Jerome is not the Joker, right? The cast and crew of Gotham have enjoyed misleading us about Batman’s greatest foe for nearly 4 seasons now, but it seems like he may finally be upon us.
David Mazouz has outright said that Jerome is not the Joker, among many other subtle teases from the cast and crew. The idea here is that Jerome is not the Joker, but provides the catalyst for the Joker to emerge… but that doesn’t explain away everything about Jerome. Jerome has the Joker’s personality. His faced was carved out and reattached similar to the events of Death of the Family. He has played chase with Bruce Wayne in a mirror funhouse similar to Dark Knight Returns. He has a permanent smile etched on his face. We’ve seen him with white facepaint and red lipstick. He’s got to be the Joker, right? Well, it looks like we may find out this week.
In a new promo for Gotham season 4, episode 7, entitled “Mandatory Brunch Meeting,” Jerome – sounding very Heath Ledger-like – discusses one “essential ingredient,” as words flash on screen. Take a look for yourself.
“Who is the Joker?”
If I recall correctly, this is the first time that any Gotham promotional material has directly mentioned the Joker. I don’t have to tell you just how exciting this is. Misdirections aside, which are very likely possible, it seems that Jerome is going to find the Joker in this episode, and that has been his main goal since the beginning. So, does Jerome inspire the Joker and has Joker already existed this entire time?
Aside from that, lots of Batman’s baddies appear in this episode. We see Penguin, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Firefly, Riddler, and Mad Hatter. Just as Jerome says, It looks like this is going to be madhouse.
Check out the synopsis for the episode below:
Gordon and Bullock try to stay one step ahead as Jerome (guest star Cameron Monaghan) zeros in on his next target. Meanwhile, Nygma hosts a riddle game show in the Narrows and faces his toughest challenger in Lee Thompkins, and Penguin goes to see Butch with a proposal in the all-new “A Dark Knight: Mandatory Brunch Meeting” episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, April 5 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-417) (TV-14 L, V)
What do you think? Has Joker existed all this time? Or does Jerome “inspire” Joker as we’ve heard so many times in the past? Let me know.
Catch Gotham on Fox, this Thursday at 8PM EST.