How the Joker-esque villain inspires the birth of a slew of new bad guys in the city will likely be one of the major storylines in the second half of the season.
- Nov 29, 2016
AceShowbiz - "Gotham" teases the return of Jerome Valeska in a sneak peek for the second half of its third season. The newly released promo sees a bunch of people who are seemingly infected by the Joker-esque villain's signature laugh.
Jerome was widely believed to be the future Joker, until the character was killed by Theo Galavan (James Frain) in the season 2 finale. Executive producer Danny Cannon explained it at the time, "I think the Joker isn't so much a single person as he is an ideology. [He's] an idea that we can all live without fear and we can all be free and we can all not live within the world's restrictions and not live within the rules at all. This guy walks between the lines and I think that's an ideology. It's not a single person. It's a way to live your life, and I think that's what we explore."
Cameron Monaghan, who plays Jerome, hinted at his character's return back in September by posting on Instagram an audio clip featuring his character's signature laugh. Showrunner John Stephen said at the TCA summer press tour that in season 3, "you have these sort of underground movements that have started to talk about Jerome and what he represented."
It remains unknown how the show will resurrect the presumed dead character.
