WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Gotham's latest episode, "Mandatory Brunch Meeting."

Ever since his first appearance in the Season 1 episode "The Blind Fortune Teller," Gotham viewers had it set in their minds that Cameron Monaghan's Jerome Valeska is the series' version of Batman's ultimate nemesis, the Joker. While some comic book fans may not be too enamored with the Joker getting an extensive and detailed origin story, many viewers argue that Monaghan's take on the character easily rivaled any incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime that had come before.

At the time of the episode, it was unclear if the character would make a return, or if his appearance was only a one-off. But Jerome's popularity proved undeniable, and the Monaghan's character found himself returning for extended guest stints in every season of the series thus far. With each appearance, it was clear that Jerome was inching closer and closer to becoming the iconic DC villain. As far anyone was concerned, in Gotham's crazy, over-the-top world, Jerome was the quintessential Joker. The character fit right in and, better yet, he managed to elevate the series as a whole.

RELATED: She’s Not Harley, But Gotham’s New Badass May Be From the Comics

It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, to learn that many fans were disappointed to learn that Monaghan's Jerome wasn't going to be Gotham's version of the Clown Prince of Crime after all. The series had other plans for the iconic villain -- plans that, of course, directly involve Jerome. As Season 4 of the Fox series gears up for its long-awaited Joker reveal, it dropped a surprising twist in the latest episode, "Mandatory Brunch Meeting."

Jerome has a twin brother, Jeremiah Valeska. This revelation is crazy and brilliant all at the same time, and perfect for the Joker -- as well as the series it stems from.

When it comes to supervillain origins, Gotham has been going all out. The series might not adhere to the comic books at every turn, but somehow, whatever happens manages to make sense in the craziest ways possible. From the birth of Solomon Grundy in Slaughter Swamp, to the feminist revolution in the ranks of the League of Shadows, Gotham is painting its very own image of the Batman mythos, one that doesn't slavishly adhere to any one version. The series is a mix of Burton, Schumacher and Nolan, with a dash of comics and cartoons. It's gothic and dark, violent, silly and ludicrous, all at the same time. By all accounts, such an approach shouldn't work -- but somehow, Gotham simply does. And the Jerome twist is the perfect example of that.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='No%2C%20Seriously%20-%20On%20Gotham%2C%20This%20Makes%20Perfect%20Sense']



The revelation that a long-established character has a twin brother may be one that would be right at home in a soap opera, but Gotham wastes no time in showing us the potential ramifications of such a revelation. It hasn't taken long for fans to theorize that Jeremiah will turn out to be the series' true Joker. After all, Monaghan, sans his Jerome facial scars, was spotted on set in white makeup and a purple suit.

Now, a vengeful Jerome is looking to kill his brother, but not before driving him past the point of insanity first. This means that Jerome is likely to succeed in his first goal, but happenstance will see him ending up dead, with his now crazy brother left to fill his clown shoes.

This entire turn of events might seem to make little sense, but in Gotham's reality, it actually works. Better still, it would leave most fans quite content: after the disappointment of learning that Monaghan's Jerome would not be the Joker, Gotham instead found a loophole to be true to their promise, all while keeping the popular actor on the series. Whether this was the plan all along or not ultimately doesn't matter. Monaghan's take on the proto-Joker is brilliant, and it's one that deserves to be fully explored. The actor has given such a stellar performance that he has basically earned the right to become the Joker, and stand next to the other great actors who have worn the purple suit.

This potential Joker origin might be nothing like the comics (some fans will argue that the best Joker is a Joker with no origin at all), but it still manages to be something that makes sense in the world of Gotham. The series lives and breathes on crazy and shocking moments and, while they may not always make a whole lot of sense, they are accepted. At this point, Gotham's audience knows to roll with the punches, and the series itself seems aware of that fact.

RELATED: Gotham Introduces a Major Status Quo Change for Barbara

Gotham may have started out slow, but now it has gone full-on "Arkham Asylum" mode. The characters that appear on the screen may not have the same origins as their comic book counterparts, but that has never once mattered. Gotham is its own entity, a blend of darkness and violence and zaniness that, at the end of the day, is a whole lot of fun. And if there is one thing the Joker loves, it's fun -- and perhaps Harley Quinn, but that's another story, for another season.

Airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, Gotham stars Ben McKenzie as James Gordon, Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin, Cameron Bicondova as Selina Kyle, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean and Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth.