With Gotham having gone on its mid-season break back in November, anticipation among fans is beginning to build in the lead up to the show’s January return. The first half of Gotham‘s third season did, however, attract a largely mixed response. Whilst the addition of Benedict Samuel as Jervis Tetch – also known as the Mad Hatter – provided the series with a compelling central antagonist, as well as some genuinely dark moments, later episodes focused heavily on the relationship between Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) – something that was well-covered in the previous season.
One character that has so far been conspicuous by his absence is Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), a character the show has perpetually hinted could be a younger version of iconic Batman villain, The Joker. Gotham‘s second season saw Jerome meet his demise after taking Bruce Wayne hostage in front of a live television audience. However, that season’s final episode provided a subtle clue that the character would return to haunt Gotham City once more. Season two’s primary villain, Professor Hugo Strange, made a habit of reviving dead bad guys and when a truck load of them emptied out onto the streets of Gotham, a faint Jerome-esque laugh could be heard. The show’s producers later confirmed that the character would re-appear in season three.
After failing to show in season three thus far, it appears that Jerome will waste no time returning to action after the winter break, as an official synopsis for Gotham‘s season three mid-season premiere, titled ‘Ghosts’, demonstrates. It also seems that Monaghan won’t be the only returning face in the episode. The summary reads:
Cameron Monaghan and Paul Reubens Return
Falcone places a hit on Gordon after learning that he shot Mario. Gordon and Bullock discover a follower of Jerome (guest star Cameron Monaghan), who plans to bring him back to life. Meanwhile, Penguin spirals out of control before the biggest television interview of his Mayoral career, and Bruce and Selina deal with Selina’s mom’s return to Gotham in the all-new “Mad City: Ghosts” episode of GOTHAM airing Monday, Jan. 16 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-312) (TV-14 L, V)
The synopsis certainly gives the impression that ‘Ghosts’ will be a busy episode with plenty of new story arcs set up. However, there remains plenty of mystery as to how the events will unfold. For instance if the laugh at the end of season two was indeed a resurrected Jerome, why would someone now be attempting to bring him back to life. Has Strange’s revival perhaps encountered some severe side-effects – as demonstrated earlier in the season with Fish Mooney? Furthermore, what does the reappearance of Paul Reubens signify? The Pee-Wee Herman actor famously returned to his Batman Returns role of The Penguin’s father in Gotham‘s second season before being murdered by his gold-digging wife. His chances of resurrection are, however, decidedly slimmer than Jerome’s and if – as the synopsis states – Penguin is on a downward spiral, his father’s reappearance is likely to be within a dream sequence of some variety.
In the midst of these returns, it seems that the story between Jim Gordon, Lee Thompkins and the Falcone family will continue on from where it left off in the mid-season finale. This may come as a disappointment to some fans who believe that the romance plot has run its course and that the couple should either find their ‘happily ever after’ or go their separate ways for good, as there is a significant proportion of viewers who simply don’t tune into superhero television shows for this kind of narrative.
With that said, there is plenty of potential for Gotham going into the second half of season three. Jervis Tetch is still alive and will likely have some role to play in the events to come and if he were to team up with a revived Jerome – the partnership could be another entertaining villain pairing in the style of The Riddler and The Penguin. Moreover, the Court of Owls story line continues to bubble steadily away in the background and the appearance of Jim Gordon’s father has been heavily hinted at – something that could provide a fresh spark for the show’s main protagonist.
Gotham returns with ‘Ghosts’ on January 16th 2017 on Fox.
