to die, it dosent mean Matt Reeves wants to defund the police lol. Give The Batman another go.
I agree completely, the Joker being a terrorist in "Dark Knight" doesn't make Nolan an advocate of terrorism. Shapiro was way to partisan over "The Batman"!
Penguin has a strong female character and was created by a woman. It’s amazing nobody cares about gender when someone does a great job! Keep it up, ladies…we want more strong female show-runners.
@@JoJoJoker most ppl watch shows and movies for entertainment, not to make a political statement. Tell that to Ben shapiro when he called the batman 'woke' because it conflicted with his political stance. He literally brought up the most irrelevant point that there's only 'two good white characters' who even notices that unless they live in their own political bubbles
@@mmmmm-r6k well, a lot of effort goes into casting actors for major shows. If that was an intentional choice then it makes sense to question the intention.
By FAR the greatest t.v series of the year! Shows that Oz isnt a loveable protagonist in the End. He kills his brothers, Vic, and turns out his mom never loved him because of what he did. Dark is an understatement...
"Colin Farrell has made the first truly iconic Penguin" is a statement from a man that has clearly never had the pleasure of watching Robin Lord Taylor shred Gotham to pieces with his outstanding performances as Penguin
Colin Farrell gave one of the landmark performances of the 2020s, along with Cristin Milioti. No questions about it. Brilliant acting and brilliant writing.
Christopher Nolan explicitly said he would not do the penguin because he was just too goofy? I think something along those lines. I loved the Nolan Batman movies but that clearly told me he knew zero about comics.
I kinda saw the death of Vic coming a mile away but I really didn’t want it to happen! Still, that moment and the part where he makes that hooker pretend to be his mom at the end made me go wow, this guy is very twisted. Despite being sympathetic at some points, he absolutely needs to go down. Awesome writing!
The Lily of the Valley was so brilliant because it did result in evil people getting taken down and it didn't seriously harm Brock, so the show twists you into defending Walt on some level Killing Vic was probably more akin to Mike's death since Mike became so likeable by that point and it was so completely unnecessary. Mike and Vic didn't really pose threats but it was a threat to Walt and Penguin's egos
Honestly I’d say killing Vic as despicable as it is makes MORE sense purely logically than killing Mike. Vic actually could pose a threat on an organizational level as well as on an emotional level. Vic was the one who mobilized the gangs and Oz just saw all of the 2nd in commands kill their bosses. Plus in spite of his sociopathy Oz actually DID care for Vic which is what makes him murdering him so disgusting and disturbing. He knows that Vic could always be used as a bargaining chip against him and doesn’t want any weaknesses. So as sick as it is in the most twisted way Oz can logically make sense of it. Walt on the other hand killed Mike simply for the sake of his own ego and nothing more.
@thedukeofchutney468 Yes, I agree, the analogy breaks down. But there is definitely an element of ego with Vic's killing since it doesn't seem likely Vic would actually pose a threat. The potential threat is an excuse for his real reason which is to hide his vulnerabilities that Vic was exposed to
Love the review, what a lot of people are not talking about is why the penguin took in Vic and didn’t kill him when it would of been easier to do so (especially seeing the whole series through and knowing the type of man Cobb is) I think the big reason why Cobb took him in was because he saw a Vic was some what off a handicap, had a deficiency, the stutter and he saw himself in him (with Cobbs club leg) I think that was the biggest factor in why Cobb spared his life and gave him a chance with him
I think at first he realized he could use Vic and saw himself in him a little. After what happened to his mother Oz realized he can’t let anyone be close to him because people would use them as his weakness. He killed Vic so he wouldn’t have a weakness in the future. Great writing and Great series 10/10
My favorite thing about the success about this series is that people are allowed to appreciate Collin Farrell’s penguin without the arguments being thrown around again- “Why not get an actor who’s already fat!?” “Why didn’t he get fat for the role instead!?” “Why is he hamming up his accent so much!?” Yada yada, etc etc. None of these grievances matter now because the series succeeded so we don’t have to hear it anymore
I really like Ben, but he should really work on his movie/series reviews. A review is not a detailed retelling of the whole plot line, interspersed with statement about how the writing is 'so good' and the writing is 'great' , and 'I loved it'. He winds up just completely ruining the show for anyone that hasn't seen it, while not providing any substantive analysis.
Saw this really interesting comment elsewhere, so I thought I would share it: Sofia wanted to be free Oz sent her to jail Francis wanted to die Oz forced her to live Victor wanted to live Oz killed him
I was hesitant to watch this knowing how he felt about The Batman. But it seems like, based on the comments, Ben actually liked this show. I love The Batman and with all due respect to that movie The Penguin > The Batman
Honestly, I only clicked on this video because Ben's review of The Batman was horrible, and he missed the point. I'm glad he did not miss the point on this one
Part of the brilliance is that Victor represents the viewer. His experience is our experience, and at the end, Penguin betrays not just him, but the viewer. I love this character.
@ says the same clown that wants a fruit pop male in every show / movie - and doesn’t know the definition of a woman. 😂 okay, bozo. Obviously, we can’t take you clowns seriously. You’re a circus show, homeboy.
@@Phantomiam I remember when I watched the sandman, I liked it even with all of its flaws but the fact it got review bombed because ppl started calling it 'woke' for having characters who were gay really shows their mentality
Magnificent performance by Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Dierdre O'Connell. I absolutely loathed Oz by the time the final credits had begun to roll. Now all I want is for the Batman to pummel Oswald within an inch of his rotten life.
It should’ve been in a good view anyway considering it’s the best Batman movie we’ve ever seen. He’s a noir detective who doesn’t kill,doesn’t have a throat cancer voice and fights well, the greatest Batman we’ve ever gotten 😂
Every Batman fan agrees with you Ben. Oz had to be a bad guy or we would have had the mess Sony have got with turning all villains into anti hero’s. The ending to this show was a hard pill to swallow. But made all comic book fans happy as Penguin is a repulsive character and there is nothing but pure evil in him. Everyone is saying they want to see an Arkham combo done on Oswald face. And I am one dying to see it. Have to say well done to Farell he absolutely bossed this role.
I love the contrast of the Penguin and Batman in how Vic fits in as a character. His introduction is exactly the same as Jason Todd's introduction to Batman, and his progression alongside the Penguin over the course of the series is brilliant. But I'm glad that they didn't make Penguin an anti-hero. He was never a good man. He killed his brothers, he committed Sofia to Arkham twice essentially, he killed Alberto Falcone for insulting him, and of course, he killed Vic because he was the one thing holding him back from greatness, a loose end or weakness of some sort. A wonderfully written character and a phenomenal performance from Colin Farrell, and really all members of the cast.
Hands down the best comic book related entertainment since The Dark Knight. That finale when we see the last scene of him with Vic was such a great reminder of, as you mentioned: HE'S THE BAD GUY.
@@jasontodd6779 Even if you agree with that his reasons for not liking The Batman are stupid as shit getting mad at the end for Batman becoming hope and a symbol of that is the dumbest complaint ever when that’s what Batman is he’s, not just an angry dude who’s vengeful 24/7 and doesn’t give a fuck about the people in the city
@@someuniverseguy7062 But Batman is not the symbol of hope. He's the symbol of Justice and order. He inspires hope but not the Symbol. That's more Superman things. Batman saves people but he's not a typical hero, he's a silent guardian, He's helping people from the shadows, and he's not walking in daylight with the Batsuit on. It's the Job for Bruce Wayne. That last scene doesn't feel like Batman. The scene when he walk people out of the water is good but the final one when the sun come and he walking around with his Batsuit just feel off. They should end with Batman walk people out of the water and having Bruce Wayne come and help instead.
Oz killing the reason he got where he was at the end and doing something as callous as robbing the few dollars he has, and dropping his ID into the river, making vic just another unknown nobody in gotham who got wrapped up in the wrong crowd. Brilliant
The killing of Vic at the end was as unexpected & impactful as Ned Stark's execution in S1 of Game of Thrones (assuming you hadn't read the books). Like, *holy* *shit*
The show was such a breath of fresh air. I always loved Colin Ferrell as an actor but in this role he's just phenomenal. And the new Batman movie was great. I thought it's going to be some new woke Batman but it was so damn good.
The Batman sucked! He didn’t detect anything, the villain gave himself up, the city still blew up, and ….that crazy armor taking every bullet at point blank range…..
@@Pyrok007 he did more Detective work than any live action Batman plus this is a young and inexperienced Batman so ofc he is going to make mistakes, Riddler flooded the city in the comics, Batman is infamously known to media to have armor that is more advanced than we’d expect in the real world as well as tech in general. Obviously that kind of armor doesn’t exist in the real world but this is a comic book movie, a lot of Batman stuff Batman can do or survive isn’t realistic.
Sopranos similarities: Vic and Chris had the same chance to leave for a good life. They didn’t want to be a regular schmuck. Both were strangled by their criminal mentor.
Episode 1: Poor Oswald...
Episode 8: BAAATMAAAN!!!
bro I dont think anyone went poor oswald in episode 1 dude was not good from the start
Hope Batman injects 5 canisters of that green stuff again and gives it to Oz for that ending
@@Sephirothkingdom782 he wasn't good, but at the begining i thought penguin is an antihero, not a evil villian.
Like Joker in the first movie,
I enjoyed when he defeated his enemies, and he cared about his mother a lot,
But when i found out he killed his brothers and killed vic at the end i realized i had sympathy for the wrong guy.
Best show of the year 👏
😅😅😅
I never felt sorry for that lil rat. And it just confirmed it when he offd his brothers lol
What's great is that the showrunner is a woman, most episodes are written by women and several female directors directed the episodes and there's zero virtue signalling about all of it. That's what we've always wanted. Just pick a director, let them do a good job and who cares about the gender, skin colour or sexual preference (as long as it's with adults) about any of them?
Everyone involved in the making of this show did a great job.
Thanks for pointing that out, it something I like to share with my daughters. Women who are exceptional, but are not a caricature of womanhood.
But this shatters the narrative that modern audiences hate women...
They finally captured a compelling female villain who didn't have to be super, just deeply challenged and even conflicted... but always horrifying and intimidating.
I mean the writing after the 4th episode was actually horrible. I loved the show at the start but how many times did Oz escape death with a gun to his head lol? like it just gets annoying after a certain point. And I think the show runner is probably good, it was definitely a great idea of a show, but I doubt the directors are good because the writing at the end is absolutely atrocious. The last episode was game of thrones season 8 level bad writing.
@@SolDizZo Agreed Sophia is a great villain, the episode of her in the asylum was grotesque but it really helped you understand her better as a character. But Sophia and all the other characters in the last few episodes weren't great
The Penguin proves that phenomenal writing and acting wins over high-budget action every damn time. Easily the best show of the year.
I mean, its still a very expensive show to make
@@JohnnyJustice777 Expensive yes, but just didn't rely on sets, costumes, CGI, etc. alone.
Have you seen shogun? I think shogun is the best show of the year but i haven't seen the penguin. Is the penguin better?
@@brendan6618It’s honestly hard to pick. I thought both were phenomenal. I’d give it to the Penguin as its writing and lead character are a tad bit better. Shogun takes a very close second place.
@@brendan6618
1. The ones who live
2. The Penguin
3. Shogun
How heath ledge was the definitive joker. Colin Farrell is the definitive penguin.
And it’s so weird to consider. I remember when Farrell was cast, and everyone went “huh, really?” Most thought they’d do the slimmed down TellTale version, but nope. That’s him. Fat, big nose, balding, the whole thing.
Mark hamill is the definitive joker
Can say the same about Ledgers Joker. I remember being confused on the casting but we all know how epic it turned out to be
@@christdiazz no, mark Hamell is a moron
@@christdiazz the joker voice, not the joker in live action.
I love how the show lets him be a VILLIAN theres no question by the end of the series. Theres always an attempt to make the bad guys sympathetic and anti heroes but sometimes a villian is just a bad person with no reason.
What I got from this show, is an answer to a question I’ve had for a while; how did those people always seem to have loyal henchmen around, willing to bat for them? And they showed us how, by showing us exactly who he truly is, but we still rooted for him throughout.
Great stuff. It wasn’t until the very end when he killed Victor that most considered him irredeemable, but that would be too late if we were in his shoes.
Is Victor dead?? 🤷🏾♂️@@alexman378
Well, he has reasons, they just don't necessarily justify his actions😂
That drives me crazy, too!!! Very indicative of the state of our society right now. I would say it even started way back with Pirates of the Caribbean. Like yes, I know it’s supposed to be a “fun” film and all that. But when you stop and think about it - pirates are BAD PEOPLE!! They are the bad guys, there are still pirates today and they are not cool and to be emulated!! And the British navy is demonized. No no, British Navy: good guys. Pirates: bad guys. I swear that started us all off…
(Then we got Malificent, Cruella, Joker…all of a sudden we are obsessed with bad guys back stores 🤦🏼♀️
@alexman378 thats such a good point. People like penguin look for broken down on luck people show them alittle kindness show them alittle of the good life let them in just a bit and when they have your loyalty and used every bit of you your no more
At last a villain who’s allowed to be evil. The Batman 2 just got the greatest set up of all time.
He won’t be the main villain in part 2
@@barkley8285 Probably a supporting antagonist
@@Walupeach4528antagonist*!
@@manavbhalla2861 Shit, my bad
@@barkley8285 , probably for a 3rd or 4th film.
Justice for Victor.
it had to happen......in order for it to be a good series lol
Sophia did it. Made poor ol' Oz afraid to love. Poor ol' Oz 😢
Oh good, the kids dead? Maybe I’ll watch episode 2.
Oz said he was going to keep him around "For Now",hinting that it wasn't permanent
I loved Victor
Cementing the penguin as a true villain was absolutely their best decision we are all so tired of relatable antihero style villains.
Yeah
Yeah it's also more realistic, truth be told
A breath of fresh air (not for Vic tho)
Exactly. It was so refreshing to get to the end of the season and feeling like I truly hated him
There’s a time and place for it, but sometimes you need a good old fashioned unredeemable villain
Batman is an extreme character. For his existence to be justified, he needs to contend with extreme threats. The fact this show - this iteration of the Gotham universe - is willing to have mob bosses that violate and strangle women, district attorneys that allow bribes to steer their prosecutorial discretion, victimized orphans to take bloody vengeance, and hobbling blue-collar dudes to throw absolutely everyone under the bus to climb the ladder of power (to say nothing of Gotham's ubiquitous petty criminal activity) all makes the character of Batman completely necessary.
