How 'Gotham's Latest Episode Sets Up Joker's Introduction

The Joker is coming to Gotham, that much has been made clear. At first, the cast and crew were just making casual remarks about the villain's introduction. Now, official promos and marketing tools are using his name, asking fans questions like "Who is the Joker?"

Make no mistake, the Clown Prince of Crime is definitely on his way and, while there hasn't been any official word as to how the character will be introduced to the show, last Thursday's episode set up his origin without many even noticing.

The biggest, and most likely, theory surrounding the Joker's Gotham is that he's of some relation to Jerome, played by Cameron Monaghan. There are several different ideas as to how this relative might take over the chaos from Jerome, and take on the Joker mantle, but what they all have in common as that the two characters are blood. This theory was furthered when ComicBook.com spoke with Monaghan earlier this year, and the actor confirmed that he was playing two different characters this season.

With that in mind, let's revisit this past week's episode, where Jerome low-key paved the way for another chaotic character.

After breaking out of Arkham, Jerome went directly to his uncle's diner. Throughout the scenes that took place here, we learned that Jerome was abused by said uncle, and the man hated the fact that Jerome existed in the first place.

When Jerome finally got the upper hand on his uncle, he held the man at bleach-point and forced him to provide some information. Here's what dear old Uncle Zach had to say when Jerome got the best of him:

"I'll tell you! She picked St. Ignatius! The school is St. Ignatius!"

There was no other context offered here, but it does pair nicely with the idea that Jerome has a brother or cousin that's just as crazy as he is. Earlier in the season, Jerome told Penguin that he wanted to gather the most chaotic individuals Gotham City had to offer. The Joker certainly fits that description. The "she" he mentioned wasn't specified either, but the only other woman that Uncle Zach brought up in the entire episode was Jerome's mother. It's likely that this is who he was referring to.

The episode ends with Jerome telling Scarecrow and Mad Hatter that he got the information he needed, and that everything was going according to plan. Whoever is waiting for him at St. Ignatius is important enough for Jerome to almost get caught, and to have Mad Hatter nearly kill the entire city while he acquired this person's whereabouts.

Immediately following the episode, fans were treated to a promo that featured Jerome and his villainous cohorts in the middle of some sort of heist or robbery. One would assume that the trio have arrived at St. Ignatius to "rescue" whoever it is that Jerome is looking for there, and that Jim, Harvey, and Bruce are doing their best to stop them.

So, to recap, Jerome has what seems to be a long-lost brother at a school called St. Ignacius, whom was left their by their mother, either because he was too crazy for her to handle, or she was worried about creating another Jerome. It's this character who will likely end up becoming the Joker on Gotham, and we could be introduced to him as early as this Thursday.

Do you agree with this Joker theory? Are you ready to meet the Joker on Gotham? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

New episodes of Gotham air on Thursday nightst at 8pm ET on FOX.