Groundhog Day has a dark theory that changes everything that people think they know about the beloved comedy. Movies like Groundhog Day are set up to offer a fun time in the sci-fi genre, as Bill Murray plays a man stuck in a time loop. Taken at face value, the movie is about him learning to become a better person.

However, there are also moments in Groundhog Day that have some fans questioning whether there is more to the story than a simple case of discovering oneself. The Groundhog Day ending has Phil Connors (Murray) breaking the cycle and seemingly coming out on the other side. However, one theory questions this.

The Groundhog Day Purgatory Theory Explained

This Groundhog Day theory suggests that the timeloop wasn’t a sci-fi construct. Instead, this theory suggests that Phil Connors died and is now in purgatory. There are several things that point to this, and they include characters who might not be who they seem and dialogue that hints at much darker themes.

One of the lines of dialogue points to teaching in the Catholic Church. There is a point when Phil is eating with Rita, and he makes a blasphemous comment, saying he is a “God.” However, Rita suggests she has 12 years of Catholic school experience to know that he is not God. Purgatory is a concept of Catholicism.

The main theme of Groundhog Day hints that Phil needs to find a way to break out of the time loop and save himself. However, there is an older beggar who dies, and every day, Phil tries to save him, but the man dies no matter what he does. This suggests that not everyone’s soul can be saved in purgatory.

Finally, there are two characters and what they represent. Rita might represent an angel, and Phil even says she looks like an “angel in the snow.“ He must finally accept Rita over any of the other women in the town because she is the angel who can lead Phil to the Promised Land.

The second character is Ned Ryerson, who many Groundhog Day theories suggest is the Devil himself. This is the even darker theory because, on the same day he chooses Rita and saves himself, he also signs an agreement with Ryerson. If he is the Devil, Phil might have signed his soul away to the Devil and has only one destination.

Groundhog Day Being Set In Purgatory Changes The Tone Of The Entire Movie

When watching Groundhog Day without considering the theories, the movie is a hopeful film that sees Phil freed from the time loop when he becomes a better person and finds love. It is similar to Bill Murray’s Scrooged, where he must change who he is to become a better person.

When looking at the theories, whether it is that Ryerson is the Devil or Rita is an angel, things take a darker tone. Instead of a person improving, it sees him trying to make it to Heaven or Hell. If he is in Purgatory, and the trials and tribulations there are similar to Dante’s Inferno, the stakes have been raised.

This goes from finding love and becoming a good person to fighting to save his soul. If this were the case, the end where he moves on to the next day takes on one of two meanings. One interpretation is that he can move on, and the other is that he is still trapped in the afterlife.

Does Bill Murray Actually Escape Purgatory In Groundhog Day’s Ending?

If Phil is in Purgatory, he is searching for something missing from his life. Phil had to keep repeating the same day over and over again, and his goal was to reach the point in his life where he finally accomplished what he should have. That seemed to happen in the end.

This also plays into the fact that, if Phil is in Purgatory, he doesn’t remember his death or dying. He also tries to die to end his time loop, but never succeeds. This proves that not even death will end his torment, and this plays even harder into the idea of Purgatory.

That said, there is a sign that he finally escaped Purgatory when he woke up, and the date changed. He was with Rita, his possible angel, which could mean he is in Heaven. He also possibly signed his soul away to the Devil, which could mean his angel was a ruse.

However, Groundhog Day never showed the town after he woke up, so whether he escaped Purgatory and made his way to the afterlife or not remains unknown. Taken at face value, he did, but this is a movie that seems to offer so many theories that nothing is taken at face value anymore.