Oswald and Sofia have found their directions in the Gotham underworld, and are ready to remove the obstacles that lie before them. Spoilers follow for The Penguin Season 1, Episode 6, "The Gold Summit."

"The Gold Summit"

This is a dense episode, giving us important moments with virtually every character that tells us something important about them or sets them up in an uncomfortable spot where we know they're going to have to do something.

Vic's neighborhood bully, Squid, catches wind that something is going on that he's not part of and leans on Vic. Sofia Gigante has put all of her focus on tracking down Oz. Oz is trying to put together an alliance that will shift the balance of power in Gotham.

The Cobb Family

If there's anyone at the center of this episode, though, it's Oz' mother Francis. Oswald is trying to create an empire on the back of this new drug, Bliss, but complications creep in from the left and right.

Francis' mental health is deteriorating; she has moments of genuine lucidity but spends most of her time confused and afraid. Dierdre O'Connell does such a good job of making this character immediately compelling and sympathetic. Part of her mind is still the strong woman she remembers, but another part is completely helpless, and the two aren't really aware of each other; she oscillates between saying cruel things to Oz and begging him for help.

Ultimately, she's a distraction from Oz' ambitions, and Oz refuses to see that. He thinks he can stuff his mother away somewhere safe while he makes big crime moves and not experience any consequences from that, even as the consequences bear down on him. It's a very sad thing to watch--you can see the avoidable hurt coming from a mile away. Oz has created a situation so precarious that he can't give his mother the attention she needs.

The big plot development here is that Penguin has brought together the leaders of the city's smalltime gangs in hopes of creating an alliance that can go head to head with the Giante-Maroni alliance. The show has done a great job of establishing Oz as an expert smooth talker whose secret superpower is knowing exactly what everyone around him wants to hear, and the scenes where he's talking to the other gang leaders feel like a culmination. When some raise the concern that he could betray them, though, it reminds us of how he got to where he is--another way in which his situation is incredibly precarious.

My favorite scene with Oswald, though, is when he approaches a city council member about restoring power to Crown Point, the part of the city his mother is staying in. He isn't heartless, and he's willing to put his determination toward good causes. If he can keep himself from getting distracted and stretched thin, he could be a powerful part of Gotham.

Sofia Gigante

Sofia has scenes with Julian Rush, Sal Maroni, and Penguin's girlfriend Eve; all three give us an insight into how she views people. She knows that Rush is so devoted to her that he'll let her literally torture and draw blood from his body for her own pleasure without even flinching--he's the quintessential simp. She can't possibly see him as an equal.

Eve she seems to respect as another woman in the underworld of Gotham. When she realizes that Eve's primary concern is loyalty to and protection of other sex workers, her tone seems to shift. Sofia's biggest problem since the day she was thrown in Arkham has been loyalty and betrayal. She can't trust anyone around her, especially those in power. Eve isn't in power per se, but she is the head of a sort of family and Sofia sees that she commands respect in that family and takes it seriously.

Sal is the closest thing to a direct equal she seems to have. There's no real power dynamic between them in the scenes they share. They both have the same goals and same outlook and, for now, that puts them on equal footing.

Vic Aguilar

For Vic, this story has been one about finding confidence and strength. He seems like a nice kid, but he's been going down a darker and darker path. This comes to a head when a heavy from Crown Point, named Squid, leans on him to get a cut of the money moving around the area. Vic shoots him, and we watch him bleed out--he's not going to be a problem anymore. But it puts Vic in a new position. The scene a few episodes back of him watching his girlfriend leave Gotham was a point of no return for him, and this episode is him accepting that. He freaks out when he kills Squid, but by the time he's in front of Oz talking about it, it's something he's dealt with. He's confident.

The episode's final shot, though, pulls us back to remembering how precarious this all is, and things are going to change.

Disclaimer: HBO provided Batman-News with early access to The Penguin episodes for the purposes of review.