Cristin Milioti Tells Us The Moment In The Penguin Episode 4 That Gave Her 'Full Body Chills,' And I Totally Understand Why
By Sean O'Connell,
23 hours ago
Episode 4 of The Penguin is the one that shifts the entire series . It’s also the one that Cristin Milioti should send to the Academy for Emmy consideration. Up to this point, Milioti has played Arkham Asylum patient Sofia Falcone as a deranged, power-hungry lunatic who’ll stop at nothing to find out who murdered her brother, Alberto Falcone. We know, from the premiere episode, that it was Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) who pulled the trigger , but Sofia didn’t know that. Well, with the latest episode of The Penguin , we learn a lot more about Sofia, including how she got to Arkham, and what she intends to do now that she’s out.
Last warning. Stop reading now if you haven’t yet seen The Penguin Episode 4.
A new side of Sofia
What a tour de force for the spectacular Cristin Milioti, who brings so many unexpected emotional layers to the tortured Sofia Falcone. The daughter of Carmine Falcone ( played by Mark Strong in this HBO series), Sofia seemed to be next in line to take over “The Family” … until she started to figure out that her father murdered her mother, and likely was also responsible for several other murders attributed to a killer the news has labeled The Hangman. Carmine’s solution? Frame his own daughter for the killings, and manipulate the system to lock her away forever in Arkham Asylum.
Speaking with Cristin Milioti on behalf of her amazing work on The Penguin , I asked her how it felt to wear the signature prison jumpsuit for Arkham, and she told me:
The Penguin Episode 4 also marks a distinct break in terms of structure for the show. Oz is a part of the story. But we don’t spend any time with Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), dwell on the devastation left by the flood , or trace the continuation of the cartel wars. And that was very deliberate, according to Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc. Sitting down with CinemaBlend, LeFranc explained:
‘There’s darkness inside of her.’
To sell that narrative, I particularly loved the amount of time that Episode 4 of The Penguin spent on Sofia before sending her to Arkham. Specifically, I loved the way that Milioti played that somewhat innocent version of Sofia… knowing that her spirit was about to be broken . The way that LeFranc described it to us:
By the end of the episode, though, Sofia has claimed her spot at the head of the table. What’s left of the table, anyway. And now we have a different perspective regarding her relationship with Oz… which is why The Penguin was quick to leave her behind once Victor rescued him from the clutches of the Maroni family . You know there are about to be some serious repercussions of Sofia’s actions, of Oz’s actions, and beyond.
Make sure that your subscription to HBO remains up to date so that you can watch new episodes of The Penguin , and so much more, as they drop on Sunday nights.
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