Joker: Folie A Deux's 10 Biggest Spoilers

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Joker: Folie à Deux

Arthur Fleck’s story takes a dark and unexpected turn in Joker: Folie à Deux, which subverts most of what Todd Phillips’ first DC Elseworlds Joker movie had established. Todd Phillips’ Joker introduced a realistic, self-contained Gotham City with very few ties to the comics and a minimalistic focus on the Joker’s origin story. Five years later, Joker: Folie à Deux‘s $200-million budget and musical genre ups the ante, giving Arthur Fleck another chance to choose between his naturally naive personality and his deadly Joker persona.

A big part of Joker‘s charm is Arthur Fleck’s unreliable point of view. Due to his condition, it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly is true and what’s a product of Arthur’s imagination. Add Lady Gaga’s manipulative Harley Quinn into the mix, and Arthur Fleck can only grow more confused about his own identity. Although Joker‘s shocking ending suggested that Arthur Fleck would fully embrace the Joker at Arkham, Joker: Folie à Deux deconstructs his character and puts an abrupt end to his legend.

10 Arthur Meets Lee In An Arkham Music Class

Joker’s Life Changes When He Runs Into Lee Quinn At Arkham

Joker: Folie à Deux begins with Arthur Fleck some time after the events of Joker‘s ending. Apparently, Arthur has been keeping a vow of silence, and he no longer laughs or tells the guards any jokes. Arthur’s attitude changes when he meets Lee Quinn, who participates in Arham’s music program. Arthur’s good behavior inspires the guards to allow Arthur to join Lee’s class, and Arthur soon befriends Lee.

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According to Lee Quinn, she was sent to Arkham after burning her house and killing her father. Lee burns Arkham’s theater and convinces Arthur to escape, but they fail. Still, Arthur becomes obsessed with Lee and falls in love with her. As a result, Arthur Fleck’s Joker persona reawakens, and his fantasies return. This time around, Lee’s passion for singing turns Arthur’s fantasies into musical numbers.

9 Arthur’s Lawyer Tries To Plead Insanity In His Trial

Arthur Fleck Gets A Chance At Freedom Due To The Aftermath Of His Childhood Experiences

Although Arthur Fleck’s crimes are so controversial that some people call for the death penalty, Arthur gets a chance to avoid a tough sentence thanks to his lawyer. Arthur’s lawyer makes the case for his innocence, arguing that the Joker is a separate identity created by Arthur to escape his mother’s abusive treatment during his childhood. According to the lawyer, the three men who assaulted Arthur on the subway awakened Arthur’s Joker identity, but Arthur wasn’t aware of his actions while committing the murders.

Joker’s charismatic performance puts the public gallery on his side, and the media only adds fuel to the fire

Neither the judge nor the jury seem to believe the defense. However, Arthur’s decision to attend his trial in full Joker gear leaves enough room for doubt that the trial continues. Later on, Arthur fires his lawyer and chooses to represent himself. Joker’s charismatic performance puts the public gallery on his side, and the media only adds fuel to the fire. However, Joker is soon unable to continue the charade.

8 Arthur And Lee Have Sex, She Tells Him She’s Pregnant

Lee Quinn Manipulates Arthur Fleck With Her Pregnancy

Lee visits Arthur in his cell and convinces him to keep trusting her. Realizing that Arthur is losing interest in his Joker persona, Lee praises him for bringing it back, and she applies clown make-up on him. The couple kiss and have sex inside the cell. While waiting for the trial’s next session, Arthur’s lawyer reveals Lee’s real backstory to him. It turns out that Lee Quinn is actually wealthy; she didn’t kill his parents or burn down her house, and she’s a psychiatrist who was never sent to Arkham.

Joker and Harley Quinn’s original relationship in
Batman: The Animated Series
and the comics worked the opposite way: Joker manipulated and lied to Harley.

