‘The Penguin’ Episode 3 Recap: Why Did Vic End Up Saving Oz?

Although the first two episodes of Max’s The Penguin have been brilliant, it is the third one that really gets things going as Oz gets caught up in a mess in his attempt to play both sides of the city’s underworld. Details from Victor’s past are unearthed, as he finds himself in a pickle while having to choose between past and present. Sofia and Oz’s partnership shifts narrative focus to Gotham’s Triad, while the new gamechanger drug Sofia brings references to a deadly Batman villain, igniting the potential of a future appearance.

Spoilers Ahead


Victor’s Tragic Past and A Look Back to Riddler’s Mayhem

The episode begins with a flashback in which Victor and his loving family, consisting of his sister and their parents, come into focus as the strong bond they share with each other. Victor comes from a humble background, and his mechanic father, Juan, fears his son’s ambition might lead him towards bad company. Victor’s phone wallpaper showcase a mechanical  construct which closely resemble either Cyborg or Brainiac, possibly a nod to the larger DC universe. The scene takes place on the day of Gotham’s mayoral election result announcement, when Bella Reál was elected as new mayor of the city, and Riddler’s terrorist attack of destroying the seawall flooded half the city. Victor, who was with his girlfriend, Graciela, chilling with their friends at the rooftop of a neighboring apartment, survived when the flood hit, but his parents, like many other residents of the impoverished locality of Crown Point, met a tragic end. 

At present, Victor stalls Sofia, who is paying a visit to Oz’s apartment, as Oz is busy to trick Maroni over the phone. Sophia intends to show him the new drugs Alberto was planning to introduce to the city. As Oz leaves with Sofia, Victor invites Graciela to Oz’s apartment. After catching up, Graciela reveals that she is leaving for California the next day, and seeing Vic devastated after hearing the news, she asks him to join her. Vic knows the kind of life he has got entangled in at the present, becoming an accessory and witness to Oz’s crimes; there is no easy escape. Still, he hopes for the best and asks Graciela to keep a bus ticket for him.


Bliss: The New Drugs Reference Mister Bloom

Sofia brings Oz to one of her hideouts, where he is introduced to Trey Bloom, a chemist under Sofia’s payroll who is developing a new drug from the basidiospore substrate of bleeding tooth mushrooms, which seemingly creates a high potent enough to keep the dreaded Arkham inmates in a state of constant lull. Sofia was admitted to Arkham for quite a long time, and her brother, Alberto, who became aware of the drugs later on, was quick to cash in on the opportunity. Sofia is positive that this particular substance, which Oz later names Bliss, will spread in the market like wildfire, and to build its customer base, she needs Oz’s help. 

The name Terry Bloom might sound oddly familiar to DC fans, and will remind them of the deadly Batman supervillain, Mister Bloom, who obtained powers of metamorphosis after being subjected to experiments by a certain Dr. Daryl Gutierrez, and exhibits an affinity for plant and flower-oriented terminologies. Although in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe we are yet to see any fantastical elements, who knows, Terry Bloom’s introduction might change things up a bit. Vic, who was waiting for Oz and Sophia outside the Triad base, gets his money taken by a crooked cop, which showcases the prevalent racism and corruption in GCPD.


Chinatown Shenanigans

At Falcone mansion, Sofia is threatened and insulted by Johnny Viti, who wants her to follow the present chief of the family, Luca Falcone’s instructions, and simply take leave from Gotham. Later on, Sofia meets with Oz at Chinatown, who brings her to Triad deputy, Link Tsai—his former associate—who has convinced their Dai Lo, aka chief of the gang, Feng Zhao, to let Oz and Sofia spread Bliss through the city via the clubs under the Triad’s control. This will inevitably put a dent on the Falcone drop monopoly, weakening Luca and Viti’s control as a result; however, one issue remains, which is that Zhao needs Viti’s verbal approval on the phone to confirm that the Falcones are on agreeable terms with Oz and Sofia’s plan as well. It is revealed that Carmine had driven the Triad out of the drug business back in the day, which is why Feng Zhao doesn’t want any unnecessary heat by inciting a war with Falcones. Unbeknownst to the Triad, Oz and Sofia are trying to cut a deal with them to undermine the Falcones in the first place.

