Unlike other sci-fi franchises, The Matrix provides a certain kind of philosophical allure to its viewers as it offers a unique take on the 21st Century. After all, The Matrix states that reality itself might be an illusion and that all of humanity is enslaved by machines in a never-ending simulation of the 21st Century. As expected, the Wachowskis created quite a deep and rich world with equally engrossing lore and a captivating story.
Of course, with The Matrix Resurrections jumpstarting all the hype in the acclaimed world of The Matrix, fans are excited to hear about Neo and Trinity’s new adventures in what appears to be yet another iteration of the simulation. However, a deeper look into The Matrix Resurrections might reveal some things that just don’t make sense about the plot.
9 How Exactly Do The Portals Work?
Anyone who’s ever watched The Matrix will fondly remember the telephone booths Neo and the others use to “jack out” of the simulation and return to the Real World. Since transferring people in and out of the Matrix required large volumes of data, wired interfaces such as a symbolic telephone booth need to facilitate the exit.
Oddly enough, Bugs tells Neo in Resurrections that there’s no need for phone booths anymore. Instead, Redpills can simply get jacked in and out of the Matrix through portals that take the form of windows, mirrors, and doors. When used as metaphors, they can be attributed to how these are often associated as “passageways.” However, while plausible, the portal element does lack the technological association with data transference. After all, given the lack of technological components, how can a door or a window be used to transfer data?
8 Where Do Digital Synthients Hide?
When Bugs first meets Morpheus in the Modal, he says his purpose is to hunt down Synthients. It’s soon revealed that Synthients refer to Machines who collaborated with humans years after the Truce in the Machine War. Apparently, resource scarcity after Neo’s death led to a civil war between the Machines, which had a small minority joining the humans after being inspired by Neo’s actions. According to Cybebe, “Synthient” is the term the Machines are more comfortable using, but it’s unknown whether all Machines think this way.
Interestingly enough, while it’s seen that humans and Synthients live together in the city of Io, not all Synthients take the form of physical machines. For instance, Morpheus from Neo’s Modal is a program that uses floating particles to access the real world. If they’re not using their physical forms, where do they hide from the Machines?
7 Why Did Morpheus Call Bugs A Synthient?
Going back to Bugs and Morpheus’ conversation in the Modal, when Morpheus tells Bugs that his mission is to hunt down Synthients, he follows up by saying, “like you.” This wouldn’t make sense to readers at first, as technobabble is a common tradition in The Matrix. However, fans might want to call back on this quote when Bugs explained what Synthients are - Machines that collaborate with humans.
However, viewers could clearly see Bugs having forms in both the Real World and the Matrix. While others can say Morpheus is using “Synthients” as a term for the collective alliance of some Machines and humans, this wouldn’t make sense as Cybebe explicitly states they prefer to be called “Synthients” instead of “Machines.” Was this an error in the script, or was this a slip into Bugs’ true nature?
6 Who Is The Mnemosyne Referring To?
As franchise fans know, even the hovercrafts used by crews in The Matrix are symbolic of their role in the story. For instance, Morpheus pilots the Nebuchadnezzar, which in itself is named after the Babylonian King famous for his conquests. Moreover, the Neb’s core inscription reads “Mark III No. 11,” possibly referencing Mark 3:11 of the Bible, which reads about unclean spirits shouting “You are the Son of God!” after seeing Jesus - yet another reference to Neo’s status as the One.
Interestingly, much is the same with Resurrections. Bugs soon reveals she’s actually the captain of her own ship, this time the Mnemosyne. In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne is the Goddess of Memory - quite appropriate for the film’s theme of reawakening one’s memories. More ominously, the core inscription this time reads “Mark III No. 19,” which in the Bible simply says “…and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Given that no one betrayed Neo in Resurrections yet, this may hint towards something ominous in the sequels.
5 How Do Humans Understand Synthients?
Throughout Neo’s stay in the Real World, he’s boggled by the new reality that Synthients now interact with humans. What’s interesting is that folks such as Bugs and Niobe can hear the indistinct buzzing of the Machines and be able to “answer” them in turn. How exactly are they able to do this?
What’s more interesting is how Neo of all people doesn’t seem to comprehend what the Synthients are telling Bugs or even Niobe. Considering how Neo’s powers as the One have seemingly elevated to affect the Real World, his lack of comprehension over Machine speak is quite intriguing.
4 How Do Exiles Persist Outside The Purge?
When Neo, Bugs, and her crew were on their way to try and awaken Tiffany, they’re interrupted by the sudden appearance of Smith - now Agent Smith - and apparently a motley crew led by a rugged Merovingian. While the Merv’s ramblings were a nice callback to his status as an old program adjusting to a completely new world, his mere existence is quite an oddity given the nature of the new Matrix.
As Bugs shared with Neo, programs like the Oracle were “purged’ during the creation of the new Matrix. With this in mind, it’s quite interesting to see how the Merovingian has somehow escaped this deletion. Could he have perhaps escaped to Mobil Ave and gained the same appearance as the Trainman given his new Exile? And on another note, would it have been possible for the likes of the Oracle to retreat there as well?
3 Why Wasn’t There A Failsafe Before?
According to Sati and the Analyst, the new Matrix persists solely on the premise that Neo and Trinity’s frustration of never being together - and downplaying the experience of the Matrix as a video game - has generated remarkable productivity levels unseen before. However, given the volatility of the pair, the Analyst engineered a failsafe should the two run amok. That is, the new Matrix is set to revert to its previous version - as in the very same Matrix that Neo and the others worked so hard to stop.
While it’s implied that the Analyst’s black cat Deja Vu acts as the failsafe, it’s interesting to know how this hasn’t happened before. In the previous Matrix, the Architect acknowledges numerous iterations of this particular Matrix, with Neo always somehow choosing to save the world, go back to the Source, and initiate a reset. However, as fans know, Neo chooses another way out and initiates the Truce. It’s curious as to how come the Machines never thought of triggering a failsafe to ensure Neo follows them, just like what the Analyst did in Resurrections.
2 Is Trinity Another One?
According to the film, the new Matrix works perfectly through two mechanisms - feeding off the emotions of people through suffering, and using Neo and Trinity’s energies as the core of the simulation. It’s when the two of them are together that they can achieve a lot of amazing things in the new Matrix, which is reflected in the ending scene. In here, Trinity is seen learning how to fly, as well as being capable of killing and resurrecting the Analyst with a snap of her finger.
This may hint towards the idea that Trinity has become another One at the end of the movie. The idea is interesting, as it’s always been debated whether Neo is solely the One or if it is a title anyone can inherit. Considering that Neo and Trinity’s new goal is to let others see “what a free mind can do,” it seems their next step is to transform everyone in the Matrix into the One.
1 What Is The Endgame Of Agent Smith?
It’s become quite a surprise for fans to know that Agent Smith himself persisted in the Matrix, this time in the form of Smith, the intimidating business partner of Neo. When Neo finally awakens, so does Agent Smith and his realization of his hatred being confined at the whims of the Analyst. In turn, Agent Smith shows up at the most unexpected of circumstances to aid Neo and his crew, particularly just to screw over the Analyst.
However, it’s the ending of the film where things get hazy. Agent Smith said the key difference between him and Neo is that “anyone” could’ve been Neo, but Agent Smith has always been “anyone” before transforming into a Bluepill, seemingly unaware of what happened. Given that Agent Smith in Revolutions wanted to destroy both the Matrix and the Real World, to see Agent Smith run freely in the new Matrix without any form of endgame is curious, to say the least.
The Matrix Resurrections was released on December 22, 2021 in the United States.
