The Penguin recently concluded its critically acclaimed first season, with Oswald “Oz” Cobb reaching the pinnacle of the organized crime scene in Gotham City. The series marks a new dawn for television shows based on DC properties, given its dark gritty, and grounded tone, something fans have missed since the early days of the Arrowverse.
With its season 1 finale, The Penguin not only impressed critics but also managed to establish one record it took Stephen Amell’s Arrow almost five years to achieve. Moreover, The Penguin‘s rating success also proved it superior to some of the other Arrowverse entries, which failed to crack similar numbers, and here is everything you need to know about it.
The Penguin Broke One Arrow Record in Just One Season
The Penguin is a spin-off series set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe. The series examines the rise of Oswald “Oz” Cobb / The Penguin as he becomes the top mob leader in the Gotham City underworld after fighting off a horde of rivals.
The first season of the Colin Farrell-led series ended with the spectacular eighth episode, A Great or Little Thing. The episode not only concluded Penguin’s backstory, but also set the stage for the second installment, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader.
The episode also managed to score an IMDB rating of 9.6/10, the highest for any among its eight-episode first season. As a result, it took the series only a single season to achieve the rating, while it took Arrow, starring Stephen Amell, almost five years to crack the same IMDB rating.
The fifth season finale of Arrow concluded the season with an explosive finale, titled Lian Yu. The episode reunited Oliver Queen with his sworn enemy Slade Wilson, while several mysteries and plotlines from the character’s time on the island were resolved. As a result, the episode deservedly earned a 9.6/10 rating on IMDB.
The Arrowverse Only Equaled The Penguin‘s Best IMDB Rating One Other Time
The Arrowverse has certainly had its high moments, despite some sections of the DC fanbase turning their backs on the franchise in the later years. Despite this, the Arrowverse episodes did not manage to capture the same heights as the season 5 finale of Arrow or the sheer brilliance of The Penguin.
The fifteenth episode of The Flash season 1, titled Out of Time, is the only other instance in Arrowverse history, where an episode achieved a 9.6/10 rating on IMDB. The episode sees Barry Allen time-travel for the first time, making it such a huge success. While there have been some truly riveting episodes in the Arrowverse, very few are on the same level as Lian Yu and Out of Time.
One of the best entries outside those episodes is the season 1 finale of The Flash, which set up the possibilities of the multiverse and achieved a 9.4/10 rating. Similarly, the season 1 finale of Arrow also managed to secure a 9.4/10 rating. Thus, even during its highs, the Arrowverse couldn’t match the success of The Penguin’s single-season brilliance.
The Penguin is streaming on Max while Arrow is available on Netflix.
