Gotham is wrapping up the last six episodes of Season 4 with the creation of the Legion of Horribles and a seeming end to the question about whether or not Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) is the Joker. Fox has released an extended trailer for the rest of the season (video above), and Ben McKenzie (who plays Jim Gordon) has also revealed details in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Spoilers ahead.
In last week’s episode, Jerome escaped from Arkham along with Mad Hatter (Benedict Samuel) and Scarecrow (David W. Thompson). While Mad Hatter was hypnotizing people and Scarecrow was acquiring chemicals (as they do), Jerome was tracking down his abusive uncle, both to kill him and to extract information (not in that order). His uncle told him, “She picked Saint Ignatius. The school is Saint Ignatius.” The show didn’t explain the meaning, but we already know it thanks to cast interviews.
Monaghan is playing two characters this season. We assumed that meant a twin brother, and several details back that up. Monaghan was recently seen without Jerome’s facial scars, but nonetheless looking Joker-esque, in set photos like these and these. And then there’s the interview with Ben McKenzie, where he says Jerome “or someone very much like him” is a main villain in future episodes. McKenzie also revealed Jerome was supposed to be “a one-off” character in the first season, but they brought him back because “he was so magnetic and so unbelievably committed that it just felt like we had to go further.” That would explain why executive producers of the show have repeatedly insisted Jerome’s not the Joker, but now they seem to be taking a roundabout, suitably campy path to having the actor also play the Joker.
So if Jerome is hunting down his brother at a boarding school next episode, are we going to see the brother soon? Not likely; he should have graduated long ago, but someone at the school might know where he is now. To that end, the list of guest stars for this Thursday’s episode includes Steven Hauck as “Headmaster.” He’s the guy seen in the video above blowing himself up after being hypnotized by the Mad Hatter. So… only one episode for him? Can’t say for sure. Nobody seems to stay dead on this bonkers show.
The trailer above also shows a character laughing hysterically and being sprayed with “the new blend” of gas in two separate scenes. The hysterical laughter suggests the new blend could be Smylex rather than fear gas. Jerome has been saying his plan is to make all of Gotham more insane than Arkham’s inmates. Does he enlist Scarecrow’s help in creating Smylex, albeit a version that causes insanity rather than death? Gotham co-executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt has said Jerome is not the Joker but is “the impetus that eventually creates the Joker,” which raises another question. Is Jerome’s brother already insane or does Jerome dose him with Smylex, turning him into a villain surpassing even his brother? We’ll have to wait a while for the answer, as the season finale isn’t until next month. In the meantime, here’s a promo for this Thursday’s episode which asks, “Who is the Joker?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIp0VaASMh4
IT’S NO LAUGHING MATTER ON AN ALL-NEW GOTHAM THURSDAY, APRIL 5, ON FOX
Gordon and Bullock try to stay one step ahead as Jerome (guest star Cameron Monaghan) zeros in on his next target. Meanwhile, Nygma hosts a riddle game show in the Narrows and faces his toughest challenger in Lee Thompkins, and Penguin goes to see Butch with a proposal in the all-new “A Dark Knight: Mandatory Brunch Meeting” episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, April 5 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter, io9, We Got This Covered, Comic Book, and Gotham)