Yes, that’s how “Joker: Folie à Deux” ends.

This story contains major spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deuxincluding discussion of the ending.

Would you like to hear a joke? The end of Joker: Folie à Deux is probably what the audience will be talking about the most. Directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel to “1 billion 2019 hit joker commits the cardinal sin of being boring; In its two hour and seventeen minute running time, nothing else seems as lively and energetic as Sylvian Chomet’s animated sequence that opens the film. Thereafter, Slide for two runs on two tracks, divided between Arthur Fleck languishing in Arkham Asylum and the trial against him for the crimes he committed in Philips’ first Joker film.

The film comes to life a little when Lady Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel takes the stage. Lee and Arthur meet in a music therapy class, where she reveals to him that she is a Joker superfan who has seen the TV movie about his killing spree dozens of times. Lee’s adoration is enough to free Arthur from the hazy mindspace of two years in prison and bring his Joker side out again. As someone who has only ever wanted acceptance and love, he has been given a new life – so much so that he starts singing and dancing in his head, and this is where the film’s musical numbers come into play.

These sequences give Arthur the idea that Lee may not be as supportive as she suggests, leaving him uncertain about whether or not he should embrace his comedic side again. Especially because his lawyer (Catherine Keener) warns him that any deviation from her existing plan to plead insanity will result in him being sentenced to life in prison. But as the film enters its third act, Arthur ultimately can’t help but fall in love with Lee, who keeps urging him to get involved. This leads to Arthur firing Keener and becoming his own lawyer, clown costume and all. After returning from court that day, Arthur is severely beaten in Arkham by police officers who later kill an inmate who spoke out for Fleck.

During the final hearing the next day led by District Attorney Harvey Dent (industry(Harry Lawtey) Arthur, haunted by the events of the night before, turns around and denies that the Joker is a separate person, taking full responsibility for his actions from the course of the first part joker. Lee, who was in court every day as Arthur’s emotional support, then leaves the courtroom. When the guilty verdict is announced a few hours later, a bomb explodes, injuring Dent (yes, Two-Face fans, half of Lawtey’s pretty mug ends up worn off) and allowing Arthur to escape with the help of two clothed men in The Joker Garment.

Finally, Arthur ends up at the famous stairs in front of his apartment, where he finds a dejected Lee, who then rejects him. It turns out Lee was just another follower looking for meaning from an iconic character and wanted Arthur to deny responsibility for his actions, be tried by insanity and leave with her. By refusing to give in to the mystique surrounding the Joker’s personality – the fact that he is both loved and feared – Arthur is useless to Lee, turning him back into the loser and loner he was in the beginning joker.