What’s Going on With the Hangman in ‘The Penguin’?
From the moment Sofia Falcone appears, dressed in innocent all-white designer threads, she’s hovering unexpectedly over the shoulder of The Penguin (aka Oz Cobb, aka Colin Farrell in a shit-ton of prosthetics) and gives him a jump scare. It is great TV.
“You remember Carmine’s daughter, Sofia?” Oz is asked. Of course he does. Daughter of the head honcho of the Falcone empire (now dead, killed by The Riddler), she’s also known as The Hangman, and has spent time in an asylum for as yet unexplained crimes. Her “rehabiliation” and early release haven’t exactly come at the best time for Oz, as he’s just killed her brother, Alberto, and now it looks like she’s going to play a rather large part in his life – and plans to take over the Falcone drug empire – despite at first cosplaying as a meek and demure little lady.
So who is Sofia (played with relish by a captivating Cristin Milioti), why is she called “The Hangman” and what’s her deal? Let’s get into it:
Who is Sofia Falcone?
We know that Sofia has spent time Arkham State Hospital for unspecified crimes, but when Oz asks her why she’s out, she cooly replies: “I’ve been rehabilitated”. Hmmm, doubtful, as evidenced by when she shoots Vic’s friend at point blank range without a second thought when Oz tells her that the boy is lying.
Sofia’s obviously trying to suss out Oz when they go for lunch and she quizzes him about what happened to her brother. She reveals that when she was in Arkham, that the guards stripped her naked every morning and forced her to read out newspaper articles about herself, which humiliated her. It was her weekly visits from Alberto that kept her alive, that she still had a piece of her intact and that he would help her fight to keep it. They were also in on a plan together to bring in a new type of drugs to Gotham City – and which Oz also wants to be part of.
Now Berto – as she called him – is gone, and to say she’s furious would be an understatement. What is she capable of now?
Who is The Hangman?
In the back of the car, Sofia hears a radio report about her, calling her “The Hangman” and that says “she was technically exonerated” of her crimes, allowing for her early release. But the other presenter says: “I don’t care: Sofia Falcone is a serial killer. Seven women, and that’s just who we know about.” Yikes. We’re going to need a full backstory, people, and soon.
Later on in episode two, her cousin seems nervous to have Sofia around her young daughter, Gia, but Sofia takes note that her cousin seems keen to get her to go on holiday to Lake Como, something else her uncle then asks her, suggesting that he plans to take control of the family business.
Something inside Sofia snaps, and after the inside man is “revealed” (Oz set up Castillo to take the fall), she then decides to form an alliance with Oz. “I refuse to let these old fucking men push me aside again, like I’m nothing,” she says. “So I’m going to take from them now. I’m gonna force them to their knees. Should be fun.” The Hangman’s back in business!
‘The Penguin’ airs on Sky/NOW TV weekly
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