Pleasantville ending

[Oscarfan]

I just finished watching Pleasantville for the third time and the ending always confuses me.

When William H. Macy and Joan Allen's characters share a laugh, suddenly Macy becomes Jeff Daniel's character.

I don't get. Is Daniel's part happening at a later time? I have a slight theory: Macy's character has changed for the better and because of such, he becomes a man worthy of Allen, literally become Daniel, much like Reese Witherspoon and Topher Grace become the "Bud" and "Mary Sue" characters. But then I realize Allen's character is clearly going to leave Macy for Daniel, so him turning into Daniel wouldn't make any sense.

Anyone have any theories or can clear it up? The director doesn't explain it in the commentary; he explains the reason behind their laughter, just not the transformation.

 

[RedPiggy]

I just thought they got along better, Daniel and the mother. Just as the show started transforming, the father turns into Daniel because it would make the story better. In essence, instead of getting a divorce, the script changed.