I think that the Jerome/Joker story was so satisfying becuase of how subtle it was. Jerome only appears in three or four scenes, but Monaghan steals each and every one of them. Gotham often falls into traps when it comes to showing off these iconic villains, as often the show gets too caught up in hamfisted nods to fans or lays the foreshadowing on too thick. Besides Monaghan’s Joker-like facial features, he doesn’t embody the Joker until his very final scene, and hits an absolute homerun by giving us just enough of the iconic villain without going into a Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger impression.
What’s perhaps even more important is how the series itself handles the moment. It comes suddenly and exists within only the scene itself. There are no jokes or puns about it afterword, and no musical cues that hit you over the head with its importance. To date, this is the only episode that Hunt has directed, and I sincerely hope it’s not his last.
The side stories this week were far less important, but didn’t detract from the main storyline enough to cause any uproar. Instead, they’re placeholders that remind us that Fish, Penguin, Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne are all in several predicaments of their own, but don’t quite deserve the amount of screentime that something like the circus investigation does. We visit each character for just long enough to be reminded of their current plight, but jump back to the core story before the momentum is lost.
From its direction and editing to stellar performances and fun tone, “The Blind Fortune Teller” manages to be the Gotham episode we’ve all been waiting for. I was expecting to hate this week’s hour based on the promos and premise alone, but can gladly say that I left pleased with the brief Joker appearance we were given. Hopefully it’s the only one we get for a while though, because I’d hate for the story to get too much attention. The Joker has always been more compelling when left an enigma and direct response to Batman himself, and we’re still quite a ways off from that happening.
Thanks for not messing this up, Gotham. I’ll be back next week.
