Cinepals - THE PENGUIN Episodes 1 & 2 Reaction & Review! | Max | DCU | Colin Farrell

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

Jaby and Cortney get started with the new HBO Max series set in the world of The Batman "The Penguin". The show follows the rise of Oswald Cobblepot, a ruthless and cunning criminal mastermind, as he navigates Gotham City's dangerous underworld to solidify his power and become one of its most feared crime lords. The Penguin stars Colin Farrell (In Bruges, The Batman, & The Lobster) as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin. Other notable cast members include Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs, How I Met Your Mother, & The Wolf of Wall Street) as Sofia Falcone, and Rhenzy Feliz (Runaways, Encanto, & American Horror Stories) as Victor Aguilar Watch the cutdown reaction on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@cinepals or watch along with Jaby and Cortney on Patreon at www.cinejump.com SOCIAL MEDIA ~CINEPALS~  YouTube: @CinePals Insta: https://instagram.com/TheCinePals Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCinePals ~CORTNEY WRIGHT~ Instagram: @CortneyScottWright

Nothing with you as small is it. Ha ha ha ha ha. Look at the size that thing. This is the only size it came in. It's Barbie. It's bombastic. It doesn't think. Are you good court?

Can we start? I hate Jabby. This is why Jabby doesn't ask me to come back. Senna. What's going on everybody? I'm Jabby Kouye, joined by Courtney Scott Wright. Hello, hello. We are watching The Penguin together.

Some of you guys were wondering why we hadn't started watching this yet. I was honestly just going to watch it for leisure. And then so many people in the comments were like, where's the penguin reaction? I'm like, oh, okay, I guess a lot of people want this. I didn't realize. Because I really enjoyed the Batman, and so did you. I did. And so I am very much looking forward to watching this.

We're doing two episodes, so stick around for both. If you're not familiar with Courtney, she's one of my best friends. If I was in a bad situation, she's definitely the fourth person I would call. Here we go. Fourth. I went down in the rating. It's better, right? Come on.

You mix of flavors? Yeah. Yeah, it's good. No, it's not just good. It's better. All these little touches are so great. Yeah. Nine to five.

Music? Yes. It's working nine to five. Oh, myself a cup of ambition and yawning and stretch and try to come to life. Wow. What a great first episode. That was brilliant. We'll get into the second episode into Hot Second. I thought we should assess our feelings about this real fast.

I loved this. I thought this was fantastic. And it was more than I could have possibly hoped for. I don't know that I had any expectations going in just because, I mean, like I said, I did see the actors at Comic Con. They didn't show anything. So I totally thought that she was his daughter. I knew she had been in Arkham, but I didn't know who she was. find out it was Falcone's daughter. She stole, like, and it's hard because he's so brilliant. Everyone is so good. The connection, but like, she stole it for me. Oh, the show? Yeah, I wasn't

that episode. I was not expecting her to come out hitting that strong. Yeah. Now, her performance was incredible. I think they cast it a, I don't, I'm not familiar with that actress. Christina Maloney. She, she played the mother at the end of how I met your mother. Like, she came at the very end. Oh, that's right. Okay, yes, yes, yes. I remember her now. Yeah. Yes, but I never properly... She never got to see her chop. No, but you didn't get to see her chops in that, you know? But I never even properly watched the last four seasons of that or five seasons.

I stopped at season six, and then I watched the very last episode just out of curiosity. I watched sporadic episodes and just watch that. So one of the things I really appreciated about the Batman is the opportunity to dive into Gotham in that way. Because in the Christopher Nolan trilogy, you hear a lot, especially in Batman begins, about how a erupt and ruined Gotham is, but you don't really see it. It's told, it's inferred, right? In the Batman, you really got to see how corrupt Gotham is and what Batman is trying to save. And so here you get the opportunity to dive into that world, and it feels so faithful to the

film in the way that it's portrayed, outside of the heightening of profanity and violence, which you didn't see as much in the Batman. Like, it really feels like an extension of that in a very faithful and real way, you know, as opposed to, like, yeah, one or two episodes I watched with, like, Supergirl. It just felt like a completely different thing from the Superman movie that, or, you know, Man of Steel that had come out at the time. Supergirl, wait, the TV series? Yeah, well, whatever, I don't know if it was supposed to be related to Man of Steel or something else. No, no, no, yeah, it had no, it was its own entity.

