The following review contains spoilers for the first episode of The Penguin, “After Hours”

Batman ended with Gotham City being devastated by floodwaters courtesy of the Riddler and his minions. Now, The Penguin picks up a few weeks later, amid the rubble. News reports speak of a power vacuum in Gotham’s organized crime scene, opening a narrow window of opportunity that Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) must squeeze his towering figure through if he’s to take what he feels is rightfully his. With the stage set, it’s time for The Penguin (the man) and The Penguin (the show) to say “yes” to the events of The Batman while still holding on to what made the film so atmospheric and compelling.

And they do so to great effect, hampered only by a noticeably smaller budget. Wide shots of Gotham don’t quite hit the mark when your eyes are drawn to clearly CG buildings and street signs. Seeing Gotham in daylight doesn’t help matters either, with far more of “After Hours” showing the city during daylight hours than The Batman ever did. What matters, though, is that the continuity between the film and the series feels intact. Thankfully, it does, aided by Craig Zobel’s noir-style direction and Mick Giacchino’s (the son of Michael Giacchino, who scored The Batman) tense, understated score.

When it premiered, I (like everyone else) assumed that The Penguin would share a lot of its DNA with The Sopranos . And it certainly does: with all the brutal crime, sweaty men, sex workers, New Jersey accents, and mommy issues packed into the premiere, there’s clearly a lot of inspiration from the classic HBO series. But I was surprised by how much it reminded me of another beloved franchise from the premium cable channel – Game of Thrones and its current and future spinoffs – with their wavering loyalties, big revelations, and that one person who thinks he was born to rule. It may not turn out to be as high-quality as those shows, but The Penguin sets the stakes right from the very first episode and gets the ball rolling down the lane fast by the end. Putting up those pins is a lot of work, with character and storyline introductions for Oz, Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), Sophia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), and a few other Falcone family members whose names are sure to be hard to remember (also reminds me of Game of Thrones ). “After Hours” may be a bit overcrowded, but it certainly never feels dull, and there’s not a single character introduced that I don’t want to know more about.

Unsurprisingly, it also means a lot more time with Oswald Cobb. Where Farrell only got a few (albeit spectacular) moments of screen time in The Batman – despite the hours in the makeup chair that those few scenes required – now that he’s in it for the long haul, he can get a lot more prosthetic. Farrell really embodies the character now, and it’s amazing to see the emotions and mannerisms he’s able to convey through all that silicone. The torture scene at the end of the episode is a particularly impressive display of both acting and hair and makeup artistry. Not only because it’s the only time we get a full body suit of Oz, but also because the barbed wire used to torture him with slits through his armpit is done with a disturbing amount of realism. It’s horror movie levels of impressive.

“After Hours” is an episode with a lot of physical and emotional violence, made all the more poignant when we see it play out through the eyes of our on-screen surrogate, Victor. Not based on a comic book character, Vic has the most freedom of anyone in The Penguin to chart his own course, and so far he’s been like a gangster Harry Potter – a lower-class newcomer to this life of crime with a natural penchant for it. He’s an endearing character, which means if more Game of Thrones notes are to be taken, he’s in for some tough times. Sophia Falcone is a force in her own right, and a methodical, calculated foil to Oz’s more wild and frenetic style of problem-solving and leadership. The casting of Cristin Milioti – who you may recognize from Palm Springs, Black Mirror’s “USS Callister” episode, or the last few seasons of How I Met Your Mother – is perfect. She does the “submissive madness waiting to erupt” terribly Well, episode one only gives a taste of what that eruption might look like.