When ‘Gotham’ Season 4 Returns, Shocking New Alliances Will Form

It's not easy to guess what will happen when Gotham Season 4 returns, because the Batman prequel has become one of TV's least predictable dramas. The midseason finale airs on Dec. 7, and Fox hasn't announced when the second half of Season 4 will start in 2018. But there have been a few loose threads left un-pulled so far, so Gotham should still have more to do when it comes back — especially if you consider some elements that have been teased by the show's cast and crew.

But first: the fall finale. Sofia Falcone is already planning to start her war against Penguin, who's teamed up with Jim Gordon (of all people) to stop her from taking over the city. Right now, this makes... little sense, considering that Jim just went to Carmine Falcone hoping he would start a war and wrest back control of Gotham City. But that aside, it seems like Sofia's war is going to end the first half of Season 4 with a serious bang, especially with so many other factions in the mix, from whatever Professor Pyg is planning in prison to Lee's takeover in the Narrows. As if that wasn't enough, the series is also hyping the return of Jerome Velaska (Cameron Monaghan), the once and future Joker candidate who died, returned to life, lost his face, and now is sitting in Arkham Asylum.

And the show may be playing a little coy with this character's latest appearance. First of all, the only glimpse of Jerome that's been revealed so far is a shot of him clearly in Arkham. That's not much of an action shot, so it's possible that the midseason finale will simply end with the reintroduction of Jerome as he breaks out, or perhaps as another character is locked into a cell with Jerome.

Gotham has gone back and forth with Jerome, teasing that he could eventually become Batman's greatest foe, the Joker, and then pulling back again. In October 2017, producer Bryan Wyndbrant told ScreenRant that Jerome is not the Joker, calling him an "homage" and suggesting "we don’t want to get to Joker ever" because he's too iconic and Gotham is meant to be an origin story, not a collection of Batman's greatest hits. Still, fans are convinced that he's going to fully transform eventually.

And as for what Jerome will be doing when he returns? Well, the show's executive producer John Stephens told ComicBook.com that Penguin and Jerome will team up this season. "Essentially, we're gonna see him and Oswald Cobblepot come closer," Stephens said. It's possible that this will happen in the fall finale, but if not, then it's certainly the main thing to look forward to when Season 4 returns.

Stephens also teased a big shift for Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne's relationship after the mob war comes to a head. He told DC All Access, "we have Jim Gordon and a masked Bruce Wayne going head to head" once Jim realizes that there's a masked vigilante roaming the streets. Right now, Bruce has seemingly lost his way, but it seems the hard-partying teen will once again take to the streets with his new alias and start fighting crime — whether he'll be fighting Penguin's goons, Sofia Falcone's goons, or some new threat is still to be determined. And the war between these factions and Jim's police department is also something to look out for as a possible post-break storyline.

And with Jim now working against Sofia, his love life is also a question mark — perhaps star David Mazouz's comment from a fan festival (reported by ComicBook.com) that Jim and Barbara will get back together, may preview a new development. "Maybe she can get good again," Mazouz said, and while that certainly seems unlikely now, the definition of "good" on Gotham has always been flexible. After all, Lee Thompkins is now running the most dangerous neighborhood in the city and giving back by providing free medical care (and, possibly, curing the Riddler's case of intellectual brainfreeze).

Making more characters complicated good-guy/bad-guy hybrids certainly sounds like something that can be expected from Gotham Season 4's return later this winter.