Characters come and go from television all the time, and Gotham is no different. But sometimes, that farewell is hard to swallow.
If you haven’t seen Gotham season 2, episode 3, “The Last Laugh,” then what are you waiting for? Go now — spoilers are ahead.
“The Last Laugh” perfectly combined humor and horror, suspense and surprises, and threw in a bit of emotional impact, too.
Let’s just get it out of the way now: Jerome Valeska is dead. After being stabbed in the neck by Theo, dying with a smile on his face no less, this potential Joker is no more. Looks like someone else will have to take up the mantle.
As other fans have already expressed, this news isn’t sitting too well in the fandom. Cameron Monaghan was an incredible addition to the cast, and it feels like we barely got to know him before he was taken away from us.
It truly is a shame that Jerome has been killed off the show so soon. Since his first appearance in season 1, rumors and theories have been circulating about the fact that he’s probably not the Joker, but could definitely be a contributing factor to the future villain’s persona.
However, it’s too bad Jerome never got to take up that mantle himself. Monaghan certainly had the acting chops to pull it off — the rubbery facial expressions, the ability to swing from one extreme emotion to the other, that huge smile, and that creepy and yet somehow infectious laugh.
If Gotham casts another actor as the Joker, will he be as good? Will he be able to draw you in as easily, making you — guiltily, shamefully — root for him to escape? Will the new Joker, the real Joker, frighten us as much as Jerome has?
Only time will tell, obviously. The idea that Jerome will be the influence for the Joker’s rise to criminal fame is an interesting one. It’s a good twist, taking away a character we were so sure could be the real deal. We just have to wonder if the show can one-up itself.
But while Jerome is most definitely dead, his legacy certainly lives on. In those last few moment’s of this week’s episode, we saw his laugh — and his psychosis — infect other citizens of Gotham.
Is it possible that we saw the real Joker somewhere in there?
Aside from the brilliance of Monaghan’s performance, however, was the levity Jerome brought to the show. Gotham has been following in DC’s very obvious footprints when it comes to the darker, grittier side of comics. It’s a realistic show, set in a world that could easily be our own, documenting not only the rise of Batman, but the rise of his most infamous villains.
Jerome, while now clearly not the Joker, acted much like the Joker did in the comics and previous incarnations of the movies. He’s made us laugh, for better or worse, and he added that bit of flair some Gotham villains just don’t have (we miss you, Fish).
As we watch Penguin build an empire and young Selina twirl around in a pretty dress while picking pockets, Jerome gave us what we wanted — high stakes in a show that is, in essence, about a child. He was a loose canon, and that unpredictability is what has drawn us into the show so far this season.
Our latest supervillain, Theo, is calculated. He will be inserting himself into the role of Gotham’s hero, and while that presents its own set of interesting consequences, he’s no Jerome Valeska. Barbara may be toeing that crazy line right now, but will she ever step fully into the dark side?
How long will we have to wait until we get the real Joker? And what are the chances it can be Jerome’s evil(er) twin brother so Monaghan can come back and wow us again and again for the foreseeable future?