How good was “The Penguin,” when it was all stated and executed? Effectively, let’s put it this fashion: The worst factor about it had completely nothing to do with the precise present itself. Regardless of going into the “The Batman” spinoff with greater than my justifiable share of skepticism, the rave reviews of Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) twisted path to turning into the kingpin of Gotham Metropolis following the occasions of director Matt Reeves’ blockbuster proved the doubters emphatically fallacious. Thanks in no small half to the genuinely impressed casting of Cristin Milioti as fellow sociopathic accomplice in crime Sofia Falcone, the 2 leads elevated the collection to larger heights. However regardless of the plain high quality of writing on show all through each episode, one nagging element ended up turning into a distraction for a really particular circle of viewers — what the heck was up with Dr. Julian Rush?
The brand new character performed by actor Theo Rossi (“Luke Cage,” “Emily the Felony,” and most not too long ago “Carry-On”) was launched early on in “The Penguin” as one thing of a wild card, serving as Sofia’s private psychiatrist with a barely unhealthy attachment to the recently-committed villain. A number of flashbacks revealed that he had been within the make use of of Arkham Asylum years up to now and was partly accountable for the horrific “remedy” unleashed upon Sofia throughout her imprisonment. He went on so as to add a number of essential layers to the mentally unbalanced antagonist as soon as she was freed, together with a contact of the erotic together with his, ah, submissive roleplaying in later episodes.
Regardless of the whole lot including a lot to the collection, nonetheless, sure followers merely could not wrap their minds round an authentic creation (who, by the way in which, helped reinforce all those “The Sopranos” parallels). No, hypothesis pinpointed him because the traditional Batman villain Dr. Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow. Setting apart my private distaste for this mindset — generally, a personality is allowed to exist while not having any connection to pre-established DC lore – no much less an authority than showrunner Lauren LeFranc has formally debunked this weirdly pervasive fan-theory.
Sorry, followers: Julian Rush wasn’t truly the Scarecrow in The Penguin
Of us, it is time to maintain an intervention. I get it — this specific fan-theory did not come out of skinny air. To be honest, one particular episode of “The Penguin” sure seemed like it was hinting at the idea that there was something more behind the identification of Dr. Julian Rush, with what seemed to be a masks and a glove showing on the not-so-good physician’s desk. That might be fairly damning proof … if solely this have been another collection than “The Penguin” and set in another universe than the world of “The Batman,” the place the whole lot is introduced kind of precisely as they seem. Would the Marvel Cinematic Universe and even Zack Snyder’s DC Universe have pulled a stunt like this? Most likely! However I might wish to consider that Matt Reeves and his carefully-chosen artistic group are above such plot twists.
In any case, we will now level to “The Penguin” creator, showrunner, and author Lauren LeFranc as the ultimate phrase on this. In an interview with ScreenRant whereas strolling the purple carpet for the 2025 Golden Globes ceremony final evening, LeFranc addressed the fan-theory with refreshing bluntness:
“Effectively, I can say he is not the Scarecrow.”
Discuss a definitive reply! I can perceive why many would’ve hoped that his presence was resulting in one thing a lot larger, particularly contemplating {that a} new psychedelic drug like Bliss already factored into the collection and that his occupation (to not point out suspicious motives) definitely lined up with the Scarecrow. However a lot of this theorizing stemmed from the wrongheaded concept that characters should exist solely to advance the plot, somewhat than uncover new angles and new flavors to our leads that we by no means would’ve seen in any other case. Not everybody must secretly be a serious determine in franchise lore, folks!
Now that we have put that to relaxation, please spare a thought and prayer to everybody who was satisfied that poor, doomed Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) was truly, uh, Mr. Freeze all alongside.
How good was “The Penguin,” when it was all stated and executed? Effectively, let’s put it this fashion: The worst factor about it had completely nothing to do with the precise present itself. Regardless of going into the “The Batman” spinoff with greater than my justifiable share of skepticism, the rave reviews of Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) twisted path to turning into the kingpin of Gotham Metropolis following the occasions of director Matt Reeves’ blockbuster proved the doubters emphatically fallacious. Thanks in no small half to the genuinely impressed casting of Cristin Milioti as fellow sociopathic accomplice in crime Sofia Falcone, the 2 leads elevated the collection to larger heights. However regardless of the plain high quality of writing on show all through each episode, one nagging element ended up turning into a distraction for a really particular circle of viewers — what the heck was up with Dr. Julian Rush?
The brand new character performed by actor Theo Rossi (“Luke Cage,” “Emily the Felony,” and most not too long ago “Carry-On”) was launched early on in “The Penguin” as one thing of a wild card, serving as Sofia’s private psychiatrist with a barely unhealthy attachment to the recently-committed villain. A number of flashbacks revealed that he had been within the make use of of Arkham Asylum years up to now and was partly accountable for the horrific “remedy” unleashed upon Sofia throughout her imprisonment. He went on so as to add a number of essential layers to the mentally unbalanced antagonist as soon as she was freed, together with a contact of the erotic together with his, ah, submissive roleplaying in later episodes.
Regardless of the whole lot including a lot to the collection, nonetheless, sure followers merely could not wrap their minds round an authentic creation (who, by the way in which, helped reinforce all those “The Sopranos” parallels). No, hypothesis pinpointed him because the traditional Batman villain Dr. Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow. Setting apart my private distaste for this mindset — generally, a personality is allowed to exist while not having any connection to pre-established DC lore – no much less an authority than showrunner Lauren LeFranc has formally debunked this weirdly pervasive fan-theory.
Sorry, followers: Julian Rush wasn’t truly the Scarecrow in The Penguin
Of us, it is time to maintain an intervention. I get it — this specific fan-theory did not come out of skinny air. To be honest, one particular episode of “The Penguin” sure seemed like it was hinting at the idea that there was something more behind the identification of Dr. Julian Rush, with what seemed to be a masks and a glove showing on the not-so-good physician’s desk. That might be fairly damning proof … if solely this have been another collection than “The Penguin” and set in another universe than the world of “The Batman,” the place the whole lot is introduced kind of precisely as they seem. Would the Marvel Cinematic Universe and even Zack Snyder’s DC Universe have pulled a stunt like this? Most likely! However I might wish to consider that Matt Reeves and his carefully-chosen artistic group are above such plot twists.
In any case, we will now level to “The Penguin” creator, showrunner, and author Lauren LeFranc as the ultimate phrase on this. In an interview with ScreenRant whereas strolling the purple carpet for the 2025 Golden Globes ceremony final evening, LeFranc addressed the fan-theory with refreshing bluntness:
“Effectively, I can say he is not the Scarecrow.”
Discuss a definitive reply! I can perceive why many would’ve hoped that his presence was resulting in one thing a lot larger, particularly contemplating {that a} new psychedelic drug like Bliss already factored into the collection and that his occupation (to not point out suspicious motives) definitely lined up with the Scarecrow. However a lot of this theorizing stemmed from the wrongheaded concept that characters should exist solely to advance the plot, somewhat than uncover new angles and new flavors to our leads that we by no means would’ve seen in any other case. Not everybody must secretly be a serious determine in franchise lore, folks!
Now that we have put that to relaxation, please spare a thought and prayer to everybody who was satisfied that poor, doomed Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) was truly, uh, Mr. Freeze all alongside.
