Matrix Reloaded plot discussion (Spoilers Galore, NO spoiler boxes!!)

I’m not sure that they’re really that big of a problem. The One can theoretically do anything he wants, so the Architect probably figures he isn’t in any real danger (and who’s to say they wouldn’t just find a new One if anything did happen to him). If the rogue programs ever did become too much of a problem, the agents or something similar could be used to deal with them directly.

If they let the humans in Zion run free throughout the Matrix, they could actually accomplish their goal of liberating everyone, which would be bad. Or, without the agents, they might start to question why they’re not facing any resistance, and figure out the whole thing is a sham.

The Agents are the only ones I remember wanting access codes, and the agents don’t know the whole thing is a ruse - they don’t know where Zion is and they’re actively trying to get to it.

Probably the agents. She left just before Smith showed up (and the other agents that spotted the fight). She also leads Neo right to the Keymaker and thus to the Architect, so I don’t think the Architect would be after her.

Maybe there are programs more powerful than Neo is at the present.

I saw Reloaded for the fourth time last week, and noticed something I might have seen before but didn’t think to mention. In the scene where the Oracle is discussing ghosts, werewolves, vampires and all that – when she says the word “angel”, a black crow flies overhead. Don’t know if it means anything, but it was a nice juxtaposition and bit of imagery.

Good Lord, 11 pages in this thread? Is this a record for any movie, ever? I’ve never seen any movie discussed in depth as the “Matrix” series has been…even the people who hated it, can’t stop talking about it!

No, I don’t think so. The Oracle may never have lied - but she didn’t tell the whole truth. The Agents may genuinely not know the whole situation. Why would they - they are puppets of the system.

Hmm Smiling bandit vs. Shy guy

Either the Agents are “puppets of the system” and therefore should not be trying to kill The One (which they did) and screw up the Architect’s plan, or they are independent and seem to be a major flaw in that plan (aka they work too well and could take out the One way too soon or are kind of pointless in that the Plan needs the 1% pulled out of the Matrix for later termination).

The Oracle lied- in both movies. She lied to Neo about being the One. Then she lied to him about the Architect and his plan. Either she is in on it (to an extent) and lied about it. Or the Architect was lying to Neo.

Rogue programs do seem to be the real issue. If the Architect is not full of crap- Zion was always a sitting duck. However, the plan needs Neo to make it to the Architect. The Agents came very, very close to preventing that. So did our crazy Frenchman program. The Keymaster is now dead. How does the next reboot work then? What about Smith-- he is killing other programs?

The overall plan still makes no sense. Let Neo have his fun, let them fill Zion with the 1% that can be extracted-- then pump Zion full of poison gas. Lather, rinse, repeat. No agents, no oracle, no rogues.

Umm, that is the point of Zion. It is the roach motel of the Matrix. Seeing according “the plan” Zion is always in the same place- just run a few hidden gas lines in there and pump them full of gas every now and then, and dump the bodies. You want then to identify those you don’t fit in. Although if the Architect is so powerful it seems he should be able to do that. There seems to be a low risk of the humans figuring it out without the Agents, who do more harm them good.

Speculation I guess. Every other program has been bested by the One. If the Architect is so uber powerful, why this whole over-elaborate plan, why Agents, why the Oracle, why allow the rogues, why allow Smith his own agenda?

I am not buying it- it all smacks too much of Lucas. Just making it up as they go along- even if it contradicts earlier movies. The first movie at least seemed internally consistent. This one added too many clever for clever’s sake plot devices. I still enjoyed it (absent the horrific holy dancing and eye rolling speeches).

Hey…

I’ve only been Reloaded once, so I may be missing something.

BUT
The Holy Dancing scene is TO ME evidence that Zion is Real. Would computers be able to simulate the sexual side of humanity?
Who knows, but this scene is tribal, sexy, sweaty, gritty and seems to represent all the really Un-mechanical, Un-clean aspects of being human. Down to our most primitive urges.

Seems that all of the computer generated programs are pretty devoid of anything really human, except the shell of humanity.

A lot of people didn’t like the scene, but I thought it was a great contrast with the Mechanical World outside Zion.

Isn’t that what they’re for?

How are computers simulating the sexual side of humanity? No one is supposing (as far as I can tell) that the citizens of Zion are anything but real people - it’s just a matter of whether or not they’re existing in another layer of the matrix.

First of all, fascinating thread. Thanks all.

