Before, during and after The Penguin’s stellar run on HBO, the bulk of the conversation around Colin Farrell centered on how completely unrecognizable the actor was beneath all of his Oz Cobb prosthetics, while others were happy to focus on the character’s inherently evil nature. Not without provocation, either, since Oz was revealed to have committed one of the ultimate no-no crimes by setting up his brothers’ drowning deaths.
The Penguin’s near-perfect Season 1 finale truly upended any goodwill Oz built up via Victor’s tragic murder, Francis’ bed-ridden and catatonic prison, and his creepy Oedipal dancing with Eve Karlo. But should viewers have gone into that episode already condemning him for the deaths of brothers Jack and Benny? It depends on who you ask, since Farrell is of the belief that young Oz couldn’t have readily known how lethal his actions in the sewer tunnels would be.
Speaking at an FYC panel for the award-winning HBO series (via Variety), Farrell addressed his personal views when it comes to Oz having locked his brothers away in a jealous fit during that big storm. In his words:
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He’s not, he’s not an architectural engineer. I don’t think he knew the water was going to rise. You kind of need a monsoon, by the way – I would get into what it takes for the water to rise 20 feet in a place that’s not air sealed. [Laughs.]
Thank you! It's crossed my mind far more than once over the months since The Penguin aired that Oz could not have solely had cold-blooded murder on his mind at the time when he trapped his siblings in the tunnels. Like, as a fully grown adult fully versed in worst-case speculation, I can't mentally conceive how much water it would take to create drowning conditions, so I could easily grasp if Oz only thought he would be scaring the shit out of Jack and Benny, and not the life out of them.
So I thank Colin Farrel for making me feel somewhat justified in questioning Francis' and others assumptions that Oz 100% killed his brothers intentionally. I realize it's a thin line that also doubles as a slippery slope, and there are no clear winners here. It also seems clear to me that Oz maybe wasn't...smart enough to do what he did intentionally, but that's maybe just me projecting.
Of course, Oz's behavior in the aftermath didn't make him appear very contrite about having caused their deaths, intentionally or otherwise. Farrell even joked about going into a defensive stance when talking about Oz's past, saying:
Yeah, I’m still trying to justify him. There’s no doubt his brothers are no longer in the world as a result of something that he did. But he was just a really complex character.
A complex character that fans can't wait to see return in The Batman Part II, which is set to release in October 2027. With another TV season also potentially in the pipeline, Farrell's crime lord may return outside of Matt Reeves' feature films as well. Just don't expect me to defend him or have any sympathy for him next time. Probably.
