DC TV Roundup: Jerome Rises And Legends Stumble

1) The Jeroman Empire

It could be argued that this week’s episode of Gotham, “Mad City: Smile Like You Mean It,” is worth buying the eventual season 3 collection to be released on DVD and Blu-ray alone. Thanks to some great writing and a performance for the ages delivered by Cameron Monaghan, we were treated to one of the best offerings from this series to date.

I also found it quite fortunate that the show is finally catching up with its marketing. It’s really no fault of the producers, as the Jerome Valeska resurrection arc has been playing out at a nice, organic pace, but it doesn’t help when Fox forced us to expect the proto-Joker’s return in episode 12 and consistently spoiled what would be happening next.

As for Monaghan’s look and delivery, it was very obvious this interpretation of the character was heavily influenced by Batman: Death of the Family, given that he was sporting a skin mask. Furthermore, I wondered to myself if his cult was a commentary on how the Joker is championed in pop culture, aside from perhaps being inspired by Batman Beyond’s Jokerz gang.

But from what we’ve seen of next week’s episode, this installment will no doubt get a run for its money.