Penguin's Fate Is Revealed On 'Gotham'

Fans have been waiting for months to find out if the Penguin is really dead on Gotham, and finally, the April 24 spring premiere provides an answer: Oswald Cobblepot is still alive. The Penguin was rescued by Ivy Pepper and nursed back to health after shot and pushed into the river by Edward Nygma. This isn't revealed until the last few minutes of the episode, but, thankfully, the Penguin is still a presence throughout, despite his mysterious fate.

Penguin's would-be murderer Ed is taking some kind of psychotropic hallucinogen that enables him to see Oswald everywhere, including a whole fantasy-within-a-fantasy musical sequence where Ed is finally forced to admit that he misses the Penguin. In fact, he might even regret taking his revenge for the death of Isabella when Gotham last aired in January. And while Ed was tripping pretty hard during that musical sequence, there's even a slight hint that Ed might return some of the romantic feelings Oswald confessed to him earlier this season.

However, shooting someone and throwing them in the river doesn't do much for your chances of rekindling your close friendship. And, sure enough, when Penguin wakes up, he immediately starts thinking about revenge. He's probably talking about Ed, of course, but there's a chance that the person he's out to kill is someone else. For example, Barbara is the one who convinced Ed to collaborate with her, Tabitha, and Butch to overthrow Penguin in the first place.

But another big change happens in this episode: Ed decides to become "The Riddler." Of course, fans of the Batman comics (or even the 1990s Batman movies) were already aware of his villainous alias, but this is the first time he's fully embraced his new identity. Usually, Ed crafts his complex plans secretly, but throughout the episode, he's looking for another person he can match wits with. Seeking Jim Gordon, he instead finds Lucius Fox, who is just clever enough to compete with Ed's very particular set of riddles.

However, searching for an enemy might be the last thing Ed needs to do. Because now that Penguin is awake, it seems his former best friend will be the he's been so desperately searching for.