Warning: This article contains spoilers for the most recent episode of Gotham and the Joker.
John Stephens, an executive producer on Fox’s Gotham series, recently stated in an interview that Jeremiah Valeska is on his way to taking the steps that will bring him closer to becoming the Joker. Or, at least, Gotham’s version of the Joker…the one that wasn’t Jerome, anyway.
In a recent interview with TV Guide, Stephens stated that Jeremiah is on the way to undergoing a transformation that will feel like a crazy blend of both Jeremiah and Jerome, which essentially is one step away from this show’s interpretation of the Joker:
“You never see a full transformation into the Joker, but you do see another transformation. Jeremiah undergoes another evolution in his character to become another amalgam of Jeremiah and Jerome that I think audiences are gonna look at and say, ‘If it’s not the Joker then it’s definitely an antecedent or a proto-Joker that lives there.”
In the most recent episode of Gotham, Cameron Monaghan’s Jeremiah Valeska finally makes his return, as he has taken over an area of Gotham City known as the Dark Zone. With the help of Ecco, he has carved out his territory and gained a large following of pilgrims. However, in the most recent episode, Jeremiah came face to face with Selina Kyle, who is back on her feet thanks to a magic seed- courtesy of Poison Ivy. When Selina confronts Jeremiah, she stabs him several times before escaping with Alfred and Bruce.
So is Jeremiah actually dead? Well, I would doubt it. For one, if Gotham has shown in the past, it’s that characters can always find a way to come back, Lazarus Pit or not. Second, it’d be too easy for the series to just of Jeremiah when we finally got reacquainted with him. Plus, there are a few trailer scenes that we’ve yet to see in the final season itself. When you take that into account, it’s entirely possible that Jeremiah isn’t as dead as Selina may think he is. But what may come next is blend of Jerome’s insanity with Jeremiah’s calm sanity, giving us the show’s proto-Joker.
That’s all speculation, yes, but we’ll have to see what will become of Jeremiah when the next new episode of Gotham airs. But what do you think will happen next? Has Selina truly gotten her revenge against Jeremiah? What would a mix of Jeremiah and Jerome result in? And would that be as close as possible to Gotham giving us its own actual proto-Joker? Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below.
Gotham stars Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Sean Pertwee, Camren Bicondova, David Mazouz, Anthony Carrigan, Erin Richards, Cory Michael Smith, Robin Lord Taylor, Francesca Root-Dodson, Chris Chalk, and Cameron Monaghan. The final season currently airs on Thursday nights at 8 pm on Fox.
Source: TV Guide
