TV Show review
Review basis: 1 season · through November 10, 2024
September 19, 2024 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Penguin is an eight-episode HBO crime drama miniseries that follows Oswald "Oz" Cobb's brutal climb to control Gotham's underworld after the Riddler floods the city and Carmine Falcone dies. It plays like a grounded Sopranos-style gangster story focused on family loyalty, ambition, betrayal, and power vacuums, with Colin Farrell's unrecognizable performance as the deformed, ruthless Oz and Cristin Milioti as his fierce rival Sofia Falcone. Audience-visible elements include the showrunner's intentional casting of a Latino street kid as Oz's protege to expand representation, Sofia's arc through trauma and female power in a male mob world, and light class/elite critiques amid the chaos. No overt political speeches or identity lectures drive the plot.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Penguin.
Woke representation / casting
Creator explicitly highlighted casting a Latino actor as Victor Aguilar to increase non-stereotypical representation; supporting roles include diverse ethnic gang members that fit Gotham's crime world without major mismatches or heavy signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Oz uses populist "us vs. elites" rhetoric to recruit allies, and class tensions appear in mob power struggles; no modern activist speeches or lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Sofia's rise involves navigating trauma and male-dominated crime world with revenge for her father's targeted killings of women; family dysfunction and Victor's ambition add layers, but these serve traditional crime narrative rather than activist messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows corrupt crime families, police, and politicians exploiting post-flood chaos and inequality in Gotham; classic gangster critique of power and ambition with subtle class notes, not modern systemic or identity-based framing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Niche complaints on Reddit and YouTube about brief trans characters and "DEI" in Latino casting or feminist reads of Sofia; no broad public outrage or major campaigns.
Creator track record context
Key figure Lauren LeFranc and writers like Shaye Ogbonna and Erika Johnson have records of representation focus and activism; others neutral or low-profile.
Production
