Okay, 'Joker: Folie à Deux' - Did Anyone Else Feel...Manipulated?

Right, so I've just seen 'Joker: Folie à Deux'. Look, I appreciate the ambition. A musical? Bold move. And Gaga? Obviously magnetic. But... I can't shake this feeling that Phillips and co. are actively trying to force an emotional response. The constant over-the-top performances, the jarring shifts between gritty realism (or what passes for it in this universe) and these elaborate song-and-dance numbers...it felt less like organic storytelling and more like emotional blackmail. Specifically, that scene in Arkham when Arthur and Harley 'connect' during the storm. Beautifully shot, sure, but the sudden swelling of the orchestra and the slow-motion dance...it felt so calculated. Did anyone else feel like they were being spoon-fed the 'romantic tragedy' narrative? Maybe I'm just too cynical – lord knows I get accused of that enough – but I couldn't buy the sincerity of it. It felt like a pastiche, almost a cynical self-aware commentary on the whole concept of on-screen romance, yet played completely straight. Is that the point? I don't even know anymore. And the 'music inside him' thing? I get the metaphor, the release of pent-up anxieties and societal frustrations. But did it need to manifest as a full-blown Broadway production number every five minutes? I'm all for artistic license, but there's a point where it becomes distracting and, frankly, a bit exhausting. Maybe I Went in with the wrong expectations? Was anyone else left underwhelmed, or am I just missing something profound here? I need to hear other people's thoughts to see if I'm just being overly critical. One last thing - the ending felt kind of weak, didn't it? It just kind of...happened. I expected them to go bigger, or at the very least, to have a more resonant conclusion about art, mental illness, or society itself. What did everyone make of the final scenes, and where do you think they are heading with the future of the franchise?