However, Oz has his own methods to force Viti into compliance, as he easily lures him into a honeytrap, and after catching Viti in the act by barging into his room with Sofia, Oz threatens to expose his secret affair with Luca’s wife. If he doesn’t fake the Falcone family’s approval for Zhao. Viti, who is well aware of Oz’s deceitful nature, tries to use Sofia’s past to turn her against him and straight up insults Oz’s stature compared to the clients he deals with. While Viti doesn’t face the same fate as Alberto, Oz gives him a taste of his short temper by shoving the phone in his mouth. Viti ends up following Oz and Sophia’s commands, but his words end up reminding Sofia of a troubling instance from her past. Apparently, Oz, who used to be her driver in the past, was responsible to some extent for her ending up in Arkham. Sofia still holds a grudge for that and, as a result, doesn’t trust Oz at all. Also, there is a power struggle between the duo, as Sofia starts feeling that Oz is more driven than her to set up this Bliss operation and assume control. 


Why Did Vic End Up Saving Oz?

Before forcing Viti to comply, Oz and Vic had a heart to heart while having lunch in a posh restaurant, and the fact that Oz cares for this kid, at least to some extent, is shown in the way he takes Vic’s side when he faces a stuttering issue while ordering. Vic reminisces about his father and shares bits of his past life with Oz, who appears sympathetic and raises a toast to Vic’s late father. While Oz’s gestures are friendly and convincing, they still betray a certain sense of self-interest on Oz’s part, which makes it troublesome for Vic to reveal his wish to Oz about leaving everything and moving to California with his girlfriend. He fears Oz, and at the same time, the allure of this present life keeps him tethered to Oz, despite knowing what kind of risky game he has gotten himself entangled in. 

As Oz and Sophia meet with Zhao to provide him with a live demonstration of the effectiveness of Bliss in one of his clubs, Vic acts as a bagboy to supply vials of the drug to Eva and her associates, who are assisting Oz to spread it among the attendees of the club. Perhaps from the mental conflict of having to choose between two lives, or the effects from the Bliss, Vic has a mental breakdown as his sordid memories of losing his loved ones flash in front of his eyes. Meanwhile, Zhao initially hesitates to agree to Sofia’s deal, but after she uses her knowledge about Zhao’s past—especially of his psychiatrist father—to convince him how easily Bliss can take hold of the hopeless, desperate denizens of Gotham, Zhao conveys his approval. Oz finds a distraught Vic in the washroom, and learning about his plan to leave, lashes out at him. Oz once again tries to use Vic’s ambition and insecurity to control him and gets infuriated after Vic insinuates that Oz is holding him hostage. However, contrary to Vic’s assumption, despite being angry with his decision, Oz allows him to leave, and Vic finally has the chance to leave this terrible mess behind and start a new life with Graciela. However, even after arriving at the bus stop in Oz’s car, Vic chooses not to join Graciela as he watches her leave. Ambition has indeed taken over his mind as he drives back to meet Oz.

Sofia and Oz have a heart to heart out the back of Zhang’s club, as Oz apologizes for his contribution to Sofia’s predicament, and his vulnerable side is shown as Sofia mentions his actions are guided by his need to bolster his ambitious nature—although we don’t know how much Oz is faking or whether it was a genuine display of his emotion. Trouble follows as Nadia Maroni and one of her gunmen round up Sofia and Oz then and there; she has become aware of how Oz is playing the Maronis for a fool while partnering with Sofia. As Oz is about to get killed, Vic, who was watching the events unfold, rams the gunman with Oz’s car and flees from the scene, taking Oz away with him. As the episode concludes, Oz showers Vic with his praises, and this presents an interesting end to the episode. To think of it, Vic had every chance to let Oz be killed, and with his troubling past buried with Oz, he once again would’ve had the opportunity to go back to his old ways. Guess he didn’t want that after all, as Oz has successfully indoctrinated the poor kid under his influence. The upcoming episode is going to be tense and intriguing, as Sofia is now probably aware of Oz’s involvement in both sides, and it is only a matter of time till she learns about Oz’s role in Alberto’s death. 


Siddhartha Das
Siddhartha Das
An avid fan and voracious reader of comic book literature, Siddhartha thinks the ideals accentuated in the superhero genre should be taken as lessons in real life also. A sucker for everything horror and different art styles, Siddhartha likes to spend his time reading subjects. He's always eager to learn more about world fauna, history, geography, crime fiction, sports, and cultures. He also wishes to abolish human egocentrism, which can make the world a better place.


 

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