Let’s talk about The Joker’s End: Folie à Deux

At least three things happen at the end Joker: Folie in Deux we are still shocked about. After the film, although not pleasant, at least goes somewhere, the director Todd Phillips hits us with several surprising revelations and events that beg to be discussed. So let’s do that. Spoilers abound below.

Let’s take these in turn. The first wild thing that happens is Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix), in his closing statement of his defense case, just gives up. He doesn’t want to be the Joker anymore. He no longer wants to try to get away with murder. He just wants to be found guilty and die. This revelation does not anger Lee (Lady Gaga), who leaves the courtroom before it’s over, but most of the Joker’s fans, who saw his identity as an act of defiance and chaos. And, maybe, the fans of the franchise are hoping to see the Joker ride again and do something very crazy.

These are the biggest signs of entry Joker: Folie in Deux they don’t go well because, in fact, it feels like Phillips and Phoenix are giving up on the film itself. After two hours of going back and forth about that The Joker 2 about or not, both the film and Arthur tell us—”Just forget about it, let’s get to the end.” Worst of all, it doesn’t feel particularly motivated. If the movie was making him quit the Joker, maybe you buy it, but it doesn’t, you don’t, and it’s bad. It’s a betrayal, both on screen and off, of everything the story has been working towards. Again Joker: Folie in Deux it just started with its weird last action options.

Next is the sentence. As Arthur is gradually found guilty of all the murders, Phillips blows up his film. An explosion goes off outside the court, shaking everyone inside, nearly killing many people outside, and allowing Arthur to escape. Again, coming after Arthur defiantly, actually sets off a bomb in your movie to move the story along feels like the filmmaker is saying “Hey, I’m blowing this whole thing up.” That’s what he did.

There is never really anything because we don’t learn about death or any fall. Instead, Arthur quickly realizes that he doesn’t really like the world he’s returned to, goes and finds Lee, and abandons him. Which then adds its own set of questions. What was his destiny in the first place? Did he just want to be famous? Did she really love Arthur or just the Joker? Was she pregnant, like she said at the beginning of the movie? What, if anything, does she or more importantly Arthur gain from their relationship in the context of the film? We don’t know and the movie tells us that we shouldn’t pay attention.

Finally, there is definitely an ending. Arthur is back in prison, awaiting the death sentence, when he receives a visitor. As he goes to watch this visitor, one of the inmates who has been looking forward to him throughout the film tells him a more than meta joke about a self-sacrificing whistleblower and proceeds to stab him several times in the stomach. As Arthur bleeds and dies on camera, we see another character in the background, laughing and possibly cutting his face, who may pick up the mantle of the Joker.

“Really? Did you kill him?” That was my reaction as it happened. But it’s happening and it’s a very clear message that Phillips and Phoenix don’t want to do it anymore The Joker movies. This is not a supernatural world. Arthur is dead. End of story. Now, would another filmmaker care about such a character as Joker? Of course. Can you imagine a world where Phillips and Phoenix might sign off on that, get producer credit, and collect a check? Of course. But from the moment Arthur quits, the world blows up, and Arthur dies it’s very clear that – despite those few minor quibbles – this Joker is finished.

Finally, there is the question of Arthur’s visitor. Could it be that the visitor was Lee? Sophie (Zazie Beetz)? Harvey Dent, who finds almost the origin of two faces in this explosion? Or maybe a young Bruce Wayne, who we saw in the last movie? The answer is, maybe. Any of those seem conceivable. But Phillips is not willing to answer that question. He wants you to think about it, torture you about it, and put the nail in the coffin of this franchise once and for all.

That’s our take on the only madness Joker: Folie in Deux-what is your?

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