‘Absolute peak cinema’: The Penguin fans are desperate to see what happens next after ‘incredible’ ending to The Batman spin-off’s third episode

Full spoilers for The Penguin episode 3.

The Penguin episode 3 has waddled onto a streaming service near you – and fans are devastated they’ve got to wait another week to find out what happens after its “incredible” ending.

Titled ‘Bliss’, the HBO show’s latest entry has viewers waxing lyrical about The Batman TV spin-off’s third chapter, with many throwing around words like “masterpiece”, “fantastic”, and “stunning” to describe it. Not bad for a spin-off series that, somewhat bizarrely, wasn’t chief among many audience members’ most anticipated TV picks heading into the final few months of the year, eh? Not to blow my own trumpet, but I feel vindicated in not only selecting The Penguin as one of 14 epic TV shows I couldn’t wait for in late 2024, but also calling it a show that deserves to sit alongside The Sopranos in HBO’s crime drama pantheon.

But I digress. Why has episode 3’s final sequence got people so worked up and eager to watch the Max series’ next installment as soon as possible? Because it’s an emotionally blind-siding end to an episode where Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone seemed ready to establish a new world order in Gotham City’s criminal underworld.

Unfortunately, viewers dreaming of seeing the pair become the city’s new kingpins by way of a mutually exclusive partnership have their fantasy shattered in the episode’s climax. After a poignant moment between Oz and Sofia outside one of the Triads’ clubs, which suggests Oz actually wants to make up with Sofia for reasons I won’t spoil here, he immediately goes and betrays his new partner-in-crime. Indeed, the Maroni family – who have been spying on Oz and realize he’s been playing them and Sofia against one another – suddenly rock up at said nightclub and, knowing they’ve been betrayed by Oz, hold him and Sofia at gunpoint.

Luckily for Oz, Victor, who appeared to walk away from his life of crime under Oz just minutes earlier, unexpectedly returns to rescue his boss. Crashing Oz’s plum-colored and souped-up car into the Maroni’s thugs, Victor gives Oz enough time to wrestle a handgun from one of said thugs and lay down some covering fire so the duo can flee. Before they do, Victor asks Oz if they’re saving Sofia, too, which Oz – in typically curt and expletive-laden fashion – tells him they’re not. Cue the pair speeding off into the night as a bloodied, dazed, and panic-stricken Sofia calls her therapist (and lover on the side) Julian Rush for help before she blacks out.

Comment from r/DC_Cinematic

Alright, my rundown of what happens in episode 3’s final moments might not read like an explosively epic event but, believe me, it is – and, judging by the reactions I’ve seen online in the wake of ‘Bliss’ being released, a lot of viewers agree that it’s stunning to watch what plays out.

Over on The Penguin Subreddit, one thread is full of users gushing about how absorbing, hilarious, and heart-breaking its last scene is. HollandGW215 summed it up best, writing: “So that partnership ended as fast as it started”, while scores of others – lanadeslav, jcsi, and ssj2preston – made light of how quickly Oz decided to leave Sofia for dead once Victor saves him.

Meanwhile, others commented on how Oz’s betrayal of Sofia will make him a marked man for the rest of the series. Redditor MT1120 pointed out “that’s Sofia on his ass for the rest of the show”, while synth_stryder simply wrote “Sofia is gonna be p****d”. It seems like Oz is up for the challenge of locking horns with Sofia now, too, with users including Koppite93 and JauntyLurker pointing out that his gleefully unhinged “we’re in it now, Vic” comment suggests he’s knows the game is truly afoot.

Similar sentiments have been expressed on other social media platforms, such as X/Twitter, as well as on forums like ResetEra. A thread on the latter is full of other fans not only praising how ‘Bliss’ ends, but keen to see where things go from here. Indeed, from users like Rod simply saying “please no, don’t end the episode like that” to others, including I Don’t Like, Charpunk, and Lotus, commenting on Oz’s delectably horrible persona and decision making, fans seem to be in agreement that The Penguin episode 3 is the strongest entry so far.

Of course, the ending of ‘Bliss’ leaves us all with plenty of questions heading into its successor. What’ll become of Sofia? Are we finally going to learn more about her backstory? How are Oz and Victor going to get themselves out of this mess? What action will the Maroni family take against Oz now? And, most importantly: where is Batman when Gotham’s two biggest crime families are duking it out for control of the city’s criminal underbelly!?

I could answer all of those but, unlike Oz, I’m not a monster, so you’ll get no big story spoilers out of me concerning one of the best Max shows‘ fourth episode. You’ll just have to wait until next Sunday (October 13) rolls around, sorry.

The Penguin’s first three episodes are out now on Max and HBO (US), Sky and Now (UK), and Binge (Australia).

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