The show definitely has an affinity for exposing its more important characters to difficult situations, so anything could happen in the end. But if the writers take the drama too far, it could easily backfire on them and be a detriment to the overall popularity of the production.
It’s also interesting to note that Jerome has been turning more and more into the Joker, something which was alluded to subtly in the previous episodes but it’s starting to get really obvious at this point. Hearing him laugh would probably be enough to illustrate this point for most fans familiar with the Batman universe.
And with that, the character has a lot of potential to become the main antagonist of the show and the role would fit him like a glove, according to many fans.
It’s not like he show won’t benefit from having this character as the main force of evil as well, and the idea has actually been pretty exciting for many fans. “Gotham”, as a whole, has offered a very fresh look at the Batman universe, and it would make sense for the villain to be a more unique character too. It’s still in a relatively early stage too, so a lit can happen over the next episodes to further expand on the situation.