The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - 44 questions

Question: Was Smith being "set free" also part of the architects plan? What were the other choices for the other "chosen ones"? How are the 23 chosen, and are they given the tools to build Zion? Do they wake up in a Zion? I don't get that.

Answer: No. Return to the Source or return to the Matrix. The One chooses them and yes. They are woken by the One (like Neo was by Morpheus) and taken to Zion.

Question: The movie seems to suggest that Link has an ulterior motive for being on the Nebuchadnezzar. Early in the movie, Morpheus says "Given your situation, I can't say I fully understand your reasons for being here", and later Link tells Zee that he made a promise. Is he talking about Tank? What is going on here?

Answer: He has no ulterior motive, he's simply taken over as the ship's "operator" because of a promise that he made to his brother-in-law Dozer before his death in the first film. Given he's married, that his wife has already lost two brothers under Morpheus' command and that, at the beginning at least, he's clearly sceptical about Morpheus' beliefs, it's not unreasonable that his commander would question his presence. Link, however, takes the attitude that a promise is a promise; if others don't entirely understand that, that's their problem.

Question: When Neo says "Ahh upgrades" after Smith leaves, what does he mean ?

Answer: He said that because the Agent blocked his punch. It was something that the previous programs (agents) couldn't do.

Question: Why was only one Agent sent after all the Smiths when the woman saw them all in the burly brawl? Couldn't the Matrix itself have turned as many humans as it needed into Agents and outnumbered the rogue Smiths? Or did they interpret one Agent being beaten by a Smith as meaning they would never win against him?

Answer: The Matrix only became aware of Smith after the one woman saw the fight, the woman was converted into an Agent and Smith then infected them. Other people nearby would also have been converted into Agents, but this occurred off-camera, as did Smith then infecting these people, the large influx of Smiths that occurs towards the end of the fight are the people who turn into Agents who then get infected by Smith.

Question: Why are obsolete programs given the choice of deletion or exile? Why aren't they just instantly deleted?

Answer: All programs are destined for deletion, however a quick witted program would realise their time is up and try and make an escape (exile). The programs aren't given a choice, the programs make a choice.

Question: What does the Architect mean when he says, "There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept"? What other levels does he mean?

Answer: The Machines have been sentient for a while, possibly a century or more, so a machine culture has started to emerge as evidenced by the existence of Sati; a program created with no purpose by two machines "in love". If the machines lost the humans then they would lose a significant amount of energy, meaning that a large number of machines and programs would need to be wiped out to ensure the machines survival, but it would be at a much lesser level, "stone age" by comparison.

Question: How exactly does the Merovingian protect the obsolete programs such as the twins from deletion?

Answer: Obsolte programs are given the choice of deletion or exile. The Merovingian takes them in and, with his abilities to code the Matrix, allows them to stay under his protection.

Question: If Neo can fly over 500 miles in 15 minutes why couldn't he travel to the door in time to stop it from closing? Also if he can manipulate the Matrix, why can't he just reset the door to the parking garage?

Answer: Neo's abilities, like anyone else in the Matrix, are limited only by his mind and his ability to concentrate. If he is extremely stressed he may not think to use his powers quickly enough.

Question: The architect mentions a "mother" of the Matrix. Who is she? When Neo asks if it's the Oracle, the Architect says "Please." Does he mean please how can you think that, or please don't interrupt, I'm speaking?

Answer: It's the Oracle. The Architect says "please" because Neo called her an oracle. To the Architect, she's just another program. He is scoffing at Neo for using that term, not for coming to that conclusion.

Question: What happened to Tank? Every time he is spoken of it is as if he is dead. Well he survived The Matrix so how did he die?

Answer: Marcus Chong wanted a large salary increase to return as Tank. Since he was a fairly minor character, the producers refused and he was written out. Thus his character must have died between the Matrix and Reloaded.

Question: Why can't people jack in when they are in Zion?

Answer: Because Zion is deep underground and apparently the broadcast equipment they use to hack in to the Matrix doesn't work over large distances (or through kilometers of earth).

Question: This may sound like an odd question, but why do Trinity and Neo seem so desperate to see each other alone once they get back to Zion. They seem to have enough time for private moments while they are on the ship. Is sex on the Nebuchadnezzar forbidden?

