Even though Gotham‘s fifth and final season will most certainly boast its share of villains such as the Penguin, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and the debuting Bane, I’m of the crowd most excited to see what lies ahead for Jeremiah Valeska. Sure, I’m very much looking forward to whatever the diabolical folks just mentioned have planned, but it’s hard not getting hyped for the Joker.
Well, Jeremiah may not technically be the Clown Prince of Crime (at least not yet), though we’re getting more and more hints pointing toward him making the transition to becoming Batman’s greatest foe soon enough. After seeing the latest character posters and astounding trailer circulating ahead of the premiere, I’m thinking the producers may have cut through the red tape and gotten the go-ahead to use the name “Joker” after all.
And had you already seen the aforementioned epic four-minute tease, then you must remember it previewing an encounter between Jeremiah and Bruce Wayne taking place at ACE Chemicals. For those intimately familiar with Batman lore, it’s easy to assume that Mr. Valeska will enjoy himself a nice dip in a vat of acid before emerging as the scourge of the city.
Of course, actor Cameron Monaghan couldn’t give away too much about episode 5×05 while speaking with ComicBook.com, but he was polite enough to offer the following:
“Yeah. I mean it’s obviously a huge landmark within the mythos and it is relating to Jeremiah. I don’t want to say exactly what happens and how it goes down but it’s really, really fucking cool. I’m excited for it.”
As Monaghan continued, he elaborated on how his character is currently walking on sunshine:
“It was interesting in the last season. His plan succeeded. He destroyed Gotham. He marooned it. He created his maze and his image and all this stuff, which is rare for any villain to succeed. So I think that he’s enjoying that he’s king of the roost and he’s sort of working within the shadows with a lot of respect and he’s sort of the big boogeyman in the city right now. I think he’s enjoying that and it’s giving him a sense of ego and hubris. He has got a girlfriend now and he’s more successful than he’s ever been.”
Gotham returns for its fifth season on Thursday, January 3rd on Fox, with “ACE Chemicals” likely airing later on in the month.
