Birds of a Feather

I've never been able to fully justify my love for the Penguin. After watching "Birds of a Feather" again, I think a large percentage of my love comes from this episode. This was the 47th-produced episode and 52nd-aired on Feb. 8, 1993.

One of my favorite things about this episode is it gives us a look at the personal life of Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, aka the Penguin. Not quite wild enough to go to Arkham, he just goes to jail like regular criminals. And the crimes he commits aren't really that bad — just stealing some paintings, usually — so he regularly gets released from jail in a rather clockwork manner. This episode kind of shows us what happens after said criminal is released. What really makes the Penguin so interesting is how delusional he is about his own life. He believes himself to be somewhat of a celebrity in both the high society and the super villain community, yet he is neither. It's really funny, but pretty sad, too, which is why I'll add a point for it.

I'll raise the score to a 7 for the added twist of Veronica Vreeland being the real villain of the episode. I mean, what she did here was really cruel — purposefully leading on the Penguin just for her amusement. Yes, she did later grow fond of him and began to regret her actions, but it was too late. In the end, she got no less than what she deserved.

Now I have to take a point off for the conflicting nature of the Penguin's social graces. I always thought of him as truly being a social elite, but this episode implied that he only thinks he's a social elite. While at a fancy restaurant, he eats fish with his hands as if he were a real penguin. And at the opera, he stands up and sings along with the performer. In my head, the Penguin would know better to not do that. I think a lot of this directly comes from Tim Burton's Batman Returns, where the Penguin was quite gross and disgusting. I don't like that Penguin, and I would have preferred to see him behave well in social settings in this episode, but only disturb people by openly talking about his exploits as a criminal.

I will add a point for the active Bruce Wayne here. Batman is going to follow the Penguin any way he can, and what better way to keep tabs on the high society than by being billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne? I always appreciate it when the writers remember that Bruce Wayne is an influential and important citizen of Gotham City.

This episode is the first in a string of episodes where some of Batman's most notable villains attempt to reform their ways, which is an idea I really like. How many times can you stand to get beat up by Batman before you give in and forsake your life of crime? But as we see here, these people became criminals because something is wrong with them mentally. And whatever that condition or paranoia is, it prevents them from truly leading a normal life. When Penguin found out he was being taken advantage of, a logical response would have just been to leave the party and be sad for a while but eventually try to make some new friends and start over again. But Penguin is not logical or sane, so he immediately kidnapped Veronica and returned to his life of a super villain. Really deep stuff. The score is now an 8.

Sadly, the episode could not end on a "high note," as the Penguin so painfully punned. The final fight with Batman is in an opera house, and Penguin utilizes one of the props — a fire-breathing dragon. I probably could have accepted this by itself, but it went over-the-top for me when Penguin put on the viking helmet. I can see Joker doing that to earn an extra laugh, but why would Penguin stop, take off his top hat, and put on that viking helmet? I have to take a point off for that in what was otherwise a very fine episode.

Final score: 7