Joker Movie Ending Explained: What Was Fake and What Was Real

Joker established that Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur was an unreliable narrator, but how much of the movie was pure fantasy?

Pierre Chanot Posted on January 3, 2024

During the film, Todd Joker Phillips Arthur Hawkin Phoenix did not appear as the narrator, but what was Arthur's situation and ending?

The rumor about the plot of the film "Joker: Folie Г  Deux" is that the sequel will be shot from Harley Quinn's point of view, with Lady Gaga's implementation, and she hopes to understand Arthur and her own affairs as a love musical, and the narrator continues to apply the self-confidence does not inspire.

The Joker is a story that began in Alan Moore's book "Batman: The Killing Joke", which the clown knows, and has been associated with this story method for decades, "Sometimes I remember this and sometimes I don't. I like when I have a past, so it's different options! Literally, for example, Arthur gave himself a certain number of qualities of his own life, especially in the Joker near the end.

The Ending of Joker Explained

Soon after the murder of Murray Franklin in Robert De Niro's performance at the end of the movie Joker Arthur is arrested by the police, but while anarchy prevails in Gotham because of his actions, a heated vehicle is against his police car, knocking him unconscious and taking him out.

The rebels stretch Arthur out under the wreckage in a Christ-like style and continue to applaud him as the bearer of their cause. But more than that, this moment could also have been a hallucination of Arthur, who yearns for encouragement and praise.

The recognition and joy he seeks when he dresses himself as Franklin, an audience member at a night show, and applauds him, earlier in the film. For example, while Arthur is still calm and evacuated to his police car, as guided by a visitor, a public frenzy breaks out, and one rebel in a clown mask kills Wayne.

Later, this scene of Arthur's self-division at some point reveals during the next therapy session, which is parallel, that yes, he is in fact continuing with the general worker at the beginning of the film, only now he is now located in Arkham Asylum.

His smile makes the Arkham psychiatrist ask, "What's funny?" Arthur replies, "I just invented a joke," and Bruce Wayne comes into the frame, wondering what kind of job is important, such as getting his guardians killed. He doesn't know her joke because, "She wouldn't understand it."

Bruce's own actions indirectly and unpleasantly helped freeze out Batman and the Joker - his sworn enemies.

Arthur then begins humming "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra, and in the final scene, he slowly walks down the halls of Arkham, the sunlight streaming in through the windows like a door to the next day. As he does so, he leaves a trail of blood -- likely the work of a psychiatrist, but more likely a subtle metaphor for the blood he leaves in his path.

Whether this should be understood as another hallucination Arthur creates to express his desire to escape, or as a genuine escape attempt, is up to the viewer to decide, but the basic point is that Arthur is in fact still locked up in Arkham.

How Will This Ending Affect Joker 2?

Even if Arthur wasn't a reliable narrator, that doesn't mean there was no Joker, or that there were very few.

Judging by some behind-the-scenes photos from the sequel, Arthur is still introduced as the Joker on Murray Franklin shows, and there are still people protesting his release.

So it seems there was space for a lot of what actually happened in Joker.

Arthur also kills three Wayne Enterprises employees, sparks a massive clown-inspired riot, and publicly shoots Murray Franklin, despite being an Arkham patient.

It's not clear yet how Harley will participate in the plot, but she will likely pull a face to support Arthur in court, just like Arthur.

Joker: Folie Г  Deux is due for release on October 24th.