Will Jerome Become the Joker? (Gotham TV Show)

I watch the TV show Gotham. For those who don’t know what it is, I’ll just give a brief overview before I begin this post.

It is basically the background on the Batman comics before Batman became Batman. How all the villains became villains-- their backgrounds and origins, as well as Bruce Wayne’s journey to becoming the Dark Knight; however it mainly focuses on Jim Gordon (future commissioner) while he is still a detective in the police force handling all these situations. 

*P.S. If anyone is interested in watching this, I do highly recommend it because it is a lot of fun, very intense, well written (usually), and interesting especially for Batman/comic book fans. However, I should put a warning label on it that it can get a little violent and graphic. Only bloody-type graphic, there's no sex scenes or anything, but if you can't handle people getting stabbed in the eye, fingers getting chopped, people getting beaten by baseball bats, getting chopped in half or beheaded, or stuff like that (and you actually see it happen), then this might not be the show for you.

Anyways, as I said, the show gives a lot of the villains a history and origin story. Most of the villains/characters in the comics have an established backstory, but the show has taken many liberties and has reinvented most of the characters’ origins (which gives the show an edge and mystery). The end result for the characters will obviously be the same or at least very similar to what everyone is familiar with, but the journey getting there is usually different to what was recorded in the comics. 

The Penguin and the Riddler have already had a tremendous amount of focus (they have practically been main characters). Other villains have been coming into play also. While watching, you can usually tell who the villain will be, either by their alias (ex. “Jervis Tetch” is the Mad Hatter or “Edward Nygma” is the Riddler), there are some hints to their backstory, costume, and/or props (ex. the Scarecrow is developing fear gas or Mr. Freeze has a frozen wife), or they flat out tell you who they are and what they do. However, every once in a while, it is a little vague, thus coming to the point of this post.

Jerome Valeska (played by Cameron Monaghan)

The one Batman villain who has an obscure past and no alias is ironically the most famous one: the Joker. In the famous comic, The Killing Joke, a backstory was offered up, but the Joker himself admitted that his memory of it might be fuzzy or even completely made up. So, the writers of Gotham have free reign on Batman’s arch nemesis here. And this is where my frustration lies.

WARNING, SPOILER ALERT!!!

Back in season 1, a character, a teenager, was introduced-- Jerome Valeska. He was young (just a few years older than Bruce) and he murdered his mom, then was sent to Arkham for the deed. Before anyone found out it was him that killed her, he played the innocent, mournful, caring child. As soon as he was discovered, he dropped the act completely and displayed his cold, psychotic, unfeeling side while laughing maniacally at his deed. He showed up again later after being broken out of Arkham and went on a killing spree, all the while completely enjoying it and laughing. There is a sort of method to his madness. His father who is a psychic, tells him he will be a scourge to Gotham. He is killed eventually, but even in death, he is still smiling.  

Films of his murders and laughing inspire a murderous cult following. One of his most devout followers finds his body tries to resurrect him. When it doesn’t work, he cuts off his face to wear as a mask so that their "leader" can speak to the masses. However, the resurrection does end up working eventually and Jerome goes out for revenge. He staples his face back on, giving him a permanent, deranged-looking smile. He goes after Bruce who eventually bests him, punching his face off. Jerome is then put into Arkham again.

This guy sounds like a potential Joker, right? The Joker in the comics has no alias, so why couldn't it be Jerome Valeska? Plus, the show is perfectly free to make up any backstory it wants and this seems to be leading somewhere. So what am I frustrated about?

Let me tell you: There is no confirmation that Jerome will actually be the Joker. In fact, early on when he first appeared, it was hinted more that Jerome would inspire the future Joker and not become the Joker himself. This seemed to be the more likely case with his death and the whole cult following thing. Even his father's words about him becoming a scourge to Gotham replayed as a voiceover as the cult slowly formed. I was so bummed out because originally when I heard those words, I thought "Oh! Because he's going to become the biggest, most threatening super villain in Gotham: the Joker!" and got super excited. But no, then it started to hint that he was only inspiring the future Joker.
But seriously, how could they DO that? He is literally the perfect Joker! I think the creators began to realize that, which is why they brought him back and didn’t kill him off again (apparently he was going to get killed again in his face-off [haha!] with Bruce the last time he was seen instead of getting put back into Arkham). But that doesn’t seem like an official confirmation. Something really needs to happen with him that feels more Joker-like in order to make me feel more at ease. 
So far he’s been a complete psycho, killing people, laughing maniacally, even setting up murder amusement parks, and so on. But that could still just be leaning towards him inspiring the future Joker. He even has a personal connection with Bruce Wayne and Bruce is traumatized by his encounter with Jerome. I could totally see that playing into their interactions in the future. But... still. I could easily see this show throwing that all away and punching me in the gut like that. The future Joker reminds Bruce of his encounter with Jerome, but worse or some nonsense like that.

This is why I need some reassuring hint that Jerome will be the Joker for sure. I don’t think anything big needs to happen just yet, like his hair doesn’t have to turn green or anything (I think that should be reserved until close to the end of the series when Bruce officially becomes Batman. Because Batman and Joker go hand in had, so I think both their transformations should come about the same time). However, I still think that there should be some bigger hints of where his path is headed. I do not like feeling aorund in the dark like this. 

The show has replaced actors with new ones before. Like they did with Poison Ivy. At first I was like "what?"with that choice because I liked the idea of Ivy being closer to Bruce's age and slowly growing from that awkward, weird little girl into what everyone knows as Ivy. Making the jump like that surprised me and I wasn't ready. But I really like the new actress so far (of course, not a lot has been done with her yet, so...). That's why I know the show is not afraid to just replace characters with other people.

I will be sorely disappointed if Jerome is not the Joker. He is SO good! He combines traits from Ledger, Hamill, and Nicholson all into one. I am seriously attached. I honestly don’t think they could just get rid of him and replace him with anyone else at this point and have him do any better. It would be like trying to replace the Penguin. 

So... that’s all I have to say about that. My fingers are crossed. Jerome for Joker!

SCENE- Jerome Killed His Mom

Great piece of acting. The first glimpse of his Joker-esque side.

SCENE- Who's the Boss?

Another great scene. Jerome and a fellow escaped Arkham 

inmate compete for the leader role in their new gang through

a game of Russian Roulette.