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This is a DynaMic Network podcast. Hey guys,
Marvelous Joe at the top of the episode to

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remind you that in the months of November and
December, Dynamic Duel is donating 10% of the

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proceeds from our store to Stand Up to Cancer.
So support our show, support a great cause

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by going to dynamicduel.com and clicking on
the store button where you can buy a whole

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bunch of new cool products. Jonathan, what do
we got for them that's new? We got hoodies,

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we got posters, shoes. water bottles, even a
2025 calendar for you guys. Yeah, there's a

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whole lot of holiday shopping you could do on
the website. So again, be sure to visit dynamicduel.com,

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click the store button and check out all the
dynamic duel stuff we have to offer. Thanks

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00:00:44,745 --> 00:00:45,945
guys and on with the show.

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Hi, welcome to the Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly
show where we review superhero films and debate

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the superiority between Marvel and DC by comparing
their characters in stat-based battle simulations.

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I'm Marvelous Joe. And I'm his twin brother,
Johnny DC. And in this episode, we're going

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to review some lame ass show on Max called The
Penguin, I guess? So you know when Joseph is

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talking about a DC show, if he calls it lame,
it means it's actually the exact opposite of

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that. It was everything I wanted it to be. It
was fantastic, a masterpiece, and it basically

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restored my faith in DC after the disaster that
was Joker 2. Well, don't give away the farm

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on this intro, man. Like, you gotta tease what's
coming up later on this episode. I'm just letting

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the people know it's good. Okay, but, like,
was it really good, though? You guys have to

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stay tuned to find out. Before we get into the
review, we're gonna break down last week's

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comic book movie news, including the trailer
that Marvel Studios released for What If Season

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3, and actually, that's all the news. As usual,
No DC news. As always, we list our segment

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times in our episode description, so feel free
to check out the show notes if you want to

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skip ahead to a particular topic. Our artificially
intelligent duel simulator AJ9K has a quick

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message for our listeners, so listen up. Why
hello there, do you want even more from this

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podcast? Then become a part of the dynamic duel
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from three tiers. The dynamic two-oh tier gives
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fantastic four tier gives you two bonus episodes
each month, and the X-Force tier makes you

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an executive producer of this show. Lastly,
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create your own podcast using this Monte Carlo
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your show, provide graphic support and consultation,
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your ideas via email at dynamicduelpodcast at
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dynamicduel. Pip pip cheerio. Thanks, H3N1K,
and thanks to everyone who supports the podcast.

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Guys, be sure to tune into the other shows on
the DynaMic Podcast Network this week, including

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Max Destruction, which pits your favorite action
heroes from film and television against each

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other. This week, hosts Scotty and Gilly are
finding out who would win in a fight between

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Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit. On the Senjoworld
podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on

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00:03:25,945 --> 00:03:31,428
fights between fan favorite anime and manga
characters. Zach is currently traveling abroad,

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so the show is momentarily on a brief hiatus.
And on the Console Combat Podcast, hosts John

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and Dean simulate battles between popular video
game characters. In yesterday's episode, they

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found out who would win between Emil8239 from
Halo and Grayfox from Metal Gear Solid. Visit

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dynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our
show notes to listen to all of the shows in

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the DynaMic Podcast Network. But with that
out of the way, quick to the no prize! A no-prize

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00:04:01,894 --> 00:04:06,315
is an award that Marvel used to give out to
fans. Our version, the Dynamic Duel No Prize,

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is a digital award that we post on Instagram
for the person that we feel gave the best answer

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to our question of the week. Last week we asked,
what would you say is the best Marvel or DC

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film to watch on Valentine's Day with your significant
other, and why? And this is coming off the

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news that Captain America Brave New World is
coming out on Valentine's Day for 2025, and

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Jonathan and I were arguing on whether or not
it would be a good date movie. We got a number

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of answers, so let's break down this week's
honorable mentions before revealing the no-prize

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winner. Our first honorable mention goes to
Baideer Bangura, who said, Hi, Dinami Dool.

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My answer to the question of the week would
be Batman Returns. I think the great chemistry

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between Michelle Pfeiffer. Michael Keaton is
palpable. I think that the storyline is amazing.

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I think the imagery and the scenery, the neo-noir
scenery in the movie is really great as well.

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So great storyline, great feelings, great emotions.
I think with some good food you would have

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a great Valentine's Day. Take care. Yeah I would
definitely say out of all of these superhero

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films in existence, the romantic relationship
between the lead characters, Batman and Catwoman,

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has Like you could cut it with a knife. It's
a nice little romantic game of cat and flying

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mouse that they have going on there. Exactly.
Now, Bydeer mentioned that you could pair it

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with good food for a great Valentine's Day too.
Jonathan, what meal would you pair with Batman

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Returns? Oh dude, easy. Pussy. Ha!

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I was gonna say something like, I don't know,
some kind of dessert that resembles mistletoe

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or something like that because there's the line
in the movie where he's like, mistletoe can

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be deadly if you eat it and she's like, a kiss
can be deadlier if you mean it. But I think

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you have the winner answer right there. Let's
go ahead and move on. Our next honorable mention

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goes to Travis Herndon, who said? What's up,
dynamic dudes? Travis here. Shout out to my

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evil twin. So, my answer would have to be Into
the Spider-Verse. I mean, one. Who doesn't

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love Spider-Man? Two, who doesn't love animated
movies? It's a sick-ass movie to watch with

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your significant other and come on, I'm pretty
sure most of us got our significant other by

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pulling the hand on the shoulder, eyebrow rate,
saying hey, two of them. It's a sick-ass movie

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to watch with your significant other on a Valentine's
Day, so come on. Yeah, Into the Spider-Verse,

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I don't think had a whole lot of romantic elements.
I think across the Spider-Verse really played

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up on the Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy relationship.
pretty well in a way that I think would be

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appealing to both sexes. But yeah, the first
movie had the iconic line from Uncle Aaron,

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where to get a girl, you put your hand on their
shoulder and you go, hey, which is absolutely

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how I got my wife. Not really. But that's the
way I like to think of it in my head. What?

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Jonathan, let's hear your best. Hey, hey, girl.
What's up? All right. I'm pretty sure you didn't

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get your wife that way. I did not. Now that
I think about it, a lot of the Spider-Man movies

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would probably make great date night movies
because, you know, like the original Sam Raimi

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trilogy really focused on the Mary Jane relationship.
There was the Gwen Stacy relationship and of

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course the new trilogy with MJ. They're all
good. So great answer Travis. Our next honorable

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mention goes to Colby Hentges. Who said? Hey
boys, Colby Hentges. The best Marvel or DC

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film to watch with my wife on Valentine's Day
is DC's Justice League. Weed and cut or Snyder

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cut, it doesn't matter because I can give my
wife the attention she needs without missing

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anything important because nothing important
happens in those movies. Weed and cut, hot

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garbage. Snyder cut, hot garbage. They both
smell like new teeth. And Jonathan, I think

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we agree on this answer, right? We agree on
Justice League, but definitely not Zack Snyder's

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Justice League. That was far superior to the
theatrical version of the film, which yeah,

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it doesn't even need to exist. So why even watch
it? If you're busy doing other things. That's

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fair. So great answer, Colby. We want to give
a quick shout out to Jose Marcial, who basically

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gave the answer of any Marvel movie along the
same lines as Colby Hentges's Justice League

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answer. Great answer, Jose. But the winners
of this week's no prize are two people, actually.

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Waldo and Mason Thompson, who gave the same
answer. Let's hear Waldo's. Hey, guys, Waldo

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here. Um, I guess I'd have to go with either
of the Wonder Woman. the first one more. You

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know, it's heavily involved with her story with
Steve Trevor, not just how they met, but how

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they're growing, becoming part of each other's
world. And then at the end with his sacrifice,

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which is also reflected at the end of the second
one with her sacrifice of him. If you're trying

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to win over a lady friend, The best way to do
so is through a classic love story, as we see

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in the first Wonder Woman film in particular,
that also features a strong female protagonist.

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Yeah, it's definitely one of the more romantic
superhero movies out there, I think. The relationship

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between Diana Prince and Steve Trevor is pretty
well developed and also pretty tragic at the

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end. This tale of these lovers coming together
and then being torn apart and then, you know,

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they get reunited in the sequel. It's all good
Valentine's Day stuff. Yeah, and I would agree

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the best that the genre has to offer. Actually,
if I were to give my answer to this question,

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obviously it would be Deadpool, because nothing
brings a couple together, like laughing together.

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Ryan Reynolds and Miranda Baccarin were great
in the first movie, and I believe the film

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came out around Valentine's Day to begin with,
so yeah, that was the correct answer. Well,

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honestly, horror films have actually been shown
to bring couples together more than any other

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genre, so Plop and Constantine. Plop? There
had to be a better verb choice there than plop.

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I said what I said. Alright, congrats again
to Waldo and Mason Thompson for winning this

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week's No Praise, guys. If you, the listener,
want a shot at winning your own no prize, stay

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tuned to later on this episode when we'll be
asking another question of the week. And now

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that that's done, on to the news!