At the risk of embarassing you by singling you out, thanks Larry Mudd for your insightful and informative posts on Gnosticism and the parallels in The Matrix. I originally joined this thread determined to read through it and point out a few things in that area; imagine my relief to find that you had beat me to it, and made a much better job of it than I would have. :slight_smile:

My take on a couple of issues:

  • Zion strikes me as “another Matrix” or a “subMatrix”. Too much of the evidence points this way IMHO, and it needn’t be a cop-out in terms of story as long as the real structure of “reality” is laid out in a timely fashion and explored, not as an “oh, it was all a dream!” lame-ass twist at the end.

  • In the Architect’s office, it seemed very clear to me that the various Neos on various screens protested the news of previous iterations with “3 others!”, “4 others!”, “2 others!” in a way that strongly suggested we were watching recordings of past encounters. I don’t know how that reconciles with the sheer number of screens or the fact that they all appeared to turn left at the end, but I can’t think of any other way to explain the different numbers. Any takers?
    One thing that I didn’t see mentioned yet (apologies if I missed it) is the Gnostic idea of “duality seeking unity”, specifically <wild speculation> that a male messianic figure such as Neo might only be able to fulfill his fate in its entirety if he is first able to regain a connection to the “lost” feminine nature. </wild speculation>

It seems to me that masculine/feminine dualism is presented in the film as the root of problems on several different levels: the split between the Architect and his Wife (presumably the Oracle, not sure if that is canon or not at this point); the discord between Merovingian and Persephone which, if it wasn’t deliberately orchestrated, allows the Keymaker to be found; possibly also in subtext illustrated during the “I must leave for war, the ship needs me” scene between characters whose names have slipped my mind. :smack:

Is it going to be significant in a way deeper than “love conquers all, at least in Hollywood” that Neo consistently chooses Trinity over the rest of the world? (Maybe there will even eventually be some justification for the sex scene.) Is Trinity going to be every bit as central to the end result as Neo is, or more so? 'Twould be interesting if that turned out to be the case.

<even wilder speculation>
Given that Neo has now been described by the Architect as a software anomaly, possibly not even human at all, could it be that resolution will depend on Neo and Trinity joining together in an unusually profound way, say, Neo “uploading” himself into Trinity’s consciousness in a way that overcomes not only the feminine/masculine duality but also the machine/human duality?
</even wilder speculation>

Or am I waaaaay overthinking this sex stuff? (Been known to happen a time or two… :rolleyes: )

To muddle things a bit more, are we certain Neo really is “The One” - or are the Oracle and the Architect lying? (Don’t know why they would, in this case.)

What role does Trinity really play? How important is she in the grand scheme of things - is she simply Neo’s lover, or is she something more?

elf6c, you mentioned that “every other program has been bested by The One.” Even the Architect? I thought he had outlasted all of the Ones.

Not if the agents cannot kill Neo. Remember, they DID kill Neo already, and he came back - he came back as the One. I believe that having him die was neccessary to fulfil the prophecy - more on that later. Remember, the Architect was basically trying to take imperfect material and mold a certain twisted pefection out of it - I don’t think he left the Agents any more options than his purposes required.

I beloev Neo is the One. I simply believe the Oracle told neither him nor Neo the whole truth. She didn’t have to say what the truth was, and in fact everything we know she said would happen did happen. The architect isn’t so much lying to Neo as he is unaware of the truth. He genuinely does not know that the Oracle is really going for the gold.

They aren’t an issue. Fate, Destiny, Programming, whatever, ha ordained that Neo WILL reach the Architect. The rogues think they are doing their own thing, but they are really just progating the system. The keymaker can be remade - a newer, better model. no muss, no fuss, from the systems’ point of view.

Smith, I agree, is a wildcard. But thats part of the point - this is the last time, Neo is different, he is truly the One, and things are about to change.

Y’know, Keanu reeves has as much as publicly said Zion is real.

That is what I meant by every “other” one. Meaning every program he has faced in the Matrix. The Architect is just another program. Neo just passively listens then leaves. :confused: I would have at least tried to take him out.

aka “Reboot this!” as he dives into the Architect- kills him, then goes to save Trinity.

I think the monitors are all possible reactions, which did not occur. The previous Ones need not have been Neo each time.


Random points:

Zion is real- they are pretty careful to show the stark differences in the Matrix vs Zion version of people. It also fits within the Roach motel purpose of Zion to have it be real.

