Joker: Folie à Deux’s Joaquin Phoenix Discusses Arthur’s Fate And The Controversial Ending
Joker: Folie à Deux star Joaquin Phoenix has discussed the controversial ending to the film, saying the way things wrap up provides a “warmth” to Arthur Fleck’s character arc. This story contains massive spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux, so only read on if you’ve seen the film or don’t care about spoilers.
At the end of the film, Arthur Fleck rejects his Joker persona and owns up to his crimes. He loses his love, Lee (Lady Gaga) in the process, as he chooses to embrace who he really is. He was never the “real” Joker. He was instead just an aspiring comic who got mixed up in something bigger than him and had the title of the Joker thrust upon him. Fleck, after confessing to his crimes, returns to Arkham where he is brutally murdered after someone in a hallway asks to tell him a joke.
There is a “warmth” to Arthur’s fate, Phoenix told IGN.