So was he Milton all a long or just in time line after Kevin's suicide and the reversal of all the events. The thing is, Milton seemed to interact with Kevin and Marry Anne in a similar way Larry did they just didn't seem to pick up on it.
shareI may be wrong, but I’ve always assumed that Larry was always Milton.
shareI'm with JaqenHgar. I think Larry was always Milton. Then again, there's so much contrived shenanigans in the last fifteen minutes of the movie that I'm not sure it matters, anyway.
shareIt just shows that the devil (Milton) is always there to tempt Kevin. Although he can't force him to do anything he lays out the sins for him (in this case vanity) to either grab or ignore. Although Kevin kills Milton at the end it's only metaphorically that he kills that part of him who wants to go on doing the "devil's work". Milton (or the devil) can't be killed but can be defeated at any time by doing what's right. Obviously, Kevin can't get rid of his vanity when he accepts Larry's offer showing that although he did the right thing by not longer representing his client he is still tempted by the sin of vanity thus resurrecting Milton (the devil) for another "test".
shareI'll go for that. It shows that the Devil can be blocked, but not removed; temptation will always be there. I LOVE that the film makes Kevin the ultimate decider in every circumstance. He's shown the delights of sin by Satan (who artfully obfuscates the horrors) and allowed to make his own errors. It's all on Kevin.
I still think the ending was a bit of a mess, but that's a flaw in an otherwise pretty excellent picture.
As to his ego, I think he beat some of it, but not all of it. It's still going to be a stumbling block for him, but he did resist some temptations.