Incidentally, did anyone pay attention to how, when Neo was walking towards the save-Trinity door, all the other Neos on the screens were also walking towards that door? Was this to symbolize that wven though Neo had many choices to make during the Architecht’s speech (flip him the bird or not, etc.) the save-Trinity choice was the only one - the only one - he could be excepted to make?
Fatal Exception at 0028:c42B4FFF in neo_v6
Good point, robert, but I have a theory… OK, say the Merovingian was a human being and was one of the previous “Ones” that the Architect spoke of. He chooses the door to save the Matrix, then refounds Zion. One of the people he chooses is Persephone. They do their Zion thing until such time as THAT iteration of Zion is destroyed, or maybe when they were going to die a mortal death. Not wishing to be dead, the ProtoMerovingian, using his superior control over the Matrix, is able to download his consciousness AND Persephone’s from their physical selves into program form. So, they are no longer human; they are the binary form of their psyches downloaded to the Matrix, where presumably they can control things like their accents and appearances, their house, etc., in a way that regular Matrix dwellers cannot.
This might account for the name Persephone-- taken from the sunlit world of human existence to live a half-life as a program, she longs for the passion and intensity of being alive. What do you think?
Interesting theory…that freeway did look more like the I-5 than U.S. 101, and it’s even more scary. 
But I’m starting to think that “101” is just a binary reference with no inherent meaning. Here’s what I saw on my second viewing today:
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When Trinity hacks the backup power system, the password reads “ZION0101”.
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The last part of the freeway chase takes place atop a “LONGPATH” truck (“There’s a big difference between knowing the path and walking the path” – Morpheus) which has an address on the door that says “10101 Metro [something].” Hmm…
Maybe it’s just what Trinity calls out during sex? “One! Oh, ONE! OH, ONE!”
I think the Neos in the background were not choices Neo could make, but rather the choices that previous Neos did make. Thus the responses:
Notice that the last response, “answer me”, might have been from the first Neo, since it doesn’t refer to any predecessors.
Yes, I recognize what this implies: the previous Neos *all chose the door on the left. And yet the Matrix didn’t fall. * My take on it all is that [wild-ass guess] Neo has the “illusion” of a choice here, and he’s still destined to the same fate. He will save 23 others to escape this Zion that is being destroyed, and he is realizing is still part of the Matrix. Instead, they will wake up in (what he would believe to be) the real new Zion just as the old one is destroyed. It’s all going according to plan… except for Smith/Bane.
Call me loopy, but I think the key to breaking the cycle rests with Agent Smith. :eek: [/wild-ass guess]
And shoot - this quote from the Architect dialogue shows even clearer that the other Neos in the background are previous versions:
How about a simpler theory: The One is a combination of both human and program. Thus the Architect’s responses:
[ul][li]You have many questions, and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human.[/li][li]The function of the One is now to return to the source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program. [/li]Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the one. [/ul]
NardoPolo, you’re good. I like this idea… but what happens when the human part dies? Perhaps the Merovingian was a One whose human body died; rather than relinquish his consciousness, he transferred the code part to the Matrix? Not sure how this would fit with Persephone, who I think must be an exile from a previous Zion, or an exile from humanity.
How does the Architect make a human/program hybrid happen? Selective breeding? I imagine the machines must control who breeds with whom…
I’d like to make a few points. First, I have word that in the game “Enter the Matrix” the new oracle states that Neo is in the coma at the end because he finally “freed his mind.” This statement virtually confirms another matrix. Personally, I think there needs to be only two matricies. One for everyone and one for the one percent that doesn’t accept it–that’s why it must be destroyed every so often, to prevent the emergence of someone who can manipulate it as the One does in the main matrix.
I had thought that Smith was the key to breaking the cycle, but why would he show up in the backdoors of the matrix. The Keymaker said “this is how it is supposed to be” or something like that. Was Smith’s new viral existence fated to be? Then why aren’t there previous viral Smiths from when this all happened before? That is my main issue.
Also how do we know the architect isn’t lying? After all, the Oracle told Neo “exactly what you needed to hear, nothing more.” Maybe he knows that either way the matrix will survive in some form and Neo is powerless in the Zion matrix, except he’s finally freed his mind.
