The Penguin episode 3 recap: Sofia is left alone again in "Bliss"

It's time to enjoy a new episode of The Penguin, HBO's critically acclaimed Batman spinoff which serves as a sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022). Starring Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell in the titular role, the limited series follows his character's schemes and adventures in the crime world of Gotham. Cristin Milioti stars opposite Farrell as Sofia, the daughter of the powerful Falcone mob family who was recently released from Arkham. As we've learned so far, Oz and Sofia are both underestimated and misunderstood, which leads to a complicated partnership that is far from perfect. But at the end of the day, they might need each other.

The third episode of The Penguin, "Bliss," premiered on HBO and Max tonight, so let's break down all the biggest moments. This one is a turning point for Oz and Sofia's relationship while also shedding light on Victor's home life which he tragically loses.

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Penguin episode 3 are below.

We start out getting to know Victor outside of his working relationship with Oz. He has a girlfriend named Graciela and a happy family. It's evident Victor wants a better life for his family but his dad seems content where they are. Instead of staying for dinner one night, Victor heads off to hang out with Graciela and their friends on a rooftop nearby. Graciela tells Victor she wants to leave Gotham, though Victor doesn't think it's so bad. Suddenly, bombs start going off in the city and one of the bridges is destroyed, leading to water flooding the neighborhood.

Victor's big tragedy

Victor and Graciela watch as the apartments are quickly flooded by water, destroying buildings and killing residents in the process. Sadly, Victor knows his family is dead as he sees his home swallowed up by the water.

In an almost jarring cut, we then see Victor back at Oz's apartment, attempting to move on from the tragedy. We don't see Victor and Oz talk about what happened just yet, but it's referenced later, so Oz finds out somehow. Oz decides to start paying Victor a salary of $1,000 a week, something Victor is pleasantly surprised with. Sofia comes over and Victor is scared to be alone with her, calling her the "Hangman" to Oz. Luckily for Victor, Sofia wants to go somewhere with Oz alone, and they leave Victor at the apartment.

Sofia shows Oz the drug operation she and Alberto were working on, and Oz is surprised to see the supplies came from Arkham. It's obvious Sofia had a bigger hand in this plan than Oz realized. Inside the drug lab, Oz is confused when he sees mushrooms growing and tells Sofia that anyone in Gotham can get ahold of them. But Sofia shows him what's so special about these mushrooms — it's the rare strain of drug growing on them. She tells him it's a totally different kind of high, and Oz declares it's a party drug. So what is Oz's part in this operation? Sofia wants him to find them a distributor.

While Oz and Sofia are gone, Victor invites Graciela over and she tells him she's going to California. Because their families are dead, Graciela wants to start over somewhere better, and she tells Victor to come with her. He's not sure he can because of Oz, but eventually comes around and tells Graciela he will come. The plan is to meet at Gotham Station the next day.

Bliss is a go

Oz and Sofia meet in Chinatown to pitch the drug — which they name "Bliss" — to a man named Link Tsai, a representative of a potential distributor named Feng Zhao. After some persuasion, Oz and Sofia lie and say they have Johnny Viti's support. Link tells them that Zhao will need a phone call from Johnny himself to believe it. Meanwhile, Victor practices how he's going to tell Oz he's leaving as he waits in the car. When they're alone, Oz tells Sofia he has a plan to get Johnny's approval.

Oz and Victor go out to eat and Oz watches two women at a table nearby. They bond as they talk about Victor's parents, and Oz tries to encourage Victor to be more confident in himself. When one of the women at the table gets up, Oz goes over to speak to the other, a woman named Tina. He tells her he needs a favor.

Tina ends up giving Oz her hotel room key, and Oz and Sofia use it to catch Johnny and Tina in bed together. Easy blackmail! All they need is for Johnny to make the phone call to Zhao. He eventually agrees, but he also tries to warn Sofia about Oz, mentioning his betrayal years ago. As we learn throughout the episode, Oz ratted Sofia out which is what got her sent to Arkham. Sofia knows about this already, but being reminded in this setting stings. Johnny also calls Oz "the Penguin" as he tries to belittle him, which triggers Oz. He attacks him in the bed and chokes him with his phone before telling him to make the call.

Now that they've got Johnny's approval — or it at least seems like they do — Oz and Sofia are ready to test Bliss out. They go to the club and begin selling the drug, with Victor walking around with a bag of it. Sofia seems more suspicious of Oz after thinking about their past and asserts her dominance by reminding him that Zhao is there to see her, not him.

Zhao shows up at the club and tells Sofia and Oz that the drug seems to have potential but it's still too risky. He asks how he can trust Sofia considering her history, and all she has to do to persuade him is to point out all of the clubgoers. Everyone is in a euphoric state, forgetting all the violence and danger going on in Gotham. She is very familiar with the drug, having taken it in Arkham, and she tells Zhao that whoever controls Bliss will control the entire drug trade of the city. She leaves Oz to do the negotiating.

Victor's decision

On the club floor, Victor starts getting PTSD from the loud music and goes to the bathroom. Oz comes in and can tell something's wrong, and after seeing texts from Graciela from Victor's phone, realizes he's going to leave. Oz tells him he's allowed to go, insulted that Victor feels like a prisoner. Victor ends up leaving the club and drives Oz's car to the station. He watches Graciela in line for the bus, but he can't bring himself to go. He just sits in the car as the bus drives away.

Oz finds Sofia outside and tells her that they closed the deal, but Sofia doesn't seem happy, having had to relive bad memories of Arkham. Oz admits to betraying her years ago but maintains he's not a rat, while Sofia says she's not the Hangman. She asks him if it was worth it, and he says it was, though he's sorry for what he did. He tells her that she meant something to him and she still does. Sofia is left feeling confused, telling Oz she doesn't know how she can trust him moving forward. Oz tells her he'll continue making it up to her and proving she can trust him, though what happens next proves he only thinks about himself.

A van pulls up on Oz and Sofia and Nadia Maroni comes out, obviously angry with Oz for screwing over Sal. In the nick of time, Victor drives by and sees people pointing guns at Sofia and Oz, realizing he has to act quickly. He drives into one of the Maroni men and Oz gets into the car, telling him to drive away. Victor asks if they should wait for Sofia, but Oz tells him to leave her. The episode comes to a close as they drive away, with Oz incredibly relieved and proud of Victor for what he did. As for Victor, it looks like he's close to tears.

Sofia is left behind

Victor is learning about the cruelty of the world first-hand, and even though he's loyal to Oz, I'm sure he'll feel a lot of guilt for leaving Sofia behind. And I can't even imagine how Sofia is going to retaliate.

New episodes of The Penguin are released on HBO and Max every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. Check back with us at Show Snob as we continue to recap each episode!