Jerome Valeska

Gotham’s Joker in waiting? Oh, it’s far more complicated than that...

UK Broadcast E4, Tuesdays US Broadcast Fox, finished

Talk about playing the long game. When it began, Gotham wasted no time reinventing most of the big names in Batman’s rogue gallery, including Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman.

But the Joker? We’re still waiting. Maybe. Perhaps. Boy, are they keeping us in suspense. And we’re more than willing to wait. That’s because the moment in season one when actor Cameron Monaghan turned Jerome Valeska from a nerdy circus boy into an insane killer clown with a crazed grin, we knew this guy had to play the Joker. It was chill-down-the-spine stuff.

Jerome’s influence has loomed over the series, despite the fact that, three seasons on, he’s appeared in a mere handful of episodes. He’s also (massive spoilers ahead) died twice, had his face surgically removed and stitched back on, and created a personality cult. He’s never used the name Joker. And he

now appears to have forcibly handed the mantle over to his geeky brother Jeremiah. Luckily for us, Monaghan plays him too, but the producers are keeping schtum over whether he’s actually the bona fide Joker.

Whether or not Jerome or Jeremiah is the Joker doesn’t matter. Monaghan’s portrayal is pure essence of Joker: an embryonic version of Heath Ledger’s Dark Knight incarnation, lacking the wit and style but making up for it with unharnessed manic energy. The Joker has rarely been more psychotic and bloodthirsty – he’s quick with a sawn-off shotgun – and yet he remains a figure you can believe could command authority. Hell, even Penguin’s petrified.

The only problem the show has now is finding a way to surprise us with a Joker who isn’t played by Monaghan, without it coming across as a disappointment. Dave Golder