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Alright, this past week we got the official
trailer for season 3 of Marvel Animation's

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What If series. It's gonna be the third and
final season of this series, and I gotta say

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I'm gonna be sad to see it go because I enjoyed
both seasons 1 and season 2. Season 2 a little

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bit more than season 1. I thought season 2 took
a more anthological approach to the story,

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didn't have to worry as much about setting up
the Guardians of the Multiverse like season

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1 did. So... I really appreciated it running
with the what if concept a little bit smoother

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than season one. Yeah, I agree. Season two was
a lot better than season one. But that's sort

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of why I'm scared about this upcoming season
because it seems like this one will also have

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like an overarching narrative between stories.
Possibly. If they're ending it. If they're

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ending it, yeah, then we're probably going to
have a couple episodes dealing with the rest

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of the Watchers besides Watu. We see the group
of Watchers. towards the end of this trailer

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talking about how like this is the end. So I
don't know how many of these episodes are going

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to be dedicated to that. Hopefully not many,
but it looks like we have quite a good selection

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of anthological episodes to choose from, including
a Western version of Shang-Chi. We have a fucking

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Gundam Avengers, including Captain America Gundam,
a Shang-Chi Gundam, a Moon Knight Gundam, which

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was really cool to see Moon Knight play with
the rest of the Avengers. in this series and

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plus he had a really cool looking Gundam. We
saw Photon there, we saw the Red Guardian and

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Melina Vostokov there. That episode is going
to be freaking amazing, it's going to blow

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my mind. There's also a like Red Guardian and
Winter Soldier team up episode in what looks

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to take place back in the days of the USSR.
Most interesting, it looks like we're going

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to get a revisit to the world of the Eternals
because we see like Icarus and some of the

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other Eternals characters. There was a shot
that we got here of Arashem that looked very

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similar to the end shot of the live action film
that came out. So it'll be really cool to see

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like how they may approach the Eternals characters
from a different angle in the series. It seems

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like they're stepping a little bit further outside
the boundaries of just the live action Marvel

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Studios films to touch on things like the television
shows such as Moon Night and even X-Men 97

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which was the big reveal at the end of this
trailer. We get a what-if episode where the

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X-Men are interplayed with the greater MCU cast
as we see Storm being the goddess of thunder.

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And she's voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith, who
did the voice of the character in the X-Men

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90s cartoon and X-Men 97. And it was freaking
epic to hear, I think. Yeah, everything looked

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cool. I think I'm still baffled though as to
why they would want to end the show. Yeah.

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Because I feel like it's a concept that never
really needs to end, you know? I'm wondering

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if it's because... The storyline from the what
if shows maybe leads into something like secret

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war and it's going to like collapse the multiverse
perhaps. I don't know. Well, the show can only

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really last as long as the multiverse lasts,
right? And it seems like, yeah, they are wrapping

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things up in the multiversal saga with Avengers
Doomsday coming out in a couple years and then

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Avengers Secret Wars the year after that. So
you figure you still got two more solid years

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of what if shows to do though. I would agree.
I would definitely agree. So you agree that

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Marvel's dumb? Not in the sense that they're
not smart, just more in the sense that they

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could keep the show running. So maybe shut your
mouth. Yeah, but they won't because they're

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dumb. Okay, I got you. I read you. Hey, Jonathan,
when is DC coming out with a multiversal series

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that's this good, huh? Oh, that's right. They
don't have an established universe to begin

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00:14:02,402 --> 00:14:09,450
with, so okay, okay. You don't gotta say it
like it is, Marge. I'm really looking forward

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to what if season 3, the stories that they're
looking to tell here and of course the animation

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is always quality and just how epic the show
can be I think bodes well for what is bound

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to be a truly awe-inspiring finale. The season
is debuting on December 22nd, just a few days

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before Christmas and then we're going to get
one episode a day through the rest of the year

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00:14:33,140 --> 00:14:41,568
ending on December 30th I assume. until the
new year. That said, it still will count towards

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00:14:41,628 --> 00:14:46,131
this year's Brothers Awards. Yep, that's correct.
So look forward to our review of that later

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00:14:46,171 --> 00:14:48,273
guys. But that brings us to our question of
the week.

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What has been your favorite animated Marvel
or DC project of all time and why? We're talking

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television shows. We're talking films, both
theatrical and direct to video, the works.

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00:15:05,637 --> 00:15:09,520
So record your answer at dynamicduel.com by
clicking on the red microphone button in the

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00:15:09,540 --> 00:15:13,782
bottom right hand corner of the screen, which
will prompt you to leave us a voicemail. Your

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00:15:13,802 --> 00:15:18,105
message could be up to 30 seconds long and don't
forget to leave your name in case we include

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00:15:18,145 --> 00:15:22,486
you on the podcast. We'll pick our favorite
answer and award that person a dynamic duel

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00:15:22,546 --> 00:15:27,893
no prize that we'll post to Instagram. Be sure
to answer before November 23rd.

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So that does it for all the news for this episode,
so let's go ahead and get into our main event

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where we review the HBO and DC television series,
The Penguin.

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Okay, The Penguin is a spin-off series of the
2022 film The Batman, written and directed

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by Matt Reeves. Reeves also served as an executive
producer for this show, which was created by

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Lauren LeFranc. It's a limited, 8-episode HBO
Max series that tells the story of how Oswald

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Cobblepot, the Penguin, played masterfully by
Colin Farrell, rises to power in Gotham City's

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criminal underworld after the Riddler destroyed
most of the city at the end of the Batman movie.

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Now I loved the Batman film. We gave it 5 out
of 5 stars in a review and while I was looking

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forward to this show, I clearly wasn't looking
forward to it enough because it somehow managed

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to exceed my expectations and deliver a devastating
masterwork spinoff in what continues to be

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my favorite Batman universe on screen. If you
haven't seen The Penguin yet, do not ruin the

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show for yourself by continuing to listen to
this spoiler review. Stop here, watch the show.

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then come back. It's only eight episodes. Forget
and take a sick day at work and just binge

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the whole thing because I guarantee you, it's
extremely hard not to watch the next episode

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once you've started. Yeah, if you listen to
this review without watching the television

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series, how dare you? How dare you do that to
yourself? Go watch the show, then come back

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and listen to the spoiler review because it
is fucking phenomenal. It's such a damn good

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show and you don't wanna ruin it for yourself.
No. In fact, I liked it more than I liked the

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Batman. I did not think that we should have
given the Batman five stars. I think we should

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have given it four and a half stars. But this
series is better than the Batman. You know,

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this series actually reminded me a lot of the
Daredevil shows from Netflix that we love.

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We gave season three of that five stars just
for its like gritty realism and hard boiled

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edge. This had a lot of that. But set in the
Batman world, which makes it instantly better,

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instantly worse. I agree with you on the other
points. The show was actually so good after

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I finished it all, I pulled up Daredevil season
3 just to feel better about myself and remind

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myself that yeah, Marvel is still capable of
pulling off this type of crime drama. Paired

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with, I will add superhero action, which this
series didn't have a whole lot of. It really

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wasn't part of the superhero genre. Yeah, true.
That said... There are a lot of people who

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expect a lot of action from their comic book
stories, but I still think that even if you're

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a fan of hardcore action, there's a lot to love
about this show. Now, I wasn't able to watch

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the whole series in one go, but man, did I want
to because the pacing and tension and plot

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of the series had to be hooked from the first
episode. Yeah, I think I immediately texted

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you after the first episode ended and I told
you that this is probably going to be a five

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star show. just with how good the first episode
was and that you need to see it immediately.

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Yeah, you actually sent me that right as I was
starting the show and I was like, oh damn,

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it's gonna be so good, I can't wait. I mean,
yeah, the show is right up my alley. Like some

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of my favorite movies of all time are things
like The Departed, Drive. So I didn't know

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quite to expect going into The Penguin, but
coming out of it, I loved it. I was happy for

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you. I was proud of you that you finally got
a win as a DC fan. Hey, thanks. Yeah, I was

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happy for myself as well. Cause as I've mentioned,
The Joker 2's failure shook me to my core,

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and the Penguin really, really helped. Now,
I mentioned that the pacing and plot of the

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series were phenomenal. That's not to say that
there weren't slow or even unnecessary moments

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during the course of the show, but there were
very, very few, because just about every scene

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contributes to the further development and realization
of these very real characters that exist in

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this gritty, realistic, hard-boiled Gotham City
setting. that was established in the movie

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and is expanded upon in this series. The world
building here is incredible and it showcases

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the type of Gotham City that I've always wanted
to see and even believed it would be like as

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a reader of the comics. It's not as fantastical
or even as mundane as prior movies have depicted

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it. It meets this perfect neo-noir sweet spot
that you believe could develop characters like

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Batman or as we see in this show. a deformed
mob boss like the Penguin. It reminded me a

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lot of the video game Batman Arkham City, because
in that game it had just suffered a devastating

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earthquake that kind of destroyed sections of
the city, and it was almost like they used

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that as inspiration for the show, which I loved,
because that game was fantastic. So it was

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No Man's Land. Exactly, right. Now regarding
the Penguin, you know, he's always been something

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of a joke character, this fat, monocle-wearing
sideshow freak that no one would believe. could

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hold his own in a fight especially against Batman,
but in Matt Reeves universe, he is what he

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always should have been, the last remnant of
a mafia that controlled and corrupted Gotham

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City for generations. He works very well within
that framework, allowing for a truly epic rise

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to power storyline within the gangster crime
genre, a genre that's rife with themes of power,

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legacy, and redemption, as well as examinations
of morality and ambition. We see examples of

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this in other epic gangster dramas such as The
Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, where characters

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are driven by their desire for dominance and
respect only to find that their pursuit of

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power often leads to their undoing. In The Penguin,
this theme is amplified by Oz's deep-seated

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narcissism and unresolved guilt, which shapes
his actions and decisions throughout the series.

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His journey reflects the tragic truth that,
in a world where power is everything, True

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redemption is rarely achieved because power
corrupts, and those who seek it often lose

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what little humanity they have left along the
way. Yeah, if the Batman movie was kind of

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an adaptation of sorts of the long Halloween
storyline from the comics where we see basically

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the criminal underworld in Gotham City get supplanted
by costumed supervillains... then I see the

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Penguin series as kind of like an interesting
look at the transition between those two periods.

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Between the crime family and mob boss period
and the supervillain period. Oh yeah, for sure.

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Actually, this series borrowed quite a bit from
the long Halloween sequel, Dark Victory, in

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which Sophia Falcone was one of the primary
villains. Oh, interesting. Okay, okay. Yeah.

