I love that

lmao! they had me for a bit. Yes, Ned would be the perfect deceptive incarnation of the devil as we see in many classic devil myths. In the classic tradition he doesn't appear in full flaming headgear & claws but instead appears as a 'harmless' or weak old man so you don't suspect anything. (Edgar Allan Poe - "Never Bet the Devil Your Head")

But I think the fan's explanation of the devil's motivation is kinda backwards. Typically the devil wants to claim souls, right? So why would he release Phil after Phil signs the contract? The contract, if anything, would ensure the devil's claim on Phil's soul and the movie would end in tragedy.

I do like the idea that the groundhog loop is a sort of hell or purgatory for Phil. But I think it aligns more with the Buddhist model (reincarnation until enlightenment) rather than the Christian model (devil, etc).

In any case, I think I'll stick with the fun interpretation that Ned was just a random loser from Phil's old high school*, and the point was that Phil had to learn to respect people before his soul could escape its prison.

*Hey wait. That would totally kill the devil theory. Phil knew Ned from way back in high school. So unless the devil decided to shadow Phil for 30+ years just to sell him a stupid insurance policy, I think we can conclude that he wasn't the devil!

@rooprect said:

lmao! they had me for a bit. Yes, Ned would be the perfect deceptive incarnation of the devil as we see in many classic devil myths. In the classic tradition he doesn't appear in full flaming headgear & claws but instead appears as a 'harmless' or weak old man so you don't suspect anything. (Edgar Allan Poe - "Never Bet the Devil Your Head")

But I think the fan's explanation of the devil's motivation is kinda backwards. Typically the devil wants to claim souls, right? So why would he release Phil after Phil signs the contract? The contract, if anything, would ensure the devil's claim on Phil's soul and the movie would end in tragedy.

I'd say that the terms of this Devil's contract are that the Devil will claim the signer's soul upon or after the signer's death. So, Phil doesn't lose his soul immediately when he is released. He gets to live out his life, and on his deathbed the devil will appear once again—in the guise of Ned ?—to collect his soul.

In another plot, the Devil wanted something else:

Phil Connors wanted to date a woman who was out of his league. When he was unsuccessful at picking her up, he made a verbal deal with the Devil: if that woman fell in love with him, he would give the Devil his firstborn child. But, after sleeping with her, he dumped her and had a vasectomy. Phil mocked the Devil as he thought that he had outsmarted him.

Some time later, on the day of Imbolc, Phil's scorned ex placed a curse on him: starting from the day after Imbolc, he was doomed to relive that same day until he changed for the better. The Devil entered the time loop, so that when Phil did change, he would sign a contract with the clauses—in fine print—that nothing would be paid out, if he could not provide the Devil with a firstborn as agreed on in the previous deal, and he agreed that by signing the contract, his soul would belong to the Devil at the time of his death.

@wonder2wonder said:

@rooprect said:

lmao! they had me for a bit. Yes, Ned would be the perfect deceptive incarnation of the devil as we see in many classic devil myths. In the classic tradition he doesn't appear in full flaming headgear & claws but instead appears as a 'harmless' or weak old man so you don't suspect anything. (Edgar Allan Poe - "Never Bet the Devil Your Head")

But I think the fan's explanation of the devil's motivation is kinda backwards. Typically the devil wants to claim souls, right? So why would he release Phil after Phil signs the contract? The contract, if anything, would ensure the devil's claim on Phil's soul and the movie would end in tragedy.

I'd say that the terms of this Devil's contract are that the Devil will claim the signer's soul upon or after the signer's death. So, Phil doesn't lose his soul immediately when he is released. He gets to live out his life, and on his deathbed the devil will appear once again—in the guise of Ned ?—to collect his soul.

Aha I'm sure that was the original ending, but it didn't test well with audiences....

In another plot, the Devil wanted something else:

Phil Connors wanted to date a woman who was out of his league. When he was unsuccessful at picking her up, he made a verbal deal with the Devil: if that woman fell in love with him, he would give the Devil his firstborn child. But, after sleeping with her, he dumped her and had a vasectomy. Phil mocked the Devil as he thought that he had outsmarted him.

Some time later, on the day of Imbolc, Phil's scorned ex placed a curse on him: starting from the day after Imbolc, he was doomed to relive that same day until he changed for the better. The Devil entered the time loop, so that when Phil did change, he would sign a contract with the clauses—in fine print—that nothing would be paid out, if he could not provide the Devil with a firstborn as agreed on in the previous deal, and he agreed that by signing the contract, his soul would belong to the Devil at the time of his death.

Aha I'm sure that was an entire screenplay, but it realllly didn't test well with audiences... 😬