Review of Episode 2 – “Inside Man”

The following review contains spoilers for the second episode of The Penguin, “Inside Man.”

It's always scary going into the second episode of a series whose premiere excited you. Can they continue like this? Will they abandon all these great promises? And with a shaky start to “Inside Man” – a crazy flashback to Sofia's time in Arkham and some sketchy dialogue about how “I'm not sure. I'm home.” – I was worried that the penguin was already getting the hang of things had lost. However, what comes after is a solid episode of television that may not be able to maintain the breakneck momentum of his predecessorbut still finds ways to thrillingly move toward the disastrous end Oz has planned for both the Falcones and the Maronis.

The reason for this slowdown is mainly due to the pace. There are two really badass sequences in “Inside Man” – one is the Drops heist and the other is the tense final confrontation to track down the rat – but everything in between fails to capture the same intensity. Not that it's necessary, but the episode just doesn't make up for the hills and valleys of its roller coaster ride. Each of the scenes seems necessary, sheds new light on Sofia Falcone or contributes to the relationships between Oz and the people around him, but the order in which they are placed and the way they are executed , this does not evoke the same tension and/or have the same seriousness as the first episode.

But these two sequences are truly spectacular. This series has already shown again and again in the first two episodes how Oswald can get out of anything through devious manipulation. And while I hope it doesn't get to the point where it's overused as a problem-solving tool in the series, it's really exciting to see how he gets out of these sticky situations. The final knife-changing sequence in particular is my favorite example of Oswald's special abilities. It's simple, but using Johnny Viti as a diversion to stick the knife in Castillo is a satisfying bit of drama that feels like an attempt at something Breaking Bad would do. “Inside Man” never achieves the breathtaking tension of either breaking Bad And You better call Saulbut I'm glad that The Penguin seems to be trying to do something along these lines. And it's an exciting moment that sets both Sofia and Oz on a new path where they'll work together. Or at least they will work together for now.

Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti are once again a joy to watch. Although the therapy scene initially plays out like a bad telenovela, it's both frightening and exciting to watch the anger build in Milioti's huge, soulful eyes as the episode progresses. Sofia's fuse has been lit and now we're just waiting for it to explode. And Oz, devious as ever, presents himself as the only one on their side, making his play with both the Falcones and the Maronis an even riskier tightrope to walk in the future. But as impossible as his plan sounds, Farrell sells the idea that Oz has both hands on both wheels. Maybe it's just a function of his “fake it until you make it” attitude, which he's so proud of that he tells Victor a whole story about how he came to be the driver of an old Falcone capo.

Victor doesn't get much out of “Inside Man” – he's more excited about what's to come. Throughout the episode, we get glimpses of Victor's concern for his family and/or friends who suffered the same devastation as the Riddler attack, but no one really asked him for details. It's another sign of Oswald's callousness towards Vic, no matter how hard he tries to convince Vic otherwise, and when it starts to affect his work for the Penguin, I think that becomes even more apparent. At the moment we feel a subtle sense of concern from Rhenzy Feliz, who is brilliantly ensuring that I look after the young mafia boss in training. Especially when he screws up and gets caught trying to put the jewels in Viti's car, and he frantically calls Oz for help, to no avail.

“Inside Man” does a lot of work in terms of plot, and that won’t always be the most exciting thing. Aside from these two killer scenes, it's good to deepen the bonds between the main characters while promising to break those bonds later. There's still more preparation to be done, but I'm hoping that now that everything is in place, Episode 3 can really say “go.”

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