The rise and fall of Gotham’s most notorious criminals is part of the allure of the show Gotham, but there are some characters people want to see more then others. Gotham has many characters that will eventually become major parts of the Batman mythos, but the one character everyone wants to hear about is the one that’ll change the Batman’s life the most once he takes up the job of Gotham’s protector, The Joker. Producer Bruno Heller originally wanted to wait to give any hints about the Clown Prince of Crime’s involvement in the show but said to TV Guide that;
We’ve said you’re going to be waiting a bit longer for it, but this is America — nobody wants to wait. So, we will scratch the surface of that story, yes. But just scratch it — a little tap on the door
The major problem with having the Joker on a show that’s a prequel to the events of the Batman mythology is that you have to be very careful with giving him a backstory. Joker’s backstory is intentionally vague and ill defined to give a sense of mystery and anonymity to the character. He is this force of chaos that just rose out of the Ace Chemical Plant after a botched job as the Red Hood, the reasons for why he went as insane as he did are a mystery that’s explored in various mediums like Tim Burton’s Batman, or the Killing Joke. So it makes sense they’ll only very lightly touch on the Joker’s origins, presumably as the Red Hood.
In other Gotham news, the show will spend the remainder of Season 1 exploring the fall of Edward Nygma and how the failure of his relationship with file clerk Kristen Kringle contributes heavily to said fall.
Penguin was born a sociopath and was always going down this path one way or another, Nygma is someone who becomes the villain, and we see that journey begin in the second half of the season…What motivates people to do things is oftentimes love. He is slowly starting to break through her defenses, but we take two steps forward and then one step back. It’s not smooth sailing for Edward Nygma. It’s complicated for her to have somebody’s feelings in her hand. It’s not as simple as rejecting somebody and having a clean conscience because she’s starting to realize how deeply he cares
We’ll see the rise of the Riddler and the first hints of the Joker soon enough.
source: TV Guide
