Spoilers ahead for Episode 4 of Gotham Season 5, called “Ruin.”
Gotham is pulling out all the stops in its fifth and final season, and the latest episode saw the shocking death of Jeremiah Valeska. The latest character who seemed poised to take on the mantle of the Joker by the end of the series was definitely not one that many fans probably expected to see bite the dust, and the promo for next week’s episode reveals the aftermath of the death as well as the appearance of newcomer Bane for the first time. Take a look!
Well, Barbara at least is happy that Selina went all stabby and knifed Jeremiah to death! Babs and the revelers at the Sirens nightclub are seen toasting Selina for killing Jeremiah Valeska, and it’s really no surprise to see people celebrating.
Jeremiah held a distinction as the Gotham villain that all the other villains hated just as much as the heroes did, and it’s not like the population of Gotham City has any reason to mourn the guy. Viewers might miss his particular brand of entertaining crazy, but can we blame some of the citizens for celebrating?
There is one person present at Sirens who isn’t in a festive mood. Bruce Wayne, looking as broody as ever in his black clothes, looks more than a little concerned at the turn of events. The episode will see Bruce worried by Selina's recent behavior, which may not be limited to her killing Jeremiah.
He already had to restrain her when she was slashing a gang leader across the face over and over again, and she’s been showing a ruthless streak since ingesting Ivy’s healing seed that definitely wasn’t there before. For all their conflicts and differences, Bruce does love Selina, so it’s no wonder that he’s concerned about her!
Barbara’s revelry looks uninhibited, which may mean that my theory about a baby Batgirl being conceived at the end of “Ruin” was incorrect. That, or she just hasn’t realized yet that she has a batty bun in the oven yet. Going by the trailer, Jim probably has larger concerns in the next episode that what may have been an ill-advised hookup with his ex. In the early footage, we finally see that Bane is dropping in.
In fact, it appears that Bane is literally dropping in from the skylight of what looks like a church, along with a bunch of fellow soldiers. Jim calls him “Eduardo,” but fans know that Shane West was cast as Bane, and he appeared in some other trailers and images looking more like the Bane of comics and other adaptations. Jim knows him as his old friend Eduardo at the moment, arriving in Gotham at the head of a military task force to lend a hand to Jim in No Man’s Land.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens for Eduardo to go full Bane, but I’m guessing it won’t be pretty, and somebody will go through some back-breaking trauma because of it. (The back-breaking won’t be the character most fans probably expect.) Based on what showrunner John Stephens said in a chat with CinemaBlend, we should probably all expect the unexpected moving forward.
What we should expect, based on the promo, is another confrontation between Ed and Penguin. I’ve always loved when these two baddies bicker, as they get progressively more petty as the conflict continues, but Ed doesn’t look like he’s messing around. He clearly is in no mood for joking after realizing that he was responsible for the explosion of Haven.
The next episode of Gotham, called “Pena Dura,” will air Thursday, January 31 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. If you’re in the market for some more shows now and in the not-too-distant future, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule for some ideas.