Arthur initially struggles to accept that Lee has been lying to him, and he still hopes to continue his romantic relationship with Lee after learning her true identity. Days later, Arthur confronts Lee when she visits him, but she deflects him by revealing that she’s pregnant. Arthur receives a boost of motivation from the possibility of fathering Lee’s child. Here’s when Arthur fires his lawyer and doubles down on his Joker persona in the courtroom.

7 Arthur Is Physically Abused By The Arkham Guards

The Arkham Guards Feel Betrayed By Arthur Fleck And Take Revenge On Him

Arthur Fleck’s good behavior gained him the respect of his unit’s guards, which also earned him certain perks such as access to Arkham’s music classes. However, the guards take Arthur’s decision to attend his trial as Joker as a sign of betrayal, and they waste no time in hurting him as soon as he returns to Arkham. Brendan Gleeson’s Jackie Sullivan and his colleagues strip down Arthur and attack him before throwing him into his cell.

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At first, Arthur attempts to use his Joker identity to deflect the guards’ attacks, laughing and mocking them while they beat him up. However, Arthur is unable to tolerate the pain and humiliation, and he falls into a deeper state of depression the following morning. This experience is key to his confession during his trial’s next session.

6 The Arkham Guards Kill Arthur’s Friend Ricky

Arthur’s Only Real Friend Dies Next To His Cell

After his own beating at the hands of the Arkham guards, Arthur Fleck is thrown into his cell. Arthur remains silent as the guards insult him and prepare to leave. Before they leave for the night, however, Arthur’s friend Ricky confronts the guards about what they did to Arthur. Jackie, the main guard, is offended by Ricky’s outburst and enters his cell. In a fit of rage, Jackie strangles Ricky as Arthur listens.

After Arthur hears Jackie strangle Ricky, he’s no longer able to tap into his Joker identity

Ricky helped Arthur break his vow of silence and grow more confident in himself, even without his Joker persona. Ricky was the only other Arkham patient Arthur felt comfortable around, and Arthur defended him from other prisoners and the guards’ attempts to humiliate him. After Arthur hears Jackie strangle Ricky, he’s no longer able to tap into his Joker identity, and his guilt overcomes him during the trial.

5 Arthur Fleck Confesses He Doesn’t Want To Be Joker Anymore

Arthur Fleck No Longer Feels Able To Hide Behind His Joker Persona

Arthur Fleck attempts another Joker performance at the trial’s next session, but he stops suddenly and sits down. To everybody’s surprise, Arthur accepts the guilt for all the murders he’s charged with, and he also confesses that there’s another murder everyone was ignoring: his mother, whom he asphyxiated with a pillow. Arthur’s confession immediately loses him the support of Lee Quinn and his followers.

Gary Puddles and Sophie Dumond attend Arthur Fleck’s trial to provide their testimony.

After confessing and being sent back to a cell, Arthur calls Lee to apologize and beg her to return for the trial’s final session. Arthur attempts to sing a song to Lee on the phone, but he receives no response from her. Without his lawyer, without Lee, and with all variables against him, Arthur can only wait for the final verdict and his inevitable return to Arkham — or worse, the death penalty.

4 Joker’s Trial Is Interrupted By A Car Bomb Explosion

Joker’s Influence Continues To Destroy Gotham Even Without Arthur Fleck

At the end of Arthur Fleck’s trial, the judge orders the jury to announce the verdict. One by one, Arthur is found guilty of each of his crimes. Arthur begins to snap once again, as he stops paying attention to the jury’s verdict and has an intense laughing fit. Suddenly, a huge explosion sends Arthur flying, and everyone in the courtroom is either killed or left unconscious.

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Arthur is the first person to wake up from the blast. Stunned, Arthur makes his way out of the destroyed courtroom and heads outside, where people run through the smoke and debris. One of the passers-by is a die-hard Joker fan in full make-up, who quickly recognizes Arthur and brings him into another Joker fan’s car. The two Joker fans drive Arthur away, but Arthur jumps off the car on a red light and runs away from the fan who saved him.

