Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) faces serious problems right from the first episode of The Penguin, titled “After Hours.” He kills Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), deals with the suspicious Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), and faces pressure from the troubled Falcone Family.
Despite these issues, Oz finds a way out. He shifts the blame for Alberto’s death to Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) and avoids severe punishment with the help of Victor (Rhenzy Feliz). Now, Oz has a bold plan he took from Alberto.
This plan involves a new drug that he hopes will help him take control of the criminal world. The Batman showed that the main drug on the streets of Gotham is called “drops.”
These drops are actually eyedrops that get users high. The effects are similar to MDMA, but they are very addictive. Oz tells Alberto, “good on you” for “staying off the drops,” knowing that people will still use them even after they have been removed from the water.
The drugs reveal a lot about Oz’s approach to being a leader in crime. With drops acting as a form of currency, they become a key part of Oz’s plan to gain power in Gotham by turning other crime families against each other.
Drops Are the Key Currency in ‘The Penguin’
Gotham has become chaotic after the events of The Batman, with many crime groups competing for power. The death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro/Mark Strong) has left a big gap in the criminal world.
The “Odesa Mob” and “Burnley Town” are fighting for Oz’s drop supply, while other families want to shut down Oz’s drug business to protect their interests.
Drops become the main currency that crime families will fight over. Oz’s plan to create “a new high” puts him in a strong position to control this currency.
However, he only retrieves 30% of his drop supply, after claiming he has 70%.
This increases the pressure on Oz right from the start of The Penguin, showing that his position is fragile and held together by tricks. Yet, the drops are only part of a bigger plan Oz has in mind.
Drops Are Just a Small Part of Oz Cobb’s Strategy in ‘The Penguin’
Oz seems to want to create more violence in Gotham. He tells Sal Maroni in prison, “Whoever controls drops controls the streets,” using the ring he took from Alberto to lure Maroni.
If Oz can set the Maronis, Falcones, and other gangs against each other over the control of drops and Alberto’s murder, he could take over all of Gotham once the fighting stops.
Oz knows he cannot fight everyone alone. He is like a clever puppet master, but this also makes him vulnerable. Every scene with Oz and other criminals is tense.
By working quietly in the background and encouraging others to make noise, it might explain why Batman is not targeting Oz specifically. Matt Reeves has confirmed that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will not appear in the series.
Whatever this “new high” is, Oz Cobb’s wish to claim this drug for himself shows his complex morals and the hypocrisy of being a gangster. Earlier in the episode, he talks to Alberto about the old gangsters like Rex Calabrese, who everyone admired.
Still from The Penguin (Credit: HBO)
Oz’s reliance on the drug trade shows how his dreams clash with his harsh reality. He is someone people laugh at, but he is also someone who will bring drugs into the communities he wants to love him.
This season, Oz’s biggest challenge may be choosing between wanting to be loved or feared while trying to achieve both.
Colin Farrell’s performance as Oz Cobb has been excellent in the pilot of The Penguin. His power is set up to change by the end of the show.
Even though drops will be a main focus in a flooded Gotham, they may only distract from Cobb’s larger plans to rise to power.
This sets him up to be a truly menacing villain by the show’s end, someone that even Pattinson’s Batman may not see coming in The Batman: Part II.
The Penguin is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
If you’re wondering whether you need to rewatch WandaVision before watching Agatha All Along, the title itself gives you a clue. The phrase “Agatha All Along” comes straight from WandaVision, and many key details in the new series also come from that show.
Even though Agatha All Along is a separate series, the first few episodes refer back to what happened in WandaVision. The new story follows Agatha Harkness (played by Kathryn Hahn), taking off from where we last saw her in WandaVision as the character Agnes in Westview.
In WandaVision, it was revealed that Agatha had been pretending to be an innocent prisoner in Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) magical hex over Westview. Agatha had secretly been “messing up everything” in Wanda’s created reality.
She used dark magic to disrupt Wanda’s life, brought in a different version of Pietro Maximoff, and even killed Sparky the dog.
Her goal was to manipulate Wanda into giving up the powers she didn’t know she had. Agatha understood exactly what Wanda was, and her greed for power led her to a fate where she got trapped in Westview, stripped of her magic.
‘Agatha All Along’: A Dark Continuation of ‘WandaVision’
Similar to how WandaVision played with different styles of TV shows, Agatha All Along follows that tradition with a new approach. WandaVision showed sitcom styles from different decades, from the clean-cut 1950s to the modern-day mockumentary style of the 2010s.
But Agatha All Along adopts a modern-day crime drama style, where the once-happy (but trapped) residents of Westview now appear in darker, post-hex roles. WandaVision mostly unfolded through a TV show format, which revealed Agatha as Agnes in a big twist.
As viewers wait for Agatha to drop her cover and reveal her true, witchy self, it’s important to remember that she’s still stuck in Westview because Wanda took away her magic and left her as the nosy neighbor.
Agatha All Along references several elements from WandaVision that might confuse viewers if they don’t remember key parts of the story. This includes small details like character names in the opening credits and the “Hey, neighbor” moment between Agnes and Herb (David Payton).
On a more serious level, the townspeople of Westview often talk about the trauma they shared when they were under Wanda’s mental control during WandaVision, similar to how the Blip was referenced in movies after Avengers: Infinity War.
Still from Agatha All Along (Credit: Disney+)
Much of Agatha’s backstory also ties into WandaVision, such as her connection to the Darkhold and why she is hated by other witches after she stole power from her original coven.
It’s a good idea for viewers to catch up on WandaVision before starting Agatha All Along. Enough details from the new show make a rewatch of WandaVision worthwhile. However, this doesn’t mean Agatha All Along will be exactly like its predecessor.
The new series takes place three years after the events of WandaVision, introducing new characters and a fresh storyline. There are even fan theories about new characters being related to Wanda. Plus, familiar objects like the Darkhold and the Hex are mentioned again.
Going into Agatha All Along without any knowledge of WandaVision might mean missing out on important context. The show centers on Agatha’s mission to get back her stolen powers with the help of a quirky group of witches.
Agatha All Along is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S., with new episodes releasing every Wednesday night.