I don't think there's been a live action version of Gotham to pull that off.
Agree 💯
There's never been a Gotham on screen before that really felt to me like the real Gotham. The Nolan trilogy is great, but the Gotham was just big, bright US city (Chicago if I recall) that never made me picture Gotham at all
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy Batman Begins that had a pretty good representation of Gotham (the overall grime, the monorail, the Kowloon-inspired Narrows). TDK and TDKR stepped away from that and got things looking a little too clean and everyday.
Gotham? That’s the real world, dude!
Totally agree, Batman’s a great hero, and he needs great villains, this show did that, make penguin a true threat
@@ironcladnomad5639 that is a good point
It’s still crazy to think that’s Colin Farrell.. if he doesn’t win an award that’s just ridiculous. He has truly transformed into another character, Colin Farrell is diminished while playing the penguin. Not one trace of the dude.
I know its TV, but he deserves an Oscar.
Colin just went into heath ledger territory with this character. If he doesn’t get an Emmy for lead actor, it’ll be a damned felony.
Severance is going to make a run against the penguin for emmys I think.
When I tell people about the show, I mention Farrell is in almost every scene, but you'll never see him.
@@Bfettrulesyup true, but don't be to surprise if he doesn't, unfortunately it's because we live in a woke generation they'll put other actress in front of him
That final scene with Victor was gut wrenching to watch. I didnt realize how attached I'd become to Victor and Oz's sort of Walter White / Jesse Pinkman relationship until Oz did that.
Best scene of S01, hand's down!
what wouldve made it better is if vic gouged one of oz's eyes
-Oz has a permanent reminder of his betrayal of vic
-Vic doesnt go down without some sort of middle finger
-Vic knew how to defend himself, so it feels a little more real and brutal
I know right!! I was started to feel their friendship
@@danielmiller9012 Exactly exactly my thoughts.
that could also be the very reason why Vic may still be alive.
@@xHollow.don’t think he’s alive my guy. I saw a pic of the script / screen play or whatever and it explicitly says “victor aguilar is dead.”
This series blew my mind. No wokeism BS. A crime drama that really never gets stale.
Lol there’s definitely wokeism in there as sofia constantly says men made her the way she was, and they severely under utilized maroni because they wanted a woman to take precedence than a literal mafia boss. She is automatically shown to be superior to him in all ways which is very silly and on the nose feminism, but the show is almost perfect other than that tbh 8/10
@@ssk58607you’re reaching so much lol
@@ssk58607 Are women never allowed to show strength or try to fight for themselves? I hate woke shit but this was done well and I had no issue with it. You people will literally cry woke at everything
@@ssk58607 To play devil's advocate a little bit for Sofia, she _was_ in the position she was in because of her father's... let's say unhealthy relationship with women, including her mother. And she only ended up in Arkham because he put her there for putting the pieces together about it. She was quite literally shaped by her father's decisions and those decisions were all wrapped up in a context male/female relationship patterns. She was also subjected to her "treatment" in Arkham by two men, was eventually freed by the power of two men (her brother and Julian), and was constantly pushed aside by the council who was composed of male relatives like Luca, Milos, and Viti. So as far as that kind of thing goes, making a character who ends up with a "men did this to me" point of view, they wrote it about as best and believable as they could (when what you usually get is no explanation at all, it's just sort of assumed as the default).
@@ssk58607 now that is a reach lmao. i hate woke bullcrap as much as any sane person but some of you take it way too far
This show > every cringefest from Marvel Disney +
Until Daredevil Reborn comes out…
@@MichaelBrown-rg8oi Good joke.
@@darkgoddarkseid2824did you at-least like the Netflix daredevil show?
@@Adam25826overrated. Its a good show, dont get me wrong. But i have seen people calling it a masterpiece. I personally dropped it after season 2 because it bored me. But season 1 was really good. But i still wouldnt call it a masterpiece. Its like a 8/10 show for me( season 1 i mean). Daredevil born again is looking good. It might be worth the hype
@@MichaelBrown-rg8oi it's daredevil born again
I love how subtlety intelligent he is, the whole play with the ring was seemingly insignificant, then boom! A whole incredible chain of events.
Best ring travel sequence of events since The Wire.
Cristin Milioti (Sofia) and Dierdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb, Oz’s mom) should both be nominated for supporting actress Emmy’s. Their contributions to this show were nothing short of stellar.
Now the obvious - if Colin Farrell doesn’t WIN best actor for this, it will be a crime.
Surely Milioti would be a Best Actress nomination rather than Supporting, she probably has as much screen time as Farrell as the Penguin.
Seriously one of the best series and characters in soooooo long. 10/10.
