The Penguin is one of the best TV dramas of 2024, expanding on the world of Matt Reeves' The Batman and ultimately producing a story that makes fans look forward to what this particular universe holds in store. Thanks in part to lead performances by Colin Farrell (who just won a Golden Globe for his role) as Oswald Cobb and Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, this near-masterpiece of television wound up becoming a spin-off that's superior to its source material.

Of course, the makeup department did a miraculous job transforming Farrell into a totally unrecognizable gangster. The set design, the lighting, the soundtrack—everything works. Another one of the show's greatest attributes is its quotability. A good quote can really sum up a character, scene, or even an entire miniseries; it helps viewers remember the show, and there are many solid lines to go around in this drama. Though the list is subjective, the best quotes from The Penguin provide dark insights into the human condition, convey the relationships and arcs of certain characters, pack an emotional punch, or all of the above.

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The Penguin
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Release Date
2024 - 2023

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
Showrunner
Lauren LeFranc
Seasons
1

10 "Whatever woman you become, you deserve much better than what this family could have offered."

Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti)

Sofia (Cristin Molioti) hugging Gia Viti (Kenzie Grey) in The Penguin
Image via HBO

In Episode 7, Sofia visits her cousin's daughter Gia at Arkham, where she has been in the wake of her parents' death. Sofia notices the girl has cut herself, leading to a powerful monologue that demonstrates why this is one of Cristin Milioti's best roles. Talking about their family, Sofia says, "They were bad people who deserved it, and I am glad that they're gone. Don't hurt yourself because of them. This is a gift. You're gonna get out of here, and you're gonna find a new home. And, whatever woman you become, you deserve much better than what this family could have offered."

This speech probably makes Gia surer than ever that Sofia killed her parents, but it seems that Sofia sees herself in her innocent relative. Sofia wants her to have the right perspective, and we realize that she's also talking to herself. This speech and Sofia getting emotional in the hallway afterward show how conflicted she is inside about the kind of person her family has turned her into.

9 "You have to promise me that you're gonna make something of yourself, that you'll get me every god***n thing I deserve."

Francis Cobb (Deirdre O'Connell)

Deirdre O'Connell looking to the side wistfully in The Penguin
Image via HBO

When Oz was a kid, he let his brothers die in the sewer during a flood and was the only kid left in the house. It was just him and his mother, Francis (Deirdre O'Connell), and he kept telling her he would take care of her. In episode 7, we see the two dancing in a nightclub (in a flashback), where Francis tells her last remaining son, "You have to promise me that you're gonna make something of yourself, that you'll get me every god***n thing I deserve. Or I ain't gonna make it."

Francis' quote fulfills Oz's demented wish that has apparently driven him his entire life.

Crying, Francis says that she deserves a happy life. The young Oswald tells her he's going to give her one with an eerie confidence that is tellingly lacking any sadness over the recent tragedy. This quote marks the beginning of what one might call their codependent relationship, as Francis knows at this point what this child did and is deciding to go along with it—albeit with some obvious emotional distress underneath. Furthermore, her quote fulfills Oz's demented wish that has apparently driven him his entire life: being able to provide for his mother alone.

8 "And, you know, the real thorn in my side is that, unlike everyone here, I was innocent."

Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti)

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone looking serious with thick black eyeliner in The Penguin
Image via HBO

Near the end of episode 4, Sofia decides to tell off her family at dinner. She essentially condemns them for allowing her father to frame her for murders that she didn't commit. No one in that room tried to help her; the only one who did was her brother, and now he's dead. She is standing at the head of the table, which makes her look like she's the head of the family. There's some foreshadowing there, but it also sets her apart from the others.

Sofia has certainly been treated like an outsider, and the hatred in her voice communicates how bitter she is regarding not just the past ten years but the way they hypocritically treat her like a murderer when they're all part of a family built on organized crime. The quote and delivery of this line support the claim that The Penguin is nearly perfect from start to finish, and it's a testament to the power of Milioti's powerful, Emmy-worthy performance.

7 "I told you, I'm f****** innocent!"

Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti)

Sofia with blood on her face looking angry in The Penguin
Image via HBO

What better time to claim that you're innocent of murder charges than right after publicly killing somebody? With an intensity that rivals (if not surpasses) the best movies about gaslighting, The Penguin's fourth episode conveys Sofia's extremely dark backstory of being framed for killing women his father actually killed. Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong) had her sent to Arkham Asylum, where the doctors refused to believe her when she tried to explain the truth. One day, Sofia kills the woman who lives next to her and who she suspects is a spy.

The intensity of what came before plays a significant part in why this quote is so powerful. This murder marks a turning point for Sofia; she refuses to play the part of The Hangman, and the hospital's treatment of her (physical and psychological torture) has driven her to a breaking point. Sofia might have been innocent before, but not so much now—which makes this quote pretty ironic, too.

6 "Yeah, I know. You should do it."

Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell)

Colin Farrell looking down at something in The Penguin finale
Image via HBO

In episode 3, Oz and Victor are sitting in a fancy restaurant. Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) has trouble ordering his steak frites because of his stuttering, so the waiter finishes the kid's sentence for him, which Oz immediately tells him not to do. After Victor orders and the waiter leaves, the young protégé tells his mentor that he doesn't have to do that. Oz's reply is great: "Yeah, I know. You should do it. F*** what they think; let 'em wait."