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Now, one of the things I like most about comic
book adaptations as a comic reader is that

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I get the opportunity to watch fate unravel
as it were. Most people know that the Penguin

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is a Batman villain, but if you're not a comic
book reader, you may not be aware of some of

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the darker aspects of this character, like how
Oswald killed his brothers when he was a child

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in the comics. Some people try to go into films
and shows knowing as little as possible, but

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I actually live for the dramatic irony of watching
how adaptations unfold and how characters on

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screen become like the characters on the page.
Sometimes they don't, which is often disappointing,

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and sometimes a modern adaptation will improve
upon what was on the page, and I'd argue that's

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definitely the case for the Penguin series.
Not only has the Penguin been made much more

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frightening and interesting to me at least in
this show, but so have minor comic characters

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like Sofia Falcone. What would you say to people
who may look at this series and say that this

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is more like the Penguin in name only considering
his name is Oz Cobb, not Oswald Cobblepot,

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and he's more of a ruthless thug as opposed
to like a aristocrat? I would tell them that,

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you know, this is an adaptation of that. I actually
like the twist that he didn't grow up as an

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aristocrat and that he grew up actually really
poor. That's more interesting to me character

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wise. and that he's someone who aspires to climb
the social hierarchy rather than already being

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at the top. It's a better journey for the character.
I agree. I mean, by this point, I'm pretty

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much demanding that James Gunn fold Matt Reeves'
universe into the upcoming DCU because there

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is zero way the Penguin can be done better.
Zero. Like, why would you even want to try?

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Don't. Yeah, it's kind of a shame, like the
whole state of the DC cinematic universe, where

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you have, you know, James Gunn's thing going,
but you also have these elseworld stories from

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one offs that filmmakers wanted to tell, like
the Joker, like the Penguin. But it's also

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disparate that it almost makes it feel meaningless.
And I don't want that. Like, I want this world

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for the Batman to continue. I want to see so
much more and explore it like to its fullest.

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And I feel like with other film adaptations
of Batman. like the upcoming Brave and the

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Bold, we're not going to get the opportunity
for that. Yeah, you're just going to have these

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competing versions. And not only competing versions,
competing Matt Reeves versions, because James

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Gunn has actually enlisted Matt Reeves into
helping him develop the Batman side of the

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DCU, like the upcoming Arkham series that's
rumored. Which makes zero sense to me. Well,

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considering the success of this HBO series,
maybe you're gonna get your wish. Maybe James

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Gunn will realize that this is the best play
for developing his DCU. Dude, yes, please.

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Hashtag incorporate the Reevesverse. We need
to get that trending, people. Now I'm biased

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because I love psychologically heavy morality
tales, but this show in my opinion is exactly

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what the comic book genre needs right now to
overcome superhero fatigue. Just fresh and

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profound takes on characters. that audiences
are already familiar with. I agree, totally.

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The best way for superhero stories to stay relevant
is by constantly mixing it up, right? You want

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different genres thrown in there and you want
quality stories. Luckily, The Penguin has both

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of those things going for it. Yeah, it's the
perfect example of that. The story is incredible,

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the characters are interesting as hell, but
speaking of them, let's move on to our character

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breakdown. Starting with Oswald Cobb, aka The
Penguin. Now he of course is played by Colin

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Farrell in what is to date the magnum opus of
his career, in my opinion. He's completely

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unrecognizable in the role and his performance
seems to come across just so naturally for

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him. It's like a very technical performance,
but it's played as if another actor is method

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00:26:21,607 --> 00:26:26,671
acting. I don't know if there's ever been a
greater performance in any adapted comic book

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work. I think he even tops Heath Ledger's Joker.
Wow, that's pretty high praise. I mean, do

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you disagree? I would put them on the same level.
You're right, they're both highly technical

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performances. I do think that Colin Farrell
has the added benefit of the substantial amount

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of makeup that he's wearing as a means to help
transform his look and his character. Oh, 100%.

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I was talking to my wife about the Penguin's
casting with Colin Farrell and how initially

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Warner Brothers wanted Jonah Hill to play the
Penguin, but he wanted to be the Riddler and

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because of that dispute he just left the project
altogether. But holy cow, what a boon that

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was because we would have never gotten Colin
Farrell as the Penguin if that did not happen.

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Yeah, I just cannot see Jonah Hill in this show,
but there's no touching Colin Farrell in this

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performance. Absolutely not, yeah. Now, the
Penguin in the comics is unique among Batman

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villains in that he's not insane, just unbelievably
prideful and narcissistic and vengeful. And

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I love that this version of the character manages
to stay true to all of that while also being

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fairly unique. You know, like we mentioned earlier,
Oz didn't grow up rich like in the comics,

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and that serves as one of his motivations in
this universe, to help bring his mom out of

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poverty and become a symbol for his community
as someone to be admired and relied upon. He

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00:27:47,588 --> 00:27:53,309
has this romanticized, almost Robin Hood-esque
view of being a mafia don, and wants to be

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one. but is continually diminished and overlooked
by others due to his physical handicap and

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scarred face, which he takes great offense to.
He considers the name Penguin to be very offensive

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and disrespectful, and he'll straight up murder
or betray anyone to prove his worth, even impulsively,

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as he did several times throughout the show,
such as with his brothers, Alberto, and even

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00:28:16,260 --> 00:28:23,690
Vic. That said, his character delves into morally
grey area, often doing bad things for seemingly

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00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:29,791
the greater good, or so we believe. Ultimately,
his narcissistic need for attention and control

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00:28:30,191 --> 00:28:36,433
culminates in the almost poetic tragedy of the
Penguin, finally attaining his lifelong goal

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of becoming the head of Gotham's criminal underworld,
but at the cost of all of his relationships,

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having killed Vic, essentially imprisoning his
mother, and forcing his lover, Eve, who betrayed

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00:28:48,496 --> 00:28:54,146
him, to role play as his mother in this demeaning
and twisted fantasy. I got the impression that

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the relationship between Eve and Oz was always
somewhat of a role-playing type relationship.

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I got the impression that was not the first
time that she had done that. Really? I didn't

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00:29:04,769 --> 00:29:09,250
get that. Although I guess I would have put
it past him. It was legitimately horrifying

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00:29:09,450 --> 00:29:14,772
seeing his mother cry in the hospital bed looking
out on the city as a vegetable trapped in her

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00:29:14,812 --> 00:29:21,406
body and having Oz interpret her tear as her
being happy for him. Yeah. Yeah, that was really

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hard to watch, especially considering the fact
that we knew that's the last thing she wanted.

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00:29:26,510 --> 00:29:33,295
She wanted Oz to kill her over her ending up
like that. The fact that he twisted that into

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00:29:33,355 --> 00:29:37,598
something where he just kind of ignored her
pain, knowing the promise that he had made

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00:29:37,618 --> 00:29:43,262
to her, feeling like he had given her what she
wanted, is incredibly selfish of him, but also

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right in line with the character. The fact that
he killed people who didn't deserve to die

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00:29:47,945 --> 00:29:54,957
like Vic. and left people alive who he promised
to kill is very malevolent. Yeah, what was

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00:29:54,977 --> 00:30:00,820
your reaction to him killing Vic in the final
episode, rationalizing it as Vic being too

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00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:06,743
much like family and therefore being a vulnerability
to him in his rise to power? I figured from

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00:30:06,783 --> 00:30:10,986
the very first episode that Vic was not going
to make it to the end of the series. I figured

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he was living on borrowed time, essentially.
I was surprised that it happened when it happened

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00:30:16,189 --> 00:30:21,804
and the way that it happened. It was very, very
heartbreaking, but also not surprising considering

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00:30:21,824 --> 00:30:26,848
the fact that Oswald's own family, his mother,
had just betrayed him. You know, telling him

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that she hated him and stuff like that. So yeah,
I see where he was coming from about how family

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is not a good thing to have. I remember that
scene took me completely by surprise because

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I was thinking at the time, now this is kind
of a slow scene, and then all of a sudden he

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00:30:39,477 --> 00:30:43,960
just fucking crushes his throat. And it was
kind of disturbing in the way that it snuck

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00:30:43,980 --> 00:30:48,466
up on me. Yeah, it was very disturbing. Honestly.
I know this probably won't be the case and

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00:30:48,506 --> 00:30:54,408
I kinda hope it isn't, but maybe Vic will come
back. Maybe Vic will come back as Victor Zazz

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00:30:54,448 --> 00:30:59,710
instead of Victor Aguilar. I actually hope that
happens because I think Vic was too good of

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00:30:59,730 --> 00:31:05,372
a character to just let go like that. I understand
the poetic nature of it, but I also, yeah,

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00:31:05,412 --> 00:31:09,793
like you don't want to see the character go
away. But speaking of Victor Aguilar, he was

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00:31:09,853 --> 00:31:15,155
played by Renzi Feliz. I'm still heartbroken
by what happened to Vic. He was hands down

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00:31:15,195 --> 00:31:20,317
the most likable character on the show, thanks
in large part to Renzi's very real and very

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00:31:20,357 --> 00:31:25,720
sympathetic performance. Yeah, I liked him ever
since The Runaway Show. He played Alex Wilder

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00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:30,742
in that show, so he's a really talented actor
who's now done both Marvel and DC work. But

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his better stuff is for DC, as is most actors
who do both. Tell that to Jared Leto. That's

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00:31:36,925 --> 00:31:43,945
a horrible example. Now Victor was a tremendously
effective audience surrogate. You know, he

345
00:31:43,965 --> 00:31:49,971
was this smart, if not naive orphaned boy who
just didn't want to die. Who eventually, like

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00:31:49,991 --> 00:31:54,835
a lot of the characters on the show, fell for
the promises that Oz made and he even began

347
00:31:54,875 --> 00:32:00,841
to champion his ideals. You got the sense that
even though Vic became Oz's right-hand man,

348
00:32:01,281 --> 00:32:07,274
he was adopting only Oz's good traits about
loyalty, fairness, and success. Vic felt shame

349
00:32:07,294 --> 00:32:12,415
and guilt when he was forced to do bad things,
and ultimately his loyalty was rewarded with

350
00:32:12,455 --> 00:32:18,097
a harsh death at the hands of a man unwilling
to share anything, power, respect, and even

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00:32:18,197 --> 00:32:24,299
a human connection. I loved how human Victor
was, you know? He made mistakes. He failed

