The Penguin has had viewers questioning one character who didn’t seem to fit with the show’s lineup of gangsters, psychopaths, and criminals: Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). A key flashback in Episode 3 revealed that Victor was once a good kid from a good home (complete with a humble and hard-working father) – but also hinted that there were seeds of some burning ambition for a “better” life already smoldering inside of the boy. Victor has shown how much actual fire there is behind that ambition as he’s helped Oz Cobb/Penguin (Colin Farrell) wriggle his way through an underworld power vacuum – at least up to a point. The Penguin Episode 6 forces Vic into a corner where he has to finally cross the point of no return in becoming a villain.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!
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When Oz’s wars with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) and Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown) went sideways (Episode 5), he had Vic relocate his mother Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell) to an apartment in the third-world slums of Crown Point, where both Oz and Vic grew up. Unfortunately, Vic’s move-in didn’t go unnoticed: Squid (Jared Abrahamson), the local shot-caller spotted Francis, and – together with rumors about the new drug Bliss hitting the streets – discerns that Vic is The Penguin’s sidekick in a major new operation. Squid wants in, and leans hard on Vic to introduce him to the boss. Vic goes to Oz for help, but Oz already has too many problems to listen to another one, and basically tasks VIctor with solving the issue himself. Vic tries to give Squid the out of taking a bribe to leave the issue alone; instead, Squid throws the money back in Vic’s face with the counter-offer of snitching about Oz’s drug operation and hideout to the police or the Falcone/Maroni mobs. Victor pretends to acquiesce and take Squid to see Oz, before turning and shooting his long-time bully point-blank in the neck.
Victor’s first murder doesn’t go as cleanly as he hoped: Squid dies painfully and bloodily, staring at him the whole time. The only thing more haunting than the murder is what happens when Vic returns and let’s Oz know what happened: Penguin gives Vic the “fatherly” advice that when it comes to murder, “It gets easier,” a promise that will only pull Vic further into the depths of soul-sucking criminality.
In fact, the Karmic payback for Vic’s dastardly deed comes quickly: by the end of the epiosde Sofia Falcone tracks down Oz’s hideout in Crown Point, and finds Vic and Francis happily dancing the night away, celebrating Oz’s ascension to the head of his own mob. Now viewers are wondering if Vic has a big death flag planted on him, as ‘punishment’ for choosing the dark path. Then again, other fan theories about The Penguin speculate that “Victor Aguilar” could turn out to be one of Batman’s most notorious villains.
The Penguin airs episodes Sunday nights on HBO and streams on Max.
