Surprise Delivery in ‘JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX’

Every die-hard fan knew that “Joker: Folie à Deux” would bring Harley “Lee” Quinzel to Todd Phillips’s dark version of Gotham. But no one expected it would simultaneously unveil an unexpected villain’s origin tale. Warner Bros certainly has a knack for pulling off large-stage surprises. In a twisted plot turn, audiences were introduced to the villain that a grown Bruce Wayne will eventually face.

A Joker’s Tragic End

“Joker: Folie à Deux” ended with just as much drama and surprise as it began. Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, however, chose a more subtle approach for the climax. Trusted by his devout followers, he was set free through a dramatic explosion after receiving his guilty verdict. Bidding farewell to his Joker act, Arthur’s surrender seemed twinged with regret. But his decision to take full responsibility comes late. A crucial scene sees Arthur given a harsh reality check by Lee, who finally rejects him, deflating his hope for a shared escape. Arthur, justifying her dismissal, learns of her apathy towards him and her preference for his alter ego, Joker. It’s a heartbreaking realization that almost consensually sends him back to prison.

The Plot Twist

Arthur was meant to have a visitor, so a prison guard told him. Events took a shocking detour before he ever made it to the meeting room. Connor Storrie, a young and unstable inmate, intercepts him in the hallway. Remember Storrie’s eerie interest in Arthur from an earlier scene? Their subsequent interaction reveals deep-seated, fanatical loyalty which Arthur’s broadcast trial later crushes, when he renounces his Joker persona.

Storrie’s inmate character ambushes Arthur while telling a joke about a psychopath, eerily mirroring Arthur’s circumstances. The joke escalates into physical assault as Arthur is stabbed repeatedly. As Arthur lays dying, Storrie carves a smile onto his own face, evoking the iconic Joker character of Heath Ledger.

“The Joker”, Gotham’s future nightmare and challenge for the grown-up Bruce Wayne, is set for the city stage, and it wouldn’t be Arthur Fleck carrying that mantle.

The Unseen Origin Story

We think Storrie’s character got a very sudden and shocking character development, but the focus should be on Arthur. He fell from fame, inspired a devoted following, committed murder, and ultimately was abandoned and betrayed. Storrie’s young inmate character becomes the embodiment of the Joker persona Arthur’s followers yearned for. But this unexpected rise obscures Arthur’s own tragic journey.

Behind the mask and persona, people will forget Arthur Fleck, the man who wore the initial mask of Joker with all his suffering and pain. Instead, his legacy will be one of chaos, death, and more pain – all he regretted in the courtroom. The sight of his only true friend, Gary Puddles, opened his eyes to his own humanity. But by then, the die was cast.

Thus, “Joker: Folie à Deux” unfolded the origin of Gotham’s greatest villain. A story that journeyed through Arthur Fleck’s tragedy and pain to give birth to the monster he never wanted to become.