It's funny that you mentioned that, like this, even though, like you, I loved the Batman. And the reason I thought naming the title, the Batman, you saw what caused him to become or feel the need to put on this mask and become that, which is like, you know, kind of like what you were saying. Like you get to see the underbelly of Gotham, which basically birthed the Batman. And this, similar to Supergirl, you know, it's its own, the penguin is its own entity. It exists in the same world. Yeah.

But it's literally focusing on these people that are part of the Batman's world. and that underbelly that birthed him. But this is us getting to see the playground of who these people are and why they are, you know? Like, even like all the nuances of Oswald Cobblepot, like everything. We never knew what made The Penguin the Penguin in any other iteration of Batman or Gotham or, I mean, actually, like, you.

I didn't see, I didn't see that. You never saw Batman Returns? So, no, I meant Gotham, the TV show. I never saw that. And Batman returned, is that the one with Danny DeVito? Yes. Yeah, but he was born that way. You know what I'm saying?

Like they said that he was born with this, you know, like deformities or, you know, differences, what have you, and they threw him in the river. But this, like, you can see, it's literally his leg and he has scarring that shows that he was either in a fight or something happened. But, like, we're seeing the evolution of the penguin. Yeah, seeing the relationship between him and his mom was super cool as well. Like, I really wasn't sure what direction that scene was going to go. I had a certain anticipation, especially off of something like Goodfellas, where the mom is the mom. You know, she's not involved in that world and she doesn't know about that world. She's kept, you know, she basically is kept out of the loop completely.

And so, in Goodfellas. But here, it's like, no, no, she's aware of how this world operates and she's proud of her son, moreover. Like, she doesn't just know about it. She's proud of that. That's crazy. And her behavior in the way she was like giving him the coach speech, so to speak. I thought that was all great writing, great performance, great scene work all around. Yeah, it was like the connection between the two of them.

Because this, I would say, this is a conversation and a speech that she has given him since he was a child. Right. Because it says to me, like even the nickname that she had for him, you know, like this says to me, this is something that she has to remind him. not to hide from who he is or to think himself weak in any way, shape, or form because somebody else says something about him. This is someone who coached him. She literally raised, not only raised her son, but raised him to be the man that he is now. And that is so cool to see, basically, she was telling him, no, I'm not going anywhere.

Yeah. Even though this woman is clearly in the beginning stages of some sort of, like, memory loss or dementia, yeah she cleared up immediately yeah and it was so cool to watch these two people like these two like tennis players just battling it out and it was so powerful because you just get lost in it they did a great job of having us root for the these characters that are from the underbelly of society I guess because when you're when you're dealing with nothing but bad guys you're finding someone to kind of glum on to to like but even you know even though he is a bad guy there's some there's a lot of relatable characteristics about, you know, the penguin.

And I think that that's super cool. Like, all the little things that they put in there, it just heightened the entertainment value so much down to like, the humor. Yeah, the humor. Yeah, the humor. The comedy of it, you know. But it's done in such a way that doesn't feel disingenuine. It doesn't feel like, it feels authentic.

Yeah. It feels authentic to the world and his character and just like believability as he's a human being at the end like anybody else. Yeah. And I think that's just just your super cool way to, and they even brought it back at the end where they're eating the like the end of up they're eating the dessert together i'm like this is so wild because he's still dangerous at the end of the day and i'm really wondering uh where that relationship is ultimately going to go if there's going to be some kind of friction when he learned

something about penguin then he's like oh like he's actually really messed up i don't know like i'm wondering about how that what's going to create conflict between those two characters well i i think that there's going to be a brotherhood i almost think that if this kid is not like a secret undercover agent I think he's going to end up being like the Achilles heel because this is some of the like Oswald Kabapot doesn't have anybody else doesn't have anybody other than his mom and you know what I mean and I feel like he's developing a bond like a father's son bond with this kid and this kid you know even just to mention that he knows that the tenement he lived in was destroyed and you know at the end of Batman and like what happened to to all that neighboring area yeah and I'm guessing if the kid does have somebody like

I don't think he does. I think he either lost all his family or he's got like to get something together to save and help his family. Well, at some point, those other remaining friends are going to come up. And at some point, it might even come up that, you know, Oswald, you know, had his friend killed, you know, someone who was with him in that group. Yeah, but those people, they left him at the end of the day. I'm not saying, I'm not listening.

