Monday night's "Gotham" episode, "The Last Laugh," pulled off a twist that nobody saw coming. Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), who was long believed to turn into the Joker, died after Theo Galvan betrayed him.

"He was never going to last long," Galvan quipped.

Galvan sacrificed Valeska in order to look like a savior to Gotham's elite. 

Executive producer Bruno Heller said earlier this year that the focus of the new season would be telling the origin story of the iconic villain, the Joker. However, he did add, "When you're telling a story that everyone knows all the characters and where they're going, you have to surprise people." And that they did. 

With Valeska dead, the identity of the Joker is again unknown. However, it seems that Valeska is still tied to whoever the Joker is. In the first season, Monaghan was told that his character would be involved in the Joker mythos but "he might be the Joker, he might not." Despite his brilliant Joker-inspired performance, Monaghan was apprised of his fate even before the season began. 

Monaghan also revealed that his death may possibly inspire the rise of the real Joker. For him, the Joker isn't about the man himself but the ideology he represents.

"Somewhere some kid or some person watched [his news coverage] and it burrowed into their mind, and one day it will snap and take them over. The idea [of the Joker] will possess someone new," Monaghan shared. 

Even with the death of Valeska, there are still a lot more villains causing chaos in Gotham City. In the upcoming episode, "Strike Force," Capt. Nathaniel Barnes is introduced as Jim Gordon's new boss. His first agenda is to form a task force, along with Gordon, to defeat the Penguin. Gordon is put in a predicament given that he was only able to return to his position with the Penguin's help. 

Meanwhile, the Penguin is kept busy trying to fulfill tasks for Galvan. Nygma, the future Riddler, will also ask Kringle out on a date. 

"Gotham" airs every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.