abstract
| - For a web production that is thematically referencing the take of Christopher Nolan on a realistic Batman mythos, The Joker Blogs does a great and very creepy job at portraying the incarcerated Joker in a very disturbing light....and occasionally making him even more disturbing than usual.
* The entirety of Episode 3: "Meet Steve" can count, what with Joker slamming down a dead body in front of the camera while addressing Dr. Quinzel (and more so, US) about mortality.
* Episode 4: "A Dream Come True"has the Joker discussing his dream about shooting and gutting a bear---at the Gotham Zoo, no less---only to find that it's a guy in a bear costume, and he's actually at a theme park....and he keeps gutting the bear, which he then takes back to the lodge and skins, like a bear rug for the fireplace. And then we find out that DA Fields was left on the asylum director's desk, skinned "like a bear rug".....
* Joker's rant about individuality and standing out in Episode 8: "BRB" can be creepy enough, but nobody beats learning that Henry "with the fork in the throat" did have it and, of course, him shooting the guy with the camera.
* The bit where he flips over the table also counts; when I first saw this episode, I thought he was going to attack the cameraman or something..... though he saves that for the end of the episode
* Episode 10: "Car Trouble: The Joker has been hiding in the back of Jeremiah Arkham's car for an indeterminate amount of time since his escape in Episode 8.
* Episode 12: "Dinner with the Arkhams" is a string of Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel all in its own, that leaving Mrs. Arkham with a bomb set off to midnight (which later critically wounds her despite Dr. Arkham's desperate grovelling) is just the icing on the blood-spattered wedding cake.
* The follow-up, "Dragging Dr. Arkham", only shows Jeremiah Arkham being dragged away from his house, gagged and screaming, before the Joker throws him in the trunk of the car... and it's still creepy as all Hell.
* Episode 13: "Road Trip": The Joker whacking Pearl across the head with the clipboard and almost making her crash the car, because "nurses should be seen, but NEVER heard"; he then threatens to cut her eyes out if she speaks up again.
* Bonus points if you remember where the character of Pearl originated....
* Joker killing Gary Kopski in the self-evident Episode 14: "Killing Kopski, by framing everything to look like a suicide can chill one's bones, especially the last few seconds of the episode, where the camera is filming Garret's death-by-electrocution. Knowing that it's actually possible for someone to break in without notice, and that all these things were done just to prevent Harleen's wedding from taking place just shows us how far the Joker is willing to go to make a point. Even the most mundane one:
*
* Seriously, the electrocution of Garret is tough to watch. This Troper doesn't get disturbed easily, but those final, flickering shots of Garrett screaming his last...I have to either turn the volume down or resize the window.
* The scar story in Episode 16: "Three Minutes to Midnight".
* Of course, nothing tops the climax of Episode 17: Shotgun Wedding where Joker's killing spree not only counts numerous police in casualty, but also the presiding Priest and Guy Kopski, Harleen's would-have-been husband. And to top it all, Batman's appearance did not relieve anyone who have watched at this point, since the casualties have already raked on for 17 episodes.
* The fact that everyone Joker has interacted with, which includes Harleen, Dr. Arkham, Dr. Strange, Ted the Bum, Lyle Bolton, the Bookworm and others have their lives utterly damaged and or have driven them into a state of inertia or obsession definitely counts. No one seems to have mastered the art of Hannibal Lecture better. It's not without reason that the Joker mentions to Harleen at the beginning: I'm warning you: I get to people.
* When you consider that in-universe and in meta, the viewers are practically interacting with the Joker, THIS PRACTICALLY INCLUDES YOU.
* "Further Evidence 1: He Can't Because He's Dead" gives us the details on Steve's murder from Episode 3, and puts the title of the episode into a much more chilling light.
* Even the trailer for Series 2 is enough to be unsettling; we see Harleen Quinzell, still wearing her wedding dress from Episode 17, sitting by herself in a room containing various important props from the series as the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" plays in the background (the song itself almost qualifies as HONF as the trailer continues). Right at the end, she slowly begins to smile...and then we cut to the Joker in a straitjacket as the "This Fire Rises" chant echoes in the background.....
* FE #2 has Dr. Arkham telling his comatose wife about his uncle taking him to the asylum on "Take Your Child To Work Day" (who thinks that's a good idea at Arkham Asylum?) and witnessed an inmate killing a bunch of people and then Jerry having to trick him into killing himself ("You go first ... I'm scared.") Steven Moloney does such a good job you will sob and be horrified at the same time. And then it ends with Scarecrow killing a nurse with fear toxin, and then Jeremiah threatening Jim Gordon's wife through the camera, confirming what the trailer hinted at: Arkham is working with him and has completely lost it.
* Harleen in the second to last episode, during the news reel. When we last see her her entire hair is dyed blonde and she's wearing much brighter lipstick then usual. Half-smirking, her voice higher then usual, she tells the interviewer she can still help the Joker and will continue to see him. It's totally chilling, seeing Harley beginning to take over. It's subtle but... eurgh. That's when I was convinced on how surprisingly good the actress was. She doesn't need to be over-the-top to totally chill you.
* The recent preview to FE #3 has this series's version of the Penguin. His monotone voice as he breaks a man's fingers is absolutely chilling.
* FE #3 itself has a masked, hooded entity that kills one of the Falcones right at the end; the Pre-Mortem One-Liner pretty much confirms that it's the Phantasm.
*
* Bonus points for the song they play leading up to the end: Don't Fear the Reaper
|