He died- Trinity managed to bring him back. Given how many close calls the Agents have caused, their purpose seems a little shaky. If the keymaster had dies before giving the key over (as he came within seconds of doing) Neo does not meet the Architect.

Neo is the one. The Oracle has lied-- alot. Lies of intentional ommission are still lies. Hell half the time she doesn’t even give much usefull information at all. Kind of like the magic 8-ball of the Matrix world.

And sorry- the holy dancing was terrible.

Hmmm…wonder if this thread can be kept alive until Revolutions comes out heh heh :smiley:

Guess not Methos, it’s been dead for three days.

As for my own two cents on the ending of revolutions. Try paying attention to the dates on the telephone intercepts on both the beggining and ending of the original matrix. Without giving too much away… maybe we’ve already seen the ending.

whoa…why what are the dates???
do you know something the rest of us don’t? and if so…DONT Spoil it :stuck_out_tongue:

Newbie Alert

I just finished “Enter The Matrix” on PC. I recomend this game for anyone reading this thread. The game is packed full of movies. Its a 4 gig install also! just a few things from the game that might clear up some things.

-The game is basicly just an off shoot from the movie. Basiclly anytime Niobe is off screen the game takes over. Jada Pinkett said he had 200 pages of more script for the game alone.

-There is a level where Persephone and Niobe kisses. Apparently she is horny, she basicly gave the same speech to her as Neo. She also asks “Who are you in love with” Niobe “His name is Jason” Persephone “That’s not his name, but he knows the name of the person that you really love”

  • Niobe meets the new Oracle. New actress. I’ve seen her in films before but not sure which ones. Niobe does not recognize her and demands that she proves who she is, and asks why she doesn’t look the same. Oracle “I know its hard for you to see me in this form. Its going to be hard for everyone. Merovingian said if i made a certain choice i would pay. and Merovingian always keeps his word. (paraphrased)” and she said she can’t prove it but niobe will know just from talking to her, which niobe agree’s.

-In the game there is also a scene where you are in the long white hallway with all the doors, as you walk down agent Smith pops out and says “Oh I was expecting someone else” funny as hell.

-at the end of the game the Pagos Niobe’s hovercraft is dead after haveing to fire a EMP. Ghost Niobe’s second mate ask’s if Niobe thinks they will be saved Niobe said, yes, Then another trailer to Revelotions is showed. afterwards Ghost says “at least i have something to look forward too” GREAT ENDING!

if anyone else posted about the game i missed it and i’m sorry to waste your time.

I got a mail from a friend whose friend of a friend of a friend… wrote this.I think this is the most accurate analysis of the movie as of yet.

<B>The One explained</B>

“The One” is a program, but has to be “attached” to someone in the Matrix. So Mr. Anderson got it in the 6th version of the Matrix.
Then “The One” program’s purpose is to allow Zion to be destroyed then to rebuild it. The reason for this is because of anomalies - the 1% of humans that don’t accept the Matrix. These are all brought out of the Matrix program and
into the Zion program by the “Morpheus” program and other similar “ship captain” programs. Then once all the anomalies are out of the Matrix (and in Zion), that is the time for Zion to be destroyed, thus killing all the anomalies off.
The Matrix is then upgraded, thus creating the next version of the
Matrix, but Zion must be rebuilt so that the next lot of anomalies can be brought out again so that they can be destroyed. This is the feedback-loop, and is the reason to retain a handful of people so that Zion can be rebuilt. So this is why Neo said the prophecy was a lie - the One’s purpose was not to end the war as the prophecy stated. Unfortunately, “The One” program must be re-used each time, or copied, so it can be “attached” to a new anomaly inside the Matrix.
So what happens to the old “The One” program? It faces deletion, and as the Oracle explained, it goes into exile instead, just like the French bloke (the Merovingian) did. He was the first One (probably from the second version of the Matrix), and once he fulfilled his duty, he became an exile program and
“abdicated” his “Oneness” by choosing Persephone and power. This is evident in the bogs when Persephone asks Neo to kiss her. She says she wants him to kiss her so she can feel what it is like again to be kissed by something close to human, just like the Merovingian used to be. Then she says to Trinity that she envies her, but that these things are not meant to last. So the Merovingian used to be just like Neo - a One - thus proving further the feedback-loop explained earlier.

