‘The Penguin’ Star Cristin Milioti Weighs in on Sofia’s Reputation & Falcone Family Bonds

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Penguin, Season 1, Episode 2, “Inside Man.”]

The Penguin returned and with it more inside dealings for Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) as he continued to fan the flames of chaos between warring mob families, the Falcones and Maronis.

When it became apparent to the Flacones that a rat was in their midst, they sought answers as Oz worked to cover his tracks, double-crossing the Maronis in order to protect himself as he continued to try and form a business relationship with the family. Eager to avenge her brother Alberto (Michael Zegen), Sofia (Cristin Milioti) stops at nothing to try and root the rat out.

Sofia’s heightened emotions lead to deadly consequences for the fall guy, set up by Oz when he planted incriminating evidence on him. But just as Sofia’s about to pull the trigger, it’s her uncle Luca (Scott Cohen) who takes out the “rat.” While viewers got a taste of what Sofia’s capable of in the show’s first episode, there’s a little bit more to peel back as they’ll discover more about her time in Arkham and her reputation as “The Hangman”, which was teased in the opening moments of Episode 2.

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Milioti says, “I’ve dreamt of being a villain my entire childhood and adult life. And then also to get to do it in this way… She’s given such a rich backstory,” she teases. “I think that’s one of the more positive aspects of a limited series is you really get to dig into that. And I think when you first meet her, there are a lot of questions about whether or not she is who everyone thinks she is.”

As seen in this latest installment, Sofia’s cousin recoils when the former convict reaches out to her young daughter at Alberto’s funeral, suggesting that even members of the Falcone family are afraid of her. “A lot of her journey is like, ‘Okay, you think I’m this? I’m going to ratchet that up to an 11 out of 10. I’ll show you, look what you’ve made me do.’ Do you know what I mean? And I really love that,” Milioti gushes.

What kind of fury will Sofia have in store for her family now though? As the episode reached its final minutes, Luca suggested that she relocate to Italy and escape the feud with the Maronis, but she wasn’t satisfied with such an offer, propositioning Oz to take a step forward in the business alongside her.

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As Cohen puts it, “[Luca] saw her as a beautiful young niece who he loved. He doesn’t have any kids of his own. So I think that was where he came from. But when he ends up in this role, he has to take into consideration what can be a problem.” Being the new head of the Falcone family after his brother’s death in The Batman, Cohen notes, Sofia “has a problem and she is a problem.” Talk about a family feud.

Stay tuned to see how the Falcones shake out and where Oz stands among them as The Penguin continues to unfold.

The Penguin, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO and Max