My wife and I were literally screaming at the tv to get Oz to stop choking Vic lol…seriously great show.
10/10 for me, A True Villain through and through! Not some Marvel Anti-hero villains.
Agreed! I’m so sick of that “they’re not evil, they’re just misunderstood” crap. It IS ok to have a straight up villain do villain things. It was a great shoe
Or Disney making their villains relatable. They're just evil just they can be and will be.
agatha was bad the entire time
That was Colin Farrell? No way!!!
Wayyy!!
@@jhamilton1007 No way!!!
Sausyyyy
Yep, the make up effect did a great job making Colin Farrell look unrecognizable as the Penguin.
They were talking about the makeup in one of the behind the scenes, and Colin Farrell said the first time he walked onto the set, one of the producers got angry and wanted him thrown out. Farrell saw the producer angrily talking to the director and pointing at him. Then, after the director explained the situation, the producer went over to Farrell, and asked, “Colin?” A lot of times, makeup looks good on screen, but totally fake in real life. This was so good, it was fooling people who knew him.
The only bad thing about this show, is that the wait for the batman 2 might be unbearable cause we gotta wait 2 years lmao
Viewers: YOURE HORRIBLE! You are literally a monster!
The Penguin: (Jack Horner’s face) *Oh oh! What Took You So Long?*
When Ben and the critical drinker praise the show you know it’s amazing.
I can't give credit to Ben for liking this show when he shat on The Batman for the stupidest, laziest, and most media illiterate reasons possible.
Critical Drinker 💀
The one thing I will say is he doesn’t really understand Batman as a character but I get it, not everybody reads comics.
@@Phantomiam i agree. its surface level. He's got no understanding of how much Batman is influenced by his trauma.
The Penguin is the best show in years.
Love it when they let you actually root for Batman to beat somebody. It's surprising how rarely the films ever did that when he's supposed to be the hero.
1) This is the best high level summary I ever heard on TH-cam 2) I am thinking Ben should have done a weekly in depth review of each episode 3) I just discovered Ben has another hidden talent. He could totally create a second channel or review top level TV shows more frequently on this channel. Such a great analysis 4) I also think it would be great if Jordan Peterson reviewed each episode lol
I'd settle for a Freedomtoons Jordan Peterson review of The Penguin
Penguin in the series Gotham is very underrated IMO. But this is the best penguin ever obviously
I think it is a tie. Both versions of the Penguin were pure evil and criminal masterminds. Both amazingly acted. Colin Farrell really does transform in this role though.
@@Chumgeysernah the Gotham one is nothing compared to this. That show was good, but just missing something. Idk what it was, but this penguin is quite literally the most perfect representation of the character you could possibly ask for in a realistic version of gotham
I think the Gotham show had a more lightly softer touch to it. Where realism meets comic is the penguin more realism and just as dark as these characters would have been taking it outside the comics - now Batman comics are some of the most brutal you can find but its rare seen in the live action movies until this show and The Batman.
@@Chumgeysera tie is utterly insane. Gothams penguin doesn’t come even remotely close to
Gotham is literally a cringe CW show
This show single handedly made me super hyped for Batman 2. Colin Farrell is phenomenal as the Penguin.
Was super hyped for BTM2 since BTM1 lol. This just made it even better.
Should have mentioned that Vic saved Oz's life several times so showed great loyalty on top of him seeing Oz as a mentor. It makes Oz murdering him all the more horrific.
What brave writing by the show runner and NOBODY complains about competent women being put in charge of stuff.
Exactly!! The kid gave Oz his all ! When he saw the explosion of the tunnels, his genuine concern for Oz and everything. Crazy show. Crazy ending
This was one of the best shows in recent years
Throughout the series I kept forgetting that Colin Farrell was the Penguin, he was so good. I definitely found myself routing for Sophia on more than one occasion. Such a good, dark, brooding series, and no woke pushy shit.
I love when Ben reviews super heroes, whether good or bad.
He’s not a hero. He’s a villain.
Well, Ben Shapiro and I finally agree on something. Maybe he can take a second look at The Batman? He was too harsh on it I think. I know Catwoman says "white privilege", but why is that bad? It doesn't mean Matt Reeves is trying to spread woke awareness or anything, just that Selina sees things that way. it makes sense that her character would. Just because one character in a movie is saying that, dosent mean it's the like the "message" the movie is trying to send. IN the movie, Batman struggles with thinking dead cops deserved to die, it dosent mean Matt Reeves wants to defund the police lol. Give The Batman another go.
I agree completely, the Joker being a terrorist in "Dark Knight" doesn't make Nolan an advocate of terrorism. Shapiro was way to partisan over "The Batman"!
Penguin has a strong female character and was created by a woman. It’s amazing nobody cares about gender when someone does a great job! Keep it up, ladies…we want more strong female show-runners.
geez! get over yourself!
@@camryl13 It was a compliment. People who say "Men won't watch shows created by women with powerful women characters" are liars.
