Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) faces serious problems right from the first episode of The Penguin, titled “After Hours.” He kills Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), deals with the suspicious Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), and faces pressure from the troubled Falcone Family.
Despite these issues, Oz finds a way out. He shifts the blame for Alberto’s death to Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) and avoids severe punishment with the help of Victor (Rhenzy Feliz). Now, Oz has a bold plan he took from Alberto.
This plan involves a new drug that he hopes will help him take control of the criminal world. The Batman showed that the main drug on the streets of Gotham is called “drops.”
These drops are actually eyedrops that get users high. The effects are similar to MDMA, but they are very addictive. Oz tells Alberto, “good on you” for “staying off the drops,” knowing that people will still use them even after they have been removed from the water.
The drugs reveal a lot about Oz’s approach to being a leader in crime. With drops acting as a form of currency, they become a key part of Oz’s plan to gain power in Gotham by turning other crime families against each other.
Drops Are the Key Currency in ‘The Penguin’
Gotham has become chaotic after the events of The Batman, with many crime groups competing for power. The death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro/Mark Strong) has left a big gap in the criminal world.
The “Odesa Mob” and “Burnley Town” are fighting for Oz’s drop supply, while other families want to shut down Oz’s drug business to protect their interests.
Drops become the main currency that crime families will fight over. Oz’s plan to create “a new high” puts him in a strong position to control this currency.
However, he only retrieves 30% of his drop supply, after claiming he has 70%.
This increases the pressure on Oz right from the start of The Penguin, showing that his position is fragile and held together by tricks. Yet, the drops are only part of a bigger plan Oz has in mind.
Drops Are Just a Small Part of Oz Cobb’s Strategy in ‘The Penguin’
Oz seems to want to create more violence in Gotham. He tells Sal Maroni in prison, “Whoever controls drops controls the streets,” using the ring he took from Alberto to lure Maroni.
If Oz can set the Maronis, Falcones, and other gangs against each other over the control of drops and Alberto’s murder, he could take over all of Gotham once the fighting stops.
Oz knows he cannot fight everyone alone. He is like a clever puppet master, but this also makes him vulnerable. Every scene with Oz and other criminals is tense.
By working quietly in the background and encouraging others to make noise, it might explain why Batman is not targeting Oz specifically. Matt Reeves has confirmed that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will not appear in the series.
Whatever this “new high” is, Oz Cobb’s wish to claim this drug for himself shows his complex morals and the hypocrisy of being a gangster. Earlier in the episode, he talks to Alberto about the old gangsters like Rex Calabrese, who everyone admired.
Oz’s reliance on the drug trade shows how his dreams clash with his harsh reality. He is someone people laugh at, but he is also someone who will bring drugs into the communities he wants to love him.
This season, Oz’s biggest challenge may be choosing between wanting to be loved or feared while trying to achieve both.
Colin Farrell’s performance as Oz Cobb has been excellent in the pilot of The Penguin. His power is set up to change by the end of the show.
Even though drops will be a main focus in a flooded Gotham, they may only distract from Cobb’s larger plans to rise to power.
This sets him up to be a truly menacing villain by the show’s end, someone that even Pattinson’s Batman may not see coming in The Batman: Part II.
The Penguin is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
