This article containsJoker: Folie a Deux spoilers.
At least until Arthur donned copious amounts of pancake makeup and blew ol Murray away on live broadcast television.
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But he still hears it.
Its a brutal ending, and one which will probably leave more than a few viewers stunned.
Yet that is not how Arthurs story is revealed to end inJoker 2.
It is a scene-by-scene stripping of the comic book trappings Arthur assembled in the first movie.
Some fans will likely feel insulted, but there is a point toJoker: Folie a Deuxs madness.
They want to literally fry Arthur in an electric chair.
He is a monster, Dent tells reporters on the TV and radio.
They view Arthur as little more than a wolf walking amongst sheep that needs to be put down.
Both perspectives represent a predictable reaction to a guy who killed Americas favorite comedian on late night TV.
This in turn feeds into the narrative ofJokersdetractors.
Arthur is a victim of his mother but also a society that fails those without power.
Presumably they intend to take him to some safe space where he can tell them what to do next.
They literally get themselves run over while chasing after this false messiah.
This Harley is also a liar.
Even her father is alive.
Hell, it gets him convicted on six counts of murder in a state with the death penalty!
and murdering the judge by bludgeoning him death with his own gavel.
In the end, such antics are divorced from reality.
Once youre in the belly of the beast, its over.
Lee knows that too.
She hides there like many fans of the firstJokerdo, treating it as a tourist site for pilgrimage.
She expects a carnival of chaos and mayhem.
You Get What You Deserve
So we come back to the end of the movie.
The tragic irony of the ending is that this isnt what Arthur deserved in Phillips estimation.
The point is to think that way leads to meaningless acts of self-destruction.
Creatively there is a certain boldness in this approach.
Dramatically, however, its unsatisfying.
It wants you to feel sorry for Arthur, and guilty for not seeing him as a human.
Joker 2is a cry for help, but one that is hard to hear through all that self-pity.
Joker: Folie a Deux is in theaters now.