<B>The correct door in the Architect’s room:</B>

Now there are two possibilities here:

  1. All the previous One’s chose the right door allowing a “temporary dissemination” of their code into the Matrix (i.e., the code they “carry” thus indicating Neo is indeed human), then he must select (unplug)23 people from the Matrix to rebuild Zion. This takes away the possibility that stories from previous rebuilds of Zion will be carried through.But Morpheus indicated in the first Matrix that this is the case anyway. He said, “there was a man born inside, able to change things, it was he who freed the first of us,” - basically the One previous to Neo. And this proves that the previous One chose the right door also. Neo’s purpose is
    also to choose the right door, but he does not because he faces
    deletion afterwards and has the choice of going into exile - programs choosing to go into exile is the one thing that can’t be accounted for in program parameters. Thus, he chooses the left door instead this time. How was Neo able to choose the other door? Because of his extreme willpower? - Even the Architect indicated that he’d noticed this - “Interesting. That was
    quicker than the others.” Or more likely, because the Oracle upgraded his coding with the candy on the park bench. The candy/cookie was a method to change the One’s program. She said he has made a believer out of her - this is quite human-like and perhaps the previous One’s didn’t accept the upgrade candy, now she has hope… hope that Neo will finally choose the other
    door.

  2. All the previous One’s chose the left door, saving Trinity and
    letting Zion fall. So this time is no different. But the Architect
    does say, “You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated,” and also,“this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it, and we have become exceedingly efficient at it,” - assuming the Architect isn’t lying, then they have
    already destroyed Zion (i.e., Zion has fallen) five times - i.e., the
    result of going through the left door. Morpheus and Trinity are programs. Morpheus’s purpose was to find the One and deliver him to the Architect. Trinity’s purpose is to control the One by getting in love with him. Trinity is supposed to be the mother
    of the new One every time the Matrix is Reloaded. That’s why the sex scene was so important and why she was named Trinity. The Architect says, “she is going to die, and there is nothing that
    you can do to stop it.” He was correct though because she did die just like Neo did in the first Matrix (Oracle said he or Morpheus would, and she didn’t lie, but he came back to life). Trinity dies, but comes back to life (we are using medical definition of death in all this of course!).
    The Architect has already laid down an ultimatum for Neo choosing the left door:
    The Architect - “Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash killing everyone connected to the matrix, which coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race.”
    Neo - “You won’t let it happen, you can’t. You need human beings to survive.”
    The Architect - “There are levels of survival we are prepared to
    accept. However, the relevant issue is whether or not you are ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world.”
    Looking at this further, the Architect does say “coupled” with the
    extermination of Zion will the human race be exterminated. So he says everyone connected to the Matrix will die, but if Zion is not
    exterminated, the human race will not necessarily die. Also, there is likely to be a time-window between not going through the right door, and the cataclysmic crash, thus allowing Neo to unplug as many as possible from the Matrix, then those people won’t die. This will be the start of the next Zion. As for the Matrix, a cataclysmic crash doesn’t mean the end of the Matrix - just needs rebooting or reloading!

<B>Agent Smith explained</B>

Agent Smith is the only “human” in this world. He’s the one spreading himself like a virus replicating himself over and over until the Matrix will finally get overloaded and fail. Smith is the one who wants to get out of the Matrix for good. He said so in the first Matrix, “I must get out of here, I must get free! And in this mind, is the key,” squeezing Morpheus’s temples, “my key! Once Zion is destroyed, there is no need for me to be here!” Smith knows that by killing Neo he can escape the Matrix
because Neo is the key to resetting the Matrix, or to shut it off. It was originally killing Neo (in the first Matrix) that allowed Smith to become powerful (cloning ability) - so killing Neo again will allow him to gain Neo’s powers completely, and thus gain the power to shut down the Matrix.So where the hell did Smith come from if he wants to destroy the Matrix? He’s obviously not meant to be there - he’s a computer virus as he has every characteristic of a virus - he multiplies and spreads and infects (and emulates) other programs like one. He is exactly as he described humans at the end of the first Matrix - “You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the
only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is
another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what itis? A virus.” But who put him there? This will only be revealed in Revolutions
I guess - but I’m betting on humans in the real real world, i.e., outside of Zion and the Matrix. They’re at war with the machines
and trying to destroy them by infecting them with this virus - Agent Smith.
So the irony with this theory is that Agent Smith represents the human race!! Neo represents the machines! Agent Smith says to Neo just after he’s seen the Oracle that he became free when Neo destroyed him in the first Matrix (remember when Neo entered his body and exploded him from inside out) - as a virus, Smith has the ability to “inherit” other programs’ abilities and thus inherited some of Neo’s.

