Knockout
Episode 6 of The Mothers of Penguins picks up with Miss Ania at school. Fresh off kicking Helena out, she’s under fire for the protests orchestrated by the mums in episode 5. No one is signing up for Wonderful Harbor (which isn’t so wonderful now!) and the school is under pressure to make changes.
Meanwhile, Kama returns to the gym and apologizes to her ex-coach. She explains that Jas’ diagnosis really messed her up and after spending so long fighting against this, she’s now embracing it. She also wants to rejoin and pick up on her fight with Fernandez, but he refuses to help out. At least initially anyway. He does change his tune later on when he sees her changed focus.
What happens with Ula?
Ula is also spiralling after she finds out that her husband has been embezzling money and is in trouble with the police. We saw them last episode leave the house with his computer, and as Maciek tries to argue his case, Ula simply walks away.
This causes friction at the school too, as Ula doesn’t show up to collect Tola. Instead, Kama takes her and Jas to the studio, where she finds Ula. She’s struggling and knows that Maciek’s big scandal is going to destroy the public persona she’s built and the social media influence she has.
Does Kama return to the ring?
Kama offers to ring her dad as he’s a lawyer and may be able to help out. Together, and away from the kids, the pair bond. Ula admits that at first she looked down on Kama but now, after spending time with her, she can see her true power. And not just the physical strength she possesses either. However, she thinks Kama should continue fighting as that’s her superpower.
With a new sparring partner, Kama gets back in the octagon and is allowed to compete once more. But she’ll need to work her butt off to get there. Part of this will include Iwona and Mak looking after Jas while she trains.
What are the outcomes for Ula and Tatiana’s issues?
As for Ula, she’s shocked when she finds out the lawyer is suggesting she divorce Maciek. He thinks she should cut ties and sort out a prenup quickly to separate herself from her husband as things are going to get messy during the investigation. This rattles Ula though and she eventually walks away, unable to comprehend this right now.
At the hospital, Tatiana awaits treatment while Michal and Grzesiek spend time together and bond. She won’t know for a few weeks though so it’s touch and go for the time being. As this is going on, we also get more context around Jerzy and Robert’s relationship. Robert decides to hand over a key and offers to let him and Hela stay at his place for the time being. Unfortunaly this is soured by Jerzy falling out with his mum, confronting her over the panic attacks that he always suffered from as a kid.
Back at school, the headmaster explains himself to the families and their children. He initially made Wonderful Harbor to try and be a safe haven for kids struggling and for 11 years it has worked out well. He’s had to fight the system to keep this place going and he apologizes for forcing his own agenda. Unfortunately, all of this results in the headmaster decides to close the school, on the back of Ula’s protest. The parents are reeling and aren’t sure what to do.
Does Kama win her match?
Kamila gets a flurry of calls through but there’s not really anything she can do right now, as she ends up competing in the octagon. Tatiana is going to watch the fight, and encourages Grzesiek to join her. She’s got the results back and thankfully, it’s benign. However, he’s tired and decides to go to bed. Unfortunately, it turns out he’s seeing another woman, explaining why he’s so standoffish with Tatiana. He doesn’t tell her, at least not yet, and it leaves lots of question marks hanging over this one.
The fighting in the ring is very much secondary to the drama surrounding the mums. While Tatiana tries to sort things with her husband, Ula takes the tough choice and decides to break things off with Maciek. He’s facing a possible 3 years behind bars and she could be held to contempt as an accessory for this money laundering.
As Ula finds her marriage pummelled, Kama too finds herself pummelled in the ring. The outcome of this was perhaps obvious given the opening scene in episode 1 but miraculously, Kama steps up and manages to win, but she’s a bloody mess.
After the fight, we catch up with the moments from episode 1. Kama has made peace with Jas’ condition and she tells him on the phone that there’s nothing wrong with him. It’s certainly a change from the doubtful, dismissive woman we met in episode 1 and orchestrates a nice change in character too.
How does The Mothers of Penguins end?
In fact, Kama isn’t about to stop here. She’s determined to make changes. She rings Ula and throws the idea out of them opening a new school together. Kama is doing well with her fighting, and after winning her latest brutal bout, she’s been signed up to EFT and will be fighting in the US. With the money she’d gain from fighting, Kama would be able to finance the whole thing and their kids would stay together too.
Unfortunately, Kama finds herself in a tough position when she heads over to pick up Jas. He’s been doing some thinking and he wants to live with Iwona and Mak from now on.
The Episode Review
So the finale for Mother of Penguins ends on a suitably ambiguous and open conclusion, while also showing some significant growth for our three central women at the foreground of this sentimental drama. The show has been a good watch across its 6 episodes, showcasing how difficult it can be to raise children with disabilities, while also adding in interpersonal drama that never feels forced or overly dramatic for the sake of it.
In terms of plotting, the main hook of the show was initially Kama’s MMA career but honestly, that kinda feels secondary and pushed to the side in favour of a more downbeat, grounded approach to character work. Sure, it’s a bit slow at times but this finale shows how much growth Kama has had across the season. Having started out in denial and desperate for her son to fit in and “be normal”, she now embraces his unique persona, which is great to see.
The other subplots involving Tatiana and Ula do get some form of closure, but they’re also left very open for a possible second season which, at the time of writing, has not been confirmed just yet. I hope it is though because there’s definitely potential here for a more expansive and deeper character study but in the meantime, what’s here is good enough to make for a solid recommendation.
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Episode Rating
(4)