The Penguin finally sheds light on Oz’s unhealthy relationship with his mother in a powerful episode told through flashbacks. As a child, Oz had an unhealthy attachment to his mother, Francis. While she balanced the checkbook, Oz would dote on her instead of playing outside with his brothers.
His maternal enmeshment may seem endearing initially, but it quickly becomes unsettling. Oz would rather watch a movie with his mother than play outside and even looks annoyed when his brothers burst into the room, playing “zombies.” This attachment disorder stems from childhood.
Francis makes them play as they all run through the rain-soaked streets of Gotham, leading them to the abandoned trolley station we saw at the end of The Penguin, episode 5, titled “Homecoming.” We glimpse a Gotham public transportation token, and the metal door Oz has been fixated on.
Max’s The Penguin Season 1 Episode 7: How Does Oz Kill His Brothers?
Oz locks his brothers in the overflow tunnel of the Gotham Water Authority. (The door resembles one on a submarine, like in Crimson Tide or The Hunt for Red October.) The middle child is upset because his older brother ran ahead, knowing he had a limp, making it hard to keep up. Meanwhile, the “Penguin” heads home to spend a quiet night with his mother, watching a movie.
Oz tells Francis they went to see a movie, giving him an excuse to spend a peaceful evening alone with her. As the rain intensifies, flooding the streets and pooling in the planters on the windowsill, Oz (Colin Farrell) is fully aware of what’s happening to his siblings. Yet, he never tells Francis or goes to let them out. He and Francis watch what appears to be a Fred Astaire film.
It becomes clear that Oz is forming his vision of adulthood: being a gangster in a tuxedo and buying his mother a penthouse suite in Gotham’s tallest tower. Meanwhile, his brothers are shown banging on the door, desperately pleading to be let out. Before the title credit page appears, we see water leaking from all angles of the locked door, suggesting the boys have drowned.
How Does Sal Maroni Die?
Sal dies of a heart attack after fighting Oz at his underground drug lab. To be honest, it’s a darkly comic scene. After Oz visits the safehouse, he finds Francis missing and Victor unconscious. He then hears Sal and his men outside. He has Victor escape out the window, asking him to gather an army. Sal takes Oz to his lab, where they kill two of Oz’s men, including Bruno.
Sal announces that they are now working for the Giganti and Maroni families. However, Sal provokes Oz, who signals one of his men to cut the lights. That’s when Oz makes his move, with Sal and Cobb ending up in an office, throwing punches. Sal grabs his arm, then collapses and dies. Oz berates Sal’s dead body, declaring that he has won, and shoots him with his handgun.
Meanwhile, Rush (Theo Rossi) approaches Sofia (Cristin Milioti) to tell her that her niece, whom she spared, is asking to talk to the police at the hospital. Sofia visits her, and the little girl asks if she killed her mom and dad. Sofia denies it, saying that she loves them. However, Sofia is glad everyone is dead because they are not good people, she tells her.
The Penguin’s Season 1 Episode 7 Ending Explained: How Does Oz Survive the Bombing?
The Penguin ends with Oz escaping into the abandoned Gotham tunnels, likely protecting him from the blast of the SUV that Gigante sent to kill him. Ironically, he uses the same water bypass steel door that he once locked to kill his brothers. We see Sofia hang up the phone and take Francis into an abandoned nightclub called “Monroe’s.” Then, there are flashbacks.
Young Oz and his mother have a “date” night. Francis takes him to Monroe’s when it is still thriving. Dr. Rush most likely triggers this memory. (It is my sneaking suspicion that Sofia now knows that Oz was responsible for the deaths of Francis’s two other sons.) She breaks down, telling Oz he has to take care of her because she can no longer manage and deserves a good life.
When Oz wakes up, he climbs the steel ladder to find the destroyed neighborhood. The blast has killed his crew. Then, Detective Marcus Wise, one of the Falcone moles inside the police department, approaches Oz from behind and knocks him out with a blow to the head.
You can stream the new limited series The Penguin on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping weekly.
The Penguin Episode 7 Recap and Spoiler Review — Why Did Oz Kill His (Spoiler)?
In the most explosive episode of the season so far, we learn how Oz became the man he is today in The Penguin. The wonderfully written and layered episode by Vladimir Cvetko (Power) and directed by Kevin Brey (Heroes, Walking Tall) brings Oz full circle, as we finally understand his unhealthy attachment to Francis. Deirdre O’Connell gives a haunting and Emmy-worthy performance here.
