The Penguin S1 E4: "Cent'anni" Review

If the rest of The Penguin assured me of its competent craftsmanship, I have to say that its fourth episode, Cent'anni, is not just the best episode yet, but likely one of the best episodes of episodic television I've seen in a long, long time. In a lot of ways, this is probably due to it being the first episode in this series that dared to adjust its modus operandi while also managing to maintain everything that was great about what came before. Up until now, The Penguin has understandably been about The Penguin. However, this is not the case with Cent'anni. You see, this episode is Sofia Falcone's in just about every way. If she seemed haunted and sinister before, she's now as complex a character as can be, and though the showrunners took a chance with the show's pacing to make this episode, it's a risk that pays off in every way. I loved seeing the ins and outs of Sofia's past as much as the showrunners did. It's difficult stuff to stomach at times, but that's the point.

This may be something that's to be expected, but it's likewise refreshing to see the background of some of mob boss Carmine Falcone's wrongdoings. You see, Sofia's father has already been revealed to be an absolutely horrible human being throughout the history of the franchise, and even in The Batman, but it's eye-opening to actually see some of Falcone's wrongdoing in this show. We know that Selina Kyle - AKA Catwoman - had it out for his death in The Batman, and here, we're shown why in no uncertain terms in an episode that feels like watching the other half of a partially finished puzzle fall into place.

I like the change of pace of this episode. It commits to the tone that the show has set but changes the focus, and manages to walk the tightrope act of adding a lot to the world while avoiding the pitfall of distracting from what came before, and that's something special. Cent'anni digs deep into the corruption of Gotham City's justice department, and it can be an effectively infuriating thing to watch, crafting a tangible feeling of overwhelming helplessness. Sofia is thrown into the mental wing of Arkham at the whims of shady, underhanded mob bosses and affiliates, and it frankly made me more than a little mad, in good ways.

The revelations and twists at the end of Cent'anni are utterly shocking, and by the time the credits rolled, I can confidently say that it is easily my favorite episode of the series so far, though it's ironically not even about Penguin. Cristin Milioti is a phenomenal actress who's working with an utterly top-tier screenplay here, and it creates a fair share of storytelling magic. If the show can maintain this level of skill and intensity throughout its run, I'm very interested in seeing where it goes next.

Proverbs 28:5-6