Games

The Penguin Episode 4 Breaks a Record For The Series

Published

1 month ago

October 19, 2024

Christoph Rediske

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

Episode 4 was a standout, attracting 1.7M viewers to The Penguin.
Episode 4 holds the highest-ever IMDb episodic rating for The Penguin.
The Penguin series has been a hit for HBO, signaling the potential for Emmy nods next year.

The Penguin’s fourth episode was a standout for the series, according to several key metrics. The HBO series about the infamous DC villain will end up having a total of eight episodes, but the mid-point marked a season-high for the TV show.

The Penguin sees Colin Farrell return as Oswald Cobblepot, a character he first portrayed in Matt Reeve’s The Batman opposite Robert Pattinson. At this point in Reeves’ The Batman universe, Oz is not yet the fearsome villain from DC’s Rogue Gallery, but The Penguin promises to get him there as he attempts to make a name for himself among the warring crime families of Gotham in the wake of the Riddler’s attack on the city. Another key player in the series is Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone, who is introduced as the daughter of the deceased The Batman villain, Carmine Falcone. Episode 4 of The Penguin was a backstory-heavy episode for Sofia, covering her time in Arkham Asylum and explaining how she came to earn the name The Hangman. Things culminated in an explosive finale that saw Sofia enact ruthless revenge on the Falcone family.

The Penguin: Episode 4 Ending, Explained

Sofia Falcone executed her plan at the end of The Penguin Episode 4.

The Penguin Gains Impressive Numbers

While not all episodes of The Penguin have been released yet, Episode 4 has proven to be a record-breaker for the HBO show. Titled “Cent’Anni”, The Penguin’s fourth episode drew in 1.7 million viewers in the United States, according to a report from Collider. This marked 100,000 more viewers than the previous week’s episode, which totaled 1.6 million. But that’s not the only bar the latest episode has surpassed.

The Penguin Episode 4 is also the highest ranked of the series on IMDb, with an exceptional average score of 9.5 from 12,000 reviews. For reference, the second-highest scoring episode of The Penguin is Episode 3 with a 9/10. That score also places Episode 4 of The Penguin on IMDb’s highest-rated episodes of all time list and on par with Succession’s final episode (Season 4, Episode 10) and Zendaya’s Emmy-winning performance in Euphoria Season 2, Episode 5. The Penguin has been a winner for HBO in general, with the series premiere scoring more viewers in a 4-day period than any other HBO series since The Last of Us, including the corporation’s other major franchise IP, House of the Dragon. At the rate it’s going, it wouldn’t be surprising to see The Penguin sweep nominations in multiple Emmy categories next year.

The question now is whether The Penguin can maintain its stellar audience numbers throughout its remaining four episodes. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is not expected to cameo in the series, but it seems that The Penguin is doing just fine without the enticement of the Caped Crusader. A mid-season trailer for The Penguin highlights a bitter war between Oz and Sofia, as the latter seeks to get revenge on her former driver for killing her brother, Alberto Falcone. Fans already know the infamous mob boss Oswald Cobblepot becomes in DC Comics, but it seems that his journey to get there won’t be an easy one in The Penguin.

The Penguin Episodes 1-4 are available to stream on Max. New episodes are released on Sundays at 9 pm.

Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.

Release Date: September 19, 2024
Cast: Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O’Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi
Seasons: 1
Prequel: The Batman (2022)
Story By: Bill Finger, Bob Kane
Writers: Lauren LeFranc
Streaming Service(s): Max
Franchise(s): Batman , DC Elseworlds
Directors: Craig Zobel
Showrunner: Lauren LeFranc