The Penguin ending explained: Why does Oz kill [SPOILER]?

Following a disturbing episode 7, which revealed that Oz actually killed his brothers as a child, the finale episode pulls more shocks, surprises and twists out of the bag, also setting up The Batman: Part 2.

Most of all, fans have been absolutely crushed by the death of Vic Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), with Oz murdering his only friend in the final scenes of the show.

In a press conference following the finale, Farrell admitted he was "crushed" by the scene, with showrunner Lauren LeFranc explaining the decision further.

So, as we await any news on a potential season 2, here's exactly what went down.

The Penguin ending explained: Why does Oz kill Vic?

Let's cut to the chase. The finale episode sees Oz brutally kill Vic, as he fears Vic would make him weak.

Showrunner LeFranc explained that shock decision to Deadline, saying: “Oz has shown himself to be someone who is narcissistic and lives in his own delusion. He has really struggled with receiving love and seeks it out from his mother, but never fully trusts it from people.

"In so many ways, he is a broken man. When it comes to Victor, it was really important to me that Oz kill him — not because he has any reason to, and Victor did come through for him. Victor is like family. Yet Victor saw Oz at his weakest, at his most vulnerable. Oz really feels like he needs a level of power. He can’t have weakness, so he kills Victor.”

Episode 8 picks up with Francis, Oz's mother (Deirdre O'Connell), in the past, as she revisits how she felt after the deaths of her sons Jack and Benny, following the revelation that Oz killed both of his brothers as a child. We discover that she's known all this time - but there's more.

Rex Calabrese (Louis Cancelmi) pays her a visit and she tells him the truth, that Oz locked his brothers in the tunnel. Rex suggests that one option is to "let him go" - or, in other words, kill Oz. Francis asks for Rex's help and takes Oz out to a jazz club - a scene we've seen before in another light. She tells Oz that Rex will be driving him home tonight.

Things get blurry and Dr Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) and Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), who kidnapped Francis last episode, suddenly appear in the flashback, urging her to stay in the moment, and making it clear that they're hearing everything that happened that night. Young Oz assures his mother he's going to take care of her, and urges her not to give up on him, before asking her to dance.

Back in the present, Vic sees Crown Point up in smoke after the explosion at the end of episode 7. He desperately searches for Oz, who's also been kidnapped by Sofia and Julian and taken to the jazz club with his mother.

Sofia makes it clear that she knows about Oz killing his brothers and about his mother looking the other way. She asks him why he lied about being with his brothers, and Oz says he doesn't know what she's talking about. But then Sofia reveals to Oz that his mother asked Rex to kill him, taunting the pair of them.

Julian prepares to cut off one of Francis's fingers, with Sofia urging Oz to tell his mother the truth about his brothers. Francis tells him to say it - as she already knows. Oz tells her she's getting things confused and, in a burst of hatred, Francis smashes a bottle and stabs Oz, calling him the devil.

In her horror, she sees a younger version of Oz pleading with her and Jack and Benny's ghosts dripping with water. As Jack and Benny fade away, Francis collapses.

So, was Oz lying when he denied he had anything to do with his brothers' deaths? According to actor Farrell, maybe not.

Farrell recently told RadioTimes.com: "I think he washes his hands of it totally, and has convinced himself that it didn't happen the way it did. It's that grave. But it's in there somewhere – the darkness. And it was there at that age, that's the thing.

"[The show] should be entertaining more than anything else, but I know Lauren [LeFranc, showrunner] did want to approach the notion that monsters are, more often than not, created by family, by society, by circumstance, rather than just being born. [For Oz], I think both are the case... he was a creature of nature and nurture."

Oz manages to get out of his restraints, shooting at Sofia. He escapes, rushing his mother to hospital, and he finally calls Vic. Vic finds Oz stapling up his wound in a cupboard of the hospital (claiming that it was Sofia who stabbed him). Vic gives Oz a pep talk, telling him that people in Crown Point respect him.

Meanwhile, Sofia holds a meeting in her father's home, saying that she's leaving Gotham and offering up her home, territories and businesses to whoever brings her Oz. But Link (Robert Lee Leng) is playing both sides - he calls Vic and gives him a heads-up that there's a bounty on Oz's head.

Oz, though, has big plans. He takes a trip to City Hall, telling councilman Sebastian Hady (Rhys Coiro) that Sofia blew up Crown Point to destroy the biggest drug lab in Gotham. He conveniently swaps himself out for Salvatore Maroni in the story, though, saying it was he who killed Alberto Falcone and that Sofia blew up his drug operation.

He says it's an opportunity for the councilman to give the people someone who hate - and someone to love - offering to give Hady the credit for the attention given to Crown Point after so long.

Asked what he wants in return, Oz says he wants some introductions in City Hall, teeing up his political rise. When he returns to the car, though, Zhao (François Chau) is there to bring him to Sofia. Sofia tells Zhao to meet her at the airport and congratulates him.

Sofia's not done with the dramatics - before leaving her father's house, she burns it to the ground.

When she arrives at the airport, Zhao makes good on his part of the deal and brings Oz to her. But Link turns on him, shooting Zhao and handing Oz a gun. Before long, it's only Oz's men and Sofia left alive. Oz takes Sofia for a drive, telling her that Link was tired of being overlooked - and that he wasn't the only one, with Oz building a gang of underdogs.

As Sofia prepares for Oz to shoot her in the head, she tells him he's always been a monster and he tells her that she's going to hell. But Oz's plans don't end there. Sofia doesn't die, and a bright light reveals that the police have arrived instead, and that Oz is now nowhere to be seen.

He arrives back to the hospital to celebrate with his mother, as his narrative plays out on the news. But Francis doesn't respond and a nurse informs him that she's suffered a serious stroke that's left her in a persistent vegetative state. Oz desperately tells his mother to say she's proud of him, but of course she can't, with Oz realising his efforts have been for nothing.

Afterwards, he sits with Vic, reflecting on everything he's done and his family. He tells Vic he's done well and Vic tells him he's family to him.

In that moment, Oz realises what he has to do, taking a horrified Vic by the neck. He says that, while family can be a strength, it's also a weakness.

Clearly, he's learnt from Sofia and his mother, and he's not prepared to let anyone be a weakness to him ever again. As Vic pleads with him, Oz strangles the youngster, telling him he's got a good heart and that it wasn't for nothing.

How does The Penguin set up The Batman: Part II?

Back in Arkham, Dr Julian brings Sofia her mail - and it's clear she's become famous. But in there comes a letter from a woman named Selina Kyle (who Batman fans will, of course, know as Catwoman), claiming to be Sofia's half-sister. Sofia opens the letter and smiles, very much heralding a potential meeting between Milioti's Sofia and Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman in The Batman: Part II.

Oz, meanwhile, has his mother holed up in the penthouse he always promised her. She's still in a vegetative state and is in a hospital bed, positioned so she can look out of the window. A tear falls down her cheek as Oz tells her it's everything she's always wanted.

He ends the series triumphant, telling himself he's now the king of Gotham. But a shadow darkens his moment - a shadow in the shape of the bat signal, being projected into the skies above Gotham, surely signalling that a certain Dark Knight is on his way.

All of this, of course, sets up Matt Reeves's The Batman: Part II, which is set for release in 2026, and is set to detail Gotham's further descent into chaos.

While details are currently thin on the ground, the scripts have been written, and we would expect that The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc worked closely with Matt Reeves to set up the next instalment.

Until then!

The Penguin is available to stream on NOW.

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