Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers forJoker: Folie a Deux.
Joker: Folie a Deuxintroduces Lady Gaga asDC’s newest Harley Quinn, but the movie intentionally creates doubt that the character is real, or simply part of Arthur’s mind.Joker: Folie a Deuxfollows on fromJoker,depicting Arthur Fleck’s trial following his killing spree as the famed villain. During this, Arthur meetsLady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, known simply as Lee. Much of the movie focuses on their relationship, yet simultaneously teases the notion that Lee might not really exist.
InJoker: Folie a Deux,Arthur and Lee while patients in Arkham Asylum and quickly strike up a romance. Harley Quinn actively persues Arthur, infatuated with his Joker personality. The pair share a joint delusion (hence the titleFolie a Deux), but it is unclear precisely how much of this is purely in Arthur’s mind.
Harley Quinn Does Exist In Joker 2
Throughout the first half ofJoker: Folie a Deux, it appears that Harley Quinn could be afigment of Arthur Fleck’s imagination. No other character acknowledges her, and she seems able to move around Arkham Asylum as she pleases. However, later events confirm that Lee is indeed real. The first major indication comes when Lee steals a television from a shop window,a scene told entirely from her perspective.
Later, Arthur’s lawyer talks about Lee and the two have a televised confrontation regarding Arthur’s case. Indeed, when Harley arrives at court, one person turns and watches,tentatively confirming her existence. Lee very evidently appears to people other than Arthur, and is certainly a real character. However, that doesn’t mean that every scene she appears in is real.
Some Things About Harley Quinn Are Just In Arthur’s Mind
Numerous scenes fromJoker: Folie a Deuxwere manifestations ofArthur Fleck’s mental illness. The most obvious examples are the variety show scenes, in which Arthur and Lee perform lavish musical numbers. Each of these are lit very differently, withvibrant color schemes and stage lightingthat contrasts with the bleak and grimy real world.
Interestingly, many of these scenes are signaled with blackout edits and bright lighting, the verysymptoms several medical professionals suggest could indicate Arthur’s split personality. These highly stylized sequences represent the shared delusion between Arthur and Lee. That said, several scenes that appear from the real world are not, such as Arthur’s song after seeing Harvey Dent calling for the death penalty on television. The most contentious of these is Arthur and Lee’s sex scene in Arkham Asylum’s solitary confinement.
While the sex scene appears like it’s part of the bleak and grimy real world, it makes absolutely no sense that the Arkham guards would have allowed Lee to visit Arthur in solitary, let alone permit them to engage in sexual intercourse. Even if Lee had voluntarily institutionalized herself, Arthur is on trial for several murders, so if he’s confined to solitary,Lee logically wouldn’t be given access. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the boundary between the real and imagined inJoker: Folie a Deuxis intentionally blurred, placing audiences in a comparably confused position as its protagonists.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