It's a great bonding moment for these two. Oz wants the kid to stand up for himself and carry himself in a way that tells people he deserves respect. This quote connects them, too: Oz is also disabled but doesn't let his foot get in the way of his ambition. It's a lesson that viewers can easily relate to, and though Oz is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top, this helps us understand what it's like to live in a world where others think less of you. It makes you want to root for these guys despite their crimes.

5 "F*** me?! F*** the g***damn world!"

Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell)

Oz holding Victor's face in The Penguin
Image via HBO

There are so many scenes that show why The Penguin was among 2024's best streaming shows, and the argument that Oz and his apprentice have in episode 3 is one. After learning that Victor is planning to leave Gotham with his girlfriend, Oz reproaches him for deciding to leave for a life of nothing when they're about to get rich. When Oz tells this kid that they don't give out awards for dying in the projects (as Victor's father did), Victor says, "F*** you."

As always, Mr. Cobb comes back with an excellent reply: "F*** me?! F*** the g***damn world! They don't give a s*** about you or your f****** family!" He turns it around by illustrating that he wasn't insulting Vic's father so much as insisting that it's the world's fault that the mechanic who wanted to be a cook couldn't fulfill his dream nor live in a better neighborhood. Cobb justifies his nihilistic worldview by arguing that he's merely a product of his environment, and it's pretty compelling.

4 "I hate you. I hate you for what you did. I never stopped hating you."

Francis Cobb (Deirdre O'Connell)

Deidre O'Connell as Francis Cobb looking intently in The Penguin Episode 6.
Image via HBO

The finale features several of The Penguin's best plot twists and most emotionally intense scenes, including the sequence in which Sofia forces Francis and Oz to confront the fact that Oz killed his brothers. When Mrs. Cobb finally tells her son that she's always known what he did, he still tries to tell her that she's got things mixed up, but Francis isn't having any of that.

Hats off to Deirdre O'Connell for this phenomenal delivery, with decades of repressed rage audible in these lines. Not to mention the fact that she had to be tortured (her finger was going to get cut off) to even reach this far inside herself and face reality again. It's no wonder Francis gets a stroke shortly after, tragically ending her character arc in a way that forces Oswald to at least inwardly struggle with what must be a huge blow to his twisted worldview.

3 "You really think people would make a float of your dumb face and march it down the street, chanting your go***mn name?"

Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen)

Alberto Falcone showing a ring on his pinky finger in The Penguin
Image via HBO

Early in the first episode, Oz tells Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen) about a gangster from his old neighborhood. Alberto takes offense to the potential comparison between him, the head of a crime family, and this obscure local figure. But then Alberto realizes that this is the kind of guy Oz wants to be and calls the dream pathetic with this biting quote. Impulsively, the Penguin shoots him for saying that (and a few other things).

The look on Oz's face while the young Falcone is making fun of him shows that he takes these insults very personally. This idealized prospect really is his dream, to be some respected crime boss who says hi to everybody in the neighborhood. The quote not only helps set up the show's plot; it also conveys that Oz is very sensitive about his conception of the world, very compulsive, and not taken very seriously in the world of crime.

2 "I mean, that's the thing about family. It's your strength, it drives you. But f*** if it don't make you weak, too."

Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell)

Colin Farrell with his arm around Rhenzy Feliz in The Penguin.
Image via HBO

In the finale, Oswald and Victor are sitting on a park bench at night. They've won all their battles, and Victor tells his boss that he's family to him. In a dark turn, Oz says, "I mean, that's the thing about family," and begins to choke his protégé. As he does so, he continues: "It's your strength, it drives you. But f*** if it don't make you weak, too. And I can't have that no more." By the end of the scene, Victor is dead.

It appears that all the business with Oswald's mother dealt a heavy blow to him. Now, in his mind, the only way to guarantee avoiding that kind of pain is to cut off any emotionally deep relationships; thus, he strangles Victor. This dark action cements Oz's sick, anti-social psychology, as he sees family as a weakness (and one that outweighs its benefits). This quote marks the end of both Victor's and Oswald's arcs, as the former is tragically betrayed by the person he trusted, and the latter loses whatever was left of his soul.

1 "You asked. That's my f***** answer."

Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell)

Colin Farrell standing next to Cristin Milioti holding a cigarette
Image via HBO

The third episode features a superb conversation between Oz and Sofia. It's been established that she blames him for her time in Arkham, as he's the one who informed her father that she was seeing a journalist and looking into the Hangman murders. Finally, when they're both outside the club, he admits that he screwed her over but also says it was worth it, and she just looks at him.

In addition to helping Sofia see what kind of guy he is, it's also both refreshing and powerful to see Oz actually tell the truth.

Oswald is one of Colin Farrell's greatest roles, and his delivery here is masterful. The guy recognizes that what he did was wrong, yet he still tells her to her face that he doesn't regret it, which says a lot about him. The way he gets all worked up about it shows that he does have a trace of humanity in there. Oz's will to get to the top always takes over, but it's nice to see him admit it. In addition to helping Sofia see what kind of guy he is, it's also both refreshing and powerful to see him actually tell the truth. For these reasons and more, this is one of the show's best quotes.

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