The Penguin Episode 7: "Top Hat" ending explained

There’s one episode of The Penguin left and the creative team perfectly built up the momentum to the ending. Sofia Gigante (formerly Sofia Falcone) has gone through a personality transformation throughout the series. Episode 7 (“Top Hat”) seems like her final and destructive form.

On the other side of things is Oz Cobb. Oz has spent The Penguin either scheming to be on the top or running from his competition. In this episode, he did a little bit of both by tricking Sal Maroni and his henchmen into a trap and then killing Sal.

Technically Sal killed himself. The stress of being stabbed in prison and escaping, his wife and son being killed (episode 5, "Homecoming"), and fighting Oz took more of a toll on Sal’s heart. Oz considered this a win saying, “You were supposed to destroy me, Sal!” Unfortunately, Oz’s victory was short-lived.

"He's gonna roast Sal like he did his wife and their bastard son, and then he's coming for you." Francis Cobb to Sofia Gigante

Knowing Oz only cared about his mother (Francis Cobb), Sofia kept her as a bargaining chip. When the time came to meet, Sofia played Oz in a way we haven’t seen all season. She was smart enough to know Oz set a trap and returned the favor in kind. She sent a bomb in the place of Francis. Normally, this would be a justified move. However, the device was so devastating that it caused even more damage to the already hurting Gotham City.

When Oz left the sewer, the streets of Gotham were destroyed. People were covered in debris, the citizens were confused and hurt, and there were likely a lot of dead and unaccounted-for people. It’s unclear if Sofia knew how catastrophic the damage would be. What she did know was that Oz would escape. That’s why she had one of her dirty cops meet Oz and knock him out. 

There are a couple of things to think about here. Among them is Sofia’s thought process. She’s completed part of her goal by destroying Oz’s operation but wrecked Gotham in the process. Sofia understands what it’s like to be treated unfairly by people in power. Knowing that and seeing what she did, you’d hope that she wasn’t aware of how massive the explosion would be. If she did, I’m not sure if her fans will still root for her.

"Sofia got you on a tight leash, huh, Sal?" -Oz Cobb

Second, is what’s next for Oz. He’s on a collision course with Sofia, but that’s not the part to ponder. What we should wonder is how the crime families he united will deal with what just happened.

It’s doubtful that anyone in Oz’s crew survived the explosion. That means the heads of the crime families will reconsider their alliance. If Sofia is willing to destroy part of a city to get at one person, what will they do to their families and businesses? It might not be worth it.

On the other hand, they may look at Sofia's move as reckless. If that’s the case, they could help Oz to take down the bigger threat knowing that killing her may be the only way to stay alive. We’ll have to wait until the season finale of The Penguin to learn what’s next. Stay tuned to Caped Crusades for all the answers.

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