@@JoJoJoker most ppl watch shows and movies for entertainment, not to make a political statement. Tell that to Ben shapiro when he called the batman 'woke' because it conflicted with his political stance. He literally brought up the most irrelevant point that there's only 'two good white characters' who even notices that unless they live in their own political bubbles
@@mmmmm-r6k well, a lot of effort goes into casting actors for major shows. If that was an intentional choice then it makes sense to question the intention.
When Sofia realizes that he doesn’t actually care about his mom….
She absolutely nailed that scene.
Probably the best comic book show ever made tbh
By FAR the greatest t.v series of the year! Shows that Oz isnt a loveable protagonist in the End.
He kills his brothers, Vic, and turns out his mom never loved him because of what he did.
Dark is an understatement...
Shogun still the best show of 2024, but yeah Penguin is still fantastic.
@@donmongoosewatched both penguin better imo
This, Arcane season 2, X men 97 and Shogun are the best shows of the year so for imo
And we all thought what his parents did to him in Batman Returns was horrifying.....
"Colin Farrell has made the first truly iconic Penguin" is a statement from a man that has clearly never had the pleasure of watching Robin Lord Taylor shred Gotham to pieces with his outstanding performances as Penguin
This Penguin series was better than the past few Batman movies. PERIOD!
There has been only one Batman movie lol
@@arunrajeev2634 There's been multiple Batman movies lol
@@arunrajeev2634he’s talking about 89, Returns, Forever, the other one with bane & ivy, TDK trilogy, BvS.
@@Retr05548 The TDK trilogy? I wouldn't be so sure. But yeah it's better than The Batman which was really good imo.
@@teamrocketgrunts6461 Yeah and they're all goofy as hell.
Colin Farrell gave one of the landmark performances of the 2020s, along with Cristin Milioti. No questions about it. Brilliant acting and brilliant writing.
Just imagine if we could have had Colin Farrell’s Penguin and Heath Ledger’s Joker in the same cinematic universe…
There’s always a CGI showdown…
Christopher Nolan explicitly said he would not do the penguin because he was just too goofy? I think something along those lines. I loved the Nolan Batman movies but that clearly told me he knew zero about comics.
I kinda saw the death of Vic coming a mile away but I really didn’t want it to happen! Still, that moment and the part where he makes that hooker pretend to be his mom at the end made me go wow, this guy is very twisted. Despite being sympathetic at some points, he absolutely needs to go down. Awesome writing!
Kiling Vic was akin to seeing the Lily of the Valley at the end of season 4 of Breaking Bad. Pure evil and totally did not see it coming.
The Lily of the Valley was so brilliant because it did result in evil people getting taken down and it didn't seriously harm Brock, so the show twists you into defending Walt on some level
Killing Vic was probably more akin to Mike's death since Mike became so likeable by that point and it was so completely unnecessary. Mike and Vic didn't really pose threats but it was a threat to Walt and Penguin's egos
Honestly I’d say killing Vic as despicable as it is makes MORE sense purely logically than killing Mike. Vic actually could pose a threat on an organizational level as well as on an emotional level. Vic was the one who mobilized the gangs and Oz just saw all of the 2nd in commands kill their bosses. Plus in spite of his sociopathy Oz actually DID care for Vic which is what makes him murdering him so disgusting and disturbing. He knows that Vic could always be used as a bargaining chip against him and doesn’t want any weaknesses. So as sick as it is in the most twisted way Oz can logically make sense of it. Walt on the other hand killed Mike simply for the sake of his own ego and nothing more.
@thedukeofchutney468 Yes, I agree, the analogy breaks down. But there is definitely an element of ego with Vic's killing since it doesn't seem likely Vic would actually pose a threat. The potential threat is an excuse for his real reason which is to hide his vulnerabilities that Vic was exposed to
Wow! I’m not sure i’ve heard Ben praise a show that much. But agree 100%. Fantastic show
This video should be called “Ben summarizes the penguin”
😭
Love the review, what a lot of people are not talking about is why the penguin took in Vic and didn’t kill him when it would of been easier to do so (especially seeing the whole series through and knowing the type of man Cobb is)
I think the big reason why Cobb took him in was because he saw a Vic was some what off a handicap, had a deficiency, the stutter and he saw himself in him (with Cobbs club leg) I think that was the biggest factor in why Cobb spared his life and gave him a chance with him
I think at first he realized he could use Vic and saw himself in him a little. After what happened to his mother Oz realized he can’t let anyone be close to him because people would use them as his weakness. He killed Vic so he wouldn’t have a weakness in the future. Great writing and Great series 10/10
I love when Ben reviews a movie or show, keep em coming
Totally agree. Fantastic series.
My favorite thing about the success about this series is that people are allowed to appreciate Collin Farrell’s penguin without the arguments being thrown around again-
“Why not get an actor who’s already fat!?”
