via Todd Phillips JokerJoaquin Phoenix’s Arthur was revealed to be an unreliable narrator, but how much of Arthur’s story and ending was true?
Rumor plot Joker: Folie à Deux suggests that the sequel will be from the perspective of Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, and that she sees her relationship with Arthur as a romantic musical that continues to use an unreliable narrator.
The Joker has been tied to this narrative device for decades, starting with Alan Moore Batman: The Killing Jokewhere the clown famously said, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another… If I have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!” Likewise, Arthur seemed to imagine several aspects of his life Jokerespecially towards the end.
Joker’s ending explained
Shortly after Robert De Niro killed Murray Franklin on live television JokerArthur is arrested by the police, but as Gotham chaos erupts from his actions, a stolen ambulance crashes into his police car, knocking him unconscious.
The rioters raise Arthur from the wreckage in a Christ-like manner and continue to encourage Arthur to be the face of their movement. However, it is more than possible that this moment was another hallucination of Arthur’s desire for validation and admiration.
The same validation and admiration he craved earlier in the film when he imagined himself as a member of Franklin’s late-night show audience clapping for him. So for all the audience knows, Arthur was still concussed in a police car as the riot raged and one lone rioter in a clown mask killed the Waynes.
Immediately after that scene of self-aggrandizement, Arthur is suddenly in another therapy session, directly similar to the one he had with his social worker at the beginning of the film, but he’s now in Arkham Asylum.
His laughter prompts Arkham’s psychiatrist to ask: “What is so funny?” Arthur replies, “I’m just thinking of a joke” and cuts to Bruce Wayne standing in the same ally his parents were killed in scenes earlier. He hasn’t told her a joke since “(He) wouldn’t have it.”
Perhaps a joke intended solely for the audience, as his actions indirectly and unwittingly helped launch Bruce into Batman, the Joker’s ultimate nemesis.
As Arthur begins to sing Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” to himself in the final scene, he walks slowly down a hallway in Arkham, the sun shining through the window like a gateway to a brighter tomorrow. All the while, Arthur leaves behind a trail of blood, presumably from the psychiatrist, but perhaps a subtle metaphor for the blood he has left in his path.
Whether that’s meant to be taken as another hallucination that Arthur conjured to express his desire to escape, or an actual escape attempt, is open to interpretation, but the bottom line is that Arthur is still trapped in Arkham.
How does this ending affect Joker 2?
While it is true that Arthur was an unreliable narrator, that does not mean all, or even most, of it Joker did not happen.
According to numerous behind-the-scenes photos of the sequel, Arthur was still featured as the Joker on Murray Franklin’s show, and still has audiences protesting his release.
So it seems that most of what happened Joker happened
Arthur went on to murder the three Wayne Enterprises employees, sparking a clown-inspired riot that led to him shooting Murray Franklin for all to see, all while he’s now a patient at Arkham.
How Harley will affect the story is not yet known outside of rumors, but like Arthur, she will also create a persona, apparently to help Arthur in court.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to open in theaters on October 24.