Inside Man (The Penguin)
Set shortly after the events of the film, the series explores the rise to power of Oswald "Oz" Cobb / Penguin (portrayed by Colin Farrell) in Gotham City's criminal underworld.
Oz finds himself allied with a young man named Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), while also having to deal with the presence of Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), who wants answers regarding her brother's disappearance.
In the episode, Oz cooperates with Salvatore Maroni's (Clancy Brown) crew to rob one of the Falcone's trucks, while Sofia's uncle Luca (Scott Cohen) arrives to take care of the crime family.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.299 million household viewers and gained a 0.04 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
After Alberto's funeral, Sofia bribes retired GCPD detective Marcus Wise, formerly on her father's payroll, to investigate the heist, and the man finds Ervad, one of Maroni's henchmen.
During this, Victor tries to sneak jewels inside Viti's car to expose his affair with Luca's wife but is forced to flee when Falcone's bodyguards see him.
"[3] The visual effects team had developed a type of flash prop gun for use on set during the FEMA heist scene, primarily to ensure the safety of the crew.
“Inside Man” loses some of the momentum of the series premiere, but a pair of tense sequences and knockout performances from the main cast keep it from falling flat.
Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "there's fun to be had watching Cobb run the numbers on the various people he might pin his mole activities on, ultimately dismissing Michael Kelly's Johnny Vitti as just too damn hard to frame.
But where “Inside Man” may come off as paying thin gangster-cosplay lip service to its The Sopranos/Boardwalk Empire-baiting HBO time slot, The Penguin continues to make inspired use of the comic-book IP torch it’s been tasked with carrying.
"[11] Joe George of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As with the premiere, Milioti provides the perfect partner to Farrell as Oz, and every scene between the two characters crackles.
By the time the episode ends with Sofia holding an unnerving smile as proposes a partnership with Oz, The Penguin starts to make a name for itself by embracing its pulpy heart.
"[12] Sean T. Collins of Decider wrote, "With these characteristics, The Penguin does an excellent job conveying why an S-tier liar and killer like Oz Cobb isn't running Gotham City already.
