Sumith Prasad
In Todd Phillips’s psychological thriller film ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ Arthur Fleck, also known as Joker, aspires to build a family with his partner, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, and their baby after she tells him that she is pregnant. The revelation, one way or another, inspires him to elope from the authorities when an explosion amid his trial distracts the officers. However, his dream gets shattered when she breaks up with him. Arthur tries to convince Lee to remain with him by discussing opening a new chapter of their lives with their child, but it doesn’t affect her. Considering her untrustworthiness, her pregnancy can only be approached with a pinch of salt! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Lee’s Pregnancy is Likely a Lie She Uses to Remain With Arthur
Harleen “Lee” Quinzel has lied to Arthur Fleck since their first meeting. She tells him that they both lived in the same neighborhood and had similar experiences while growing up. Lee further adds that she had an abusive father who eventually died in an accident. She also blames her mother for admitting her to Arkham State Hospital. Eventually, these details about her life, which bring them closer and inspire him to be her boyfriend, turn out to be lies. Maryanne Stewart, Arthur’s lawyer, informs him that Lee lived on the Upper West Side rather than in his neighborhood and that her father is still alive.
Stewart also adds that Lee learned psychiatry in grad school, which convinces Arthur that his girlfriend must have lied to him. His partner tells him that she is pregnant while he confronts her about these lies. When she gets exposed, Lee must have realized that she may lose her boyfriend if she doesn’t give him something to hold onto her. She likely tells him that she is pregnant to make him remain her partner. Lee is completely smitten by Arthur’s persona of Joker, which makes her dream of “building a mountain from a hill” with him. Since she cannot let him leave her, she must have relied on a fake pregnancy to change his mind.
As someone who learned psychiatry, Lee must have understood that Arthur craves to build a family. She might have even come across his diary or journal entries and his imaginary relationship with Sophie Dumond, a single mother. Lee can be targeting aspects of his life by telling him that she is pregnant. Since they have unprotected sex before they leave Arkham State Hospital, Arthur believes her without a shadow of a doubt. This particular sexual encounter must have been part of her plans all along, which also explains why she insists on disappearing with him during a movie screening in the hospital.
Lee’s Supposed Pregnancy is Part of Her Manipulation
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ ends without conforming whether Lee is really pregnant. When Arthur asks her about their baby when she breaks up with him, she replies with a song, which starts with the lines, “A show, That is really a show.” With these lines, she can be communicating that the whole affair of her pregnancy was a “show” she put on to manipulate and be in a relationship with him. When she realizes that Arthur’s Joker persona has vanished from him, she ends the same show and walks away from him.
The psychological thriller leaves the possibility of Lee being really pregnant with Arthur’s baby. If she had planned to have sex with him even before meeting him, she might have wanted to have his baby to convince him to accept her as part of his life. However, she must have gotten rid of her wish to be his baby’s mother when he clarifies that he does not want to be Joker. Even if she is really pregnant, Lee may not accept her baby because the person she loves, the Joker persona of Arthur, no longer exists.
After the release of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ several viewers have noted that a trailer scene featuring Lee, likely pregnant, is not in the film. Even if she is pregnant in this particular sequence, it can be the imagination of Arthur, who gets obsessed about a future in which he is a father. Considering these factors, it is safe to say that Lee likely lies about being pregnant to his partner before their eventual separation.
Read More: Where Was Joker: Folie à Deux Filmed?
