Lady Gaga"s Harley Quinn Backstory & 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 by the film"s conclusion. Gaga is undoubtedly the biggest addition to Joker: Folie à Deux"s cast, bringing to life the iconic partner of Joker from DC Comics. However, like 2019"s Joker treated its main character, the sequel gives Harley Quinn a much more grounded, realistic, believable take that strips most of the exaggerated elements of the source material from the character by the time of Joker 2"s 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 amid court trials, abusive Arkham guards, lies, and deceptions. The potential story of Joker 3 could further flesh out Harley Quinn, deepening her backstory and motives from 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 2, she 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, states 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 has been 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 states that Lee was never committed to Arkham, but instead voluntarily turned herself in to get closer to Arthur and was free to leave whenever she pleased.
Harley Quinn being depicted as a psychiatry student links to her comic book origins, in which she initially treats Joker before joining him.
Naturally, the opposing backstories of Lee in Joker: Folie à Deux lead to the question of which is real. Later in the movie, Arthur confronts Lee, and she reveals she told him partial lies, but that most of what Maryanne said is truthful. 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 Close By the time of Joker: Folie à Deux"s ending, it is not outwardly spelled out exactly what Lee was looking to achieve in the film. The only constant throughout the story is that Lee wishes to bring out 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 placed down to this. By lying to Arthur and stoking the more violent tendencies within him, it is likely that Lee sought to "awaken" Joker completely. Why exactly Lady Gaga"s Harley Quinn wishes to achieve this is a topic of debate, but it could link to her own mad tendencies paired with the former interest in psychiatry she was confirmed to have. Above all else, though, Lee"s motive in Joker 2 stems from love and idolization.


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