Why Does Lee Break Up With Arthur in Joker: Folie à Deux?

Todd Phillips’ psychological thriller film ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ a sequel to the 2019 movie ‘Joker,’ revolves around the intricate relationship between Arthur Fleck, also known as Joker, and Harleen “Lee” Quinzel. The latter wins the former’s heart with several lies and pretenses. Still, for the first time in a long while, he feels that he has someone to love and acknowledge as his own. He cherishes their togetherness and hopes to win his trial to nurture a life with her. However, his dreams come to an end when she makes it clear to him that they cannot be together anymore! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Lee Loves Joker Rather Than Arthur

From the start of Arthur and Lee’s relationship, the latter loves only the “Joker” persona of the former. She admires the individual who appeared on national television and killed a renowned television host rather than the man who struggles with loneliness inside a psychiatric facility. As far as she is concerned, Joker is a hero who committed the murders and became an anarchical sensation, which makes him worthy of her love. That’s the reason why she always wants to see him in his makeup. She only becomes intimate with Arthur when he appears as Joker. During a prison visit, she draws a red curve with lipstick to see his face with the infamous persona’s iconic smile.

These instances show how Lee loves only Joker rather than Arthur. “She was in love with Joker, and he’s not Joker,” Todd Phillips clarified to USA Today. “He’s only Arthur, and he can only wear that mask of Joker for so long. The movie’s about identity, and is he Arthur or Joker? He really just isn’t Joker,” the filmmaker added. Lee cannot even stand Arthur’s truest, vulnerable form, which makes her hide him using makeup and love only the persona of Joker. That’s also the reason why she cannot accept him following the instructions of his lawyer, Maryanne Stewart. She expects Joker to “take care” of the attorney when Arthur tolerates his legal representative.

Lee is no different from the numerous supporters who celebrate Arthur and the murders he committed. While these admirers limit their support to rallies and parades in the name of Joker, she goes overboard and nurtures a relationship with him, believing that he is truly the persona he projected on national television. In other words, Lee loves the hero of the TV movie she watched several times and not the troubled, lonely person who inspired the same.

Lee Breaks Up With Arthur When He Disapproves Joker

Lee decides to break up with Arthur when he clarifies that he is not Joker, the murderer who is being celebrated as an anarchical hero. Even though she loves the persona, he has trouble accepting the same. He doesn’t even approve of the crimes his alter ego has committed, which explains why he confesses to committing the murders to the jury. The moment Arthur embraces his true identity and dismisses the persona associated with him, Lee realizes that the individual she loves is not the one in front of her. She walks away from the trial and eventually breaks up with him because Joker no longer exists inside the man who professes his love to her.

Interestingly, Lee calls her partner “Arthur” only when she breaks up with him, which shows how she has seen him only as Joker rather than his true self. According to Todd Phillips, the protagonist is an “unwitting icon” who never wanted to be the infamous Joker. He confesses to his crimes and turns against his supporters because of this realization that he wishes to be Arthur only. “[… Arthur] never been this thing that’s been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents. […] This thing was placed on him, and he doesn’t want to live as a fake anymore — he wants to be who he is,” Phillips told EW.

The relationship with Lee is the price Arthur is forced to pay to leave the Joker persona behind. He initially hopes that he can build a loving family, something he never had in his life, with his partner and their child, which makes him run to her after the explosion at the court. However, Lee rejects him because she has never wanted Arthur, especially the one who has separated from Joker.

Read More: Where Was Joker: Folie à Deux Filmed?

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