It Starts On The Page (Limited): Read ‘The Penguin’ Finale Script “A Great Or Little Thing” With Foreword By Lauren LeFranc

Historically speaking, a half-Mexican woman isn’t usually the first in line to write a story about a violently ambitious gangster, which is what excited me most about it. I had the opportunity to investigate a character like this through a different lens. But as I dug in, the same question kept gnawing at me… Why would anyone want to watch a guy like this? A volatile, narcissistic middle-aged white man who wants power? Haven’t we seen enough of those? But then I looked at my two little boys – these two young, malleable minds – and I thought, what might they become? Are bad men born? Or, are they made…? Thus, I began to think of this series less as a traditional “rise to power” story, and more as the origin of a monster, and an opportunity – over the course of eight episodes – to explore Oz Cobb’s psychology, showcasing his perverse logic and history, without glorifying it. Without shying away from the brutal and heartbreaking cost that comes with a man’s unflinching desire for power… This, to me, is what made this story worth telling.

Yet, in order to have a deeper, unvarnished understanding of Oz, I knew we couldn’t experience the world solely through his eyes. After all, if one thing is undeniable, it is that whose perspective we tell stories from matters. This is why I wanted to pepper the series with equally complicated people – especially women. When I was a kid, I was an avid comic book reader, and I remember trying to imagine myself as the characters I loved, but the most compelling ones always seemed to be men. In the crime dramas I admired, the women were either “the wife,” or “a cipher” who died in service of a man’s story (sometimes by the hand of that very same man). I didn’t want our female characters to suffer this same fate. I didn’t want any of our characters to feel like an afterthought.

Sofia Falcone is the female character I wish I had growing up. A flawed, strange, wry, interesting woman fighting against those who want to silence her. And there is no one who more perfectly encapsulates this character than Cristin Milioti. Oz’s mother, Francis Cobb, is partly inspired by my late Grandmother Ofelia – a resilient, stubborn, single mother who came to the United States with little money, but a hell of a lot of ambition. Thankfully, the astonishing Deirdre O’Connell has brought Francis to life with vivacity, humor, and grit. Victor Aguilar, played beautifully by Rhenzy Feliz, is the audience’s way into Oz’s strange, grimy world. He is a kid with better intentions than the world affords him, and the true heart of our story. And lest we forget The Penguin himself, Oz Cobb – one of the more challenging and enthralling characters I have had the pleasure to write. Made better by the exquisitely talented Colin Farrell. I approached Oz with empathy, but I never wanted to make excuses for him. I wanted to depict a violently charming, delusional narcissist, without him ever becoming a caricature. In the end, I wanted the audience to feel betrayed and surprised by Oz’s actions, but also feel that what he does is inevitable; that the man Oz reveals himself to be in the end, is who he has always been.

Before I wrote the first episode, I knew where each of our characters’ stories would end. I knew Oz would force Sofia back to Arkham, and that he would murder Victor. I knew Oz would achieve the power he craved, but that his mother, Francis, would never tell him she is proud of him. I also conceived of the final image of our series – Oz in his dilapidated penthouse, dancing with his sex worker girlfriend dressed as his mother, convincing himself that he got everything he wanted. A real lighthearted affair!

Of course, there is a difference in knowing what I was striving for, and actually putting pen to paper and landing the plane, so to speak. I wanted to do right by our story, by our cast and crew, and by our audience. I really didn’t want to crash the plane. There were many, many scenes in our show that were challenging to write, but there are two in our finale that particularly stand out – the 10-page sequence with Oz, Sofia, and Francis at the jazz club (scene 9), and Oz and Victor’s final moments together by the river (scene 36). The jazz club scene was a beast in every way. A hefty emotional confrontation turned twisted therapy session turned violent altercation turned action sequence. It nearly broke me, but thankfully I was buoyed by a few amazing writers who gave me notes and pushed me to dig deeper (Thank you Vladimir, John, Breannah, and Nick). Victor’s final scene broke me in a different way. I didn’t want his story to end. It felt wrong, because it was. Empathy is a writer’s greatest tool, though with a character like Oz, it was sickening at times to sit in his heart and mind. Especially in this episode. After all, our show is a tragedy.

In the end, I can only hope that despite our very comic book title, The Penguin has offered people an opportunity to reflect on the world we live in, specifically who we take care of and who we condemn… Thank you for reading.

Lauren LeFranc