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00:32:24,339 --> 00:32:29,700
to put the jewels in John Vede's car. He let
his girl go on the bus. He gave away a chance

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00:32:29,820 --> 00:32:35,522
at happiness in that regard. Right. Yeah. Oof.
That's super sad in hindsight. The stutter

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00:32:35,542 --> 00:32:40,683
was a pretty humanizing aspect as well. For
sure. Yeah, it was something that even Oswald

355
00:32:40,723 --> 00:32:45,124
recognized. I think it was the main reason he
kind of took him on as his surrogate. I think

356
00:32:45,164 --> 00:32:52,907
Rezzy Feliz did as well with his stutter acting
as someone like someone like Charlie Cox does

357
00:32:52,967 --> 00:32:58,388
with his blind acting. It was just entirely
convincing and obviously well researched and

358
00:32:58,428 --> 00:33:02,769
informed. And I definitely commend him for that.
Yeah, 100 percent. I didn't feel forced or

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00:33:02,789 --> 00:33:07,091
anything like that. And it was always interesting
to see when it didn't pop up, like when he

360
00:33:07,111 --> 00:33:11,113
was really passionate about something. That
was cool to see. Like he had his own arc in

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00:33:11,153 --> 00:33:18,356
regards to his stutter. Moving on to Sofia Falcone,
aka Sofia Gigante, aka The Hangman. She was

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00:33:18,396 --> 00:33:24,398
played by Kristen Malotti. Now like Colin Farrell's
performance, Kristen thoroughly embodied the

363
00:33:24,438 --> 00:33:30,801
role of Sofia in a very profound performance.
I only know Kristen from her comedic work on

364
00:33:30,861 --> 00:33:35,915
How I Met Your Mother. So I didn't even know
she was capable of top tier acting like this.

365
00:33:36,375 --> 00:33:41,976
And holy shit, where's this woman's Emmy? Like,
why even bother holding any kind of award ceremony?

366
00:33:42,036 --> 00:33:48,598
Just give it to her. She was intense, man. Even
from the first episode, I was just scared as

367
00:33:48,678 --> 00:33:53,899
shit of her. Yeah, when she was talking to Oz
as he was being tortured, naked on that chair

368
00:33:53,919 --> 00:33:59,021
with the wire in his armpit, I was like, oh,
damn. Oh, this scene is wild. Her performance,

369
00:33:59,461 --> 00:34:05,079
actually the entire cast's performances. matched
the quality of the writing, which was phenomenal,

370
00:34:05,159 --> 00:34:11,762
especially for the character of Sofia. Her arc
is rooted in vengeance and a desire to reclaim

371
00:34:12,002 --> 00:34:17,724
her father's empire, which she was promised
by him before he betrayed her. Her path somewhat

372
00:34:17,824 --> 00:34:24,287
mirrors the penguins and how her desire to restore
her family's honor and legacy drives her to

373
00:34:24,327 --> 00:34:30,554
make horrific choices. She wants to prove she's
worthy of the throne, but in doing so, she

374
00:34:30,594 --> 00:34:36,758
becomes just as corrupt as the men who denied
her. Her journey is one of tragic self-destruction,

375
00:34:37,118 --> 00:34:42,062
showing how even the best intentions can be
swallowed up by the desire for power. And as

376
00:34:42,102 --> 00:34:47,625
she works to reclaim her birthright from the
dismissive men in her family, she ultimately

377
00:34:47,665 --> 00:34:53,610
becomes the one thing she was accused of being
and never wanted to be, which was a mass murderer.

378
00:34:54,130 --> 00:34:59,213
And while she's horrifying, she's also very
sympathetic because the show does a great job

379
00:34:59,550 --> 00:35:04,591
of showing everything she's been through, all
the unjust trauma. But in the end, she comes

380
00:35:04,631 --> 00:35:10,373
back full circle into the hell that created
the monster that she is. Yeah, back in Arkham,

381
00:35:10,833 --> 00:35:16,134
which is unfortunate. She never really should
have gone back. I think the one misstep that

382
00:35:16,214 --> 00:35:21,036
she had and therefore it kind of felt like the
show had was when she didn't kill Oswald when

383
00:35:21,076 --> 00:35:25,897
she had the opportunity to. Instead, trying
to play this weird humiliation game between

384
00:35:25,937 --> 00:35:30,370
him and his mother, you know. that just seemed
like unnecessary on her part. And she kind

385
00:35:30,390 --> 00:35:34,071
of paid the price for that. She was kind of
twisted about it. You know, she had the benefit

386
00:35:34,151 --> 00:35:40,413
of having a psychiatrist for a lover of sorts.
So she kind of ran with that. I could see where

387
00:35:40,433 --> 00:35:44,354
she was coming from because the character was
pretty twisted and she just wanted to make

388
00:35:44,394 --> 00:35:49,275
him suffer before killing him. But yeah, like
I said, I think those actions were in character

389
00:35:49,315 --> 00:35:53,757
for her. I really loved the play throughout
the whole series between, you know, Sophia

390
00:35:53,777 --> 00:35:58,790
being an ally of Kawalpats and then an enemy
and then an ally. and the shifting power balances

391
00:35:58,830 --> 00:36:03,173
that were fluctuating throughout the episodes.
It was just really well crafted and kept me

392
00:36:03,213 --> 00:36:07,616
hooked. I didn't actually think she was going
to be the main bad of the series. I thought

393
00:36:07,636 --> 00:36:12,540
that was going to be Carmine Falcone or even
Alberto Falcone. I actually thought there was

394
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:17,943
going to be a reveal probably towards the end
of the season where Alberto was the real Hank

395
00:36:17,963 --> 00:36:22,426
man and not his father and his father was just
covering for his son. Sort of in the same way

396
00:36:22,446 --> 00:36:27,670
that Alberto was revealed to be the holiday
killer in The Long Halloween. That would have

397
00:36:27,690 --> 00:36:31,072
been interesting, yeah. Yeah, I thought so.
I would have liked to have seen the actor get

398
00:36:31,112 --> 00:36:35,574
more screen time. But I also don't hate the
fact that Sophia was the hangman because she

399
00:36:35,614 --> 00:36:40,717
was the hangman in the comics. I think honestly
this entire cast is gonna sweep the Yemis next

400
00:36:40,757 --> 00:36:45,840
year, at least for the Drama Awards. Yeah, you
better fucking hope that Agatha Alalong is

401
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:52,244
nominated as a comedy, because you are screwed.
It obviously is. I think both Agatha Alalong

402
00:36:52,544 --> 00:36:56,538
and the Penguin are gonna win a lot of awards
next year. I hope so. I don't actually watch

403
00:36:56,558 --> 00:37:01,602
a lot of television just doing this podcast
that isn't Marvel or DC related, especially

404
00:37:01,682 --> 00:37:07,446
recently, but I have a hard time imagining something
could be better than The Penguin. And when

405
00:37:07,466 --> 00:37:12,349
it wins, it'll just help solidify the superhero
genre's place in the larger film and television

406
00:37:12,389 --> 00:37:17,092
landscape. Yeah, if Watchmen hadn't done that
already, hopefully The Penguin will. But let's

407
00:37:17,132 --> 00:37:18,893
move on to our story highlights.

408
00:37:25,966 --> 00:37:31,689
Where fantasies collide and heroes clash, one
podcast network rises above the rest. Prepare

409
00:37:31,709 --> 00:37:37,433
yourself for the ultimate showdowns in comic
books, video games, movies, and anime. The

410
00:37:37,493 --> 00:37:43,177
DynaMic Podcast Network presents Console Combat,
where video game legends brawl every Monday.

411
00:37:45,294 --> 00:37:51,937
Comic Book Titans smash every Tuesday. Max Destruction,
where TV and action heroes battle every Wednesday.

412
00:37:52,497 --> 00:37:58,420
And Sendro World, where anime champions clash
every Thursday. Join us as we speculate on

413
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:04,143
the matches and armed with the power of mathematical
simulations, discover who will emerge victorious.

414
00:38:04,663 --> 00:38:08,945
Visit dynamicpodcast.com where we settle the
debate and settle the score.

415
00:38:13,330 --> 00:38:19,012
Episode 1 was titled After Hours. One week after
the assassination of Carmine Falcone and the

416
00:38:19,052 --> 00:38:25,593
destruction of Gotham City Sea Wall by the Riddler,
Oswald Cobb is caught by Alberto Falcone, Carmine's

417
00:38:25,633 --> 00:38:31,275
son and heir apparent as he recovers a stash
of Falcone's valuables from the Iceberg Lounge.

418
00:38:31,615 --> 00:38:37,517
After Alberto reveals plans to revolutionize
the Falcone drug operation, he ridicules Oz's

419
00:38:37,637 --> 00:38:43,648
aspirations to become a powerful mobster. and
Oz impulsively shoots Alberto dead. Oz attempts

420
00:38:43,688 --> 00:38:48,491
to dispose of Alberto's body and threatens a
group of juvenile delinquents who are attempting

421
00:38:48,531 --> 00:38:54,435
to steal the rooms from his car. He spares Victor
Aguilar after forcing him to help dispose of

422
00:38:54,516 --> 00:39:00,960
Alberto's body, and hearing him stutter, ultimately
recruits him as his driver. Oz learns that

423
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:06,484
the Falcons plan to assume control of his drug
ring, while Alberto's sister, Sophia Falcone,

424
00:39:06,864 --> 00:39:12,519
newly released from Arkham Asylum, suspects
Oz is responsible for Alberto's disappearance.

425
00:39:13,099 --> 00:39:18,281
Oz's plans to skip town are discouraged by his
dementia-stricken mother, Frances, after which

426
00:39:18,441 --> 00:39:24,424
Oz visits Falcone's rival, Salvatore Maroney,
in Blackgate Prison, offering to bring the

427
00:39:24,464 --> 00:39:29,886
drug operation back into Maroney's control.
Maroney is reluctant, but reconsideres after

428
00:39:30,006 --> 00:39:35,248
Oz returns to him a ring he'd taken off of Alberto
that Carmine had taken from Maroney.

