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Television

The Penguin – Bliss review S1 E3

Jeffrey Lyles , , , , , , , , , ,

Bliss marked another amazing installment of The Penguin. That’s becoming the norm at this point 1/3 of the way through the series. How good is The Penguin? Good enough to maybe convince me to give The Batman another viewing. Even though it was Colin Farrell’s Penguin that was the standout in the film anyway.

Bliss opens with a very casually played out flashback where Vic reflects on what happened to his family on Election Night – the same night when Riddler’s bombs exploded throughout Gotham and killed his parents and sister. This wasn’t a long flashback, but it effectively did the job of showing Vic came from a loving family with two hardworking parents. Even before everything happened, Vic thought his father could ask and deserved more. This would prove to be a major theme for Bliss.

Graciela is Vic’s girlfriend, who he hadn’t seen since the incident. When Sofia and Oz head off for a private business meeting, Vic calls her over to Oz’s pad. It won’t be a lengthy reunion as Graciela has had enough of the zero opportunities left scene in Gotham. She’s off to California since, like Vic, her family died in Riddler’s attack.

the penguin - bliss review - graciela and vic

While he has enjoyed not being treated like a loser by Oz, the idea of running off with Graciela and starting over definitely sounds appealing to young Vic. But he’s not entirely sure that Oz would be keen on him leaving. All the more reason Graciela says that Vic should leave. Can’t argue with those facts.

Sofia brought Oz to her Bliss factory. Bliss is her name for the rare fungi growing on mushrooms around Arkham that she’s cultivating as a street drug. Since she can’t very well sell it through the Falcone family connections with Lucca in charge, she needs a new distributor. With Oz’s help, Sofia can paint Gotham red.

Johnny Vitti could care less about Sofia’s plans. She’s got three days to make use of the plane ticket he booked her for Italy or that’s where he’ll tell people she went. That is a seriously cold threat. That was the just one of many great scenes and exchanges in Bliss.

Oz has an inside track into getting Bliss out to the masses in Chinatown. First, he’s got to get Link Tsai (Robert Lee Leng) on board with arranging a meeting with his boss, Feng Zhao (Francois Chau, Lost). All Link needs is a phone call from Vitti saying he is working with Oz and Sofia. Or Sofia.

In a very subtle terrific element at play is how Oz bristles oh so slightly when Sofia says that he’s working for her – making it clear they are not partners in this endeavor. Cristin Milioti has been fantastic every episode. She might not be the most imposing performer on screen, but she gives Sofia such presence that she just has her way every scene.

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The Oz/Vic dynamic is another highly compelling aspect of the show. In Vic, Oz might see someone who needs a kick in the rear end every so often to reach his full potential. Oz seems to enjoy being the big brother/father figure as he continually imparts little nuggets of wisdom. “You’ve got the fight in you, Vic. You’ve just gotta let it out.”

Vic is showing he’s a quick study when a crooked cop rolls up on Penguin’s car. Rather than risk the duffle bag being discovered, Vic slyly offers up the money in his pocket as a happily accepted bribe.

Oz chats up Luca’s wife, Tina, at the same restaurant he and Vic just “happen” to be dining at. He wants her to arrange a rendezvous with Johnny so he and Sofia can crash it. Then they can force Johnny to sign on to the deal with Zhao. The Penguin isn’t a comedy, but it does have some very funny moments. Farrell and Milioti bounce off each other beautifully in this scene.

And then it promptly shifts to intense when Vitti scoffs at the idea of Oz and Sofia working together as he says the Falcone family only kept The Penguin around was for entertainment. After a close up with his cell phone, Vitti is a lot more in favor of the agreement.

Oz keeps encouraging Vic telling him “I believe in you,” which is exactly the opposite of what he needs to hear when considering leaving Gotham and Oz behind for Graciela.

the penguin - bliss review - oz and sofia

Sofia is ready for the big pitch to Zhao and reminds Oz that Zhao “is here to see me, not my former driver.” Ouch. At the club, Bliss is having a great night as Eve’s girls can’t sell it fast enough. In a tremendously well edited piece, Vic starts having a little PTSD when the club explosions start up. The edit puts Vic in the middle of the tidal wave and the nightclub.

The results for Bliss speak for themselves, and Zhao agrees to partner up with Sofia (and Oz). Oz is thrilled that the deal is done but is incredibly less so when he sees Graciela’s texts asking if Vic is coming with her.

Oz seems legitimately hurt that Vic was treating their bond like he was Oz’s prisoner. After another rousing Oz pep talk where he reminds his charge that “They don’t give out awards for dying in the projects,” Vic leaves and decides to make his commute easier by taking Oz’s flashy car. He doesn’t get far as he just stays in it while watching Graciela leave the bus terminal. He’s committed now.

The transition from Vic to Oz is another great edit as director Craig Zobel really had a firm vision on portraying the duality of Oz and Vic here.

Sofia is nonplussed after Oz says they got the deal. She still can’t trust him after he ratted her out and got her sent to Arkham. While he’s not a made man (yet) Oz has felt like he’s overcome the odds to get this far in the family. As for his role in getting Sofia sent to Arkham. Sure, he’s sorry, but those actions did help him earn this spot in the Falcone family, so he doesn’t actually regret it either.

the penguin - bliss review - eve, oz and vic

Before he can spin some fantastic tale about loyalty and being trustworthy, Nadia Maroni and some of her men roll up on Oz and Sofia – all set to kill him. Good thing Vic was already making his way back. Oz knew he was returning and hypes Vic again as they roll off with the sounds of gunfire echoing in the increasingly more distant background.

Bliss was absolute fantastic TV. The main cast is on one of those inspired runs where everyone is bouncing off each other to deliver amazing performances. With so many more episodes to go, the question isn’t ‘can the writers sustain this momentum?’ Now it’s simply how far can they go in making this a very strong candidate for one of the best comic book-based TV series.

Raring: 9.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: Max

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