Joker: Folie à Deux’s director, Todd Phillips, explained the shocking end of the sequel. The film which disappointed fans and the box office on its opening weekend ended on a shocking note with Joker’s death. The murder trial at the centre of the film ended explosively when a bomb detonated, destroying the courtroom. Arthur Fleck had chosen to defend himself and confessed that the Joker was not a split personality, instead, he claimed it had always been him. He admitted to being guilty of the murders for which he was on trial.

Joker director explains the shocking end

Phillips told Entertainment Tonight, “He realised that everything is so corrupt, it’s never going to change, and the only way to fix it is to burn it all down,” when asked about Arthur admitting to all his sins in the film.

The director further explained, “When those guards kill that kid in the [hospital] he realizes that dressing up in makeup, putting on this thing, it’s not changing anything. In some ways, 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.” He added, “He’s an unwitting icon. This thing was placed on him, and he doesn’t want to live as a fake anymore — he wants to be who he is.”

Phillips further dissected what this realisation of Arthur meant for Harley Quinn played by Lady Gaga.

Harley Quinn and Joker’s relationship

In the sequel, she spends most of her time trying to provoke him to bring out the Joker personality. She desired Arthur’s mind to be completely overtaken by the Joker persona. To trigger this she never calls him Arthur in the entire film until their very last encounter when she is about to leave him because she realised that the Joker does not exist anymore. Phillips pointed out, “The sad thing is, he’s Arthur, and nobody cares about Arthur. [She’s] realizing, ‘I’m on a whole other trip, man. You can’t be what I wanted you to be.'”

He also clarified the theories on social media of the scene between Harley and Joker being the latter’s imagination. The director said it was not a figment of Arthur’s imagination but that’s “Actually, really happening,” as reported by Variety.

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