<B>The anomaly explained</B>

The anomaly is all the humans that do not accept the Matrix. The
Architect says “Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate
from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden to sedulously avoid it, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control.” This includes Neo, but Neo’s Matrix avatar is attached with the One program so that he can follow his purpose as explained earlier under “The One explained”. However, he is also supposed to protect himself and destroy anything that gets in his way -
i.e., Agent Smith - so that he may fulfil his purpose.
Further proving Neo - and other non-accepters of the Matrix - are the anomaly, the Architect says, “Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix.” The clue here is Neo’s program name - “The One”. Take one-third for example. 1 over 3 is 0.33333 recurring. A computer cannot deal with recurring
numbers, so must accept a limit, let’s say 0.33333 for argument’s sake. Multiply by 3, you get 0.99999 - never 1.00000, where has the “remainder” 0.00001 (One) gone? This is the limitation of computers, this is the mathematical imprecision inherent in programming (of the Matrix) and the eventuality of the One anomaly unable to be eliminated.
What is the equation then?
Not sure, but it definitely involves pi. The Keymaker refers to the
window of time to open the door to the mainframe as 314 seconds. 3.14 is pi to three sig. figs., or the number of radians in half a circle. Half a circle is like the cross-section of a womb, similar to the alcove of Neo and Trinity’s love scene - conceiving the next One? “NEO”, incidently, is an anagram of “ONE”. Trinity and Neo - one on one; a choice - one or one.
Leads us to 101. “101” is mentioned numerous times in Matrix 1 and Reloaded. Neo’s room at the beginning, Merovingian is on the 101st floor, the 101 freeway of the car chase in Reloaded, then when Trinity is hacking into the power plant system, she resets the password to Z10N0101. Freaky. Indicates that she is a program because that’s not some random password she’s put in. 101 is binary for 5, which in zero-based binary counting:
000 is 1, 001, is 2, 010 is 3, 011 is 4, 100 is 5, 101 is 6 - And this
is the 6th version of the Matrix! Then there’s 303. 303 is the room Neo got shot in Matrix 1, the Oracle lives in room 303, it’s also the hotel room number Trinity is in in Matrix 1 and it’s seen at the end when Neo fights the Agents and Smith and begins to literally see the code that makes up the Matrix. 101 x 3 = 303, a trilogy, 3 + 0 + 3 = 6 = the 6th Matrix.
Trinity means 3.

<B>Who is the “mother” that the Architect refers to?</B>

The Architect says, “Please,” in an almost disapproving sense when Neo suggests the Oracle, but does not reveal who it really is or even directly that Neo is wrong. The architect was the one who created the Matrix; the co-creator is neither Persephone nor the Oracle. Both of them are only programs that have a purpose in the matrix, just like the rest. The Architect is in charge of the Matrix world and the co-creator is in charge of Zion. She has almost the same age as the Architect. Therefore,that
woman is the Head Counsellor, the only woman of importance that lives in Zion and the one who asked for the two captains to volunteer at the council meeting. She’s the one who knew all along about the Matrix. She was the one who told Zion’s Defence Minister to cool off and to let Morpheus do his work so things could go as planned.
Or alternatively, it could indeed be the Oracle. She is the only
program that truly wants humans to have a free choice… at the same time, she sees the future, because she knows the program code - she is like God -which is why Seraph protects her - see “Who is Seraph?” below.

<B>What’s so special about Neo’s avatar?</B>

Neo is a skilled hacker, and his avatar in the Matrix is based on the person that founded the AI of the original machines that eventually took over the world… How? Take a look at the disc he gave to the bloke at the door at the beginning of Matrix 1. It said “DISC AI” on it. The hollowed book Neo takes the disc out of is “Simulacra and Simulation” - a collection of essays by the French postmodernist philosopher Jean Baudrillard. He
opens it to the section “on Nihilism” (meaning nothing is truly known, etc.). “Baudrillard’s concept of simulation is the creation of the real through conceptual or ‘mythological’ models which have no connection or origin in reality. The model becomes the determinant of our perception of reality–the real.” And Morpheus says, “Welcome to the desert of the real,” in Matrix 1. I’d say this book describes The Matrix to a tee. So this disc contains the key to the AI, and thus how to destroy the machines, so I think they’ll use this info in Revolutions to ultimately destroy the machines, which means he’ll have to go back to the nightclub and find
the guy he gave it to.
<B>Who is Seraph?</B>

