Joker: Folie à Deux brings together Arthur Fleck and Harleen Quinzel for one rousing musical that bridges the gap between fantasy and reality.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker 2 continues Fleck's story as he deals with the consequences of murdering several people from the first film, such as celebrity host Murray Franklin and his co-worker and bully, Randall.
Joker: Folie à Deux premiered in theaters on October 4.
Joker 2 Spoilers for Plot & Ending Explained
Joker: Folie à Deux begins with a Looney Tunes-inspired cartoon short titled "Me and My Shadow," starring Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) as the Joker.
The short focuses on Fleck's dual personality, with the shadow serving as his second persona as it hijacks his performance onstage.
The cartoon serves as a reminder to viewers that Arthur is still struggling to figure out if his Joker persona can be contained or not.
The movie then shifts to Arkham Asylum where viewers get to see Arthur's daily routine in prison, which involves getting mocked by prison guards led by Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson) in exchange for his daily cigarette.
Other inmates are clearly not fans of Arthur, but there is one notable inmate named Ricky Meline who appears to be obsessed with his Joker persona.
The bullying consistently happens even though he is a model inmate.
An Unusual Meet-Cute Between Arthur & Harleen
After a special request from his attorney Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), Arthur is escorted by the guards to the B Ward to meet with an evaluator for a competency test before his trial.
Stewart tells Arthur that she needs to prove that he has a mental health condition so that he can be transferred to a psych ward and not a correctional facility. The lawyer also believes that Fleck has a split personality brought about by his childhood trauma.
Before the whole ordeal, Arthur meets Lady Gaga's Harleen "Lee" Quinzel (read more about Lady Gaga's Joker 2 character here), and there is an instant spark between the two would-be lovers.
After a while, the pair get to know each other and Arthur learns that Lee is admitted to the Arkham State Hospital after setting fire to her parents' apartment building.
Similar to Fleck, her parents also abuse Lee and this similarity paves the way for him to take an immediate interest in her which leads them to forge a strong bond.
Lee admits that she was inspired by Joker killing Murray Frankin on live TV, telling him that she did not feel alone anymore after his actions:
"When I first saw Joker, I kept thinking,'I hope this guy blows [Murray Franklin's] brains out,' and then you did. For once in my life, I did not feel alone anymore."
During one random movie night, things take a turn after Lee burns down the whole B Ward simply because she wants to escape with Arthur.
The pair kiss amid the burning fire before attempting to escape, but they are ultimately stopped by the prison guards.
His time in prison eventually becomes a living hell, especially after his failed escape attempt with Harleen.
Arthur is transported to an underground cell where he gets visited by Harleen and she tells him that they are sending her home because they believe that Fleck is a bad influence on her.
Before they part ways, though, they have sex and Lee tells him to stop his medication to bring out the real him (aka the Joker).
Harleen has the upper hand in manipulating Arthur which is unusual because DC has often portrayed the Joker as Harley Quinn's manipulator and not the victim.
Joker 2's Musical Elements Explained
Throughout Joker 2, Arthur experiences moments of catharsis where he simply immerses himself in musical-inspired numbers in his mind and sings what he is feeling, mostly centered around his bond with Lee.
Some of the songs featured in the movie include covers of classics like "Get Happy," "For Once In My Life," and "That's Life."
In April 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips addressed fan concerns over the choice of making the sequel a musical, simply noting, "Yeah, Arthur is weird and aloof...but he has music in him."
Arthur uses songs to escape his grim reality, and not taking his medication propels his fantasy even further. At one point, he even visualizes himself marrying Lee.
However, when his lawyer warns him about Lee's potential betrayal, the revelation gets to him since one of his warped fantasies includes a scene of Harleen shooting him in the chest amidst their performance.
A Trial and A Circus: Arthur's Past Haunts Him
The main event of Joker: Folie à Deux is Arthur Fleck's infamous trial.
What makes matters worse for Arthur is the other side who is going up against him in the trial: Up-and-coming district attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey), a new addition to the Joker 2 cast, hellbent on trying to make the jury agree that a criminal like the Joker deserves the death penalty.
Ever since murdering Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) and starting chaos around the streets of Gotham, there are a plethora of twisted supporters who believe that Arthur is their hero.
During the trial, Arthur's past comes back to haunt him as several of Joker's cast members return to testify against him, such as his neighbor, Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz), whom he fantasized about having a relationship with, Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill) his co-worker who witnessed how he brutally murdered Randall, and his social worker (Sharon Washington).
All of the returning characters managed to paint a picture of the monster Arthur truly is.
Lee's Dangerous Fantasy with Arthur Fleck
Lady Gaga's Harleen (who is noticeably different than past versions of the character seen on-screen) has been consistently present during the trial to support him, but things get complicated after Arthur learns that she has been lying to him.
His lawyer tells him that Harleen voluntarily checked herself into Arkham and that her parents are rich. When Arthur confronts her, Lee uses her charm to continue to manipulate him, saying, "I just wanted you to like me."
It even comes to a point where she tells Arthur that she is pregnant so that he won't be mad at her.
Lee's manipulations manage to propel Arthur's confidence in a wrong way, leading him to fire his lawyer on the spot and ask the judge to represent himself as Joker during the trial.
This move even receives a sense of validation for Harleen by telling him, "You can do anything you want. You're Joker."
Bringing out the Joker appears to be Lee's endgame and she succeeds. However, this proves to be the downfall of her relationship.
Arthur, as Joker, makes an earth-shattering closing statement where he reveals that being Joker was just a fantasy of his and it was not the persona that murdered all of those people. Instead, it was solely him.
This revelation shatters Lee and she eventually walks out along with Arthur's other supporters in the courtroom.
Did Arthur Die? Jacob Lofland's Role in Joker 2's Ending Explained
While the jury announces Arthur's verdict, a bomb is triggered which leads to the decimation of the courthouse, leaving all of the attendees injured, including Harvey Dent.
Arthur escapes with the help of two of his fanatics, but he also runs from them after they drive away from the courthouse.
He then finds Harleen, asking her to come with him and start fresh since they can finally escape. However, she rejects him, noting, "All we had was the fantasy."
The truth bomb that Lee drops on Arthur is more than enough to shatter him and surrender to the police.
Losing everything is a bitter pill to swallow for even a madman like Joker, and it is quite unfortunate that it happened to him during a moment of honesty where he admits how vulnerable he really is.
In the final moments of the movie, the young inmate who admired him named Ricky (Jacob Lofland) repeatedly stabs him while laughing, leading to his untimely death.
Ricky represents an overtly toxic fan who will go out of his way to kill his idol because he did not live up to his ideal representation.
His eerie laughter which closely resembles that of Joker hammers the point down, meaning that others like Arthur can continue the Joker persona one way or another.
While he dies in the end, his legacy still lives on which makes Gotham an even dangerous place.
Joker: Folie à Deux is now playing in theaters worldwide.
