Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel Lady Gaga, the ‘Joker’ sequel version of Harley Quinn
Warner Bros.
Joker: Folie a Deux, the musical sequel to the $1 billion-hit, Joker, has failed to seize the zeitgeist the way the first film did, with audiences expressing disappointment at the sequel’s story and ending.
What Is ‘Joker 2: Folie A Deux’ About?
Warning—Spoilers Ahead
The sequel sees Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) face the consequences of his murderous actions from the first film—he’s now a defeated, broken man awaiting trial in Arkham Asylum.
Arthur’s life changes when he catches the eye of Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), the film’s incarnation of Harley Quinn.
Lee is a huge fan of Arthur, or rather, his “Joker” alter-ego, and presents herself as a downtrodden, neglected person who he can relate to.
Most of the film sees Arthur enduring a trial that recounts the events of Joker, and escaping into his imagination where he is free to sing, frolic and commit murderous rampages with Lee; in reality, Lee encourages Arthur’s worst impulses, to play into the character of Joker.
Arthur is also encouraged by his fans who crowd outside of the courthouse, dressed in suits and clown greasepaint, a bit like cosplayers and pop stans.
Arthur soon finds out that Lee is not who she presented herself as—she’s from a wealthy, privileged family, and is actually posing as a troubled, poverty-stricken victim.
But she seems to love him, and that’s enough for Arthur.
Arthur’s fantasies truly start to crack when he faces his former co-worker Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill), who he spared from one of his murder sprees in the first film. Gary is not impressed by Arthur’s violence—he is traumatized, and Arthur finds it difficult to keep up his clown act after hearing how he affected Gary’s mental health.
After returning to Arkham, Arthur is violently attacked by the guards, and seemingly sexually assaulted, the group of guards taking “revenge” for some mildly offensive comments Arthur made through his Joker persona.
Later, Arthur renounces everything in court, expressing regret for taking on the persona of the Joker, and admits that he was just a lonely man seeking attention and vengeance.
Lee is deeply disappointed, and leaves the courtroom.
Joker fans then blow up the building with a car bomb, and rush Arthur away to escape—Arthur realizes that he is being swept away in a violent movement that doesn’t represent him at all.
By chance, Arthur reunites with Lee on the now-iconic stairs where he danced during the first film. He wants to be with Lee, but Lee is no longer interested; she didn’t want Arthur Fleck, she wanted Joker.
The idea expressed in the film—that Arthur’s Joker persona takes control of his life, against his true wants—is perfectly expressed in the animated, Looney Tunes-style short that plays before the film, which depicts Arthur’s violent shadow stealing his identity.
The feature film doesn’t quite live up to the idea; deconstructing the Joker is an interesting concept, but the movie has serious pacing issues, and the musical scenes aren’t nearly as fun as one would expect.
What Is The Ending Of ‘Joker 2’?
After Arthur is rejected by Lee and arrested again, he is told by one of the Arkham guards that he has a visitor. Arthur is then stopped by an inmate who is often seen in the background, watching him.
That inmate is just as disappointed as Lee, and tells Arthur a “joke” that ends with the same punchline that Arthur told Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro) in the first film: “You get what you fu*kin’ deserve.”
The mysterious inmate then stabs Arthur to death, before carving a smile into his own face, presumably turning into the Joker that Arthur could never be. After all, the character has always been a sociopathic crime boss—never the sad, remorseful loser that Arthur is.
Disfigurement by smile scars is how the character appears in The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger) and The Batman (Barry Keoghan), and has become synonymous with the character.
However, this newly born version is not connected with either of those films, as Todd Phillips’ Joker has always been a side-story with only loose references to Batman.
Is There Going To Be A ‘Joker 3’?
A sequel to Folie a Deux seems doubtful, as the film bombed at the opening weekend, and has received a D Cinemascore from audiences.
Todd Phillips told Variety, “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.”
Batman is still a child in this version of Gotham, and the new Joker is young enough to be his nemesis (sort of), but we already have a scarred version of Joker in Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy.
Plus, James Gunn is planning another Batman movie for the DC cinematic universe, titled The Brave and the Bold.
Needless to say, there’s more than enough Joker and Batman out there already; a Joker 3 would definitely kill the punchline.