The Penguin

Tldr: unnecessary, but good. Largely unnecessary, and a strange decision for several reasons: - the story of the Reeves-verse would be pretty much exactly the same whether this show happened or not. Its sole purpose is character development, which would be nice if the Reeves-verse became a franchise, but given that The Batman came out four years ago and we are still two years away from the sequel, what was once pitched as a realistic, young Batman will, once the sequel releases, be starring a 41-year-old Bob Pattinson. Even if a potential third installment came out in half the time it took to take the second movie (say, three years), our 20-something Batman would be pushing 50. Cynically, I’m left asking why we are even bothering when it seems the ship has sailed for this would-be franchise. - now, the Reeves-verse is without the heads of the two main Gotham crime families. Not really a big problem, as other characters can fill those roles, but it is strange to make this decision so early into any would-be franchise, as The Dark Knight showed, just the omniscient, looming presence of these crime family can be very impactful. It seems like a hasty decision unless something like, say, the Court of Owls was intended to enter the franchise soon. - Matt Reeves has said the sequel movie will feature a villain that hasn’t really been adapted to film, so, speculation aside, why are we bothering developing who is at most a side character? - it’s funny that, in need of an inconsequential character for Sofia to kill in Arkham, they decided to name this character after such an obscure Batman villain that only die-hard fans will recognize, just to, again, kill her after roughly a minute of screen time. - this is more of a personal gripe with the art form of television, but the overkill on exposition gets obnoxious. This is a problem I’m experiencing with Lost, which my fiancée and I are currently watching. Character development is good, but three of eight episodes being mostly character back story in a limited-series that is already about character back story is a bit much. It is well-executed, but I’m once again wondering why this was needed. Despite all that, I did enjoy the show. Colin Farrell once again completely disappears into this character. His performance and his makeup artist are truly exceptional. I’ll never decline more Batman stories, but with The Penguin, I’m really just wonder why this. It was obviously unforeseeable at the time, but DC is now (or soon-to-be) owned by sycophants of the president who have demonstrated a willingness to censor art (and journalism) if it isn’t in congruence with GOP party lines. The Reeves-verse and the James Gunn DC Universe could both easily be DOA. I hope not, and despite its flaws, earnestly hope we get more from this universe.