This article contains spoilers for The Penguin episode 8 and The Batman.In the final moments of The Batman, the young Dark Knight turns his bike away from Catwoman and back toward Gotham City, burdened by the work yet to be done.Although Batman never appears in The Penguin, the series further developed the world created by director Matt Reeves by following the unlikely rise of one Oz Cobb, derisively known as the Penguin. With Carmine Falcone out of the way, exposed as a rat by the Riddler and then murdered, Oz saw a chance to claim power for himself. Of course, he first has to deal with not just Falcones son Alberto and rival boss Salvatore Maroni, but especially Falcones daughter Sofia, who went to Arkham for murdering seven women.Over eight episodes, The Penguin portrayed a gang war between the mercurial Oz and a vengeful Sofia, who takes charge of the family, changing the name from Falcone to Gigante. Along the way, we see more of Gothams underworld, including Arkham psychatrist Dr. Julian Rush and sex worker Eve Karlo.Of course, The Penguin falls between The Batman and its upcoming sequel, which means that the show needs to set the stage for The Batman: Part II. So lets charge up the Bat-signal and examine the state of Gotham City after the Penguin waddles away.Oz TriumphantAlthough Colin Farrell stole every one of his scenes in The Batman, his character a minor antagonist at best. The Riddler and Carmine Falcone posed the greatest threats to the Dark Knight, while Penguin just showed up to bark out hilarious commentary about speaking Spanish.The Penguin reveals that people within the Gotham underworld think even less of Oz. Hes a low-level driver in the Falcone family, derided for his appearance and his obvious desire for acceptance. The series links Ozs insecurity to his jealous desire to control his mother, an envy that goes so far that he murders his brothers to have her all to himself. In fact, Oz frames all of his power grabbing as a way to achieve her love.By the end of the finale, Oz has become the new power in Gotham. The Maroni and Falcone crime families are destroyed, Sofia is in Arkham, and Oz gets to dance the night away in his penthouse. Oz succeeds by consolidating the remaining Gotham families and overthrowing the bosses, positioning himself as the most powerful criminal in the City. Best of all, Oz has his mother Francis at his side in a way.Will Sofia Gigante and Catwoman Team Up?The show might be called The Penguin, but Oz wasnt the real star. Instead, Cristin Milioti soon proved herself the most exciting person on screen, thanks to her ferocious performance as Sofia Falcone.After serving years in Arkham for the murder of seven women, crimes that earned her the nickname The Hangman, Sofia returns to Gotham ready for revenge agains the real killer, her father Carmine. Sofia seemed poised to recreate the Gotham gangland in her own image.And she almost did it too. But Sofia underestimated the odds stacked against women in her situation and soon found herself back in Arkham, under the control of her psychatrist Dr. Julian Rush.The one bit of hope for Sofia comes in a letter receives from her half-sister Selina Kyle, who not only knows what its like to be a woman in Gothams margins, but also understands the violence perpetuated by their father. Will they team-up in The Batman: Part II? Sofia isnt nearly ass important a character in the comics, but no one would complain about getting more Milioti dominating the screen.Were There Any Other Villains in The Penguin?Sofia Gigante isnt the only new baddie to join the world of The Batman in The Penguin. The series loved to make nods at other comic book characters, most notably Ozs moll Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo).As discussed elsewhere at Den of Geek, the name Karlo brings to mind Basil Karlo, the secret identity of the original Clayface. Before turning into a big brown glob of shapechanging goo, Clayface was a master of disguise, who used classical theatrical tricks to commit crimes. Eve Karlo seems to use disguises as part of her sex work, as demonstrated by her dressing up like Ozs mother at the end of the finale. We dont ever see Eve harming people in disguises, but Oz may make use of her skills against Mr. Vengence in the sequel.We got a couple of glimpses of other villains, including the mad scientist Dr. Bloom and the blissed-out petty thief Magpie. But the biggest potential big bad masqueraded as a good guy. At first, Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) seemed like a welcome bit of kindness for the beleaguered Sofia, locked away in Arkham. However, his soft-spoken demeanor soon revealed a lust for control, one that continued even after he seemed trapped under Sofias thumb. Many had speculated that Rush would be an established Batman villain, maybe Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow, Julian Day aka the Calendar Man, or Dr. Hugo Strange.And at the end of The Penguin, Dr. Julian Rush is revealed to be Dr. Julian Rush. The same creepy doctor hes been all along. Hes still at Arkham, so theres still time for him to create a fear toxin or shave his head. But Dr. Rush might just be a more banal and believable villain, a medical professional who uses his training to manipulate women.What Happens to Victor Aguilar?Not everything in The Penguin serves as a setup for The Batman: Part II or serves any other type of purpose either. Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) seemed like a sidekick for Oz, a henchman who would plague Batman in the sequel. But he gets strangled by Oz midway through the finale, his thematic purpose filled (Feliz broke down Victors fate here). Likewise, Frances Cobb had some potential to continue to plague Oz as he became the Penguin, but shes comatose by the end of the series.Perhaps the strangest loose end involves the climax of Sofias attack on Oz, in which she blew up his drug headquarters. The Penguin depicts the outcome of the attack with 9/11 imagery, suggesting that a major act of destruction takes place. Furthermore, Oz used the response to the event to gain an in with a corrupt city official, which helped him put Sofia back into Arkham.Yet, its hard to see how the explosion will tie into The Batman: Part II. One gets the sense that the sequel will fold the explosion into one of the Riddlers attacks in The Batman, so the story wont alienate anyone who didnt watch The Penguin.These closed off storylines aside, The Penguin still leaves Gotham a more dangerous place than where it began, with multiple supervillains in place of the fading mafia and an even more disillusioned populace. Its a good thing Batman stuck around, because hes going to have a lot more work to do when The Batman: Part II finally gets to theaters.Every episode of The Penguin is now streaming on Max. The Batman: Part II is slated for a 2026 release.