I'm the first person, you know what I mean? But also, what is it, the rules? Like, nobody wants a rat in the... her crew. Sure. And that kid totally rad. And granted, she was terrifying. Yeah.

And I can't say, I don't think I would, but she was terrifying. Yeah. You know, what's great about that is they did a lot with a little, you know. And we, they answered the question, like, why she called the hangman? Yeah, but also to your point when you said, like, because I was like, I guess he's got to tell her and hope that that it would either, like, buy him some, like, credit saying, I told you the truth or go out like a man and, like, I know I'm about to die. Like either way.

Well, he's not that guy, but he, we didn't, also, we didn't know about the plan that he had. I knew he had the kid do something, but I didn't know what. Yeah, that was great writing. Yeah. You know, they just sort of bury that secret for the, for the audience. That's the beauty of it. It was very well written. Yeah.

This pilot was fantastic. I haven't seen a pilot this good in a really long time. Let's go into episode two. Here we go. What do you say, Oz? Oh, an alliance. You in? Let's dance.

Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Let's go. What? It's like all these secrets. Oh, my gosh. Like the weaving that he is doing, like dropping seeds here, connecting this piece. And the like the dance of the improv, honestly, of when things don't work out.

Oh, got to pivot. Got a pivot. Yeah. Like so good. Yeah. I'm really enjoying this. I mean, from on all the levels. You know, like, because the performance, the way it's shot, the writing.

Yeah. The look of it? Yeah, the whole thing. It's just fantastic. I've heard, yeah, I've heard so many good things, you know, just like, not specific, but just like everyone's saying, who's watched, it was like, oh, my God, yo, the penguin. I'm like, it can't be that good. And it is.

It's like it's one of those few instances where something lived up to the hype, you know? Yeah, like even the episode two came out of the gates just as strong as episode one. Because usually there's kind of like a drop-off, you know, even if the pilot is strong, episode two, you know, meanders and in setting up the world and introducing characters. And there's not always not a lot of action. But this had action, it had intrigue. We were fearful for our, like, you know, for us. Exactly.

As well as, do we root for Sophia? Is she a villain? Is she a pawn? Like what, you know what I mean? But she's definitely a player. That's what I would say. Like, she's definitely in it to win and it's hard to not root for both of them. Right.

You know what I mean? Yeah, I agree with you. And even the kid. Like, I really like the kid. I am curious to see what will open up for him when he loses the stutter, when he finds that confidence. And we find out who is Graciella, you know? Was he on that missing board? I just, I'm so floored by Colin Farrell more than that.

anything like because you know I when I saw him in the movie and then I heard that there was going to be a show it kind of shocked me to be honest with you because I'm like so hold up so he's going to do an entire series with the prosthetic with that behavior with the walk and everything like that because I look at that kind of thing as like a I can't think of a better way to put this right now but it's like it's like a Daniel de Lewis thing you know it's like he's completely immersing himself in this role it's as what's the word that you use when it's like you're always that character method acting it's like he's totally that guy for the whole duration it's not like doing succession where you can basically you're relatively speaking a

normal person he's got a whole thing going on yeah and the commitment to doing that i'm just so happy that we get this it's a gift you know we don't get these very often yeah for me the the closest or the one that really stands out closest for me is charlie's deron and monster i never saw that i never saw that yeah but imagine imagine imagine that for an entire show right i understand yeah i totally know what you're saying but I'm just saying like immersing yourself in this character in the walk in the and losing all pieces of yourself like he's doing a brilliant job yeah like and on top of the fact that like he's an Irish actor right right right right isn't it Irish yeah like he has a very thick accent so like and yet you don't hear any of that yeah usually there's someone like somebody

will drop a word or like a vowel sound will be off you're absolutely right and he is fantastic He's flawless. Yes. You know, you're absolutely right. What's the name of the actress again? Christina Maloney? Yeah, I mean, I think that's her last name. I'm pretty sure it's...

