With each of Gotham's seasonal arcs comes the sense that things can't possibly get much crazier in the future, and yet it always does. The first half of Season 4 introduced some new faces and new character dynamics, and the back half definitely looks to keep building the momentum. One big game piece at Gotham's disposal is Cameron Monaghan's "inmate terrible" Jerome, whose return was first teased in the midseason finale. Now, Gotham executive producer Danny Cannon has revealed a couple of new Jerome images, with one hinting at the villain experiencing more bloody facial injuries.
That's what we like to see, right? A Jerome that's all cut and bloodied-up, but still somehow retaining the ability to smile about it. I swear, it'll be so damned disappointing if Gotham builds Jerome's story to a point where, instead of actually becoming The Joker proper, he just mentors someone else into taking crafting the Crown Prince of Crime's mantle. Granted, that wouldn't take away from all the excellent performances that Cameron Monaghan gave us so far, but those performances are what earned him fans' approval to take on the iconic role. Not that fans dictate how Gotham works, but still.
In any case, it looks like Jerome's latest trip to Arkham isn't the most peaceful and fancy-free experience, since he apparently gets thwacked right in the face a time or two. The last time we saw him, he most certainly was not suffering from open wounds on the bridge of his nose, and the shot above makes it look like his cheek wounds might have been ripped open a little, too. In Arkham, there are an endless number of ways for someone to get their face wrecked, so it might not be worth much time speculating on what happened.
Unless, of course, that isn't the most current look at Jerome that Danny Cannon shared on Instagram. Perhaps this bit was taken from a past encounter, perhaps when Jerome was re-entering Arkham's population, since he's not in the recognizable stripes he's wearing below. (Though that does look like the standard prisoner' undershirt, and/or every grandfather's long johns.)
Now that looks like the Jerome we see more often, and Arkham needs to quickly wise up on the fact that its guards are pretty terrible at doing their jobs there, lest Jerome already get to break free in his first episode back. And he might very well do that, since David Mazouz says Jerome will be taking over Gotham City as part of a truly horrific upcoming episode. We know Jerome is teaming up with Penguin when Season 4 returns, and we are pretty sure that the classic Batman comic arc "Death in the Family" will partly inform the fun. So really, it doesn't matter where Jerome shows up next, or what parts of him are bleeding, so long as nothing stops him from talking and laughing and being amazing.
With our official introduction to The Joker seemingly coming soon, Gotham Season 4 will return to Fox for its midseason premiere in the early months of 2018, though no specific date has been set yet. But don't lose half of your face in anticipation. Sew that thing back on and hit up our 2018 Superhero TV rundown and our midseason premiere schedule to see all the other awesome shows that are on the way.
