Tonight will be bittersweet. That is because the season three finale of Gotham will air. This means that plenty of storylines will get wrapped up, giving fans some seriously satisfying moments. But it also means we will be without Jim Gordon, young Bruce Wayne, Penguin, The Riddler and everyone else for several months.
This season really upped the game for Gotham. To this point, I would argue that it has been the show’s best season. It has kept my interest throughout, with several compelling storylines. It started with the introduces of Jarvis and his sister Alice, who’s virus would become a key element throughout the entire season.
We have seen Bruce grow up as a man, and take several more steps to taking on the mantle we all know he is destined for. The Penguin, as the city’s mayor, fell for Nygma. This ultimately led to him committing a murder that Ed will not forgive him for, which turned him into The Riddler. Barbara has been the queen of the underworld.
And of course, who could forget the three episode run in January that served as the season’s bridge. Those three episodes were so good because they saw the return of Cameron Monaghan. Monaghan’s crazed lunatic Jerome was brought back from the dead, which ultimately led to his ascension to the role of The Joker!
That three episode arc ended with Jerome’s downfall, however. After a showdown with Bruce, the young Mr. Wayne decided to spare the life of the crazy that kidnapped him. As a result, Mr. J was sent off to Arkham Asylum. We have not seen him since.
Now, they kept him alive for a reason. For starters, he is a fan favorite character, despite only appearing in seven of 64 episodes to air to this point. Monaghan’s performance has simply been sensational in the role, making fans cheer for him to show up, despite the evil intentions and actions of his character.
Secondly, he is the Joker after all! How can you kill off Batman’s most iconic baddie before Bruce actually takes on the mantle? So keeping Jerome alive was a bit of a must.
Gotham has a plethora of characters, especially villains. As a result, some of them come in waves. This would explain why we only were given three episodes featuring the iconic character this season. However, with this being the season finale, anything that happens tonight, could very well be done to set up the start of season four.
As a result, if there are plans for Jerome come the open of the next season, might he pop up tonight?
There are two hours of content that will air tonight. So even with so much going on within the show, one quick scene at the end of the last episode is certainly not out of the question.
However, as much as I want Jerome’s crazy face to show up, I am not counting on it. Monaghan plays Ian Gallagher on Showtime’s hit show Shameless as a series regular. As a result, it seems like Monaghan is unable to commit to a larger role on Gotham at the moment. This is partially why he comes and goes in spurts.
With filming set to begin soon on Shameless, will Monaghan be able to show up for several episodes to open up season four of Gotham? I really want to say yes. I really do. But unfortunately, my gut says no.
So as awesome as it would be to see that stapled up face tonight on the season three finale, I am going to venture to go with no. The show has so many arcs ongoing, that not everything will be wrapped up by the end of the evening. As a result, there will be plenty of jumping off points to start up season four.
What do you think? Will Monaghan’s take on the Joker pop up on the two hour finale tonight? Tell us what you think in the comments!