The Penguin perfectly summed up what makes Gotham City what it is with just four words. The Colin Farrell-led show is the first spinoff to come from director Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The HBO series has been positively received by fans and critics, with Farrell delivering an even better performance as Oz Cobb now that he has more time to explore what makes the character work. The Penguin‘s cast includes many three-dimensional characters whose complexity is explored with every new episode of the DC series.

After Carmine Falcone was killed by the Riddler in The Batman, a power vacuum emerged in Gotham City. Farrell’s Penguin is trying to fill that void, with the series following his journey to rising as the new head of Gotham’s organized crime. Like The Batman, the DC show uses Gotham as a character in its own right, with the city’s dark and dirty streets crafting a gritty atmosphere that meshes well with the developing battle for power in Gotham’s criminal underworld. The Penguin offers the perfect explanation for what is at Gotham City’s core.

Gotham Has Always Had A Class Problem

Every Adaptation Of The DC Comics Location Makes That Clear

Gotham is not a city where all of its citizens live in more or less the same conditions. It is one of the DC Comics locations that makes a class problem extremely obvious. There are many living in fear and poverty in the crime-ridden Gotham City, which can be said of all the live-action adaptations of the iconic location. Gotham’s class problem has always existed, with a few like the Waynes being extremely wealthy, while most of Gotham’s citizens barely scrape by, which in turn leads to crime always being around, as the less fortunate have few ways to turn.

The Penguin Nails Exactly Why Gotham Is Cursed To Repeat Its Biggest Problem

Four Words Are All That Is Needed To Explain Gotham’s Issue

Like The Batman, HBO’s The Penguin features perhaps the best live-action depiction of Gotham City. The series gets into the inner workings of Gotham, showing how the class problem impacts the lives of the less fortunate. The Penguin episode 3 perfectly describes why Gotham City can never escape its class problem, with Oz Cobb describing the city perfectly. Talking to the young Victor Aguilar, Oz says, “America is a hustle,” which he uses to convince Vic that he should fully embrace taking back what is rightfully his, as should all Gotham citizens.

Oz’s speech merely gives characters like Vic the “right” to step over others on their way up and break any rules they have to.

The Penguin is trying to motivate Vic to become the best version of himself so that they can rise to power together, but Oz’s words only make it clear that Gotham will always be doomed to repeat its vicious cycle. Oz Cobb’s comment is a clear example of why Gotham City’s class war will never end, as the few with power will always try to continue in that situation, doing everything they can to stay rich. Oz’s speech merely gives characters like Vic the “right” to step over others on their way up and break any rules they have to.