“Joker: Folie à Deux” has officially arrived in theaters and it has people talking.
The sequel to 2019’s critically acclaimed “Joker” received much buzz following the addition of Lady Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn, as well as the musical elements it would include.
Five years after Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, who is now institutionalized at Arkham State Hospital, and awaiting his trial for the murders he committed in the first film. As Arthur struggles with his two identities, he falls in love with Lee, who brings out a musical side of him.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 4, with the sequel receiving mixed reviews from critics who critiqued the thin plot and musical performances. At the time of publishing on Oct. 4, the movie currently has 33% from critics and 36% from moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes, with social media responses also appearing divided.
So what happens at the end of “Joker: Folie à Deux”? Read below to find out and see what people are saying.
What happens at the end of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’?
The entire film centers on Arthur preparing for trial and being in the courtroom, while at the same time highlighting the extreme conditions and abuse he receives at Arkham.
Since he’s been on good behavior, guard Jackie (Brendan Gleeson) gets him into a music class where he meets Lee. She tells him a story about how awful her parents were and how they had her institutionalized. Viewers later discover this was all a lie and she’s just obsessed with the Joker.
During the trial, his lawyer Maryanne Stewart’s (Catherine Keener) defense is that Arthur suffers from major mental health issues and dual personality. It was the Joker who killed the people, not Arthur, she tells the courtroom. As people begin to testify and talk about his childhood and relationship with his mother, Arthur’s behavior starts to turn from quiet and coherent to his Jokeresque self. He also stops taking his medication.
At the end, he is found guilty. But as the jury reads the verdict, a car bomb explodes next to the building.
Arthur runs out and escapes with the help of Joker fans who push him into a car and drive him away from the scene of the crime. When regaining consciousness, Arthur gets out of the car and runs towards the famous stairs where he finds Lee waiting for him.
Lee, who had previously said she was pregnant with his child, decides she’s done with Arthur after he says in court that he is not the Joker. At the steps, she tells him she doesn’t want to be with him anymore. When Arthur mentions their child together, it is assumed she lied since she has a history of making up stories.
Arthur is then arrested by the police and taken back into custody. In Arkham, he is told by a guard that he has a visitor. On his way down the hall, another inmate stops him to tell him a “joke.” The innate then stabs Arthur multiple times in the stomach.
As Arthur is bleeding out of his stomach and on the floor, the inmate behind him appears to cut his mouth to carve a smile. The film ends.
Is Arthur dead?
It’s unknown if Arthur’s attack was planned by the guards, someone else or if it was the inmate’s own doing. It is assumed that Arthur dies as he’s seen bleeding out and no one comes to help.
Phillips seemingly confirmed Arthur’s death by telling IGN that at the end of his life, “Arthur has found peace with the idea, with the struggle that it’s OK to be yourself. And that’s really what he’s always struggled with, you know what I mean? I like to think he died at peace in a way being himself.”
He continued, “The kid says to him, “You want to hear a joke?” And even though he thinks maybe it’s (Lee) downstairs. We don’t even know what’s downstairs, but that sort of optimism that Arthur has, that’s still in him. He’s like, ‘Well, yeah, OK, of course’ because he knows that feeling of wanting to make somebody laugh. So he gives the kid that moment.”
Additionally, the director told Slash Film that he knows the ending is “unsettling.”
“For the people that have seen this movie in general … at the end, they sit and they don’t move for about three to five minutes,” he told the outlet. “Then they text me, the ones that know me, or email me and go, ‘I need a minute to process the movie.’”
Adding, “I think it’s unsettling.”
As for plans for a third film and seeing what happens to Arthur. Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter, “I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.”
What happened to Lee?
Lee, who has been lying about her past, decides to leave Arthur after he sheds his Joker self. She appeared to only be interested when he was the maniacal villain and not when he was Arthur and figuring out who he was. After their moment on the steps, that is the last viewers see of her.
Viewers will notice a big difference from the Harley Quinn depicted in other films. Director Phillips said it was intentional.
“The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away,” Phillips told Variety. “We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie.”
What are people saying about ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’?Many of the comments from fans online have criticized elements of the film.
“What makes Joker 2 so bad is that it refuses to commit to ANYTHING. There’s no theme at all, the court scenes are boring and the shock value ending is worse than I expected. Even the musical elements feel tacked on and interrupt the pacing. A total waste of time,” one person tweeted.
However, there was a group of people that enjoyed it, or at least dove deeper into what they felt the story was trying to tell.