1) Joker’s Memories
If there was one thing fans wanted more of in the extended cut, it was The Joker. Apart from the motorcycle scene, though, the only other new footage of Leto’s take on the part is this extended version of the Harley torture sequence at Arkham. In just one new line though, it suggests a whole well of untapped material for the character.
In the theatrical cut, it’s left a little ambiguous why Joker forcibly gives Harley electroshock therapy – is it just because he likes torturing people, or because he’s trying to convert her to his way of thinking? The extended version reveals that it’s revenge for his prior experience of the treatment. As Harley pleads that she was helping him, Joker accuses her of trying to “erase his mind” of the “few faded memories I had.”
[zergpaid]This is a fascinating notion for Joker fans, as it is adds an element of humanity to him that is not often found. For one, The Joker usually tries to repress his memories in his bid to create himself a new persona (think The Dark Knight‘s “you wanna know how I got these scars?” scenes). Here, however, Joker seems to lament the loss of his original self.
Showing The Joker in a new light like this is really what we wanted from Suicide Squad, but failed to find in both the theatrical and extended cuts. As such, we’re hopeful that more of this will be explored in future DCEU movies.