Answer: I doubt it is but from what we gather from the reaction of Link's girlfriend/wife, the Neb seems to see far more action than any other hovercraft in the fleet. It's likely that they spend most of their time jacked in rescuing people, or fleeing from sentinels. The neb's crew is also small, compared to its usual size (only four people compared to its original eight) so they'd all be involved in the piloting and gunning of the craft.

Question: Why didn't Neo kill the Architect before he left to save Trinity? The Architect seemed important to the machines.

Answer: The Architect, is the father and creator of the Matrix. Not only is he important to the machines, he is important to the Matrix itself. Killing him would most likely affect the Matrix in some way.

Question: Maybe I'm missing something, but why is it such a big deal that Trinity and Morpheus have to take the freeway when they're trying to escape with the Keymaker? Link reminds them that it's never been done, suggesting it's an incredibly risky manoeuvre, but why is this?

Answer: Well, when they're on the freeway everybody in the cars are potential agents...the reason it's so dangerous (as opposed to, say, going by foot) is that agents in large vehicles are obviously more dangerous than agents on foot. The agents fear nothing, which is shown when the two agents in the lorries collide with each other.

Question: When Neo is talking with the Architect, he mentions there has been 7 matrix's including this one. But later he states that it will be the 7th time they've destroyed Zion. So is he hinting that there has been 7 Zion's too? that doesn't really make sense and how has there been time for 7 huge cities to be constructed/populated when its i think around the years 3000, its not a lot of time since the original matrix was made.

Answer: Actually it’s the 6th Matrix and the 6th destruction of Zion. Since no one knows what year it is (the freed humans are guessing and the robots aren't telling) you can't say anything about how long it has taken to construct and populate the 6 Zion's. For all we know it can have been going on for 1,000s of years.

Question: Who or what exactly is the Frenchman?

Answer: The Frenchman is the guy who is also called the Merovingian.

Question: What sort of fabric is Neo's trench coat made of? I would guess wool, but can anyone be more specific?

Answer: It was a custom-length black wool garbardine coat. In an interview with the costume designers, they stated a need for a lighter fabric, but still light and sleek for the actors to wear. About half of Morpheus's crew wear black wool gabardine when they jack into the Matrix. The rest use PVC, leather, or a combination of both.

Question: I don't understand why Persephone let one of the guard go, instead of killing both of them when they're saving the Key Maker. Wouldn't they have made a clean escape that way?

Answer: Persephone wants to really stick it to her husband, the Merovingian. By letting one of the guards go tell him she is assuring that he will find out what she did, but it will be too late to stop her.

Question: This might be regarded as some as an obvious question, but I can't figure it out. In the first movie, when Neo is rescued, it is 1999 in the Matrix, and Morpheus tells him that humankind was taken over by machines sometime in the near future of the Matrix. Now, obviously the machines don't want the humans to find out about this, and they've kept history pretty much accurate so far (with minor alterations to explain the existence of 'agents,' 'rebels,' and so forth) so obviously they can't cycle too far into the future. But they can't stay where they are (if people were born, aged, and died in the space of a few calendar years a lot more people would reject the Matrix) or 'reset' things (same outcome.) They presumably have a way of dealing with this problem; what is it?

Answer: There is no reason to assume that history inside the Matrix would bring about the exact same events as happened in the real world. Even if the humans did start to make the developments that, in the real world, gave rise to the mashines and the Matrix, the machines can simply avoid that end result inside the Matrix. For all we know, the machines were planning to have the humans in the Matrix follow the timeline presented by Star Trek rather than what actually happened. Bear in mind too that the Architect mentioned previous Ones and Zions - every time the matrix is reloaded they start at the same point.

Question: The Burly Brawl doesn't make sense in this movie. Neo as "The One" knows he can win a fight against hundreds of Smith agents , but he does not need to fight. He is not defending anyone at that moment, or fighting for his own survival. Since he is now a super hero, he could simply fly away. Besides he had the important mission of looking for the keymaker in order to save Zion in the real world. The burly brawl was only a waste of time for him. Am I right?

Answer: Technically, he could have flew away sooner...but the Burly Brawl is a sort of introduction to him of the millions of Smiths. He probably thought if he could just destroy the first 5 or 6 then they would be gone forever. After several hundred start attacking, he doesn't really get a decent chance to get away before the end of it. He keeps having to fight them off to get away, and as soon as he can, he does.