Warning! Spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched Gotham's "The Last Laugh" episode!
Up until this point, fans of Gotham were under the assumption that the Joker was Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan). Between the red hair, devilish grin and that signature laugh, Jerome certainly fit the part.
Then, Monday night's episode happened.
Titled "The Last Laugh," episode three of Gotham's second season featured James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey Bullock's (Donal Logue) manhunt to find Jerome after he attacked the Gotham City Police Department in the previous episode.
We saw Jerome tie up and murder his father, before giving a very Joker-like performance. Then, later, the teenage villain tried to murder little Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) in his magic show, which left Gotham in shock.
However, as it turns out, Jerome is not the future nemesis of the Dark Knight. In a change of events, the new baddie billionaire in town, Theo Galavant (James Frain), made himself look like the hero by literally sticking it to poor Jerome.
It seems like the joke really was on the audience.
Showrunner Bruno Heller previously said that we would get answers to Jerome's identity. "That story is going to come to a huge and shocking resolution which will explain the whole Joker myth and how it began and how the Joker came to be," Heller said.
He made made good on his promise.
After Jerome's death, we saw the people of Gotham getting giddy after watching him on TV, inspired to start their own murderous rampage. This only confirmed his father's last words: "You will be a curse upon Gotham. Children will wake from sleep screaming at the thought of you. Your legacy will be death and madness."
So, now that the Jerome is no longer in the running to become the Joker, who should we now turn our attention to? How about a female?
In an interview with Comic Book, Heller said it is "100 percent possible" that he would be open to featuring the Joker as a female character.
"One of the central themes of the DC world is transformation and revelation. Absolutely, those kinds of — I wouldn't want to call it playing with people's expectations or gender expectations — but we've absolutely considered the possibility of a female Joker, and we haven't ... well I'll stop myself from saying more because I won't be able to stop revealing things," he said.
He went on to say that when telling such a "psychedelic and surreal" story, nothing is too strange or shocking for the creators to consider. "And some of those shocking and surprising things will inevitably end up on screen to either the delight of fans or to their horror. As long as people respond and are engaged, we've done our job," he added.
There is only one leading lady that stands out in our mind — Barbara Kean. Gordon's former fiancée was by Jerome's side during the whole magic show fiasco, not to mention she joined his gang of crazies, the Maniax, who escaped Arkham Asylum. While there had been speculation that Kean (Erin Richards) could turn out to be the future Harley Quinn, with Jerome out the picture, the good girl turned baddie could have just entered the running to become the Joker.
She was even impressed by Jerome's personality when speaking with Galavan. "I don't know, the kid had a way about him," she said.
Maybe she is the Joker in the making, or maybe this is just wishful thinking. Tune in to Gotham when it airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox.
Via: ComicBook.com
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