429
00:39:38,998 --> 00:39:44,479
but is distracted by the sudden recovery of
Alberto's body, staged by Vic to implicate

430
00:39:44,579 --> 00:39:51,201
Moroni's crew. Oz is released and begins plotting
with Vic to take control of the Falcone crime

431
00:39:51,241 --> 00:39:56,742
family. Fantastic first episode, I was totally
hooked from the get-go. I was super shocked

432
00:39:56,863 --> 00:40:03,004
when basically in the first scene, the Penguin
killed Alberto Falcone, and it was just a series

433
00:40:03,024 --> 00:40:08,394
of shocking twists and turns from then on out.
Oh, absolutely, I started watching. this show

434
00:40:08,554 --> 00:40:14,618
in my living room. And right when that scene
happened, I basically yelled, oh shit. And

435
00:40:14,658 --> 00:40:20,522
then I was forced to go watch in the bedroom.
I guess my one question about this episode,

436
00:40:20,542 --> 00:40:25,366
which seemed like a plot hole, was did Oz know
that he was going to get captured by Sophia

437
00:40:25,446 --> 00:40:31,190
and taken to the Falcon Mansion? No, I don't
believe he did. We do know that Vic kind of

438
00:40:31,270 --> 00:40:36,570
screwed up the plan. He was supposed to send
the Falcons Alberto's decapitated head. He

439
00:40:36,590 --> 00:40:42,235
just couldn't figure out how to do that exactly.
Yeah, I definitely don't think it was Oswald's

440
00:40:42,275 --> 00:40:46,939
plan to get tortured. So the initial plan was
just to crash the car into the mansion and

441
00:40:46,959 --> 00:40:51,924
just leave it at that. I just happened to be
lucky enough to be saved by Vicks timing. I

442
00:40:51,944 --> 00:40:57,249
mean, the guy was cut up pretty bad. I think
timing wise, the penguin would have rather

443
00:40:57,670 --> 00:41:04,122
had it come earlier. Man, the wire in the armpit.
I never would have thought of that. I've never

444
00:41:04,142 --> 00:41:09,564
seen anything like that in my entire life. And
I hope I don't again. I squirmed in my chair

445
00:41:09,604 --> 00:41:14,325
for sure. Looking at that method of torture.
This whole episode had such great tension.

446
00:41:14,705 --> 00:41:18,546
Like even when he was getting tortured and they
found one of the kids who was stealing his

447
00:41:18,626 --> 00:41:23,627
rims and he was basically like, no, the guy's
lying. It's like, oh my gosh, dude, really?

448
00:41:24,107 --> 00:41:28,349
There's no way you're getting out of this. Only
for Victor to come through in that moment.

449
00:41:31,958 --> 00:41:37,482
Though I rate that Oz framed him, Moroni continues
their partnership by allowing Oz to help with

450
00:41:37,522 --> 00:41:43,527
a Falcon drop shipment that is subsequently
taken by Moroni's crew. Carmine's brother,

451
00:41:43,607 --> 00:41:50,152
Luca, arrives to assume leadership of the crime
family. Meanwhile, Sofia suffers PTSD from

452
00:41:50,192 --> 00:41:56,337
Alberto's death and becomes increasingly unhinged,
convinced someone in the family is a mole for

453
00:41:56,377 --> 00:42:03,818
Moroni. She bribes a drug addicted GCPD detective,
Marcus Wise, investigate the heist and Wise

454
00:42:03,858 --> 00:42:10,080
kidnaps Ervod, one of Moroni's henchmen, from
the hospital. Moroni's wife, Nadia, assigns

455
00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:16,562
Oz to retrieve Ervod before the Felcones get
him to talk. During Alberto's funeral, Oz assigns

456
00:42:16,622 --> 00:42:22,824
Vic to plant evidence to frame Felcone underboss
Johnny Viti for Alberto's murder while he reaches

457
00:42:22,904 --> 00:42:28,305
Ervod to have him implicate Viti. However, Vic
is caught trying to plant the evidence and

458
00:42:28,345 --> 00:42:34,539
barely escapes. forcing Oz to murder Ervad instead
with a switchblade, which he then plants on

459
00:42:34,599 --> 00:42:41,401
Sofia's personal enforcer, Castillo, to frame
him as the mole. Luca executes Castillo, denying

460
00:42:41,461 --> 00:42:47,362
Sofia's demand that she do so to avenge Alberto,
and orders her out of the family business.

461
00:42:47,963 --> 00:42:53,104
Oz makes Vic dig a grave for Ervad and Castillo,
threatening to kill him if he fails again.

462
00:42:53,464 --> 00:42:59,150
He then meets with Sofia, who proposes a partnership
to wipe out the Falcone family hierarchy, so

463
00:42:59,170 --> 00:43:04,873
she may take control. Solid second episode.
I really love how the end of it sets up the

464
00:43:04,993 --> 00:43:11,356
stakes of the show and that Penguin and Sophia
are gonna join forces to bring down the Falcone

465
00:43:11,376 --> 00:43:15,979
crime family. I thought that was a great initial
setup, of course, that kind of gets unraveled,

466
00:43:16,399 --> 00:43:20,661
but yeah, everything that happened in this episode,
I thought was a great continuation of the first.

467
00:43:21,122 --> 00:43:27,465
Now, did Oz initially intend to plant the knife
on Viti or was he always planning on framing

468
00:43:27,625 --> 00:43:32,439
Sophia's bodyguard? I initially thought he was
going to plant it on John Viti, but I think

469
00:43:32,459 --> 00:43:37,101
it was actually really smart of him to do it
on Castillo considering that no one would have

470
00:43:37,141 --> 00:43:41,363
probably believed that John Viti would betray
the family considering he was second in command.

471
00:43:41,823 --> 00:43:46,885
And Oz wanted to utilize the leverage that he
still had on Viti later on. Makes sense, yeah.

472
00:43:46,925 --> 00:43:53,127
Did you crap your pants like I did when Vic
got caught planting the jewels in John Viti's

473
00:43:53,147 --> 00:43:58,189
car? No, I went to the bathroom like a regular
person. Okay, but you still had to shit yourself?

474
00:43:58,798 --> 00:44:05,502
Yes. OK. I totally thought Vic was going to
die in that moment. Everything that happened

475
00:44:05,522 --> 00:44:09,725
in this episode was just so unpredictable, which
is one of the reasons that I loved it. Actually,

476
00:44:09,745 --> 00:44:16,090
this whole show was pretty much unpredictable.
Well, it made Oz a good protagonist despite

477
00:44:16,150 --> 00:44:21,734
all of his malevolence because he was so adaptable
and able to roll with things. And it was always

478
00:44:21,774 --> 00:44:26,497
interesting in seeing what ways he managed to
survive episode to episode despite all the

479
00:44:26,517 --> 00:44:33,154
shit he was pulling. Oh absolutely, yeah. Moving
on to episode 3, titled Bliss. In flashbacks,

480
00:44:33,494 --> 00:44:39,860
Vic is left orphaned after the Sea Wall explosion
drowns his family. In the present, Sofia introduces

481
00:44:40,060 --> 00:44:47,306
Oz to a new drug that was used on her and other
inmates at Arkham, which Oz names Bliss. Together

482
00:44:47,346 --> 00:44:51,770
they make a pitch to the Triads to help distribute
the Bliss across the city, but they refuse

483
00:44:51,810 --> 00:44:57,690
to do business with the pair unless they gain
the support of John Vede. Oz and Sofia blackmail

484
00:44:57,730 --> 00:45:02,972
Viti for his support by threatening to expose
his sexual affair with Luca's wife, after which

485
00:45:03,012 --> 00:45:08,535
the triads agree to enter into business with
Oz and Sofia. Meanwhile, Vic is torn by his

486
00:45:08,575 --> 00:45:13,597
desire to leave Gotham with his girlfriend in
pursuit of a better life, or staying with Oz

487
00:45:13,897 --> 00:45:18,759
to potentially become rich and powerful, while
also fearing that Oz will kill him if he tries

488
00:45:18,779 --> 00:45:26,058
to flee. When Oz learns of Vic's intentions,
though angry, Oz allows Vic to leave. Vic ultimately

489
00:45:26,118 --> 00:45:31,281
chooses Oz over his girlfriend however, and
returns only to find Oz and Sophia held at

490
00:45:31,341 --> 00:45:37,344
gunpoint by the Morones, who have realized Oz's
duplicity. Before a hitman can execute Oz,

491
00:45:37,705 --> 00:45:44,088
Vic crashes Oz's car into him and the two escape,
leaving Sophia abandoned to her fate with the

492
00:45:44,128 --> 00:45:50,672
Morones. Now all of this happened really fast
I thought, which was exciting. Oz playing like

493
00:45:50,732 --> 00:45:58,445
triple agent between the Falcons. and Moroni's
and Sofia's own little thing. I didn't think

494
00:45:58,465 --> 00:46:03,089
it was going to unravel as quickly as it did.
Yeah, and it was so climactic that I almost

495
00:46:03,209 --> 00:46:08,152
was wondering where the show could possibly
go from there. Oh, same. It just felt like

496
00:46:08,372 --> 00:46:12,696
everything that the story had been building
towards in that moment just came crashing down.

497
00:46:13,116 --> 00:46:16,419
And then the series, you know, became about
Sofia and the Moroni's teaming up to go up

498
00:46:16,479 --> 00:46:20,221
against Oz. But yeah, I was basically on the
edge of my seat at the end of this episode.

499
00:46:20,646 --> 00:46:25,868
And the start of the episode, like seeing the
seawall crash into Vic's home and seeing his

500
00:46:25,888 --> 00:46:30,910
family die and experiencing the attack that
the Riddler did on the city was the stuff from

501
00:46:30,950 --> 00:46:37,332
nightmares. Oh, literally. It was so tragic
and real feeling. I literally have nightmares

502
00:46:37,372 --> 00:46:43,755
about tidal waves. So that was very, very horrifying
when I saw that. And just seeing Vic's expression

503
00:46:43,915 --> 00:46:50,418
as well, like you cannot be more sympathetic
towards that guy. He lost everything. blame

504
00:46:50,678 --> 00:46:56,840
Batman for Vicks and his family's death. Okay.
If he was smart enough, if he was a good enough

505
00:46:56,900 --> 00:47:04,383
detective to know what a fucking carpet tool
was, none of that would have happened. Wow.

