‘Gotham’s Cameron Monaghan Excited to Bring “ACE Chemicals” Episode to Life

The fifth and final season of Gotham is taking the show’s story and characters as close as possible to the DC Comics source material. Of course, that includes the origin of Batman’s arch rival, Joker.

Jeremiah Valeska is basically Gotham‘s version of the Joker in everything but name, but that could change this season. One of the final episodes is titled “ACE Chemicals,” a nod to the factory where Joker was created in the comics. In the full trailer for Gotham Season 5, we got a glimpse of the factory itself, and it will play home to a major showdown between Bruce and Jeremiah.

During a visit to the Gotham set earlier this year, ComicBook.com spoke with star Cameron Monaghan about the upcoming trip to ACE Chemicals and, while he couldn’t say much, he was quick to share his excitement for what the show has cooked up.

“Yeah. I mean it’s obviously a huge landmark within the mythos and it is relating to Jeremiah,” Monaghan told us. “I don’t want to say exactly what happens and how it goes down but it’s really, really fucking cool. I’m excited for it.”

Monaghan went on to explain that Jeremiah’s mission is far from complete going into Season 5. Despite successfully creating No Man’s Land, he still has it out for Bruce Wayne.

“It was interesting in the last season,” he continued. “His plan succeeded. He destroyed Gotham. He marooned it. He created his maze and his image and all this stuff, which is rare for any villain to succeed. So I think that he’s enjoying that he’s king of the roost and he’s sort of working within the shadows with a lot of respect and he’s sort of the big boogeyman in the city right now. I think he’s enjoying that and it’s giving him a sense of ego and hubris. He has got a girlfriend now and he’s more successful than he’s ever been.

“I think that what’s driving him right now and what his plan and what he’s building is, he’s always working or building something, is Bruce. Bruce is his special project. It’s the one thing that’s bothering him and nagging him because it’s the one thing he didn’t succeed at. That’s what we see with him now is he’s happyish but he’s still unsatisfied because he needs to show Bruce how much he loves him, or his twisted version of love.”

Are you looking forward to Gotham‘s final season? What will become of Jeremiah by the time all is said and done? Let us know in the comments!

Gotham‘s fifth and final season will debut on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 8 pm ET on FOX.