Finally, I don’t know if we have to assume that the real real world will be like the one in the first movie. It could be nice completely different with no machines or human power plants at all, maybe the matrix (matricies) are merely human inventions to control other humans. I’m pumped up for “Revolutions”
See “The Second Renaissance” episodes of The Animatrix, they’re basically the story of the war that transpired that ended in mankind’s enslavement into the Matrix. Since The Animatrix was overseen by the Wachowski Bros., I doubt that they’d make those episodes if it wasn’t relevant to the storyline.
All I know is that my head hurt after seeing the movie and it hurts even more after reading this thread.
I think I need at least four or five more viewings before a few things start to click in to place.
One thing from my poor perspective, however. I’ll have to join in with those who belive in Zion as real - as in actually real. The thing with Smith being able to upload himself out of the Matrix was, I think, just that. If killing someone inside the Martix kills them in the real world, then that says to me that the software connection between real world body and Matrix “residual self image” or whatever can be hijacked or hacked. I think that’s exaclty what Smith is able to do now - essentially hack into the carrier signal of a person being broadcast into the matrix and “exit” the Matrix by basically replacing that person’s mind with his own algorithms.
(OK, but Carrie-Anne Moss in shiney black leather giving hell to a Ducati 996 - now THAT’s my image of the week!)
Another cameo in “Matrix Reloaded”…
Once again, sorry if this has already been mentioned. (I’m still working my way through this LONG thread.) But telvision sci-fi fans may also be interested to note that the Maitre D’ at Merovingian’s restaurant was played by David Franklin… who portrayed Captain Braca (Scorpius’s right hand man) in “Farscape”.
I thought I spotted “Braca” in the restaurant scene – he’s sporting a mustache in the movie but I was pretty sure it was him. And the Internet Movie Database confirmed it for me: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Franklin,%20David%20(I)
I’m going through withdrawls right now with the cancellation of my two favorite television sci-fi series, and was very, very pleasantly surprised to see cast members from both “Farscape” and “Firefly” in “The Matrix Reloaded”!
It’s especially easy not to spoil anything plot-wise from “MIB II” because the movie HAD NO PLOT. :rolleyes: At 88 minutes – they couldn’t even stretch it out to an hour and a half, including probably eight minutes of credits – the movie felt UNBELIEVABLY padded.
If it had 15 minutes worth of plot, I’d be amazed. A waste of 88 minutes of my life. And it wasn’t even funny! :mad:
(Sorry for the hijack.)
At first I thought Neo’s ability to stop the Sentinels at the end meant one of two things: Zion is a subset of the Matrix, and Neo had figured that out; or, Neo has supernatural powers in the real world, which is a little farfetched. (Yeah, I know, it’s all farfetched, but the rest of the movie is at least sort of based on realish science.) Some people here have said that Neo and Smith/Bane have a special wireless connection to the Matrix, and that they can control anything connected to the Matrix that way. But that got me thinking, there’s no evidence Neo has any special hardware in his body, just the ability to see through the illusion of the Matrix and manipulate it. Even if he does have special hardware, there’s no way Bane does, he’s just some grunt. I think the answer is that Neo discovered or intuited a way to use his body hardware to send and receive modulated radio signals; not very high strength or range, probably, but enough to exert some of his will as if he were plugged directly into the Matrix.
When I saw the movie, it never occured to me that Zion might be apart of the Matrix, but after reading everyone’s posts, it makes sense. Especially since Neo was able to stop the sentinels in the “real” world.
But is it possible that Neo isn’t just “the One”, as in the one to control/reload the Matrix, but also the One fulfilling the prophecy and has certain powers in the real world? Kind of a Christ figure? I haven’t seen mentioned the room full of people asking for his help in Zion, like people in the Bible asking Jesus to cure them. Who were those people in the movie? It seemed like they worshipped Neo. I also believe that the W Bros. would rather explain his powers in Zion in some mind-blowing manner rather than just saying he has God-like power, but I also don’t want to overlook the possibility that Neo might be Zion’s version of Jesus. With the way these guys write, you can never tell.
That’s just my thoughts… I need to see the movie several more times, so I really don’t understand it all as well as you all seem to, so I’m interested to know what you all think. Oh, and I’ve only read through about 60% of this thread, so forgive me it this is an old topic already! 
