Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn backstory and motives in Joker 2 explained

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.

Joker: Folie à Deux pairs Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, providing an intriguing backstory and questionable motives for the latter through the film’s conclusion. Gaga is undoubtedly the biggest addition to Joker: Folie à Deuxs character, bringing to life the iconic partner of Joker from DC Comics. However, as in 2019 Joker Treating its main character, the sequel gives Harley Quinn a much more grounded, realistic, believable take that strips most of the exaggerated elements of the character’s source material at the time of Joker 2s climactic ending.

Although there are DC Easter eggs found in Joker 2 That reference Harley Quinn’s backstory and iconic make-up, many elements are left purposefully unclear about her character when the credits roll. This ties into the overall journey of Arthur Fleck, as the character navigates a new relationship between court trials, abusive Arkham guards, lies and deceptions. The potential history of Joker 3 Could further flesh out Harley Quinn, deepening her backstory and motives Joker: Folie à Deux.

Harley Quinn’s two backstories explained – which one is real?

Harley’s lies cast an uncertain shroud over her past

In only Harley Quinn’s second scene in Joker 2She reveals her backstory to Arthur Fleck. She explains that she is a less fortunate citizen of Gotham from Arthur’s neighborhood and that set fire to her parents’ apartment and burned down the building. Harley, named Lee throughout the film, says that this led her mother to commit her to Arkham Asylum, also revealing that her father was abusive and that he died in a car crash shortly after the fire.

However, later in the film, Arthur’s lawyer Maryanne explains that Harley was playing him. Maryanne reveals that Lee is actually from the wealthy Upper East Side of Gotham and that she was a psychiatry student. Fleck learns that Lee never burned down an apartment building and that both of her parents are alive. Finally, Maryanne says that Lee was never committed to Arkham, but instead volunteered to get closer to Arthur and was free to leave whenever she wanted.

Naturally, the opposing backstories of Lee In Joker: Folie à Deux leading to the question of what is real. Later in the movie, Arthur confronts Lee, and she reveals that she told him some lies, but that most of what Maryanne said was true. As a result, It is safe to assume Lee’s backstory revealed by Maryanne is what is real, raising into question the former’s motives for entering Arkham. and manipulating Arthur.

Harley Quinn’s motive in Joker 2 explained

Lee is a personification of those who idolize the Joker persona

At the time of Joker: Folie à DeuxIn the end, it didn’t outwardly spell out exactly what Lee was looking to achieve in the film. The only constant throughout the story is that Lee wants to bring on the Joker persona of Arthur for good. Lee believes that Arthur does not have a dissociative identity disorder as his lawyers and doctors claim, but that Arthur and Joker are one and the same and the latter is the real person, not a mask or coping mechanism.

Therefore, many of Lee’s motives can be put down to this. By lying to Arthur and stoking the more violent tendencies in him, it is likely that Lee sought to “wake up” Joker completely. Why exactly Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn wants to achieve this is a topic of ​​debate, but it may link to her own insane tendencies paired with the initial interest in psychiatry that she is confirmed to have. Above all, however, Lee’s motive in Joker 2 Derived from love and idols.

The first Joker The movie raised many serious, controversial arguments about whether Arthur was justified throughout the story. Both in-universe and in real life, the idea that Joker is justified has been argued. In the former, Joker was shown to gain many followers who used the persona as a way to justify violence, aggression and murder. in Joker 2Lee is a personification of this. Lee falls in love with the idea as much as his figurehead, which explains her motives for wanting to bury Arthur and unleash Joker.

Why Harley Quinn leaves the courtroom at the end of Joker 2

Lee’s ending reflects her love for Joker and lack of it for Arthur

throughout Joker: Folie à DeuxIt becomes clear that Lee is in love with Joker. At several points, particularly when Arthur shows his Joker tendencies, the two are intimate with one another. Lee’s primary reason for wanting to unlock Joker completely is that she idolizes him and is in love with him. With this in mind, it becomes clear why Lee leaves Arthur in the room at the end of Joker: Folie à Deux.

Arthur admits to the court that Joker was a personality crafted by him to escape his trauma and unleash his violent fantasies. This visibly upsets Lee, who storms out of the room and ignores Arthur’s calls afterwards. The reason for this is that it was Joker with whom Lee was in love, not Arthur. Once Arthur acknowledged that Joker was not the real him, Lee’s object of idolization was killed and she left.

What happens to Harley Quinn after Joker 2

The fate of Harley Quinn is admittedly unclear

at the end of Joker 2Harley leaves Arthur to be arrested and returns to Arkham. After that, Lee is not seen again, but the film gives some hints as to what may have happened to her. Before this scene, Arthur tries to call Lee before his verdict is given. She listens to his voicemail while pointing a gun at her head. This may indicate that Lee faces death by suicide yet Joker 2The DC timeline comes out, driven by the “death” of the man she loved, Joker.

Another possibility is that Lee moves onto another person as the object of her obsessions. like Joker 2As the end proves, there are many more people in Gotham who idolize Joker and want to be like him. Above all else, the other inmate in Arkham who kills Arthur and cuts a smile to his face as the movie ends may become the Joker universe’s title character. If Lee enters Arkham one more time, she can find him and they can become more like the DC Comics version of Harley Quinn and the Crown Prince of Crime.

Although this is unlikely to be shown, given director Todd Phillips’ desire to return to the franchise, this could be the end of the screen for Lee. Overall, Harley Quinn’s end in Joker: Folie à Deux is as deliberately vague as her motives and backstory throughout the film. This could pave the way for a Harley Quinn spin-off Joker 2Or simply end this section of the DC Universe in a way that is open to interpretation, as much of Arthur Fleck’s story has been.