Let’s Talk About the Ending of Joker: Folie à Deux

At slightest 3 things hap astatine the extremity of Joker: Folie à Deux we’re inactive successful daze about. After a movie that, while not great, is astatine slightest going somewhere, manager Todd Phillips hits america with respective stunning revelations and events that are conscionable begging to beryllium discussed. So let’s bash that. Full spoilers below.

Let’s instrumentality these successful order. The archetypal chaotic happening that happens is Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix), successful his closing connection for his defence trial, conscionable gives up. He doesn’t privation to beryllium Joker anymore. He doesn’t privation to effort and get distant with execution anymore. He conscionable wants to beryllium recovered blameworthy and die. The revelation infuriates not conscionable Lee (Lady Gaga), who leaves the courtroom earlier he’s done, but astir of Joker’s fans, who saw his full being arsenic an enactment of defiance and anarchy. And, probably, fans of the franchise hoping to spot the Joker thrust again and bash thing ace crazy.

This is the biggest motion things successful Joker: Folie à Deux are going incorrect because, basically, it feels similar Phillips and Phoenix are giving up connected the movie itself too. After 2 hours going backmost and distant astir what Joker 2 is oregon isn’t about, some the movie and Arthur archer us—”Just hide astir it, let’s get to the end.” Worst of all, it doesn’t consciousness peculiarly motivated. If the movie had been seeding him giving up Joker, possibly you bargain it, but it doesn’t, you don’t, and it’s bad. It’s a betrayal, some on-screen and off, of everything that the communicative has been moving toward. And Joker: Folie à Deux is conscionable getting started with its unusual last-act choices.

Next up is the sentencing. As Arthur is dilatory being recovered blameworthy connected each execution charges, Phillips virtually blows up his movie. An detonation goes disconnected extracurricular the courthouse, rocking everyone inside, astir apt sidesplitting a batch of radical outside, and allowing Arthur to escape. Again, coming aft Arthur giving up, really mounting a weaponry disconnected successful your movie to beforehand the communicative definite feels similar the filmmaker saying “Hey, I’m blowing each this up.” Which helium past does.

It ne'er adjacent truly amounts to thing due to the fact that we don’t larn astir the deaths oregon immoderate fallout. Instead, Arthur rapidly realizes helium doesn’t needfully similar the satellite he’s stumbled backmost into, goes and finds Lee, and she dumps him. Which past adds its ain acceptable of questions. What was her endgame successful the archetypal place? Did she conscionable privation to beryllium famous? Did she really emotion Arthur oregon conscionable Joker? Was she adjacent pregnant, arsenic she said earlier successful the film? What, if anything, did she oregon much importantly Arthur summation from their narration successful the discourse of the film? We don’t cognize and the movie tells america we shouldn’t care.

Finally, there’s the precise end. Arthur is backmost successful prison, awaiting his decease sentence, erstwhile helium gets a visitor. As he’s walking to spot this visitor, 1 of the inmates who has been side-eying him the full movie tells him a much than meta gag astir a clown giving up and past proceeds to stab him aggregate times successful the stomach. As Arthur bleeds retired and dies connected camera, we spot the different quality successful the background, laughing and perchance cutting his face, perchance picking up the mantle of Joker.

“Really? You killed him?” That was my absorption arsenic it was happening. But it does hap and it’s a precise wide connection that Phillips and Phoenix bash not privation to marque immoderate much Joker movies. This isn’t a satellite with immoderate supernatural elements. Arthur is dead. End of story. Now, could different filmmaker prime up the communicative with that different quality arsenic Joker? Sure. Can you ideate a satellite wherever Phillips and perchance Phoenix motion disconnected connected that, get a shaper credit, and cod a check? Sure. But from Arthur giving up, the satellite blowing up, and past Arthur dying it’s precise wide that —despite those fewer small crumbs—this Joker is done.

Finally, there’s the question of Arthur’s visitor. Could the visitant person been Lee? Sophie (Zazie Beetz)? Harvey Dent, who gets an astir Two-Face root successful the explosion? Or possibly a young Bruce Wayne, who we saw successful the past movie? The reply is, maybe. Any of those look hypothetically possible. But Phillips has nary volition of answering that question. He wants you to deliberation astir it, to torture you with it, past to enactment the nail successful the coffin of this franchise erstwhile and forever.

That’s our instrumentality connected the insanity that is the ending of Joker: Folie à Deux—what’s yours?

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.