The Penguin finale explained: Did Oz Cobb get everything he dreamed of?

Spoilers ahead of The Penguin finale

"A Great or Little Thing" is a doozy of an episode. It is simultaneously so smart and so horrifying. We pick up with Oz having been dragged to Monroe's for a confrontation that he could have never expected to have with his mother, Francis, and it's all instigated by Sofia.

The sessions with Julian worked, Francis was able to recall what the aftermath of Jack and Benny's deaths were like for her and it put a twist on the story that Oz had told Sofia about the night his mom decided to live again instead of disappearing into her grief. If you were holding onto hope that Oz didn't intentionally kill his brothers...The Penguin yanked that hope away.

Apparently, Francis had a talk with Rex Calibrisi where she'd told him that she knew Oz purposefully trapped his siblings in the shaft. He wanted her all to himself. She didn't know what to do with him. Rex advised that she use his loyalty and shape him into the man she wanted or she let him go aka allow him to be killed. The crime boss offered his services for the latter option.

Initially, Francis accepted but after Oz's grand speech about how he was going to get her everything she deserved, she went back on her plan to let Rex drive him home and end his life. She ultimately regretted that decision and admitted as much when she was forced to say she knew because Julian was going to cut her finger off and Oz was going to let him in order to keep the façade that she wasn't aware of what he did.

Angry and reeling from the realization that her son would allow harm to befall her to protect himself, Francis walked up to Oz, who was bound to a chair, and denigrated him. She told him that he's a disappointment, exercising her hurt verbally and then broke a beer bottle which she then stabbed him with. The stress of the event caused Francis to hallucinate seeing Jack and Benny before her dripping wet. She apologized to them and then suffered a massive stroke.

Does Francis Cobb die in The Penguin?

Fearing for her life, Oz broke from his restraints and shot his way out of Monroe's with his mom thrown over his shoulder. He rushed her to the hospital in the hopes she could be saved, but it wasn't looking good. By the end of "A Great or Little Thing," we learn that Francis' stroke has left her in a vegetative state. She'd told Oz that wasn't a fate she could accept for herself. She wanted to die with dignity but that's not something he's going to allow.

While Oz won't ever be able to hear his mother's voice again, and her last words to him were full of disdain, he still keeps Francis close. He's moved them into an abandoned penthouse apartment where she can see the Gotham skyline. But the promise he made to her as a child is hollow as she's trapped in her mind and her life is now contained to a medical bed in an empty room. A tear slipped down Francis' face as Oz told her he finally got her everything she wanted.

Then, he followed the sound of the music Eve had put on. She was in Francis' dress, her hair dyed the same color as his mother's, and she lovingly accepted Oz in her embrace as they danced. Eve told Sofia that she becomes whatever her clients need her to be, and now she's the stand-in for Francis. One who praises Oz the way he wants and needs.

How did Oz get everything he dreamed of? A lot of manipulation and, of course, murder. Let's start with how he framed Sofia for all of his crimes.

What happened to Sofia Falcone?

After Oz escaped, Sofia regrouped at her estate. She called all of Gotham's gangs for a meeting and promised that whoever brought him to her could have her home and her territories. Link, Feng Zhao's right hand man, was skeptical but Sofia said that she was willing to give it all up because she could leave and that's what she planned on doing.

As Sofia was doing this, Oz was meeting Councilman Sebastian Hady at City Hall. He told Hady that the bomb that had rocked Crown Point and killed people was set off by Sofia. Then he framed her and Sal for crimes they didn't commit. He said that Sofia had lost her mind after she found out that the Maronis killed her brother Alberto and in retaliation she set fire to Nadia and Taj Maroni. Then she blew up Sal's Bliss operation which was being run in the city's tunnels.

Oz was "giving them up" in exchange for Hady to grease the way for him to be welcome in the halls of power and so that the councilman would introduce him to some of his friends. It was an "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine" situation as Hady could use this information to get Gothamnites on his side so one day he might become mayor.

With Hady securely in his pocket, Oz left city hall only to be apprehended by Zhao. It looked like Link had betrayed Victor after the two had a call and Link informed him that Sofia had put a bounty on Oz's head but that wasn't the case. When she met them at the hangar, after setting fire to her estate, she and Zhao were caught off guard when his men began to open fire.

Oz had promised Link something Zhao never did, a chance to move up in the world. It's the same promise he made to all the underlings who were tired of being overlooked. They killed their leaders, making room for a new generation of criminals to flourish. As for Sofia, it looked like her days were numbered, too, as Oz took her on one last car ride but he had a final trick up his sleeve.

He walked her out so she could see the bridge and told her to turn around. Oz held his gun up to her head, but he didn't shoot. She opened her eyes when a helicopter's spotlight fell over her. Then she learned what Oz had really done. He was nowhere to be seen as she was arrested for all the crimes he told Hady she had committed.

Sentenced back to Arkham, it looked like there was no hope for Sofia and then Julian brought her mail. Among the usual rants, poems, and proposals, was a letter from Selina Kyle (yes, I did scream at this in excitement!), her half-sister that she never knew about. Whatever Selina wrote made Sofia smile and the light returned to her. Fingers crossed these two get to wreak havoc in this universe at some point.

Does Victor Aguilar die?

Nearly every loose end was tied as "A Great or Little Thing" began to inch toward its close but there was one that fans hoped wouldn't happen. Unfortunately, it did. After he was informed at the hospital of Francis' condition, Oz and Victor went to go drink and talk outside.

Oz leaned on Victor emotionally as he'd done all season, and in return Victor worked up the courage to tell him that he considers him family and thanked Oz for giving him a shot. It was the wrong thing to say as even though Oz felt the same, he believes family is both a strength and a weakness. So, while Victor is part of the reason why Oz was able to become the kingpin of Gotham, he still chose to strangle him to death.

Picking his pocket, Oz took Victor's money and threw his ID into the river. It was a tragic and infuriating moment but it also spoke to the kind of monster The Penguin has been telling us Oz is its entire run. Now, we wait to see the next part of his story in The Batman Part II. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow!