Who lives and who dies? Who comes out on top, and who will be forced to crawl back into the shadows of Gotham’s seedy underbelly? Those are just some of the questions fans are asking as we inch closer to The Penguin‘s season finale.
Sunday marks the finale of HBO’s The Penguin, and fans online are stewing with theories about how it will all end. From the very plausible to the absolute batsh*t (pun intended), we’ve got ’em. Check out the top theories for The Penguin Episode 8!
Spoilers Ahead for The Penguin Episodes 1–7
Oz becomes Gotham’s new kingpin
Oz coming out on top as Gotham’s new kingpin isn’t a hot take by any means, especially since it’s been confirmed by the series’ executive producer and The Batman director, Matt Reeves. The big question with Oz winning is how will it all shake out, and exactly how will it lay the foundations for his return in The Batman: Part II?
Before The Penguin even premiered, Reeves stated that the series’ purpose was to act as a bridge between the first Batman film and its upcoming sequel. He explained in an interview with The Wrap that The Penguin allowed them to dig into the character of this iconic villain in a way that wouldn’t have been possible in The Batman:
“Here’s this guy who has been overlooked, underestimated, mocked and yet within him is this animalistic ambition. I said, ‘I want to do this thing where you see him grabbing for power and the chaos that he creates.’ It’s the beginning of him becoming that legend,” Reeves said. “We can do the origin of how Oz is the person who reaches for power in this way– why and how he becomes the kingpin.”
The plot of The Batman: Part II is still under wraps, as is Oz’s role. Just like in the first film, it’s likely that a separate antagonist will take center stage in Part II, with Oz acting as a supporting villain. Either way, fans are hoping The Penguin‘s ending will shed light on Oz’s role in the future of the Reeves’ Batman universe.
Dr. Julian Rush is a major villain hiding in plain sight
Gotham is home to many villains, and ever since Episode 2 of The Penguin, many fans have been theorizing that another classic Batman villain has been hiding in plain sight. Theo Rossi’s Dr. Julian Rush has raised a lot of eyebrows since his relationship with Sofia Falcone/Gigante unfurled.
In Episode 2, we saw Dr. Rush use a type of red light therapy on Sofia to trigger traumatic fantasies of being in Arkham Asylum and watching her brother, Alberto Falcone, get horrifically murdered in front of her. We’re taken back in time to Sofia’s imprisonment in Arkham in Episode 4, where we learn Dr. Rush was a therapist/psychiatrist who subjected her to physical and psychological torture. In the present day, Sofia calls out Rush’s twisted nature – his curiosity for watching someone’s mind get broken and having complete control over them. She accuses Rush of missing that control, hence his continued relationship with her since her release.
All of this behavior sounds eerily similar to that of Dr. Hugo Strange, a Batman villain characterized as a twisted psychiatrist who enjoys prying secrets out of patients through unorthodox, sadistic methods. While the names don’t match, this isn’t the first time a character’s name has been changed from the comics. The Batman tweaked Paul Dano’s Riddler alias to Edward Nashton versus the comics’ Edward Nygma or Eddie Nash.
Episode 3 of The Penguin introduced the psychotropic drug “Bliss,” which works as a sort of ecstasy. With Rush’s affinity for playing god with people’s minds, it’s not wrong to assume Bliss could be manipulated into a drug that sparks extreme levels of fear. Considering this, could Dr. Julian Rush be Dr. Jonathan Crane, AKA Scarecrow?
“Julian Rush” could very easily be an alias for either of the two Batman villains, and fans hope the final episode of The Penguin proves one of these theories right.
Oz kills his mother (and Sofia takes the fall)
Oz’s relationship with his mother, Francis Cobb, is the heart of this series – it’s what made him into the man he is now and drove him to kill his own brothers as a child. Sofia uses Oz’s mother to draw him out at the end of Episode 7, knowing she’s the thing he loves and will stop at nothing to protect. But what if it all ends with Oz murdering Francis himself?
Episode 8 is titled “A Great or Little Thing,” a quote from Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Wilde’s novel includes one particular line that’s giving fans pause: “Yet each man kills the thing he loves.” Will Oz kill what he loves (Francis) to achieve his goals? What’s more, in Episode 7, Francis forces Oz to promise her that he’ll kill her before her mind goes from Lewy Body Dementia.
