During Joker: Folie à Deux's final act, Arthur Fleck decides to represent himself in court and, during a rousing speech, insults Arkham's guards.
When he returns, they're not happy and proceed to beat him up, wash off his makeup, tear his suit to pieces and then - presumably - rape him in the shower. Nothing is explicitly shown and fans are currently divided on whether Arthur was simply beaten or sexually assaulted by those guards.
Either way, we next see Arthur being dragged back to his cell where he lies broken in body and spirit, forced to listen to Brendon Gleeson's Jackie Sullivan murder his fellow inmate and fan, Ricky.
It's seemingly because of this that Arthur decides to go to court the next day and admit there is no "Joker' and only he is responsible for his actions. While it isn't made overly clear, the message seems to be that Arthur has realised even his persona isn't enough to beat the system and he's better off just taking responsibility for who he is and what he's done.
None of it really lands (hence the bad reviews) but there's chatter on social media about walkouts at this late point in the movie and a general disgust that Arthur is potentially raped by his captors.
Talking to IGN, filmmaker Todd Phillips said, "[The] first film under the script always said 'An origin story.' Never said THE origin story. It was this idea that maybe this isn't THE Joker. Maybe this is the inspiration for the Joker. So, in essence at the end of this movie, the thing you're being left with is 'Wait, what is that thing happening behind him? Is that the guy?'"
Describing Arthur's eventual death at the hands of a fellow inmate as "beautiful," Phillips shared his take on why the madman eventually rejects Joker.
"What he realizes is basically you can't fight City Hall. Meaning when you're Arthur you're going to always lose, and corruption will always win," he explained. "Whether it's the corruption of the prison system/guards, the corruption of the judicial system, the corruption of the media, and the way they represent Arthur in that sort of Tom Snyder-esque interview in the beginning with the very brilliant Steve Coogan."
"The only way to win is to burn it all down in Arthur's head, like just a little "[frick] it all." You know what I mean? Because you just can't win when you're a person like Arthur."
What are your thoughts on Joker: Folie à Deux's shocking final act? As always, let us know in the comments section below.