Goat in Palm Springs movie
I just rewatched Palm Springs. FYI this post contains spoilers.
So in the movie Sarah tests her theory that you can exit the time loop by being in an explosion inside the cave, which resets the day but by having an explosion during that reset it creates an energy burst that propels that looped version of your consciousness out of the time loop box.
Plot point 1 - Sarah gets Nyles to trust her theory enough to explode in the cave with her by telling her that the goat disappeared from Nov 9th via explosion. (And as she’s entering the cave with Nyles, he asks how confident she is about her theory and she gives a bit of an evasive answer.)
Plot point 2 - We later (as a post credits scene) see Roy approach Nyles at the wedding and realize this version of Nyles is not in the time loop, explaining to the audience that even though the looped version of Nyles escaped Nov 9, an unlooped version of Nyles still exists in Roy’s current iteration of Nov 9.
Plot point 1 was done on a non looped being (the goat) and implies that the explosion removes the goat from physically existing the subsequent iterations that the looped main characters are in.
Plot point 2 was done on 2 looped humans and implies that it removed their looped consciousnesses from the loop and propelled them to the next day. And that a version of themselves continued to progress through Nov 9 (linearly from Nov 8 to 9 to 10, not as part of a Nov 9 loop), as displayed by Nyle’s final interaction with Roy.
What theories do you have that explain this seeming contradiction in the rules governing this movie’s world and take on time loops and physics?
The most convincing theory I have seen is… (PLEASE feel free to reply before reading this part as I’d love your unique reaction!)
…
So the most internally consistent explanation I have heard is that Sarah lied to Nyles and the goat did not disappear but she still believed her plan would work on their looped consciousnesses, and she wanted Nyles to believe her and come with her, so she made her best convincing argument.
What do others think?
Also interested to hear your thoughts on Nana or any other plot internal consistency questions if you’ve considered anything else!