TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 04 Episode 20: That Old Corpse

After the cliffhanger from a few weeks back showing that it would be Jeremiah, not Jerome, becoming the “true” Joker, we all wondered how it would all work. Turns out, it worked out in the best way possible with “That Old Corpse”. For not only did we get a last hoorah of sorts for Jerome, we got to see the birth of an even scarier Joker.

Now, some people might have watched Gotham and went “Jeremiah isn’t acting like Joker”, but, that’s not exactly true. You see, Joker has had many personalities over the decades. A good example of this is how differently Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger played the Joker in their films. Nicholson played up the loud, insane, clown-like Joker. Where Ledger played a more “agent of chaos” side. Both are Joker, just different portrayals. And that’s exactly what Jeremiah did here.

The reveal that he truly had been warped by Jerome’s gas, just not in the way he thought it would work, was really well done. Especially when you thought it was just taking a long time to work. Turns out, it was there the whole time, we just didn’t see it. Props to Cameron Monaghan for playing the character in so many different ways and yet making it all more believable.

Moving onto Gordon, I liked the personal struggle he faced with Leslie before the posse came in. He didn’t want to arrest her or book her, but he knew he had to. And Leslie calling out that he wishes he could be like her (like Batman even) to get the job done was very poignant. Him also discerning that Jerome’s plan (Jeremiah’s plan?) at the GCPD was a distraction was nicely done too.

Now, there are a few mysteries still. One, where is Alfred? How did Jim survive the blast? Where will Jeremiah place the rest of the bombs? A lot of questions, but I’m very excited for the answers.

The only thing that honestly didn’t work today was Penguin’s storyline. It’s funny to see him so low on the totem pole again, and I do think he’ll get back on top soon, but I hope they don’t drag this storyline out too much.

In the end though, “That Old Corpse” gave a chilling twist on a new character to respect an old one. I look forward to seeing the rise of this new Joker. Oh, and Harley Quinn too!