Gotham: Jerome vs. Jeremiah Valeska

Now I know there has been this everlasting stand-off between the Valeska brothers ever since the beginning. Jerome was first introduced in the first season, episode 16. “The Blind Fortune Teller”. This is where Jim Gordon investigates the murder of Jerome’s mother at Haley’s circus, later to discover that it was Jerome that had killed her. Jeremiah was first introduced in season four, episode 17. “Mandatory Brunch Meeting”. After Jerome escapes Arkham for the second time, he hunts down a man named Xander Wilde who we learn is actually his brother’s alias. Upon learning that Jerome is hunting for Xander Wilde, Jim and Harvey seek out Jeremiah’s bunker without knowing that he is Jerome’s twin brother. When the secret is revealed, Jim and Harvey insist that Jeremiah must return with them to the station to be put under protective custody. At least until they catch Jerome. Little did they know that Jeremiah had already caught Jerome and had place him in a room with absolutely no escape.

So here’s what I don’t understand. Jerome had become an extremely developed character in the show. We have his tragic backstory, his beliefs and take on life, and his rise to fame. Then ‘boom’, in comes his twin brother who has little development, and is meant to be the true symbolism as the Joker. Jeremiah then evolves again into ‘Mr. J’ who was brought back to life and killed in the exact same episode! All of this information just continues to raise more and more questions.

In my opinion, Jerome symbolized the Joker better than Jeremiah did. Then again, Jerome was a villain I learned to love because of his backstory and quirks. Throughout the series, we learn how Jerome turned out the way he was. Early on when he confesses to the murder of his mother, we learn that his life in the circus was miserable and his mother was abusive. Sure, he killed his mother, but he had good reason. She was abusive and maybe one night she took it too far. Maybe in his mind, he was saving himself by doing this. He also discovers that Paul Cicero was his father the whole time and he never knew. Jerome learned that Mr. Cicero stood by all those years and let his mother abuse him, never attempting to save him. With an already unstable mentality, I infer that this is what drove him just a little more crazy.

Jumping to season two, Jerome becomes the star showman of a terrorist group called ‘The Maniax’, clearly off his hinges. However, again we are shown that he is not all bad. Some of his quirks like the iconic laugh and his showdown with Greenwood can be seen as a rebellious demagogue with a touch of comedic tendencies. The perfect showman.

On a serious note, Jerome had a good thing going for him. On his rise to stardom, one particular quote stood out, and even though he was referring to killing people it still applies in other senses.

“You’re all prisoners. What you call sanity, it’s just a prison in your minds that stops you from seeing that you’re just tiny little cogs in a giant absurd machine. Wake up! Why be a cog?”

Apart from killing and committing crimes, this just makes one think you know? Back to the chain of events, at the end of season two, Jerome was betrayed yet again. The man who gave him a new life, killed him saying that it wasn’t part of the plan, but it had to be done.

Jumping forward to season four, Jerome’s cult has brought him back to life and after he breaks out of Arkham for the second time, he seeks out his uncle in search of Jeremiah. In the diner, it is revealed to us that his uncle dipped his hand in a pot of boiling chicken stock when he was a kid for simply stealing a cookie. In the same episode, his uncle poured a bowl of scaulding soup over his face. This indicated that his story about what his uncle did as a kid was true.

“With uncle Zach, the beatings just never stopped....They went on and on and nobody ever helped me. Ever.”

Finally in Jeremiah’s bunker, it was revealed that Jeremiah was the whole reason behind Jerome’s miserable life. Everyone believed Jeremiah’s lies because he was the prodigy kid. So while Jeremiah was sent away for his ‘safety’, Jerome paid for his brother’s lies.

So after all this development and backstory, many people feel sorry for Jerome. Though this doesn’t excuse his violent actions, it paints the idealism of the Joker better than Jeremiah ever did. Jeremiah just came in and stole the show and I believe that if there was more development and screen time for Jeremiah, it could have made for a better character. Jeremiah is a character I love to hate, but if there was more of his side of the story there could have been a better outcome.