It’s kind of saddening to know that Gotham will endure a three month hiatus after tonight’s winter finale concludes, but at least it looks like the show will go out with a bang, thanks to Jerome Valeska inciting mayhem the likes of which the city has never before seen.
Knowing that last week’s episode took the top spot when it came to listing our most memorable moments that week of DC TV had to offer, expectations are running high for “Mad City: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies.” But seeing as how Cameron Monaghan has no intention of phoning it in, it’s probably safe to say disappointment isn’t in the cards.
Perhaps it’s Monaghan’s immersion in the role and delving into the source material that enhance his performance, in addition to having a clear vision for the character. Apparently, both him and the producers were on the same page, something he detailed when recently speaking with Nerdist:
“I had a conversation with the producers and head writers of the show a couple months before I ever started filming, when they were starting to develop the scripts. We had some talks about what ideas they had for the character and where they wanted him to go. Thankfully their ideas were pretty similar to mine. He is coming from death. He’s seen the other side of a great unknown and he is changed for the worse because of it. So he comes back even darker and even crueler and with a more distinct and succinct idea of what he wants.”
Speaking of putting in research, he even spoke of the New 52 storyline that involved the Joker’s dead skin mask:
“What he wants is to make the world around him reflect his own inner turmoil and inner chaos and inner violence. He takes the phrase, ‘All the world’s a stage’ to its most extreme logical conclusion of becoming this kind of showman. Both the producers and I had the same idea of wanting him to become that this time around. And then pair that with losing his face and referencing the New 52 Joker arc storyline, it was a great surprise to have something physically spark the change within the personality. It was cool to see this character change in a really meaningful way.”
Gotham airs on Monday nights on Fox.