I'll be echoing some of the things I said earlier, but there's just like a subtlety in the way she carries herself. It's so lived in. Like, there's not even a fleeting moment where I'm looking at her going, this is an actress I'm looking at. I'm just looking at this person. Yeah. As much as I believe Colin Farrell is the penguin in that moment, I believe she's this person. And that's such a great thing to have in a show where. where you kind of just forget your watching actors act.

Yeah. You know what I mean? And for me, it's like the little things, like her eyes. Yeah. Like her eyes are so intense and yet connected. And you can see her reliving and feeling things, even if she's not emoting. And it's so powerful.

That's like, that scene with Cousin Carla, I'm sorry. I don't know what Cousin Carla was thinking. Well, she was put up to it. She was. But like, you can't fly. lynch like that. She's literally two for flinching, my friend. Because the minute the little girl came up, it's like, uh, no, you weren't supposed to be here. Uh. Well, that was such a great moment because it had me asking questions like, hold up. Why would this girl, why would this woman, excuse me,

volunteer this kind of offer to her full well, everybody knows who she is. Like, Sophia's like, Nutsu, her dad put her up to it. Exactly. It just seems like such a wild thing to like, is she just cool with these kinds of people? Like, And then they answered the question as soon as I thought it. You know, when the girl was introduced, I was like, oh, shit. She didn't have no intentions of actually doing any of this. Or even if she was going to go, it was like, I'm fine to put myself in this mix, but not my child. Right.

Which, honestly, the little girl was in no danger from her. Like, I don't even think Carla was in danger. Yeah, but she didn't know that. She didn't because she was just afraid in general. But like. Yeah. But there's an instinct that kicks in. Yeah.

Would you ever see that Zach Snyder zombie movie? I think it's called Donna the Dead. I watched it not that long ago. And there's a scene in the movie where a woman risks her life and everything and everyone else's life, basically, for a dog. And it's like, the zombies don't even eat the dog. But yet she risked her life with the dog. And so likewise, well, she doesn't know, you know, she has no idea. She knows more than we do about her backstory.

So there's something in there that made her afraid. Yeah, why she killed. Seven plus women. Exactly. And that's a daughter. So there's that. I'm excited to see what else is coming. I'm a little bit confused still why Penguin put the knife in the bodyguard's jacket versus the other dude.

Yeah. I am as well. I didn't see that coming. Okay. Because he did get close enough to vet it. I mean, it was all over him. Yeah. And then all of a sudden I was like, he's got the wrong hand.

He had the knife in this hand because he was doing this, like behind him. So it was really interesting, you know? Like, I wonder what, why the play was that. It might have been, it might have looked too obvious if it was, since he had just attacked Viti. Do you know what I mean? That's true. That's true. And he also probably wanted to get back at Christian for, like, trying to take his arm.

It's also, yeah. It's also, it's also surprise for the audience because you're expecting him to be the one who takes the fall. And it's like, what? How come the guy didn't find his knife? It was a good twist. Yeah, it's a twist. The only thing I didn't like in this episode was the boss, you know, shooting the guy himself. Because in the mafia stuff, you never see the actual boss use the gun himself.

It's always heavy or some other person doing the, because like you said, you know, any witnesses, it's just, no, you're not, you never, you never see him kill anybody. But I think it's almost like what Oz's mom said to him, like, are you showing weakness? Are you showing weakness? Like, in that moment, she kept saying, give me your gun. like she was asking you know what I mean so I don't know if that irritated him like you're showing they already think she's weak right so you're showing more weakness for our family so he just wanted it to be done or I don't know I didn't I didn't I didn't get that but but you've been picking up on stuff quicker than I have so maybe that's what that what that was I just didn't read it that way

I just didn't think they take her seriously at all like no one takes her seriously And at some point, she's going to take over all this shit. Yeah. And then Penguin's going to take it from her. Yeah, that's season two. Anyways, you guys, thanks so much for hanging out. Hopefully enjoyed that. I'm Jabby Koi.

This is Courtney Scott Wright. Peace out.