How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Dark Knight.
Quote #1
BRUCE WAYNE: We all know how much you like to say "I told you so."
ALFRED: On that day Master Wayne, even I won't want to.
Leave it to Alfred to add a little levity to the prospect of Gotham's midnight defender being brought down. There's a sense of acceptance to it that helps tinge the near-nihilism with a touch of Zen calm.
Quote #2
THE JOKER: Look, listen—I know why you choose to have your little "group therapy" sessions in broad daylight. I know why you're afraid to go out at night. The Batman.
Here's the Batman's effect on the other side, with the mob facing defeat instead of the heroes. Ironically, these guys are all still doomed: they're just going to get it from the clown instead of the bat.
Quote #3
BRUCE WAYNE: The bandit, in the forest in Burma. Did you catch him?
ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Yes.
BRUCE WAYNE: How?
ALFRED PENNYWORTH: We burned the forest down.
This is what they mean by destroying the village in order to save it. It also tells us something important about defeat. You have to define your terms before you can win or lose them. Is catching the bandit more important than keeping the forest safe? (And by extension, is catching the Joker more important than keeping Gotham safe?) That's going to have a huge impact on how you tackle the threat, and by extension, whether you can legitimately chalk one up to the win column when you're done.
Quote #4
THE JOKER: You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength!
This moment's important because it demonstrates that you don't have to beat someone up to win. Batman can pound the Joker into a green and purple pancake, and it's not going to do him any good. His opponent's holding all the cards.
Quote #5
THE JOKER: Choose between one life or the other: Your friend the District Attorney, or his blushing bride-to-be!
As always, the Joker has stacked the deck here. No matter who Batman chooses, someone is going to die, which turns the whole affair into a no-win situation.
Quote #6
RACHEL: When I told you that if Gotham no longer needed Batman we could be together, I meant it. But now I'm sure the day won't come when you no longer need Batman. I hope it does; and if it does I will be there, but as your friend.
A quieter form of defeat here, but man does it sting. Rachel's going with Harvey over Bruce, a prospect so awful to Bruce's psyche that Alfred burns her note spelling all this out. What can the Joker do compared to that?
Quote #7
BATMAN: I know now what I have to become to defeat men like him.
Batman's defining the terms of defeat here. Is the cost he would pay to stop the Joker so awful that it would nullify the victory itself? That's a grim question which Bruce is going to have to answer before the end of this.
Quote #8
THE JOKER: I took Gotham's white knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!
Here's the tough thing for Batman: he has to beat the Joker every single time. The Joker only has to win once. So sure, Bats shows him up with the whole ferry-passengers-not-embracing-the-void thing. But as he said, he's got an ace in the hole, and none of Batman's victories will matter if he can't stop it.
Quote #9
TWO-FACE: The Joker chose me!
BATMAN: Because you were the best of us. He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.
TWO-FACE: And he was right.
BATMAN: You're the one pointing the gun, Harvey. So point it at the people responsible.
TWO-FACE: Fair enough. You first.
When you get Gotham's two most stalwart defenders shooting each other in the gut, it's a pretty darn good day for Team Evil.
Quote #10
JAMES GORDON JR.: Batman! Batman! Why's he running, dad?
GORDON: Because we have to chase him.
If this is a win, it sure doesn't feel like it, with Batman staggering to his cycle with snarling police dogs in pursuit, and Gordon knowing that he has to actively encourage it in order to have any hope of stopping the Joker for good.