3 Harvey Dent Is Injured, Setting Up His Two-Face Turn

Harvey Dent’s Face Is Burnt After The Terrorist Attack

The lawyer who leads the case against Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux is none other than Harvey Dent. Dent does an expert job in the trial, and he seems satisfied with the verdict when the jury is announcing it. Unfortunately for Harvey Dent, the terrorist attack injures the entire left side of his body, including his face, which looks severely burned. When Arthur escapes from the courtroom, he walks past a semi-unconscious Harvey Dent whose life is hanging by a thread.

Joker: Folie à Deux
‘s realistic tone suggests this version of Harvey Dent won’t make it

It’s unknown whether Harry Lawtey’s Harvey Dent survives his injuries after Joker: Folie à Deux‘s third act, as the film doesn’t reveal what happened to him afterward. Normally, Harvey Dent’s injuries lead him to become a deadly Batman villain known as Two-Face, and he develops a similar case of Dissociative Identity Disorder to the one Arthur Fleck displays in Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux. This time, Joker: Folie à Deux‘s realistic tone suggests this version of Harvey Dent won’t make it.

2 Lee Rejects Arthur Because He’s Given Up On Joker

Lee Quinn Was Obsessed With The Idea Of Joker, Not Arthur Fleck Himself

The first thing Arthur Fleck does after escaping from his fans’ car is head to the iconic stairs where he first discovered his Joker identity. Arthur looks up, sees Lee Quinn sitting at the top, and runs up to meet her. Arthur tries to convince Lee to escape and build a new life with him, but Lee ignores him while she smokes. Although Arthur expresses his enthusiasm about the baby Lee’s supposedly expecting, Lee simply says goodbye and leaves.

Lee Quinn’s pregnancy may also be a lie.

By the end of Joker: Folie à Deux, it’s clear that Lee Quinn only liked Arthur Fleck’s Joker persona, but not Arthur himself. Arthur begins to suspect Lee’s true intentions after his lawyer reveals Lee’s true background, which is why Arthur’s fantasies take a darker tone and he imagines Lee killing him in front of an audience. The reason why Lee is able to walk away unscathed at the end isn’t explained in the movie, which leaves the door open for theories about Lee’s existence.

1 Arthur Is Killed By Another Inmate Who Gives Himself A Glasgow Smile

A New Joker Kills Arthur Fleck Like Arthur Killed Murray Franklin

Some time after Arthur’s trial and subsequent return to Arkham State Hospital, Arthur seems much more at peace with himself than ever before. Arthur enjoys watching cartoons with his fellow Arkham patients and his Joker identity seems to be gone for good. At the end of Joker: Folie à Deux, Jackie tells Arthur he has a visitor and orders him to follow him down the hallway. Arthur complies, unaware that he would never know who has arrived to visit him.

Joker: Folie à Deux
ends with Arthur Fleck dead on the ground

As Arthur walks down the hallway, another inmate stops him and asks him to listen to a joke. The inmate tells Arthur a joke about a depressed clown who gets “what he f*cking deserves” and stabs him several times. Arthur falls on the ground as he bleeds out. Meanwhile, the inmate cuts a smile into his own mouth and laughs, becoming Arthur Fleck’s Joker successor. Joker: Folie à Deux ends with Arthur Fleck dead on the ground. While the inmate’s “Glasgow Smile” gives him a resemblance to Heath Ledger’s Joker, his identity is never revealed.

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5.3/10 Joker: Folie a Deux R

Director Todd Phillips Writers Todd Phillips , Scott Silver , Bob Kane , Paul Dini , Bill Finger , Bruce Timm , Jerry Robinson Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Lady Gaga , Brendan Gleeson , Catherine Keener , Zazie Beetz , Steve Coogan , Harry Lawtey , Leigh Gill , Jacob Lofland , Sharon Washington , Troy Fromin , Bill Smitrovich , John Lacy , Ken Leung Release Date October 4, 2024 Runtime 138 Minutes Franchise(s) Joker Expand

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Joker: Folie A Deux’s 10 Biggest Spoilers