I posted this in the thread about names in the Matrix, but it kinda goes along with what ** Blibbleblabble** said, that Neo is more than just a One but maybe the final One. This may sound farfetched but we know Neo is the fifth One, right? If you anagram the word ONE you get five possible combinations: Eon, Eno, Noe, Oen, and Neo. Maybe all the Ones had names made from anagrams of the word One, in which case Neo would be the 5th and last possible combination without repeating. I wonder if that was planned or if I’m just pulling it out of the air. Probably the latter…
I have enjoyed all the insights, and gained a lot of knowledge from things I missed when I saw it last night, but I think there might be one misconception, or I could be wrong:
The architecht never gives a timetable for the system crash. He doesn’t say the Matrix fails when he leaves the door, just that it will fail if Neo doesn’t ‘patch’ the core and contribute to Zion. I do not for one believe it is a ‘rebooting’ of the Matrix, but rather a way to elminate the acceleration of system glitches and failures. Kind of like a patch. I think the anomoly in the code that allows Neo to do the things he does manifests itself in a different way each time, so if the One makes it to the core, they incorporate the brain signals (which are all connected to the Matrix when he’s plugged in) into the revised code that will make fewer people reject the code. Plus, with Zion’s destruction in the real world, it gives the machines a chance to start over and not lose crops.
MY MAJOR INSIGHT:
I think Neo knows Zion is doomed regardless, but he takes the risk of not patching the Matrix, because he believes there’s still a way to defeat the machines and save the rest of those plugged in. I think the catastrophic system crash takes place when people who accept the Matrix naturally (99% + (with each iteration)) begin to notice that it isn’t real. They will start noticing more and more, at a very rapid pace if The One is flying and beating up agents in impossible moves all the time. The anomaly of The One has the power to cause a massive crash, since the acclerated rate of people ‘waking up’ and being unplugged will just snowball, eventually bringing about a mass rejection of the program, and a loss of the entire ‘crop’ that occured with the first perfect Matrix. So, Neo going back into the Matrix will eventually lead to that failure. Remember, Morpheus said that more people had been unplugged in 6 months than in years and years and years before, which is bound to screw things up. The patching of the code both eliminates The One, while Zion is destroyed, and the rate of ‘unplugging’ is slowed enough that the Matrix will remain stable until another anomaly crops up.
The exact same benefit to the Matrix occurs if Neo is killed, which is why they try so hard to kill him in the first movie, and make it so hard for Neo to get to the core. If they kill him, the anomaly is eliminated in this generation, Zion can be destroyed (elminates others unplugging those in the pods), and the machines don’t need to worry about mass rejection crashing the system for a damn long time.
Also, I see no reason for an anomaly to crop up every 100 years. The architect would have just said it’s every 100 years, rather than counting by anomalies. Since they are random abberrations in the code, the time between #5 and Neo could be 100 years, but between #4 and #5 could have been 950 years or whatever.
So: System crash = mass rejection of the Matrix code brought about by the One and the warriors of Zion. The One dies = no fight, no anomaly, no mass rejection. One reincorporates into the core = no fight, no anomaly, no mass rejection. Zion is screwed either way…at least it has been in the past.
Oh, and I just thought I’d add that the key for Neo now has to be this: How does he wake up the world without causing the crash that kills them? Neo may be different because he can wake up the masses without causing their destruction.
The second time I saw the movie, I paid special attention to this - as far as I can tell, the Oracle never actually lies, unless it’s on something we don’t know about yet. She tells plenty of misleading truths, but no out-and-out lies, eg when Neo asks “What if I fail?” and she replies “Then Zion will fall” without mentioning that it’ll fall anyway. So I’m pretty sure the Merovingian is a program, because she out-and-out says that the Keymaker is being held by a program, which doesn’t leave too much wiggle room.
And there’s still no way that the screens are previous Ones. For one thing, there are a hell of a lot more than four or five of them. I think they represent Neo’s subconscious - his choices, if you want to think of it that way. Should he yell “Bullshit”, give the
Architect the finger, etc? As far as I can tell, they exist to show that Neo has already made the choice to save Trinity, since there’s no subconscious-avatar that does anything other than walk towards the reenter-the-Matrix door. There is no option for Neo here - he doesn’t think about which door to walk towards. He’s of one mind (sorry, I had to) about the whole thing, in line with the Oracle’s line that he’s already made the choice.
Well, first of all I’d like to say that I didn’t read all of these posts, so I really hope I’m not repeating anyone (7 pages full of in-depth reasoning is a bit much).
Anyways, I have my own theory about Neo picking the left door over the right door (and the very confusing Architect’s speech).
The architect wasn’t really giving him a choice. When he said the LEFT door, did he mean HIS left, or Neo’s left?
There is no choice–just mere randomness, coincidence, and luck.
Just something else for all of you to try and fathom :).