The Penguin episode 5 ending explained: 3 deaths, a potential alliance, and a new base of operations

Spoilers ahead for The Penguin episode 5

The Penguin episode 5, "Homecoming," had a lot of ground to cover in one hour--the aftermath of Sofia murdering her family, Oz making his next move now that she and the Maronis know he was playing them, and Sofia setting the board up for her rise. In the chaos of everything that happened, three people were killed, an unexpected alliance seemed to be forming, and Oz found his new lair. Let's dive into the events that unfolded!

Who died in The Penguin episode 5?

Taj and Nadia Maroni

With his plans blown, and the Maronis in possession of the mushrooms that make Bliss, Oz knew that he needed to get back in control of the situation. First, he and Victor set fire to his car. Then he got his guys together to kidnap Taj Maroni. Like Alberto Falcone, Taj wasn't an heir to be proud of but his parents loved him fiercely and were willing to play ball with Oz to get him returned safely to them.

Nadia showed up to the meet to collect Taj with the mushrooms ready to be handed over like they'd agreed upon. However, it was an ambush. As soon as Oz let a soaking wet Taj go to his mother, gunmen appeared to take Oz and his henchman out. But they were prepared for the betrayal and easily took out Nadia's goons.

What she hadn't anticipated was that it wasn't water Taj was covered in. He'd been doused with a flammable liquid which she'd gotten all over herself when she hugged him. Oz flicked open a lighter and let it fall on the trail of liquid Taj had left behind when he walked to Nadia. It quickly caught fire as did the two Maronis. They burned alive as Oz watched.

Oz had also made a move against Sal, paying off a guard to shiv him when he was alone. Unfortunately for him, his guard failed and Sal used his keys to escape prison. The killing of his wife and son left the door open for Sofia Falco--excuse me, Sofia Gigante to gain an ally. Speaking of Sofia, she added another body to her count as well.

Johnny Viti

Sofia did her best impression of dismay and subdued devastation as the police covered the scene of her family's deaths at the estate. The public and the news looked on, once again making her a spectacle but it worked in her favor this time.

There was the one hiccup of the Chief of Police not quite buying her story that she'd taken her younger cousin Gia out to the greenhouse to shield her from an argument between Johnny Viti and her uncle Luca over the latter's wife. But he'd gotten kickbacks when her father had the GPD in his pocket, and she called him on his false concern. Sofia knows he's dirty so his suspicion that she killed her family likely isn't going to go anywhere.

Thanks to the news, all of Gotham knew Viti was among the unaccounted for Falcone outfit. What no one knew was that she'd chained him up in the family mausoleum. All she wanted from Viti was where her father stashed his untraceable money. Initially he wouldn't give it up but after she threw water on him in the drafty building and watched as he began struggling to stay warm, he started opening up.

Viti told Sofia that Carmine killed Isabella because she was going to leave him. She'd tried to do so once before but wound up returning for her kids. Viti was the one who'd arranged a car for Isabella the second time she tried to leave, but she never showed up and he learned what happened. He'd loved her, they were family, but it didn't keep him from continuing to work for Carmine.

Sofia heard him out when he told her that she needed him. Viti had been her father's underboss. He argued that he could help her secure the respect that would be imperative for her to have if she intended on taking over the city. You would have thought having a second chance at life would have caused Viti to reconsider his incessant need to interrupt Sofia but no! He did, however, help her gain the respect she needed thanks to his death.

Decked out in her mother's fur coat, with her former psychiatrist Julian Rush now a part of her crew, Sofia met with the Falcone goons. She was honest with them about her feeling good that she'd killed her family. Now she can start anew and that includes adopting her mother's maiden name Gigante. The men before her weren't made men except for Viti which she pointed out.

Sofia shared that they were headed toward a new dawn. Viti tried to speak over her when she said the Falcone name was dead. She let it slide at first but when he did it again, she shot him and then kept on with her speech about how she was going to pay the men before her what they're worth. Sofia opened the bag with her father's untraceable money and they took their cuts as Viti's corpse laid on the table.

Sofia makes Sal Maroni an offer

Knowing what happened to Taj and Nadia Maroni, Sofia decided to pay Sal a visit at the cabin he was hiding out in. She and her goon made quick work of his guards. It seemed like she was there to take another player off the board, but she had no interest in killing Sal. She respected that he loved his family and actually showed it. He would have never done to her what her father did, for that he didn't find himself with a bullet in his skull.

Like her, Sal has reason to want Oz dead and gone. As such, she figured they could work together to reach that end. The Maronis and her newly minted Gigantes could join to take Oz out and then rule over Gotham together. "Homecoming" ended before we got Sal's answer, but it'd be hard to believe that he'd pass up this opportunity. Personally, I doubt these two will remain allies but for now it makes sense for them to go after their common enemy.

Oz sets up his new base in an old haunt

With the heat on him, Oz needed to keep the people he loved safe and out of the hands of the Maronis and Sofia. He put Victor in charge of taking care of his mother Francis, and he tried to bring Eve along with him but she broke up with him because his mess was blowing back on her. Defeated, he met Victor and his mom in a Crown Point apartment that used to be where the teen's friend Calvin lived.

The residence reminded Francis and Oz of their former lives. They'd lived in a similar apartment in this area of town back when Oz's brothers--Jack and Benny--were alive. It was a slide backward, one that left Francis upset and picking at Oz for "failing" her. But he hadn't given upon the dream he had for a better life even though he'd taken a major blow.

Ever one to make lemonade out lemons, Oz took Victor with him down into the trolley tunnels. They were abandoned when he was a kid. He and his brothers used to run around in them. The tunnels traverse the whole city and The Penguin is setting them up to be Oz's. He found the space he used to hang out in, and it was the perfect temperature to house the two buckets of the Bliss mushrooms he had left after the crop had been destroyed by fire extinguishers when he killed Nadia and Taj.

There is, however, a shoe ready to drop at some point. Squid, the drug dealer from Victor's past, saw him and Francis enter his cousin Calvin's old building. He hasn't done anything with that information yet but it's only a matter of time. Remember, in episode 2, Oz told Sofia that his mother was dead. I have a feeling she's going to be the one to find out that Francis is very much alive and use that to bring Oz to his knees.

The Penguin airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.