After years of back-and-forth regarding whether or not Jerome Valeska would eventually evolve into the one true Joker – not to mention a death and resurrection on his part – it appears as though the moment Gotham fans have been waiting what felt like an eternity for is about to arrive. There is just one catch, however: Though Cameron Monaghan will be the actor tasked with doing so, it won’t be Jerome who’ll ultimately end up as Batman’s greatest nemesis.
If that sounds at all confusing, we implore you to remember that Monaghan himself confirmed he’d be playing two different characters this season – but his cryptic statement left much room for interpretation and speculation, thus it became difficult to predict what the exact outcome would be.
On top of that, some leaked photos from the set showed Monaghan in full Joker garb and makeup, only there wasn’t a hint of scarring on the Ace of Knave’s face. Obviously, there’d have to be some sort of sensible explanation for removing those, right?
So, after the network teased us with some sort of Joker reveal to be witnessed in last night’s episode, one could say we finally got our answer in the form of a twin named Jeremiah Valeska. That’s right, Jerome had an estranged brother all along who was secreted away more than fifteen years ago in fear that he’d be killed by his violent sibling. In all fairness, Jeremiah did create some of the hysteria of his own accord, hinting that the potential to be a villain was in him all along.
Still, one could term him as the “good twin” in this scenario, as Jerome intends on driving Jeremiah mad before killing him. As for how that’ll happen, the first version of Joker gas in this continuity put in an appearance in the closing moments of last night’s episode, as Scarecrow’s latest concoction caused a man to laugh himself to death while his skin turned pale white.
Given that, we fully expect something similar to happen to Jeremiah, the difference being he’ll survive the transition and become the guy seen in the gallery up above. Naturally, being the Joker, we can only guess that he’ll become a worse person than his brother could ever hope to be, so it remains to be seen if he’ll murder Jerome. After all, it’s doubtful the town is big enough for them both.
Having presented all of this information, it’s highly recommended that you find out what happens next by tuning in to Gotham next Thursday night on Fox.