The Penguin ending explained: who dies, is there a Batman cameo, will there be a season 2, and more of your biggest questions answered

Full spoilers follow for The Penguin, including its final episode.

After eight weeks of award-worthy performances and an intensely captivating story, The Penguin has ended on Max/HBO (US), Sky/Now TV (UK), and Binge (Australia). And, my oh my, did it end in typically incendiary fashion for a limited series I called an “epic Batman spin-off… that deserves to sit alongside The Sopranos in HBO’s crime drama pantheon”.

As the dust settles on Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone’s explosive turf war, it’s time to sift through the rubble and determine what actually happened. Who is Gotham City’s new crime kingpin? Did anyone perish during the series’ final episode? And did the Caped Crusader make a last-minute cameo? I’ll answer all of these questions and more below so, if you’ve not seen episode 8, titled ‘Great or Little Thing’, watch it first as major spoilers immediately follow.

The Penguin ending explained: who won, Oz Cobb or Sofia Falcone?

As if it was ever in doubt, Oz triumphed over Sofia in the battle to control Gotham’s criminal underworld. Hey, one of the best Max shows is called The Penguin, so it would’ve been a curious move if it ended with Oz’s defeat at the hands of his rival.

Although it looks like Sofia has beaten Oz – he’s captured and taken to Gotham City’s airport to meet with Sofia for one final time – it’s all a ploy on Oz’s part. Indeed, aside from Yakuza leader Feng Zhao, the goons who take Oz hostage are actually working for him.

Just as they’re about to hand him over, Link, Feng Zhao’s son and second-in-command, betrays his father and shoots him in the head. The…