Joker: Folie à Deux has shocked and divided fans over its complex plot twists – and The explosive ending.

The highly anticipated sequel of 2019 joker officially hits theaters on Friday, October 4th Joaquin Phoenix Reprising his role as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker. This time, however, he’s accompanied by his (literal) crime partner, Lee Quinzel, played by Lady Gaga.

Two years after the first film, he is still stuck in Arkham State Mental Hospital and on trial for five murders. Joker: Folie à Deux catches up with Arthur when he meets fellow patient Lee. Together, the insane duo embark on a search for true love, drama – and their own musical imagination – as they immerse themselves in the chaos and anarchy of Gotham City.

“You know what’s different?” Arthur asks at one point in the film, “I’m not alone anymore.”

Related: Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix make out in a prison cell in the new clip for “Joker 2.”

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker will return to the big screen alongside Lady Gaga. Not long after Joker director Todd Phillips confirmed he would be writing and directing a sequel, Gaga confirmed her casting by sharing a video of her and Phoenix dancing via Instagram. “Joker: Folie à Deux,” she titled the post from August 2022. “10.04.24.” (…)

The first Joker won Phoenix an Oscar for Best Actor and grossed over $1 billion at the box office. director Todd Phillips told diversity By August, while working on the sequel, he knew he wanted to go bigger – and more musical – if he wanted to commit to expanding the franchise.

“Why do something if it doesn’t scare you?” Phillips asked the outlet. “I’m addicted to taking risks. I mean, it keeps you up at night. It causes your hair to fall out. But it’s the sweat that keeps you going.”

While “Joker 2” is certainly experiencing major fluctuations, these risks have left fans divided – and wondering what might happen next. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the film’s biggest twists:

Warning: Spoilers ahead of the end of Joker: Foil A Dex. Seriously, this is a point of no return.

This explosive moment

During the first half of Joker 2 takes place in At Arkham State Mental Hospital, the film turns into a courtroom drama in its final hour. After Arthur (now off his medication) fires his lawyer and decides to represent himself – in full-blown Joker makeup and, at times, a southern accent, just for fun – the jury begins to read its verdict.

However, things are thrown into turmoil when a car bomb explodes outside the courtroom, killing almost everyone inside and allowing Arthur to briefly escape while being taken away with a group of terrorist Jokers. He tracks down Harley aka Lee, who, having previously declared her devotion to Arthur, breaks up with him – we’ll get to that later – and is quickly arrested and sent back to prison.

Two faces or not?

A young Harvey Dent appears in the film and is played by Gotham City’s Assistant District Attorney Harvey Lawteyseemingly hinting at a preview of the iconic DC villain he will eventually become.

When Lawtey was cast in the film, fans speculated that it would be his origin story, “Two Face,” which involves half of his face being irrefutably mutilated. And while he’s in the courtroom when the car bomb explodes and the film shows him with some sort of injury on one side of his face, the focus is never really on the character. There is no subsequent response from him either.

So did he turn into Two Face? Actually pretty unclear.

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Surprise! After all, Joker isn’t a joker

Back to Harley and Arthur’s breakup. Harley calls it quits after witnessing Arthur take responsibility for six murders in the courtroom and accept his punishment. She realizes that Joker is not really his personality, but a performance that he shows other people. She believes his confession was a betrayal of both himself and their romance, so he is left alone and immediately returned to prison.

If Arthur hasn’t already had a bad day, it’s about to get worse. Back in prison and newly single, he is fatally stabbed. A guard tells Arthur he has visitors and leads him into a hallway where his attacker, a young inmate, tells him a “deadly joke” and then stabs him multiple times in the stomach.

But wait, it’s even more meta. As Arthur bleeds out and dies, the murderer takes a knife and cuts himself a new smile – similar to the one he had Heath Ledger is seen playing sports The Dark Knight. This could suggest that the mysterious character is the new Joker – or a younger version of Ledger’s Joker – and the person who will truly embody everything the Joker should be.