Editor’s word: Deadline’s It Begins on the Web page (Restricted) options 10 standout restricted or anthology collection scripts in 2025 Emmy competition.
The Penguin developer-showrunner Lauren LeFranc delivered two intestine punches within the finale of the HBO restricted collection based mostly on the DC Comics character Oz Cobb aka The Penguin. After establishing that Oz (Colin Farrell) had lastly discovered a trusted associate in Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), LeFranc did the unthinkable and had the Penguin strangle his younger cost to dying. Oz then managed to get his nemesis Sofia (Cristin Milioti) dedicated again to Arkham within the episode, titled “A Nice or Little Factor,” written by LeFranc and directed by Jennifer Getzinger.
In her intro to the finale script, LeFranc explains how she had deliberate these two shockers earlier than she sat down to write down the primary episode and the way certainly one of them was among the many two scenes within the nearer that proved most tough to write down.
LeFranc reveals what the opposite difficult sequence was. She additionally talks about how she, a half-Mexican girl, acquired to inform the story of a violently formidable gangster like Oz and the way she surrounded him with robust, difficult feminine characters like Sofia, one thing she was on the lookout for however couldn’t discover in comedian books she learn as a child.
Farrell already has gained a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for reprising his position from Matt Reeves’ The Batman within the HBO spinoff, which additionally took the 2025 WGA Award for Restricted Sequence.
Right here’s the “A Nice or Little Factor” script with an intro by LeFranc.
Traditionally talking, a half-Mexican girl isn’t normally the primary in line to write down a narrative a couple of violently formidable gangster, which is what excited me most about it. I had the chance to analyze a personality like this by a special lens. However as I dug in, the identical query saved gnawing at me… Why would anybody need to watch a man like this? A unstable, narcissistic middle-aged white man who desires energy? Haven’t we seen sufficient of these? However then I checked out my two little boys – these two younger, malleable minds – and I assumed, what may they turn into? Are dangerous males born? Or, are they made…? Thus, I started to think about this collection much less as a conventional “rise to energy” story, and extra because the origin of a monster, and a possibility – over the course of eight episodes – to discover Oz Cobb’s psychology, showcasing his perverse logic and historical past, with out glorifying it. With out shying away from the brutal and heartbreaking price that comes with a person’s unflinching want for energy… This, to me, is what made this story price telling.
But, with a purpose to have a deeper, unvarnished understanding of Oz, I knew we couldn’t expertise the world solely by his eyes. In any case, if one factor is plain, it’s that whose perspective we inform tales from issues. Because of this I wished to pepper the collection with equally difficult folks – particularly girls. Once I was a child, I used to be an avid comedian e-book reader, and I bear in mind making an attempt to think about myself because the characters I beloved, however essentially the most compelling ones all the time gave the impression to be males. Within the crime dramas I admired, the ladies have been both “the spouse,” or “a cipher” who died in service of a person’s story (typically by the hand of that exact same man). I didn’t need our feminine characters to endure this similar destiny. I didn’t need any of our characters to really feel like an afterthought.
Sofia Falcone is the feminine character I want I had rising up. A flawed, unusual, wry, fascinating girl preventing in opposition to those that need to silence her. And there’s no one who extra completely encapsulates this character than Cristin Milioti. Oz’s mom, Francis Cobb, is partly impressed by my late Grandmother Ofelia – a resilient, cussed, single mom who got here to the US with little cash, however a hell of quite a lot of ambition. Fortunately, the astonishing Deirdre O’Connell has introduced Francis to life with vivacity, humor, and grit. Victor Aguilar, performed fantastically by Rhenzy Feliz, is the viewers’s approach into Oz’s unusual, dirty world. He’s a child with higher intentions than the world affords him, and the true coronary heart of our story. And lest we overlook The Penguin himself, Oz Cobb – one of many more difficult and enthralling characters I’ve had the pleasure to write down. Made higher by the exquisitely gifted Colin Farrell. I approached Oz with empathy, however I by no means wished to make excuses for him. I wished to depict a violently charming, delusional narcissist, with out him ever turning into a caricature. In the long run, I wished the viewers to really feel betrayed and shocked by Oz’s actions, but in addition really feel that what he does is inevitable; that the person Oz reveals himself to be ultimately, is who he has all the time been.
Earlier than I wrote the primary episode, I knew the place every of our characters’ tales would finish. I knew Oz would drive Sofia again to Arkham, and that he would homicide Victor. I knew Oz would obtain the ability he craved, however that his mom, Francis, would by no means inform him she is happy with him. I additionally conceived of the ultimate picture of our collection – Oz in his dilapidated penthouse, dancing along with his intercourse employee girlfriend dressed as his mom, convincing himself that he acquired all the pieces he wished. An actual lighthearted affair!
In fact, there’s a distinction in figuring out what I used to be striving for, and really placing pen to paper and touchdown the airplane, so to talk. I wished to do proper by our story, by our forged and crew, and by our viewers. I actually didn’t need to crash the airplane. There have been many, many scenes in our present that have been difficult to write down, however there are two in our finale that significantly stand out – the 10-page sequence with Oz, Sofia, and Francis on the jazz membership (scene 9), and Oz and Victor’s last moments collectively by the river (scene 36). The jazz membership scene was a beast in each approach. A hefty emotional confrontation turned twisted remedy session turned violent altercation turned motion sequence. It practically broke me, however fortunately I used to be buoyed by a couple of superb writers who gave me notes and pushed me to dig deeper (Thanks Vladimir, John, Breannah, and Nick). Victor’s last scene broke me differently. I didn’t need his story to finish. It felt flawed, as a result of it was. Empathy is a author’s best device, although with a personality like Oz, it was sickening at occasions to take a seat in his coronary heart and thoughts. Particularly on this episode. In any case, our present is a tragedy.
In the long run, I can solely hope that regardless of our very comedian e-book title, The Penguin has provided folks a possibility to mirror on the world we dwell in, particularly who we care for and who we condemn… Thanks for studying.
Lauren LeFranc
Learn the script under.
