"Gotham" season 2 episode three saw a major death, a death that has the show's followers and detractors divided.
For the first three episodes, Cameron Monaghan's portrayal of Jerome Valeska has "Gotham" fans raving. His character, may or may not be the Joker but for some solid Batman fanatics, Jerome cannot be the Crown Prince of Crime since the Dark Knight in the show.
Showrunners pulled the plug on him in the latest "Gotham" season 2 episode as he was killed by his recruiter Theo Galavan (James Frain) as some sort of sacrificial lamb.
This move by the Fox series received polarizing reviews from fans. One group thinks it's a wrong move since Jerome Valeska is one of the most compelling character in the show and Monaghan is doing a great job. The other groups feels sigh of relief because the Joker's origin remains untouched.
Jerome may be gone but his ties to the Joker is alive. Talking to Deadline, showrunner Bruno Heller hints people have just witnessed the birth of the Joker through Jerome.
"Well, because sometimes backstories are more complicated and interesting than, you know, falling into vat of toxic chemicals or being bitten by a spider," Heller explained.
"Like they say, nobody creates themselves out of whole cloth, whether it's Elvis Presley, or you name it - Jesus. There's a tradition in forebears and ancestors of those characters that went into creating them. So, to me, Jerome is genuinely the mother and father of the Joker. He is the seed of the Joker."
Heller also revealed that they are looking at a 'longer origin story' for the Joker which is considered as one of the greatest villain of all time in fictional world.
"Origin stories are to me, and I think to a large part of the audience, one of the most fascinating aspects of this whole world," he said in the same interview.
"You know, to a degree, those origin stories are the meat and drink of this world. So now all of that will become clearer to the audience as this season unfolds. You'll see how Gotham itself coalesces around the legend of Jerome. I don't want to give away too much, but the audience will see an organic progression towards the real history of the Joker, rather than a kind of legendary supervillain who creates himself out of nothing."
The next "Gotham" season 2 episode is called "Strike Force." Read synopsis here.
