The Penguin Episode 5: "Homecoming" ending explained

This writer was worried that episode 5 of The Penguin couldn't follow the amazingness of episode 4, “Cent'Anni”. Episode 5 (titled “Homecoming”) may not have been as good, but it was still an amazing episode that set up the second half of the season with Sofia making big moves. Among them is saying she will no longer go by the last name Falcone. She'll use her mother's maiden name, Gigante.

Sofia followed up murdering her family by killing Johnny Viti and putting herself on top of the new crime family. As big as that moment was, it was only the beginning of her plan. We have to return to Oz’s failed scheme to tell that story.

"We kill Oz. And then we take over the city" - Sofia Gigante

Oz’s plan to kill Sal and Nadia Maroni and take the stash of Bliss was only 33% complete. Oz managed to kill Nadia (and her son), but Sal survived the murder attempt and most of the Bliss mushrooms were damaged when the sprinkler system put the fire out the fire that killed Ndia and her son. As if things couldn’t get worse, Sal calls Oz and tells him there’s nowhere he can hide from him. Oz thinks he has two individual problems with Sofia and Sal, but it’s worse than that. They’re on the same team.

Sofia sits down with Sal to work out an agreement. Of course, Sal is cautious. She just killed her way into his hideout and came in with a gun pointed at him. She eases his concerns by putting the gun down and telling Sal that the Falcone Family is dead and she thinks his way was right all along. It’s unclear if Sal agreed, but we can assume he did since they're both invested in killing Oz.

Sensing the imminent danger, Oz and Victor head to an abandoned subway station. Oz tells a story about how politicians got greedy leading to the tunnel's abandonment. Now, this will be Oz’s base of operations.

"These tunnels go everywhere. Gave us access to the whole damn city." -Oz Cobb

It may not seem like a lot, but it’s perfect. Oz mentions that the tunnels go everywhere in Gotham. Now Oz and his team can be everywhere without Sofia and Sal knowing where he’s operating. This will work out in his favor. At least for a little while. As you’ve seen throughout The Penguin, Oz gets too comfortable when he thinks he has everything handled. That will happen again and lead to his empire crumbling.

There are two things to pay close attention to. First, is a guy named Squid. Victor says he’s dangerous and sells drugs in the area where he and Oz's mother (Francis Cobb) are hiding. Squid saw Victor going into a building to hide Francis. Squid didn’t say anything, but the information about Oz's mother is valuable.

Lastly, we need to know what’s up with Dr. Julian Rush. His reaction to Sofia coming into power is weird. He said that he wanted to feel the release that Sofia felt when she killed her family. It sounds very much like the Gotham villain, Victor Zsasz.

Julian Rush may not have the same name as Zsasz, but his privileged position and need to feel when death is involved sounds like him. This would be a curve ball, but one many fans have seen coming. Stay tuned to Caped Crusades to see if Julian becomes the next Gotham City villain. 

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