“Why didn’t he get fat for the role instead!?”
“Why is he hamming up his accent so much!?”
Yada yada, etc etc.
None of these grievances matter now because the series succeeded so we don’t have to hear it anymore
I really like Ben, but he should really work on his movie/series reviews. A review is not a detailed retelling of the whole plot line, interspersed with statement about how the writing is 'so good' and the writing is 'great' , and 'I loved it'. He winds up just completely ruining the show for anyone that hasn't seen it, while not providing any substantive analysis.
The overall point is *there is no bargaining with Evil, it exists* That is so dark and true, it’s so sour to anyone realizing it.
Saw this really interesting comment elsewhere, so I thought I would share it:
Sofia wanted to be free
Oz sent her to jail
Francis wanted to die
Oz forced her to live
Victor wanted to live
Oz killed him
Justice for Vic
Can we agree Colin Farrell is to Penguin what Heath Ledger was for The Joker?
I was hesitant to watch this knowing how he felt about The Batman. But it seems like, based on the comments, Ben actually liked this show. I love The Batman and with all due respect to that movie
The Penguin > The Batman
Honestly, I only clicked on this video because Ben's review of The Batman was horrible, and he missed the point. I'm glad he did not miss the point on this one
Best tv-show of the past years hands down!
Part of the brilliance is that Victor represents the viewer. His experience is our experience, and at the end, Penguin betrays not just him, but the viewer. I love this character.
This show was a breath of fresh air. No woke BS, virtue signaling or identity politics.
Funny. A lot of your fellow "anti woke" clowns say it IS "woke". LMAO you clowns can't be taken seriously.
@ says the same clown that wants a fruit pop male in every show / movie - and doesn’t know the definition of a woman. 😂 okay, bozo. Obviously, we can’t take you clowns seriously. You’re a circus show, homeboy.
Woke this woke that, is that what all u guys think about.
Aaaand, knew we couldn't enjoy a show without someone bringing up this nonsense.
@@Phantomiam I remember when I watched the sandman, I liked it even with all of its flaws but the fact it got review bombed because ppl started calling it 'woke' for having characters who were gay really shows their mentality
This show needs awards. The set. The story. The characters. The freakin' makeup!!
Ben! Do more reviews please. This was great!
Magnificent performance by Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Dierdre O'Connell. I absolutely loathed Oz by the time the final credits had begun to roll. Now all I want is for the Batman to pummel Oswald within an inch of his rotten life.
Excellent series - actually improved my view of The Batman movie.
It should’ve been in a good view anyway considering it’s the best Batman movie we’ve ever seen. He’s a noir detective who doesn’t kill,doesn’t have a throat cancer voice and fights well, the greatest Batman we’ve ever gotten 😂
This is more of a recap not a review. The actual reviewing starts at minute 7
matt walsh: u know what is most overrated tv show ?... ,,The Penguin"
Gotta respect how even though he hated The Batman, he keeps a very open mind.
You know the show is top tier when Ben Shapiro is praising it himself 🤌🔥
You rely on the opinions of a entertainment goober to watch a show?
@sup3414 Or it could be I enjoy the man's take on a show that I already watch. And I rely on the quality of the show
@@Tyler-i9k uhuh.
@@sup3414 idk what you're trying to prove. I like the show, I like Ben Shapiro and most of his takes
@@Tyler-i9k Idk how anyone in their right mind would listen to this dude when it comes to entertainment culture.
A man of taste 🍻
Can we mention how absolutely twisted and terrifying Sofia was throughout the story? She may have the darkest villain story in recent history
Oh, that's the best thing about this series. They didn't kill her off.
And here I thought she went dark in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. They took her character up a HUGE notch.
Every Batman fan agrees with you Ben. Oz had to be a bad guy or we would have had the mess Sony have got with turning all villains into anti hero’s. The ending to this show was a hard pill to swallow. But made all comic book fans happy as Penguin is a repulsive character and there is nothing but pure evil in him.
Everyone is saying they want to see an Arkham combo done on Oswald face. And I am one dying to see it. Have to say well done to Farell he absolutely bossed this role.
Can you review every show… literally! You do the best reviews. Now I’m going to watch this
his only decent show that isn't politically motivated... should see his the batman review that is a parody within itself
I love the contrast of the Penguin and Batman in how Vic fits in as a character. His introduction is exactly the same as Jason Todd's introduction to Batman, and his progression alongside the Penguin over the course of the series is brilliant. But I'm glad that they didn't make Penguin an anti-hero. He was never a good man. He killed his brothers, he committed Sofia to Arkham twice essentially, he killed Alberto Falcone for insulting him, and of course, he killed Vic because he was the one thing holding him back from greatness, a loose end or weakness of some sort. A wonderfully written character and a phenomenal performance from Colin Farrell, and really all members of the cast.
