Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Joker: Folie à DeuxOne key scene in Joker: Folie à Deux‘s controversial ending has been broken down by director Todd Phillips, confirming whether it played out in the twisted imagination of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). In the final moments of the DC sequel, after the courtroom explosion interrupts his trial, Arthur flees, reuniting with Lady Gaga’s Harley on the now-iconic steps outside his old apartment building.
Speaking to EW, Phillips broke down key aspects of Joker: Folie à Deux’s ending, crucially explaining why Harley Quinn turns her back on Arthur when they meet. He also confirms that, despite rampant theories about which parts of the movie are actually real, that sequence is set in reality. Here’s the important extract from the piece on the ending:
“[She’s] realizing, I’m on a whole other trip, man, you can’t be what I wanted you to be,” he explains. Phillips also confirms that, while boasting a dreamlike quality, the final exchange between Lee and Arthur is “actually, really happening” and isn’t an imagined interaction like Arthur’s fake romance with Sophie (Zazie Beetz) in the prior installment.
What Todd Phillips’ Explanation Of Joker: Folie à Deux’s Final Harley Quinn Scene Means
Sometimes The Most Straightforward Answer Is The Best One
One interpretation of Joker: Folie à Deux’s ending suggests that Arthur imagines the scene as part of his cathartic rejection of the Joker identity, realizing in, Phillips’ own words that he needs “to burn it all down“. Phillips explained to EW that Arthur has an epiphany over his own pointless endeavor:
“…he’s accepted the fact that he’s always been Arthur Fleck; he’s never been this thing that’s been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents.”
That fits with the suggestion that Arthur might have imagined his final interaction with Harley, since she is his most direct connection with his followers on Gotham’s streets. Crucially, Joker: Folie à Deux drops visual hints about which scenes are imaginary, typically showing Harley in full make-up. The stairway scene also shows her in make-up after she cuts her hair and adopts a new look, offering further questions over its status.
With Phillips’ clarification, that theory is immediately debunked. Instead, Arthur is left with the final confirmation that she, like all of his followers, was besotted with the idea of Joker, and not of Arthur. It also fits with the reading of Joker: Folie à Deux that says Phillips was consciously addressing the reception of the first movie.
Our Take On Joker: Folie à Deux’s Final Scene Between Harley & Arthur
Todd Phillips Is Right To Explain His Intentions
Arthur Fleck’s story across both Joker movies is a tragedy, not one of hope. While it was assumed that the first Joker’s ending was a call-to-arms for disaffected people, social cast-offs, and victims of oppressive, corrupt institutional systems, it was supposed to be bleak. Arthur’s story was lost as he became a bigger idea, which is exactly what Harley Quinn’s involvement in the sequel underlines.
It wouldn’t have been right for Arthur to create his own tragic realization about Harley for that reason. To reclaim his own story, he had to realize the extent of the tragedy, and Harley rejecting him for real for failing to live up to her delusional expectations of him was the perfect way to do that. In a world where directors often remain silent on scenes that could be open to interpretation, Phillips choosing to clarify this particular one is important for Joker: Folie à Deux.
Source: EW
