Gotham Gotham Season 2, Episode 3 "The Last Laugh"

[Guts]

Jerome disguised as a magician at the party reminded me of this Batman the Animated Series episode.

 

[Frodo]

I never thought about Jerome's death being a fake murder but I suppose it might be possible ( however remotely) that the knife was coated in something that would make it appear Jerome was dead. However, I think the most easiest explanation is that he is dead.

I think Jerome is dead ...at least for now. Given how much the show seems to change its mind and make u turns , I wouldn't be surprised if he did turn up again if the demand by the fans and/or viewers is strong enough. They aren't gonna turn the idea down if it gives it a ratings boost.

 

[jonathancrane]

Good connection!

 

[Taarna]

ALittlePush

I never thought about Jerome's death being a fake murder but I suppose it might be possible ( however remotely) that the knife was coated in something that would make it appear Jerome was dead. However, I think the most easiest explanation is that he is dead.

ALittlePush,

I highly doubt he's dead. Jerome would have know if the script was altered.

The more likely explanation is he took something to shut down his system. Or the knife was fake. Remember, this was a " magic " show.

Cameron Monaghan is too good of an actor to write off. Fans want to see more of him.

If the Penguin is the " King of Gotham " Jerome for now is the " Goose that lays the Golden rating eggs ".

 

[Mister J]

I couldn't stand the idea of the Joker having that specific of a backstory, so I was glad to see Jerome go. I wish they'd let that character develop on its own rather than treading so close to something established because the actor was great. I like the early presented idea of multiple Joker red herrings, but I suppose subtlety has never been a calling card of the show.

And people are spinning the possibility that he's still alive? Really? Maybe Essen is hiding behind a corner somewhere, waiting to leap out with a hearty "Gotcha, *****es!"

 

[kguillou]

The issue the show now faces is a "fool me once, fool me twice," conflict. They've already blown their wad on teasing the audience with Batman's greatest foe, so they really cant bring in another "maybe Joker" for a looong time. Also whichever villains/antoganists come now better be able to live up and surpass Jerome.

 

[ALittlePush]

ALittlePush,

I highly doubt he's dead. Jerome would have know if the script was altered.

I disagree. Remember at the beginning where Theo, Tabitha and Barbara were all in the same room yet Jerome was stuck waiting outside? Then when Theo apologised to Jerome, saying it's not what they rehearsed, did you notice how calm Theo was about it? Also the trapdoor that Barbara escaped through wasn't big enough to get two people through at the same time, it would've been a first and second situation. Theo never intended for Jerome to leave that stage alive.

I think Theo deliberately set Jerome up to die so that he could look like a hero. He misled Jerome on the "plan" because if Jerome had known what Theo was actually intending he would probably have killed Theo first. Jerome was taken by surprise.

The more likely explanation is he took something to shut down his system. Or the knife was fake. Remember, this was a " magic " show.

Cameron Monaghan is too good of an actor to write off. Fans want to see more of him.

If the Penguin is the " King of Gotham " Jerome for now is the " Goose that lays the Golden rating eggs ".

I would love for this to be true. I think it was a stupid decision to kill off Jerome. If the writers needed to get him out of the way while they explore other stories then they could've just sent him back to Arkham where he's off-screen but still alive and available for future storylines.

 

[Taarna]

ALittlePush : I disagree. Remember at the beginning where Theo, Tabitha and Barbara were all in the same room yet Jerome was stuck waiting outside? Then when Theo apologised to Jerome, saying it's not what they rehearsed, did you notice how calm Theo was about it?

I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

We don't know what they rehearsed!

Also the trapdoor that Barbara escaped through wasn't big enough to get two people through at the same time, it would've been a first and second situation.

Jerome and Barbara could enter the box and closed the curtains as part of the act. Then escaped one at a time.

Theo never intended for Jerome to leave that stage alive.

For the purpose of the audience at the show, YES. We saw no flat line or announcement of death. Besides Theo would look even more like a hero if he took Jerome alive. The Gotham PD would have given Theo the key to the city for that. Think about. it..... The ending looked like a cliff hanger. Like I said there are things you that can make you appear dead.

I would love for this to be true. I think it was a stupid decision to kill off Jerome. If the writers needed to get him out of the way while they explore other stories then they could've just sent him back to Arkham where he's off-screen but still alive and available for future storylines.

Gotham isn't lighting them up on the ratings. Jerome has given the show a real buzz and ratings boost. I think we all agree on that point. The writers and producers would need manure for brains to get rid of him so soon. That much I'm sure of.

-T

 

[Frodo]

The show's producer gave an interview in which he explained what the show's producers plan for Jerome on the real Joker was. I don't think I really buy it all that much because I don't think these producers have that much foresight as far as where the show and its characters are going. That said, the statement on the matter is worth the read.

 

[Mister J]

I think Theo deliberately set Jerome up to die so that he could look like a hero.

This is something that was mentioned when the character was cast. It came to mind when his little ruse was playing out.

 

[Taarna]

The issue the show now faces is a "fool me once, fool me twice," conflict. They've already blown their wad on teasing the audience with Batman's greatest foe, so they really cant bring in another "maybe Joker" for a looong time. Also whichever villains/antoganists come now better be able to live up and surpass Jerome.

Spot on. We are talking about the Joker here. He was perfectly cast and acted just like the Joker does. The show can not expect better.

Think about it comic and movie fans. No franchise level villain dies so soon or is mistaken for some imposter!

 

[Frodo]

Spot on. We are talking about the Joker here. He was perfectly cast and acted just like the Joker does. The show can not expect better.

Think about it comic and movie fans. No franchise level villain dies so soon or is mistaken for some imposter!

I think the issue in this case in particular is what's best for the show as opposed to what version of the Joker suits what comic fans want. Alot of support for the killing seems to be more based on being in line with the comics, i.e, Joker's identity and origin are unknown, as opposed to what's best for this version of the myths in the show.

For a show like Gotham which has been uneven at best , and had a handful good moments , episodes, and characterizations , to get rid of a very strong character is a mistake for their own series.

Even if he wasn't the Joker, killing him off isn't a great move for a series has struggled in the writing department with as far as interesting and compelling characters go. I tend to think the fact that the actor is committed to another series has more to do with them killing the guy, than anything else.

 

[tnekkralc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFG6v7o5TEI

Well I think this confirms he's dead, or it's another red herring lol.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Well played on the Joker thing.

Note : in this last episode, Jerome characterization and speech patterns where very similar to Heath Ledger's, then again, Ledger characterization was top notch and he made it very difficulty to not mimic him even unintentionally.

 

[ALittlePush]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

We don't know what they rehearsed!

Cameron Monaghan did an interview with TV Guide.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/gotham-postmortem-cameron-monaghan-the-last-laugh/

"Theo becomes kind of this twisted father figure character to Jerome in a certain way and it's a really nice reflection to have Jerome murder his father and then his father figure to murder him within the same episode," Monaghan says, noting that Theo ultimately realized that his goals could be better achieved without Jerome as a wild card.

"Jerome is extremely dangerous and extremely volatile," Monaghan says. "I think one of the defining factors of him is that he doesn't take a step back and because of that, he's extremely unpredictable. I think Theo had an awareness of that and utilized it to his advantage. But he knew that if he kept him around for any longer, his own self would probably be in jeopardy as well. So, he had to take out the free radical in the situation."

Also it seems like that article confirms that Jerome is dead as a doornail.

 

[yonny616]

Loved this episode. The twist and all that came after could help develop the whole "multiple choice" origin of The Joker.

 

[hellblazer103]

Jerome disguised as a magician at the party reminded me of this Batman the Animated Series episode.

definitely what came to my mind as well.

 

[Longshot777]

That actor who played Jerome was great!!! But this is Gotham and not the Batman series.

So Batman and The Joker will not appear until 20 years from now. Most likely the series finale will be Bruce going abroad to complete his training.

So the Jerome character was just a a nod to the fans of giving us a Joker close enough to have in this specific time frame.

 

[WeatherWizard99]

of course jerome is alive... galavan planned everything...

he also apologized to jerome because...
well, no one was listening, but why not ?! its fun...
I will apologize for killing the person I am not really killing, bacause its fun, even if pointless...

 

[WeatherWizard99]

but now seriously...

alfred and leslie...
the galavan brothers fighting for barbara...
and joker is not the joker...

and next week...

Spoiler

gordon's new ally going after gordon's "friend" on the crime families ?!
and penguin and theo working together ?!

this just keeps getting better !!!!!!!

 

[Knight-Tale]

Ultimately without Cameron whoever ends up being Joker will undoubtedly not be as good(and probably ruin the timeline even more) which makes me question why Gotham killed him off in the first place.
When you get lightning in bottle like that you don't throw it away

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Cue eyeroll over people pissing and moaning about the ending. It was symbolic, as far as I'm concerned, not literal. It takes the ridiculous "Anyone can be Batman" notion that Nolan tried to sell the audience and flipped it in such a way that it actually makes sense. In Gotham, really anyone can be this vicious killer. That doesn't mean that all those creeps we saw at the end will actually factor into the next handful of episodes. They're clear copycats and will amount to nothing in the end. When all is said and done, the true Joker will take that spark of inspiration and explode it exponentially.

Bad execution is bad execution. That crap was horrible imo. But at least they got rip of Jerome.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Ultimately without Cameron whoever ends up being Joker will undoubtedly not be as good(and probably ruin the timeline even more) which makes me question why Gotham killed him off in the first place.
When you get lightning in bottle like that you don't throw it away

Hopefully, they don't touch the Joker ever again. Because the Joker would be at an age where we have to "learn" who he is. The Joker should be a mystery, one that neither the good guys or the bad know or understand.

 

[Just_Human]

What if the Lazarus Pit makes an appearance .. and they dump Jerome in there.
Making him crazier than ever and bleaching his skin in the process

 

[The Shape]

No.