Agreed!! I was surprised
It was also interesting how every contender for the crown spoke “for the working man”. The Penguin out-marxed them all.
the set design for this review is amazing. Really plays off the Gotham vibe. Respect!
Producer Zach here: thank you so much! I put a bit of heart into this set/lighting!
Hope you can catch the Bat Signal over his right shoulder
@@producerzach Phenomenal work producer Zach :D Your passion clearly shows!
Thanks for the heads-up, Ben. I'll give it a look.
This is definitely a show that does a villain spinoff correctly.
Start taking notes Hollywood….
Hands down the best comic book related entertainment since The Dark Knight. That finale when we see the last scene of him with Vic was such a great reminder of, as you mentioned: HE'S THE BAD GUY.
3:49 haha, silly Ben, penguins don't have wings
Of course they have them, theirs just work better in water than air.
Aren't they called flippers then@@nateschultz8973
My favorite current show hands down.
Burgess Meredith will always be my Penguin
The review was nice as always, but holy cow! Who created the music for this review??! It was perfect!
Now reddem yourself and rereview The Batman
I guess he didn't like it? 🤣 The Batman was fucking great!!!!
@@AlexGag-f5v I kind of agree with Ben, The Penguin is better written than The Batman.
@@jasontodd6779 Even if you agree with that his reasons for not liking The Batman are stupid as shit getting mad at the end for Batman becoming hope and a symbol of that is the dumbest complaint ever when that’s what Batman is he’s, not just an angry dude who’s vengeful 24/7 and doesn’t give a fuck about the people in the city
@@someuniverseguy7062
But Batman is not the symbol of hope. He's the symbol of Justice and order. He inspires hope but not the Symbol. That's more Superman things.
Batman saves people but he's not a typical hero, he's a silent guardian, He's helping people from the shadows, and he's not walking in daylight with the Batsuit on. It's the Job for Bruce Wayne.
That last scene doesn't feel like Batman.
The scene when he walk people out of the water is good but the final one when the sun come and he walking around with his Batsuit just feel off.
They should end with Batman walk people out of the water and having Bruce Wayne come and help instead.
@@jasontodd6779cos that is the point Batman isn't vengeance he is justice
Ben is mad cos the mayor is a black woman
Oz killing the reason he got where he was at the end and doing something as callous as robbing the few dollars he has, and dropping his ID into the river, making vic just another unknown nobody in gotham who got wrapped up in the wrong crowd. Brilliant
The killing of Vic at the end was as unexpected & impactful as Ned Stark's execution in S1 of Game of Thrones (assuming you hadn't read the books).
Like, *holy* *shit*
The show was such a breath of fresh air. I always loved Colin Ferrell as an actor but in this role he's just phenomenal. And the new Batman movie was great. I thought it's going to be some new woke Batman but it was so damn good.
How do you know it's a paid Review? No 5 commercials.
How stupid was Sofia for thinking Penguin didn’t kill her brother from the start
holy fuck 46 seconds
type shit
Streaming services. Robin can curse like a sailor.
The Penguin did what Plankton could never do: he defeated Mr Krabbs
This guy didnt like THE BATMAN - all film reviews are invalid. Matt Walsh's opinions are superior.
The Batman had a weak (and unnecessary) last act. The first two acts were really great, and frankly, they could have just left it there.
The Batman sucked! He didn’t detect anything, the villain gave himself up, the city still blew up, and ….that crazy armor taking every bullet at point blank range…..
@@AnnaMarianne Agreed, Dark Knight had same problem too, weak last act
@@Pyrok007 he did more Detective work than any live action Batman plus this is a young and inexperienced Batman so ofc he is going to make mistakes, Riddler flooded the city in the comics, Batman is infamously known to media to have armor that is more advanced than we’d expect in the real world as well as tech in general. Obviously that kind of armor doesn’t exist in the real world but this is a comic book movie, a lot of Batman stuff Batman can do or survive isn’t realistic.
Sopranos similarities: Vic and Chris had the same chance to leave for a good life. They didn’t want to be a regular schmuck. Both were strangled by their criminal mentor.
...and the penguin looks like a mixture of David Chase and Tomt Soprano 😂. Holy crap its uncanny
Can’t wait for Batman to throw Penguin across the room lol
Deserve atleast 3 emmy nominations for
Best drama
Best actor
Best actress
Best supporting
Thanks for spoiling the show in your review, Ben.
It's a genuinely brilliant series. Not a bad episode, not a wasted scene. Some real rug-pulls. Colin, Cristin and the rest were amazing.
Great review!! Loved the show!
I agree. I liked The Batman, but The Penguin made me want to see the next Batman movie.
IMO Vic’s motive for not going to California and staying with Oz was not strong enough. The series would have been better if he left for California.
Not taking anything away from Colin F's Penguin portrayal (and the writing), but Gotham's Cobblepot was pretty iconic, too, with lots of development.
Brilliant! Now do Matt 😂
Absolutely awesome show! Loved your take Ben!