In Gotham’s third episode of season two, “The Last Laugh,” the series may have hit its tonal climax - though due to events with Jerome, that could be changing. Thus far, things had felt disjointed in Gotham City. “The Last Laugh” not only brought a few of these previously disparate storylines together but, more importantly, finally gave the show a sense of its own identity careening between frightening violence and goofy theatricality giving it the feel of a comic book in a grittier, “real” world setting. Hopefully that won’t change now that its main driving force seems to have been removed.
“The Last Laugh” felt different from the opening scene in which Gordon and Bullock are “interrogating” (asking questions before throwing them out of the window) some street toughs in hopes of getting information on the Maniax. Gordon was violent and on edge but his throwing them out the window was played up for a comic effect as opposed to a violent bleakness Gotham so often attempts. It’s a good juxtaposition.
Nowhere was this marriage between dangerous malice and madcap frivolity more prevalent than at Leslie’s benefit for Gotham Children’s Hospital. The benefit had the added bonus of bringing together multiple storylines, as Alfred forces Bruce to be a “normal” citizen by attending (all too important for Bruce’s eventual destiny); Selina and Bruce reunite; and Theo Galavan begins his master plan by way of Jerome and Barbara assuming the role of a magic act. Most importantly, the benefit was given more than enough time to develop and evolve into what those scenes needed to be. Far too often Gotham has had a tendency to quickly move between set pieces to ramp up the action, but the benefit took its time to build while continuing the tone of the show.
Early on at the benefit, the audience sees that Jerome and Barbara have taken over for the regular magician and that this would be the first big domino to fall in Theo’s master plan. We knew something terrible would almost certainly happen - especially since Jerome had just killed his father and gassed Gordon and Bullock in a previous scene (which seemed to be resolved far too easily for the predicament the two policemen were in). But while we are even waiting for Jerome’s show to begin, we are treated to Bruce tracking down Selina and Alfred flirting with Leslie. And it was really Alfred and Leslie’s conversation - at one point she is about to let Alfred know she is dating Gordon before she realizes Alfred can get her into a fancy restaurant she has not yet been able to get into - that offers up this new Gotham feel. It’s a conversation that would have been previously skipped so we could get straight to the action, but the time is allotted. The fact it is allowed to continue on begins to set the tone for what is about to happen. The same goes for the feint of violence against Bruce as he is Jerome’s first volunteer for an actual magic trick.
The deception is important to give shock value to Jerome’s next trick in which he outright kills the deputy mayor by throwing a knife into his chest. The madcap fervor turns into unspeakable violence just like that and it is electromagnetic. Because of the previous happenings at the benefit the action and violence have feel grounded and less like checking off a box on a list of how a well known villain becomes his eventual self. Jerome and Barbara's theatricality throughout their performance heightens the malicious silliness and even Theo’s very rehearsed hero speech typifies this see-saw in tone. Theo is clearly giving a rehearsed performance with Jerome - it is bad acting at its finest and all for the news camera - but what he is saying is exactly what you would expect from the gritty realization of a comic book. The decision to make the speech so poorly delivered is something that feels out of context for the rest of the series but works for the tone of "The Last Laugh." It also makes Theo’s surprise killing of Jerome all that more surprising. Again it is the clashing butting of heads between the madcap humor and the consequential violence that offers surprise, excitement, and a distinct take on the Batman story that Gotham has been lacking so far.
But therein lies a problem. Jerome is the paragon of this new tone. If he is really dead, which it certainly seems he is after the final scene in “The Last Laugh," what will happen to what has given Gotham this breath of fresh air. The tone see-saw was the first thing that felt original about Gotham. Now that Jerome is dead will the tone, and even can the tone, continue? And Jerome’s death also marks the frustrating “gotcha” moment for the show as well as an odd montage of Jerome-inspired new villains that seem out of place since Jerome really was only visible to the public at large for a couple days.
Cameron Monaghan’s take on a Joker-esque character felt just different enough from previous iterations that it felt somewhat original. He felt like he had the potential to do terrible things but also bought into the theatricality and excitement of the Joker. It felt like Heather Ledger’s Joker in terms of the potential to do horrendous things but with the personality of Mark Hammill’s Joker (from Batman: The Animated Series and the recent run of Arkham video games). Monaghan’s presence will be missed - assuming he’s actually dead.
“The Last Laugh” was something new for Gotham. It gave Gotham a reason to want to watch it every week. It’s flipping between the two extremes of goofy theatricality and its more well known gritty violence gave was the first truly original thing about the series thus far. Hopefully the new tone and the excitement it brings won’t follow the demise of Jerome, its ringleader and main benefactor.
Other Bat Droppings
• Bringing Bruce out into the real world was a much-needed shot in the arm. Bruce’s story drags too slowly when he is cooped up in Wayne Manor. Bruce telling Selina he missed her felt genuine and actually was kind of emotional.
• It is so good to have Bullock and Gordon back but Bullock’s visit to Penguin also had a bit of electricity to it. Bullock has thrown all his chips into the Gordon hand and it is paying dividends with his character. A Bullock who does things on his own accord as opposed to having Gordon dragging him along is a very interesting Bullock indeed.
• Barbara playing Theo and Tabitha off each other in romance has to be done just right. Hopefully it is not given too much focus because that storyline could easily become bogged down.