Showrunner Lauren LeFranc Explains Why Joker, Harley, and Others Are Absent from ‘The Penguin’

As we have written on numerous occasions before, The Penguin is a hit show and is strongly praised by both fans and critics. Everyone is loving the new take on The Penguin and Sofia Falcone in the spin-off series from Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and we are more than excited to see how the show ends.

While the series manages to keep the focus on Penguin and Sofia, other parts of Batman‘s lore have been explored, among which is Arkham Asylum. Location that Batman fans will know and which is one of the central locations in the lore.

As you know, Arkham has been heavily featured in Episode 4 of The Penguin, but the impact of the institution is still strong, which is why the fans are still asking questions about it. One important question that has been asked is – why are other notable inmates not present in the series?

Think Joker, Harley, and the like… why are they not in Arkham? Well, if you want to know why, keep reading our report!

Episode 4 provided us with Sofia’s origin story and details about her stay in Arkham. While some supporting characters did appear (Dr. Ventris, Magpie), the fans noticed a surprising absence of major Arkham inmates, like the Joker or Harley Quinn.

While we don’t know whether Harley is already there in Reeves’ universe, we know that the Joker is there; also, the Riddler was not seen either, and we know he is there as well.

Well, if you’re wondering why that is, showrunner Lauren LeFranc has the answer, as she was asked the same question. Here is what she says:

Honestly, for that episode, we thought just about Sophia, like Sophia’s journey. It’s a tricky episode because it’s only about an hour long, and we told a lot of story in it. It’s like, how can you express Arkham? How can you express what this woman goes through, through it?

So it was all through the lens of Sophia. We didn’t want to throw the kitchen sink at us, and we didn’t want to have a character that would detract from her experience or have people be like, Oh, it’s [that villain]!’ Not a casual Joker, not a Harley Quinn. Like, those characters are amazing. But for what we were doing, we’re telling Sophia’s story, and we just want you to be immersed in her perspective, in her world.

Source: The Direct

As you can see, Sofia is the main reason for the lack of other major inmates, and that is a good enough reason. The Penguin is Sofia’s and Oz’s story, and in that aspect, it is good that the show keeps focusing on them rather than other characters.

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