Many of Batman’s villains have appeared on Fox’s Gotham television series, but none have been as fascinating as Jerome played by Cameron Monaghan. Since his appearance in Season 1, many believed he would eventually be the one to transform into the most famous Batman villain of them all: The Joker. This season has all but officially confirmed that belief, but it’s still unofficial.
Jerome has appeared on numerous episodes and has slowly become more and more Joker-like over time. With his recent death and subsequent revival it seems Jerome is meant for something larger in the series. After his death, the skin on his face was removed, which he eventually retrieved and stapled back on. Anyone that follows the comic books knows that something similar in fact did happen to the Joker and his face.
This leads audiences to wonder if Jerome will at some point become a series regular, especially if he becomes the Joker.
According to Gotham actor Drew Powell, however, Jerome probably will never be on the show as a regular citing that Jerome would simply bring too much intensity if he was around all the time.
Drew Powell had this to say:
I feel like Jerome is a solo artist. He’s not one to team up with anyone. Early on he had his Maniax, but I think the evolution of that character is he’s a unique psychopath/sociopath, both. So I don’t see any teaming up with Jerome. And that’s part of the deal with him which was interesting; how they kind of had a Jerome section in the middle of our season. And part of that is the actor has another job, and the other part is that character is intense. 22 episodes is a lot of TV… So those characters that are super intense… you can’t use them all the time or it stresses people out. So yeah, I think when Jerome comes, it’s all about Jerome.
Drew makes a good point. Of all the villains that have appeared on Gotham, Jerome does seem like the only one unable or unwilling to build partnerships or alliances to achieve his goals.
Ultimately, do we really want him as a regular? The excitement he brings could potentially be desensitized if we saw him on a regular basis. I think his power comes from randomly appearing when least expected.
As of now Jerome is locked safely away back in Arkham Asylum… or as safe as it ever is in Arkham. Gotham has plenty of villains to play with in the meantime, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we see Jerome again.
