The Penguin Finale Directly Ties Sophia Falcone To An Unseen Batman Movie Character

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the season finale of "The Penguin."

Call it the Sophie's Sophia's Choice hanging overhead the entirety of "The Penguin." The HBO series was given the tall task of spinning off from Matt Reeves' acclaimed blockbuster "The Batman," continuing the story of Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb in the immediate aftermath of the Riddler's devastating flood that changed the face of Gotham City overnight. Not only did showrunner Lauren LeFranc have to retroactively add all sorts of layers to a mobster who felt more like a collection of gimmicks — extremely entertaining gimmicks, don't get me wrong, but gimmicks nonetheless — than an actual character the first time around. But she and her writing team also had to expand the story's world-building, adding even more antagonists for the Penguin to bounce off of at every turn. Enter Sophia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), the heiress of the Falcone crime family and the runaway, scene-stealing highlight of the entire series.

With a villain so immediately popular and making such an instant impression, the question then became whether she might crossover into the movies with "The Batman: Part II" or get killed off, conveniently allowing the sequel to ignore her presence entirely.

"The Penguin" chose a third option, instead: Put Sophia behind bars once again, but not before drawing a surprise connection to another significant character from "The Batman." Given her backstory as the daughter of crime boss Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong, stepping in for original actor John Turturro), viewers had already noted the parallels between this forgotten Falcone child and another – Zoë Kravitz's Selina Kyle. The series previously explored that connection through a string of mysterious strangulations perpetrated by Carmine. This time, Catwoman is finally name-dropped in Sophia's final scene. Thanks to a letter sent by Selina to her half-sister in jail, "The Penguin" has drawn even tighter connections to the upcoming movie sequel.

Family is everything to the Falcones, though some relatives have more in common than others. Throughout Sofia's rise to power, "The Penguin" carefully laid out just how much she was left adrift on an island unto herself. The people she once thought to be closest to her instead stabbed her in the back all those years ago, acceding to Carmine's corrupt plan to cover up his own murders and falsely testifying that Sophia was mentally ill. Framed for all those homicides and forever after branded as "The Hangman," Sophia was imprisoned in Arkham Asylum prior to the events of the series. Ironically, she ends up right back in an orange jumpsuit once Oz turns the tables on her all over again. It's a fitting end for such a chaotic villain, whose only trustworthy brother Alberto (Michael Zegen) was shot point-blank by Oz way back in the premiere ... but one last family reunion (of sorts) ends her arc on an intriguing note.

So what's the deal with that letter sent to Sophia Falcone by her half-sister Selina Kyle? We're intentionally kept at arm's reach from the actual contents of the message, leaving us privy only to her outward reactions. Whatever Selina actually said, consider the fact that this is the one thing capable of waking up the imprisoned Sophia from her dazed stupor and even draws a wry smile out of her. Is there a possible Selina/Sophia team-up in the future, both of them bonding over their shared heritage from a monster of a man? Their stark class differences might pose something of a challenge, but surely the two would find common ground over the wrongs they've suffered at the hands of the same brute — and as a direct result of their identity as women.

Whether this thrilling collaboration happens in "The Batman: Part II" (which has been delayed to October of 2026) or is left off-screen entirely, you can watch all 8 episodes of "The Penguin" streaming on Max.