Have you ever watched a TV series and, about halfway through an episode, instantly knew this was special? That this was the episode where a show you were enjoying leveled up to become a modern classic? The Last of Us did that. Battlestar Galactica. Lost. All the great ones do it. And now The Penguin has done it too. The show’s fourth episode, “Cent’anni,” flips the entire emotional resonance of the show with a shocking, horrific, but brilliant episode of television centering on Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) and, holy crap. It’s amazing.
Before this episode, we weren’t quite sure what to think of Sofia. We knew that she was in Arkham because she’d been accused of killing several women, which earned her the nickname “The Hangman.” We knew Oz (Colin Farrell) was afraid of her, but we assumed it was mostly because she was the head of the family he was trying to take over. And, we thought, Oz had successfully convinced her he didn’t kill her brother, even though he did. Basically, The Penguin wanted us to see Sofia as an intimidating but emotionally unstable and malleable villain. No more. Now that we’ve learned exactly who she is and how she got there, she’s clearly become the most interesting character on the show.
At the end of the last episode, “Bliss,” we saw Victor smash his car to save Sofia and Oz from the Maroni crime family. Only, Oz told Victor to leave Sofia, which at the time seemed weird because they’d been aligned. Well, in the first fantastic bit of storytelling in episode four, we learn that Sofia is finally told it was Oz who killed her brother, so his abandoning her becomes a whole other thing. It’s a revelation we assumed was coming at some point but to find out this way added some interesting context.
But that was just the beginning. From there, we dive into the past where we meet a younger, happier Sofia along with her father, crime boss Carmine Falcone (played here by Mark Strong, who took over for John Turturro who played the character in The Batman), and her brother, Alberto (Michael Zegen). The family seems pretty happy and Carmine even tells Sofia that, despite her older brother, he’s going to leave the family business to her. Big House of the Dragon vibes.
Of course that doesn’t go to plan. Sofia finds out that someone—later revealed to be her father—has been killing women and covering up the crimes as suicide, going all the way back to Sofia and Alberto’s mother. Sofia learns this in what she assumes to be private but her driver, Oz, rats her out.
It’s a betrayal to be sure—but at this point, you’re still seeing it from Oz’s perspective. It’s not until later that we realize Oz was the one who started an unfathomable chain of events for Sofia. Based on Oz’s intel, Carmine confronts Sofia about her findings and, when she even hints that maybe her dad killed the women, everything changes. He frames her for the murders, sends her to Arkham, and makes it so she’ll never ever get out.
Having her father betray her so quickly and brutally was pretty bad. But when we learn that Sofia’s entire family—minus her brother—lied about her mental condition to keep her there, you truly feel terrible for her. Then, you feel worse and worse as the episode goes full Requiem for a Dream with the doctors and inmates of Arkham also seemingly in on the plan to make the levelheaded, smart Sofia into the violent, crazy murderer her father lies about. The violence and betrayal seem never-ending and, later, we learn it went on for 10 years.
As we watch the innocent Sofia endure both mental and physical horrors—all of which started with Oz—your perspective starts to shift. Is Oz really the main character of this story because he’s a famous Batman villain? He’s just a former driver grasping for power. Or is the main character the rightful heir to the throne, betrayed by almost everyone she loved, who fights her way out of hell to come back? That’s, by far, the more interesting story. And once The Penguin comes out of the flashback and back to the present, it’s a different show.
Now we are on Sofia’s side. We want to see her get revenge. We’re enraged that Oz killed Alberto, the one family member who believed in and fought for Sofia. We’re desperate for her to get revenge on her aunts and uncles, and boy does she, with a fantastic final scene as she murders almost everyone in the house without lifting a finger. Chef’s kiss.
Written by John McCutcheon and directed by Helen Shave, “Cent’anni” isn’t just the best episode yet of The Penguin, it’s one of the best episodes of TV of the year. This write-up barely scratches the surface of all the fantastic choices it makes (the wallpaper! The fork! The cake!) or, most importantly, Milioti’s performance which is absolutely award-worthy. In fact, the episode was so good, I’m now fully Team Sofia. They should rename the show “Falcone.”
The Penguin is now streaming on Max.
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