506
00:47:05,084 --> 00:47:09,826
You know what? Victor probably would have blamed
Batman too. Now we've compared the show to

507
00:47:09,906 --> 00:47:16,188
genre greats like the Godfather, Scarface, but
it also reminds me a lot of like the Sopranos

508
00:47:16,388 --> 00:47:22,435
and Breaking Bad, especially when we get a look
drugs that they're growing on freaking mushrooms

509
00:47:22,796 --> 00:47:28,540
instead of like blue meth crystals like in Breaking
Bad it's red crystals which was really interesting

510
00:47:28,580 --> 00:47:32,943
to see it was like something new I'd never seen
before the way they were doing that and to

511
00:47:32,963 --> 00:47:39,647
have the backstory of it come from like Arkham
medication that was brilliant. Moving on to

512
00:47:39,707 --> 00:47:46,272
episode four titled Chentani. In flashbacks
Sophia learns from a reporter that Carmine

513
00:47:46,292 --> 00:47:51,374
is suspected of being the hangman. a serial
killer who strangled and hanged numerous women

514
00:47:51,514 --> 00:47:56,416
in a similar manner as she had witnessed her
own mother die when Sofia was a child. Desperate

515
00:47:56,436 --> 00:48:02,577
for answers, Sofia meets with the reporter privately.
Oz alerts Carmine to that, who retaliates by

516
00:48:02,637 --> 00:48:07,819
framing Sofia for the murders and having her
committed to Arkham Asylum, horrifying both

517
00:48:07,879 --> 00:48:13,860
Alberto and Oz. Though she's initially only
to be confined for six months, Carmine pulls

518
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:19,506
strings to extend her stay to over a decade
until his death. She is constantly mocked by

519
00:48:19,546 --> 00:48:26,151
the inmates, while her doctor, Ventress, subjects
her to electroshock therapy. Ventress' associate,

520
00:48:26,211 --> 00:48:32,856
Dr. Julian Rush, eventually realizes that Sofia
is innocent and quits. The mental and physical

521
00:48:32,936 --> 00:48:38,760
strain leads Sofia into a breakdown, and she
murders her cellmate, Magpie. In the present,

522
00:48:38,940 --> 00:48:45,164
Sofia is rescued by Rush, and Sofia, having
learned from Nadia that Oz murdered Alberto,

523
00:48:45,504 --> 00:48:50,651
concludes that no one can be trusted. That night
she unleashes a gas in the Felcone mansion

524
00:48:50,951 --> 00:48:57,255
that wipes out the Felcone family hierarchy
including Luca. She spares Gia, her cousin's

525
00:48:57,295 --> 00:49:03,298
young daughter, and Viti whom she holds at gunpoint.
This is a pretty good flashback episode. Arkham

526
00:49:03,398 --> 00:49:07,861
looks absolutely horrifying and I really like
how they kept up the continuity from the Batman

527
00:49:07,901 --> 00:49:12,964
film and how the institution was presented.
Yeah, it looks like they used the same set

528
00:49:13,324 --> 00:49:19,092
for sure. I agree. Absolutely horrifying. This
is another nightmarish situation where you're

529
00:49:19,112 --> 00:49:24,736
just trapped in a mental institution and over
medicated so that you can't escape or do anything

530
00:49:24,776 --> 00:49:29,620
or no one will believe you. It's very much believable
that something like that, along with the electroshock

531
00:49:29,660 --> 00:49:36,005
therapy, would drive Sophia insane. It was neat
how Magpie was in this episode, who is a Batman

532
00:49:36,085 --> 00:49:40,709
villain. She's like a thief, right? Right, yeah.
Although I will say that the actress kinda

533
00:49:40,829 --> 00:49:46,290
turned in a CW performance for an HBO show.
Uh, yeah, that's fair. Although I'm not- I'm

534
00:49:46,310 --> 00:49:51,473
not quite sure what else I would have expected
from her. It was very like Harley Quinn-lite,

535
00:49:51,573 --> 00:49:57,597
I would say. And speaking of Batman villains,
did you see that fans spotted a scarecrow mask

536
00:49:57,698 --> 00:50:04,002
and glove inside Julian Rush's office? Wait,
what? No? Yeah, there are screenshots you can

537
00:50:04,042 --> 00:50:08,465
see of it online. Okay, I need to see that now.
It's not necessarily an implication that Julian

538
00:50:08,565 --> 00:50:13,589
was the scarecrow. It may just been that he
was treating Jonathan Crane while in Arkham.

539
00:50:13,709 --> 00:50:19,145
Oh snap, look at that. Oh man, I cannot wait
to see Matt Reeves version of Scarecrow. That's

540
00:50:19,165 --> 00:50:23,649
gonna be awesome. If that happens. Oh, they're
freaking teasing that it's gonna happen. Who

541
00:50:23,689 --> 00:50:28,774
do you want to be the main villain of the Batman
2? I keep hearing rumors that it's going to

542
00:50:28,794 --> 00:50:36,421
be Mr. Freeze and that his whole thing is going
to be a new drug in Gotham City that freezes

543
00:50:36,461 --> 00:50:41,385
people. I didn't hate the interpretation, but
I also wouldn't hate if they went with someone

544
00:50:41,798 --> 00:50:47,022
like the Scarecrow who's a little bit more grounded
I would say than even Mr. Freeze. I just think

545
00:50:47,062 --> 00:50:51,005
Mr. Freeze needs to be done justice on screen.
We've already had a good version of Scarecrow.

546
00:50:51,425 --> 00:50:55,869
I want to see Clayface be the bad guy and as
opposed to being like a muck monster guy he's

547
00:50:55,909 --> 00:51:00,653
just like a serial killer in the same vein of
what we got earlier this year in Batman the

548
00:51:00,693 --> 00:51:06,218
Kid Crusader. I would totally love that. I would
accept that, absolutely. Moving on to episode

549
00:51:06,298 --> 00:51:06,658
five

550
00:51:11,282 --> 00:51:17,204
as ransom in exchange for the Bliss shipment
stolen by Nadia. At the same time, Oz has Vic

551
00:51:17,224 --> 00:51:22,826
look after Francis. During the trade, a guard
bribed by Oz tries to assassinate Moroni in

552
00:51:22,886 --> 00:51:29,169
Blackgate, while Oz kills Taj and Nadia by setting
both on fire while exchanging the hostage for

553
00:51:29,209 --> 00:51:34,711
the drugs. The fire activates chemical extinguishing
sprays that destroys most of the Bliss, while

554
00:51:34,751 --> 00:51:39,513
Moroni survives the attempt on his life and
escapes prison. Meanwhile, Gia is sent to a

555
00:51:39,573 --> 00:51:45,157
children's home. and Sofia tortures Viti until
he decides to support her bid to be the family

556
00:51:45,197 --> 00:51:50,881
head. Joined by Rush, who has fallen in love
with her, Sofia rebrands the family under her

557
00:51:50,921 --> 00:51:56,025
mother's maiden name, Gigante, and earns the
loyalty of the crew by making an appeal to

558
00:51:56,065 --> 00:52:02,630
shared oppression under the former Mafia heads.
When Viti objects to her plans, Sofia executes

559
00:52:02,670 --> 00:52:09,386
him. She and a grieving Moroni later form an
alliance to kill Oz. Elsewhere, Oz, after learning

560
00:52:09,426 --> 00:52:14,267
of Moroni's escape and losing the support of
his lover Eve, is berated by his mother for

561
00:52:14,327 --> 00:52:19,489
forcing her to hide in a condemned apartment
in the no-mans land area of Gotham known as

562
00:52:19,549 --> 00:52:25,610
Crown Point, where Oz and Francis used to live.
Oz remembers an abandoned underground railway

563
00:52:25,650 --> 00:52:31,412
nearby, showing it to Vic and declaring it their
new base of operations to regrow the Bliss.

564
00:52:32,052 --> 00:52:38,834
The scene where the Penguin straight up sets
the mother and son on fire was so hardcore.

565
00:52:39,315 --> 00:52:43,157
Yeah, I kind of saw it coming a mile away though,
because I was like, what else would he be dripping

566
00:52:43,237 --> 00:52:47,040
wet with? Right. Would it make sense for it
to be anything else but something combustible?

567
00:52:47,240 --> 00:52:51,843
It made me think of the scene from Luke Cage,
which I think was like a better emulation scene

568
00:52:52,143 --> 00:52:57,447
in terms of how impactful and frightening it
was. But this one was also pretty up there.

569
00:52:57,707 --> 00:53:02,570
Oz definitely executed some pretty interesting
plans on his road to power. I love how they

570
00:53:02,610 --> 00:53:08,746
incorporated the underground trolley system
of Gotham into the show. because the character

571
00:53:08,766 --> 00:53:13,449
of the Penguin has usually been associated with
like the sewers. You know, you take a look

572
00:53:13,529 --> 00:53:17,912
at something like Batman Returns and how, you
know, he was basically abandoned there as a

573
00:53:18,052 --> 00:53:23,375
baby. But instead of growing up in the sewers
like that, in this show, not only did they

574
00:53:23,415 --> 00:53:28,438
have him build his criminal underworld from
there, but it was also like the true origin

575
00:53:28,458 --> 00:53:32,920
of the character because it was the location
of where he first killed his brothers. Yeah,

576
00:53:32,980 --> 00:53:37,527
I thought it was definitely an homage to Batman
returns having them work out of the tunnels

577
00:53:37,567 --> 00:53:42,372
underground. But it was weird in that made him
feel more like the Danny DeVito version of

578
00:53:42,392 --> 00:53:46,435
the character, as opposed to the comic book
version of the character. And they're pulling

579
00:53:46,455 --> 00:53:50,939
for multiple inspirations. I thought it was
fine. I thought it was cool. To me, the penguin

580
00:53:50,959 --> 00:53:57,504
will always be the guy operating from the penthouse
floor of the iceberg lounge building more than

581
00:53:57,705 --> 00:54:02,949
the guy operating out of the underground sewer
system. I think he's at home in both worlds,

582
00:54:03,009 --> 00:54:09,532
honestly. I think the show showed that. Episode
6 was titled Gold Summit. Oz has managed to

583
00:54:09,572 --> 00:54:15,434
regrow his drug empire significantly, reproducing
and distributing the Bliss via the city's abandoned

584
00:54:15,514 --> 00:54:21,156
underground trolley system. Sophia and the Moronis
kill several Bliss dealers as a warning, leading

585
00:54:21,317 --> 00:54:26,699
Oz to decide to give away Bliss for free to
raise demand across all other gang territories.

