Bonus: Five Writing Lessons from Gotham’s Underworld (Companion to Ep. 278)
In this special bonus episode, we return to the shadowy corners of Gotham to unpack The Penguin — the gritty, character-driven follow-up to The Batman.
Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot is a study in power, loyalty, and moral decay — and in this breakdown, I explore five key writing lessons from the series:
· How ambition reshapes identity
· How setting becomes a mirror of conscience
· The art of sharp, subtext-heavy dialogue
· The burden of legacy and validation
· And why moral ambiguity keeps audiences hooked
Whether you’re a screenwriter, storyteller, or just a fan of dark, character-based drama, this episode dives deep into how The Penguin turns crime and chaos into masterclass storytelling.
🎧 Plus, download the free companion guide to follow along — complete with reflective writing prompts and scene-based analysis.
Download the FREE guide here: The Penguin Companion Guide
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Transcript
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Transcript 〰️
Tony Ortiz [00:00:02]:
What's up everyone? Welcome to another SPUN Today bonus episode. In this one we're diving into the gritty, shadow soaked world of HBO's the Penguin, one of the best examples of modern crime storytelling with a psychological edge. This episode is all about unpacking five key writing takeaways from the series and how you can use them to sharpen your own storytelling craft. If you want to follow along visually, you can grab the free Penguin companion guide at spuntaday.com it's a quick breakdown designed to go hand in hand with what we will be covering here. Let's get into it. Power is an illusion. Until it isn't Oswald Cobblepot's rise is the definition of slow corruption. He doesn't inherit Gotham, he claws at it.
Tony Ortiz [00:00:50]:
Deal by deal, betrayal by betrayal. Every inch of progress is bought in blood or manipulation. What I love about how this is written is that the illusion of power always comes before the possession of it. He's performing strength long before he truly has it, and in doing so, he eventually becomes it. A great writing takeaway for us is in your stories. Don't give characters power overnight, let it infect them in pieces. Show how ambition eats away at their moral center until they become the very thing they once despised. That slow transformation, that's what makes unforgettable character arcs.
Tony Ortiz [00:01:32]:
Number two Setting As a character, Gotham has always been a character in itself, but in the Penguin it feels personal. Like the cities drowning right alongside Oswald, the flooded streets after the Riddler's attacks, the dimly lit basements, the suffocating air of decay. All of it mirrors Oz's psyche. You can feel the weight of his world pressing down like the city is conspiring to remind him who he really is. The writing takeaway for us is use your setting to reflect emotion, not just host it. A setting can echo a character's interstate. A bright room can feel oppressive if your character is falling apart. In Gotham's case, the rot isn't just in the infrastructure.
Tony Ortiz [00:02:19]:
In the People Number three, Dialogue that cuts like a knife. What makes the dialogue in the Penguin so sharp is what's not being said. Conversations are like chess matches. Characters feel each other out, test loyalty, throw veiled threats between sips of whiskey. When Sophia, Falcone or Oz speak, they're negotiating dominance, not sharing information. Even small lines like Oz is your ghost will haunt me. Before cutting someone off, say everything about who he is without spelling it out. And the writing takeaway for us there is don't over explain.
Tony Ortiz [00:02:57]:
The silence between words can say more than our dialogue itself. If your characters are hiding something, let your audience feel that tension rather than hear it explained. The best exchanges in writing are duels, polite on the surface, deadly underneath. The Cost of Legacy Everything Oz does is in the service of his legacy. Not the criminal empire itself, but what it represents. He wants to be remembered as someone important, someone his mother could finally be proud of. But the beauty and tragedy of the Penguin is that his success destroys the very thing he was trying to prove himself to, and his mother winds up in a vegetative state. Just as he rises to the top, he gains the crown but loses his audience and the writing takeaway for us there is let your characters chase ghosts.
Tony Ortiz [00:03:54]:
Validation and legacy are powerful motivators because they come from within their emotional debts that the character owes themselves. And when they finally pay that debt, it's rarely with money, and it's often with the loss. And last but certainly not least, number five moral ambiguity at its finest. Nobody in the Penguin is clean. Not Sophia, not Oz, not even the people on the fringes. Every kindness is laced with manipulation. Every alliance has an expiration date. And yet that's what makes it so compelling.
Tony Ortiz [00:04:31]:
We understand them. We might even root for them at times, right up until they cross the line. And the writing takeaway for us there is as writers, we shouldn't be afraid to blur those moral boundaries. Readers and viewers alike engage most deeply when they can't tell who to root for. Show your characters doing terrible things for good reasons and good things for selfish ones. That's real humanity. And that, folks, is my bonus breakdown of the Penguin series. Yes, if you want to see all five takeaways laid out in a clean visual format, grab your completely free companion guide now@spuntoday.com podcast278 bonus.
Tony Ortiz [00:05:17]:
The link will be in the episode notes. It's designed to be a quick reference for your own creative process. And if you enjoyed this bonus episode, check out the Daredevil companion guide too. These episodes are all about learning from great storytelling and applying those lessons to your own craft. Thanks for listening. Peace.