Taking this theory further, this tragic turn of events could work out in Oz’s favor. Sofia’s reputation as “The Hangman” has plagued her since Episode 1, and Oz could pin Francis’ death on Sofia, sending her straight back to Arkham.
Oz kills Victor
Throughout the series, Victor Aguilar and Oz have developed a father-son relationship that’s pretty sweet to watch play out onscreen, considering Vic’s tragic backstory. Vic is Oz’s right-hand man, helping him build his new drug empire and trusting him to keep Oz’s mother safe. However, things may not work out for Vic by the end of the series.
Some fans have theorized The Penguin is on its way to a heartbreaking conclusion, with Oz possibly killing Vic to secure his position as kingpin.
Vic has shown immense promise while helping Oz – he’s shown that he has the same ambition as Oz and is fully committed to their cause. Sure, Oz also seems committed to keeping Vic by his side, but what if we’ve assumed wrong?
At the end of the day, Oz Cobb is a Batman villain. He’s proven before that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to fill the power vacuum in Gotham, and he’s impulsive. Will Oz see himself in Vic, feel threatened by what he could become, and feel forced to eliminate that threat? Or, will something trigger Oz to question his partnership with Vic and impulsively kill him, claiming he “had to do it?”
While I personally don’t want to see this happen in The Penguin finale, it’s certainly a compelling theory to think about.
Victor is Robin, or someone worse
If Victor isn’t murdered by Oz, fans still have theories about him, namely his identity. While his name doesn’t ring any bells in the comic book world, some of his actions do.
At the beginning of the series, Vic is caught trying to steal the rims off of Oz’s car. In the comics, Jason Todd, one of the most famous iterations of Robin, is caught trying to steal the rims off of the Batmobile before becoming the famous sidekick. This leads us to the question: Will Vic become Robin, or are the rim situations purely coincidental?
But wait, there’s more!
Another theory about Vic gaining traction on TikTok is much darker – that Victor Aguilar becomes Victor Zsasz, a Batman villain obsessed with murder. While this seems a bit far-fetched considering his character and reaction to killing someone in Episode 6, some fans are intrigued. I mean, Oz did say killing “gets easier” while comforting Vic. Was The Penguin trying to tell us something?
Gia comes back to haunt Sofia
The end of Episode 4 saw Sofia take revenge on her family, killing them all by gas, save for Johnny Viti and young Gia Viti. In the aftermath of this mass killing, Gia is taken to a children’s home, no doubt traumatized by losing her entire family. While Johnny Viti doesn’t last long by Sofia’s side before taking a bullet to the head, Gia poses a problem for Sofia in The Penguin‘s final episode.
After solidifying herself as the head of the Gigante family, Sofia learns that Gia intends to cooperate with Gotham PD as they investigate the Falcone deaths. Naturally, Sofia goes to talk to Gia in the children’s home, confronting her about talking to the police, and Gia reveals that she saw Sofia with a gas mask the night she killed the family. Sofia tells Gia that she saved her by killing her family and that she’s now free to create a new life for herself.
Whether Gia stays quiet or goes through with helping the police remains a mystery. Either way, her existence threatens Sofia’s freedom. The finale could see Sofia be forced to either kill Gia herself or end up back in Arkham if Gia works with the cops and reveals Sofia as a mass murderer.
Batman makes an appearance
One of the things that’s made The Penguin a fantastic spinoff is its ability to stand on its own without Batman or Bruce Wayne’s presence to draw viewers in.
… But that doesn’t mean fans wouldn’t welcome an appearance by the Caped Crusader. After all, we are in Gotham City– Oz’s quest for power has certainly caused chaos in Gotham, and it’s wild to think Bruce Wayne wouldn’t be aware of it. Why not intervene in some way?
Unfortunately, Matt Reeves has already shot down this theory. In an interview with Esquire before the series premiere, Reeves said about Batman’s presence in The Penguin, “He’s more of a specter in the city… One of the things that was really exciting about the opportunity to do a show was to let it really focus on that rogues’ gallery character and change points of view.”
So, no Battinson in the finale. But it doesn’t hurt to hope that maybe Reeves is lying, right? Right?!
HBO’s The Penguin finale airs Sunday at 9 PM EST, streaming exclusively on Max. Have your own theories for the finale? Let us know below, and remember to check back here for more news on The Penguin and The Batman: Part II!
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