586
00:54:27,239 --> 00:54:32,801
Vic is confronted by Squid, a drug dealer from
his neighborhood, who asks Vic to let him join

587
00:54:32,821 --> 00:54:37,891
the operation. Vic attempts to pay him off,
but when Squid threatens to expose Vic and

588
00:54:38,051 --> 00:54:44,513
Oz unless he gets a meeting with Oz, Vic shoots
him dead and flees. Frances's condition deteriorates

589
00:54:44,573 --> 00:54:50,154
further and she has Oz promise to kill her if
she becomes severely ill. Oz threatens the

590
00:54:50,194 --> 00:54:55,456
corrupt councilman Sebastian Haiti to restore
electricity to Crown Point and sets a meeting

591
00:54:55,476 --> 00:55:00,977
with the heads of the other gangs, who he convinces
to work together against the Gigantes and Morones.

592
00:55:01,610 --> 00:55:06,714
Sophia and Sel break into Oz's apartment to
find leverage against him, and Sophia discovers

593
00:55:06,794 --> 00:55:12,718
a photo of Eve. Sophia visits Eve, threatening
to kill her to get to Oz, but Eve gives up

594
00:55:12,758 --> 00:55:18,162
his location after Sophia reveals Oz was aware
of the true identity of the Hanged Man who

595
00:55:18,202 --> 00:55:24,147
targeted prostitutes. Francis and Vic dance
to music after power is restored to Crown Point,

596
00:55:24,567 --> 00:55:29,239
just as Sophia enters their home with a crowbar.
Can you remind me where any of the prostitute

597
00:55:29,279 --> 00:55:35,503
characters in this show also in the Batman movie
with Selena Kyle? I don't believe so. They

598
00:55:35,543 --> 00:55:40,947
mentioned the 44 below and some of them working
down there, but I don't remember their faces

599
00:55:40,987 --> 00:55:46,691
from the movie. One of the most heartbreaking
moments of the series is not only when Oswald

600
00:55:46,771 --> 00:55:53,015
has to pull his mother out of the freezing cold
bathtub, but also when Vic is forced to shoot

601
00:55:53,215 --> 00:55:59,183
his childhood, not quite friend, but acquaintance.
I thought those are two very powerful moments

602
00:55:59,343 --> 00:56:03,525
from the series and they both happened in this
episode. You know, one is this very dark moment

603
00:56:03,625 --> 00:56:09,609
between a mother and son about euthanasia, and
the other one sort of signals Vic's descent

604
00:56:09,829 --> 00:56:15,692
into possibly being bad. Why do you think Vic
chose to live the life of a criminal as opposed

605
00:56:15,712 --> 00:56:21,095
to going with his girlfriend to California?
I think Oz is incredibly persuasive. You saw

606
00:56:21,115 --> 00:56:26,918
that with him talking with the other gang members.
I think Vic truly believed. the promise that

607
00:56:26,978 --> 00:56:32,041
the Penguin could give him a life better than
one he had ever known with his family in Crown

608
00:56:32,081 --> 00:56:38,004
Point. It's things like that make me feel less
sympathy for the character of Vic and his fate

609
00:56:38,044 --> 00:56:43,107
at the end of the show when you just see him
make some truly bad decisions in regards to

610
00:56:43,347 --> 00:56:49,110
life in general. Well, I definitely think him
not going with his girlfriend when Oz essentially

611
00:56:49,190 --> 00:56:56,703
let him was a huge mistake. I'm not sure that
killing Squid... was a mistake because it was

612
00:56:56,763 --> 00:57:03,608
something that had to be done in part for his
own self-defense. Squid was an abusive and

613
00:57:03,748 --> 00:57:09,872
unpredictable element that definitely needed
to be eliminated for Oz's and Vic's empire

614
00:57:09,912 --> 00:57:17,117
to succeed. Moving on to episode 7 titled Top
Hat. In a flashback, Oz is resentful of the

615
00:57:17,157 --> 00:57:22,001
attention that his mother gives to his brothers
Jack and Benny. After a game of hide and seek

616
00:57:22,041 --> 00:57:26,575
in the sewer tunnels, Oz leaves his brothers
trapped inside an overflowing sewer tunnel

617
00:57:26,855 --> 00:57:31,777
where they drown. In the present, Oz returns
to his apartment and finds an injured Vic,

618
00:57:32,078 --> 00:57:37,680
who reveals that Sofia has kidnapped Francis.
Vic escapes right before Moroni arrives with

619
00:57:37,720 --> 00:57:43,583
his men, who find and beat Oz before forcing
him to take them to his underground lair. Oz

620
00:57:43,603 --> 00:57:49,365
and his men stage an ambush and Moroni dies
of a heart attack while fighting Oz. Meanwhile-

621
00:57:49,694 --> 00:57:55,196
Sophia has Rush interrogate Francis about Oz's
weaknesses and visits Gia after learning that

622
00:57:55,216 --> 00:58:01,799
she intends to cooperate with the police. Disillusioned
after seeing the pain she has caused Gia, Sophia

623
00:58:01,839 --> 00:58:07,521
considers accepting Oz's ultimatum to trade
Francis for his bliss supply, but Rush convinces

624
00:58:07,561 --> 00:58:13,424
her to go through with her desire to see Oz
suffer. During the trade, Sophia instead sends

625
00:58:13,464 --> 00:58:19,314
in a bomb that destroys Oz's underground base
and kills his entire crew. Oz survives and

626
00:58:19,354 --> 00:58:25,439
resurfaces only to be knocked out by Detective
Wise. There aren't a lot of funny moments in

627
00:58:25,499 --> 00:58:31,284
this show, but I definitely thought one of them
was when Moroni had a heart attack while fighting

628
00:58:31,424 --> 00:58:36,969
Oz, which shouldn't be funny because heart attacks
aren't funny. But that was just so absurd how

629
00:58:36,989 --> 00:58:44,375
that happened. And even Oz was like, what the
fuck? Yeah, he was adamant that he won fair

630
00:58:44,395 --> 00:58:48,598
and square during their fight, even though he
basically lucked out. I thought it was really

631
00:58:48,618 --> 00:58:54,442
cool how Oz developed a loyalty amongst the
people working underground with him, so much

632
00:58:54,482 --> 00:58:59,946
so that he had his own army to fight back against
the Morones when they came down there. Killing

633
00:58:59,986 --> 00:59:04,048
the lights and everything, I thought was just
a really cool strategy that helped them win.

634
00:59:04,529 --> 00:59:10,673
What did you think about the flashback to Oz's
childhood in that he was basically a kid murderer

635
00:59:10,833 --> 00:59:16,096
at the time who showed no remorse? I initially
thought that he was naive enough to not fully

636
00:59:16,157 --> 00:59:21,443
recognize his own actions. But then I think
later on it became clear that his actual intent

637
00:59:21,563 --> 00:59:25,924
was to kill his brothers. Yeah, I'm with you.
I thought initially he didn't realize what

638
00:59:25,984 --> 00:59:30,325
he had done. But later on in the series you
kind of realize that there's something not

639
00:59:30,365 --> 00:59:37,107
quite right with this kid. And maybe he did
it as an act of impulsive rage for his brothers

640
00:59:37,187 --> 00:59:41,668
utilizing his handicap against him. And that
he couldn't get down to where they were. But

641
00:59:41,688 --> 00:59:47,854
that makes him sound insane. And yet adult Oswald
doesn't- seem that insane. Like he's evil,

642
00:59:48,295 --> 00:59:53,917
but he's not necessarily crazy. He's malicious
and vengeful and narcissistic. Those can be

643
00:59:53,957 --> 00:59:58,459
seen as mental illnesses of a degree, but ultimately
when you take a look at the history of the

644
00:59:58,479 --> 01:00:04,121
comics, yeah, he does kill his brothers as a
kid for largely the same reasons because they

645
01:00:04,141 --> 01:00:08,963
made fun of him. Sociopathy, I guess you could
describe it. Yeah, exactly. Although in this

646
01:00:09,003 --> 01:00:15,050
case, I think part of him was just looking out
for his mother. You know, he saw how hard of

647
01:00:15,070 --> 01:00:21,292
a time she was having, and he didn't want her
to be burdened by two other brothers. And you

648
01:00:21,312 --> 01:00:25,493
know, he was selfish. He wanted all of her attention
for himself. So it's interesting how a character

649
01:00:25,653 --> 01:00:30,114
like the Penguin throughout the whole show is
kind of playing two different games, one that

650
01:00:30,154 --> 01:00:34,975
benefits him and the one that, you know, benefits
his family. That's sort of what's somewhat

651
01:00:35,015 --> 01:00:38,716
endearing about the character. You know, like
what kind of guy would threaten a councilman

652
01:00:38,757 --> 01:00:43,318
to turn on the lights for the community that
he was living in. What kind of guy wants to

653
01:00:43,378 --> 01:00:50,005
foster this helpful relationship with his community?
Well, the kind of guy who relies on the community

654
01:00:50,085 --> 01:00:56,691
to run his criminal enterprise. That's fair.
Moving on to the final episode, episode 8,

655
01:00:56,871 --> 01:01:03,357
titled A Great or Little Thing. Using EMDR therapy,
Rush learns that Francis already knew about

656
01:01:03,537 --> 01:01:09,110
Oz drowning his brothers and tried to have him
killed by the gangster Rex Calabrese. but Oz's

657
01:01:09,150 --> 01:01:14,313
manipulative promises as a child convinced her
not to go through with it. Oz is brought to

658
01:01:14,354 --> 01:01:19,677
Sophia, who threatens to cut off Francis' finger
unless Oz confesses to his mom the truth that

659
01:01:19,697 --> 01:01:24,961
he killed his brothers. Oz refuses to admit
his actions even as Rush tortures Francis,

660
01:01:25,361 --> 01:01:31,125
causing her to disown him before suffering a
stroke. Oz manages to escape, killing Wise,

661
01:01:31,485 --> 01:01:37,974
and getting Francis to the hospital. Meanwhile,
the local bosses abandon Oz for Sophia, puts

662
01:01:38,014 --> 01:01:43,398
out a bounty for Oz as she prepares to leave
Gotham. While Oz forms an alliance with Councilman

663
01:01:43,418 --> 01:01:49,242
Hady, Vic arranges for the bosses to be murdered
by their deputies, who help Oz abduct Sophia.