The reason Seraph (the chink guy Neo meets before meeting the Oracle) had golden code and was so spectacular is that he came from the first incarnation of the matrix, which was heaven. “Seraph” is singular for the plural “seraphim”. The seraphim are the highest choir of angels and included amongst others: Lucifer, Gabriele, Raziel and Malaciah, and
they sit on the 8th level of Heaven just one below God. So Seraph will obviously have a big part in Revolutions, but whose side will he be on -the machines or the humans?? That is the question.

<B>The Twins</B>

They are exiled programs that emulate the human myth of ghosts as the Oracle explained. They are programs behaving badly. Persephone killed one of the Merovingian’s bodyguards with a silver bullet because he was emulating a werewolf.
So if the Twins could phase into ghost form, why didn’t he when his arm was trapped in the door of the garage? Was it
because he was wounded or because he can’t phase when his arm is trapped? No of course not. The doors of that building, when shut, always led somewhere else (usually in the mountains) when opened again without the Keymaker’s key. So if it were slammed shut due to the Twin phasing into
ghost form, the Twin’s arm would’ve ended up god knows where, but certainly not attached to the Twin’s body.The One explained

Okay, how can this thread NOT be bumped on the day after the DVD release? :smiley:

What I have to add is in reference to the above: 0.33333(recurring) x 3 = 1. A computer, if I understand basal processes enough, would know this, and make it equal to one.

Hmm…

Well, I’m glad somebody came along and said what I was thinking… I was starting to wonder if I was the only one (heh) who felt like Neo was himself a program, or attached to a program, as Agent Smith became attached to Bane. The Architect’s little speech led me right to that idea, and the bit at the end where Neo said he could “feel” the Sentinels clinched it for me.

Basically, the Architect is aware that the Matrix will never be universally accepted, and sought a way to control the “anomalous” segment of humanity which would always rebel against it. He gives them something to believe in, a supernaturally-gifted figure in the world(s) of the Matrix, someone who will unwittingly lead the people of Zion to their destruction, over and over again.

In the Architect scene, there is certain pride with which the Architect notices that this Neo is “quicker” than the previous iterations. He’s not just impressed… he’s proud that his creation is growing and learning.

Neo chose the door he was supposed to choose, because his function is to bring about the “reloading” of the Matrix… the dissolution of what has gone before. Basically, Neo (as the One) causes the big RESET button to be pressed on the whole thing, before the “anomalous” rebellion can grow in power enough to take over the system. And that is his function, for which he was made by the Architect.

However, I predict that this time around, things will not go as planned. While Neo seems to be falling into the same trap as before, something has changed and somehow, this time Zion will survive to defeat the machine. However, that’s the cynical side of me talking, because that’s the “happy” ending.

In a way, I’d almost prefer to see it go the other way… Despite Neo’s best efforts to the contrary, Zion falls and the Matrix reboots… and it all starts over again. It’s more of a “downer” ending, but I think it’d be more of a surprise than what I’m expecting.

Of course, what I’m expecting is the liberation of humanity. Go humans! :wink:

What make you say this? It seemed pretty obvious (to me, at least), that Neo chose the opposite door from the one he was supposed to choose. Instead of entering the source to surrender his code, he went back into the Matrix to rescue Trinity. The Architect told him that if he went back and tried to rescue Trinity it would result in the destruction of both the Matrix and Zion.

Unless, of course, you think the Architect was just lying in order to convince Neo to do what he was “supposed” to do…

Barry

Bingo.

Neo’s programming (if he is indeed a program) would be such that he resisted authority, particularly going against instructions as perceived from the machine world. If the Architect made Neo (or more correctly, The One program), he could predict this reaction and tailor his instruction accordingly.

It sort of goes back to the discussion of causality with Merovingian earlier in the film. The predictable effect of the Architect telling Neo what he should do would be that Neo would do the opposite. Did anyone really think he was going to go through the other door? Thus, the Architect is able to control Neo’s response (which is the purpose of The One) by telling him to do the opposite of what he wants him to do.

It’s early, and I’m overusing parentheses. (Sorry.)