664
01:01:49,682 --> 01:01:55,567
Instead of killing her, Oz has his new police
contacts return her to Arkham. Oz and Vic visit

665
01:01:55,607 --> 01:02:00,870
Francis to celebrate only to learn that she
entered a vegetative state, causing Oz to break

666
01:02:00,910 --> 01:02:06,638
down. Later that night, Vic tells Oz that he
views him as family, which Oz reciprocates

667
01:02:06,678 --> 01:02:12,803
before murdering Vic, saying that families make
people weak. Meanwhile, Rush, who has returned

668
01:02:12,863 --> 01:02:18,607
to Arkham to care for Sophia, hands her a letter
from her half-sister, Selina Kyle. Oz takes

669
01:02:18,627 --> 01:02:24,251
the vegetative Francis to a new penthouse suite
where he dances with Eve dressed as Francis

670
01:02:24,691 --> 01:02:30,055
as the bat signal shines in the sky. I loved
this final episode. I thought it was a solid

671
01:02:30,175 --> 01:02:34,602
ending to the season and potentially series
as a whole. I'm not sure if we're gonna get

672
01:02:34,622 --> 01:02:39,804
a second season of this. But yeah, everything
that happened here, from Oz being unwilling

673
01:02:39,864 --> 01:02:45,026
to admit that he killed his brothers to his
mom, even though she already knew, to the Penguin's

674
01:02:45,146 --> 01:02:51,609
very own Don Corleone-type moment in which all
of the heads of the different gangs are killed

675
01:02:51,729 --> 01:02:57,712
at the same time. It was all so freaking great.
Yeah, that was a great twist, along with getting

676
01:02:58,092 --> 01:03:02,430
Sophia Falcone put back into Arkham. I totally
thought he was gonna kill her. And... It was

677
01:03:02,470 --> 01:03:07,711
a great bit of writing leading up to her apparent
demise that had you convinced that he was going

678
01:03:07,731 --> 01:03:12,612
to kill her. He gave her a fate worse than death,
right? He put her exactly where she did not

679
01:03:12,652 --> 01:03:17,834
want to end up again. Although I have to imagine
Rush would probably help her escape. Yeah,

680
01:03:18,114 --> 01:03:23,355
most likely. I wonder what the letter said that
Selina Kyle wrote her. Yeah, I'm wondering

681
01:03:23,376 --> 01:03:27,497
the same thing. I'm actually thinking that we're
going to see Sophia Falcone show up again in

682
01:03:27,537 --> 01:03:32,643
the Batman sequel, maybe alongside Catwoman.
And if that's the case, I wonder what storyline

683
01:03:32,663 --> 01:03:38,446
they're adapting. I imagine we're going to see
the Penguin again and Sophia again. And yeah,

684
01:03:38,526 --> 01:03:42,069
that makes me really curious, you're right,
as to what they will be doing with the story,

685
01:03:42,549 --> 01:03:47,332
whatever they do. I'm here for it because I
loved this show. Again, I can't wait to see

686
01:03:47,712 --> 01:03:52,755
more of this universe. I hope it keeps going
on and on and that James Gunn decides to make

687
01:03:52,775 --> 01:03:58,982
it a part of his main universe overall with
this season. Its outstanding performances and

688
01:03:59,242 --> 01:04:05,004
epic brutal storyline made The Limited Series
a crime thriller of the highest caliber and

689
01:04:05,024 --> 01:04:11,165
a masterpiece within the genre I felt. I'm giving
it 5 out of 5 stars, just like The Batman,

690
01:04:11,586 --> 01:04:18,587
a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Yeah, I'm
not sure if you're referring to it as a masterpiece

691
01:04:18,668 --> 01:04:23,609
within the crime genre or within the superhero
genre, but honestly it doesn't matter because

692
01:04:23,849 --> 01:04:29,951
I think that term applies to both. Not only
is it a great entry into superhero media in

693
01:04:30,011 --> 01:04:36,473
general, but I 100% think that the show holds
up among the greatest crime dramas ever made.

694
01:04:36,673 --> 01:04:40,894
Like it's right up there with The Godfather,
The Departed and things like that. I'm not

695
01:04:40,914 --> 01:04:44,335
sure if it's up there with The Godfather, but
I would say it's definitely up there with like

696
01:04:44,515 --> 01:04:49,476
The Sopranos. And you know, holding this season
up against any season of Breaking Bad, I think

697
01:04:49,516 --> 01:04:54,142
it's competitive. I would love to see more seasons.
I don't think we're going to get them. But

698
01:04:54,302 --> 01:04:58,083
I could follow this Penguin story all the way
to the end, for sure. I think one of the best

699
01:04:58,123 --> 01:05:02,144
things that I can say about the show is that
I was at a restaurant the other day and the

700
01:05:02,264 --> 01:05:06,805
bartender lady who was middle-aged, she looked
like to be in her fifties or something like

701
01:05:06,845 --> 01:05:11,867
that, she just brought up out of the blue with
some people sitting at the bar how great this

702
01:05:11,887 --> 01:05:16,808
show was. And it just stood out to me as being
something that had tremendous crossover appeal

703
01:05:17,288 --> 01:05:21,942
in terms of its audience and demographic. I
heard that the show has done really well. and

704
01:05:22,042 --> 01:05:26,185
I hope that's the case. And I hope it brings
a lot of new audiences to the genre. Yeah,

705
01:05:26,225 --> 01:05:31,168
I think it doesn't hurt that it was propped
up as an HBO original that comes with a lot

706
01:05:31,188 --> 01:05:36,932
of clout, right? I've actually had coworkers
come up to me asking me if I had seen The Penguin,

707
01:05:37,212 --> 01:05:40,915
which I hadn't yet. And they're like, oh, you're
going to love it. It's so good. I thought it

708
01:05:40,935 --> 01:05:45,018
was really good. And that just got me even more
excited to start watching it. Yeah, I'm sure

709
01:05:45,038 --> 01:05:49,201
they agree with your five star rating. I agree
with your five star rating. I'll say it's still

710
01:05:49,241 --> 01:05:54,050
not better than Daredevil season three. but
I'll say it's probably the best television

711
01:05:54,090 --> 01:05:59,012
series that DC has ever produced. Even better
than Watchmen? I think it was better than Watchmen.

712
01:05:59,372 --> 01:06:05,133
Holy cow, maybe, maybe. I know it was better
than Agatha all along, that's for sure. Barely.

713
01:06:05,593 --> 01:06:10,815
Like I said in our last episode, they're entirely
different shows. I think Marvel could absolutely

714
01:06:10,875 --> 01:06:16,796
produce a series like The Penguin with no issues,
but can DC produce a series about a magic coven

715
01:06:16,836 --> 01:06:21,918
of witches at the same quality as Marvel Television
did with that show? I don't think so. They

716
01:06:21,938 --> 01:06:26,139
don't need to make lame shows like that, because
they make cool shows like The Penguin. OK,

717
01:06:26,279 --> 01:06:30,020
yeah. But that does it for this review. AJ9K
help close this out.

718
01:06:46,246 --> 01:06:51,989
or by rating and reviewing dynamic duel on Apple
podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, or on our website.

719
01:06:52,529 --> 01:06:56,731
Don't forget to listen to the other shows in
the DynaMic podcast network, including Max

720
01:06:56,751 --> 01:07:04,556
Destruction, Senjou World, and Console Combat.
In our next episode, we will be doing a duel

721
01:07:04,956 --> 01:07:11,139
as a tie-in to this review of the Penguin between
another street level Gotham villain character,

722
01:07:11,520 --> 01:07:17,744
Black Mask, against Marvel's Madam Mask. Yeah,
two grounded criminal characters within Marvel

723
01:07:17,784 --> 01:07:22,548
and DC that don't have powers but they do have
badass masks should be interesting to see how

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01:07:22,568 --> 01:07:27,873
that plays out. So mask off bro, let's go! Me
and you! But that is it for this episode, we

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01:07:27,913 --> 01:07:32,117
want to give a big thanks to our executive producers
Ken Johnson, John Storosky, Zachary Hepburn,

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01:07:32,357 --> 01:07:37,381
Dustin Belcombe, Miggy Mantagian, Brendan Estergard,
Nathaniel Wagner, Levi Yeaton, Austin Waselowski,

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01:07:37,582 --> 01:07:43,682
AJ Dunkerley, Scott Camacho, Gil Camacho, Adam
Spies, Andrew Schunk. Dean Molesky, Kevin Davis,

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01:07:43,862 --> 01:07:49,064
Joseph Kirsting, Josh Leiner, and our newest
executive producer, Mike Williams. Thanks for

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01:07:49,084 --> 01:07:53,665
helping make this podcast possible guys, we'll
talk to you all next week. Up, up and away,

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01:07:53,765 --> 01:07:54,346
true believers.