The Matrix’s Neo is one of the most famous examples of the “chosen one” trope, but what exactly makes Neo so special in the Matrix films is more complicated than it seems. A classic protagonist, Neo follows every step of the hero’s journey, going from someone who seems to be “no one” to later becoming the hero who saves humanity in The Matrix Revolutions. Neo was the “chosen one” both figuratively and in-universe, but the way the Matrix movies deal with the idea of a predestinated hero is quite different from other popular stories like Star Wars.
In The Matrix, being The One meant that Neo could perceive the Matrix simulation in a way that no other human could. Not only that, but The One would also have the ability to bend the Matrix simulation code, meaning that The One would not have to answer to any of the rules inside the Matrix, such as gravity. Therefore, Neo had the potential to become the master of the Matrix and eventually free humanity.
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The idea of The One is first presented in The Matrix by Morpheus, who strongly believed in the Prophecy of The One. The crew of the Nebuchadnezzar followed Morpheus in the search for The One, and it took decades before Morpheus finally found Neo. However, neither Neo nor Morpheus knew the whole truth – that The One was part of an endless loop set in motion by the machines themselves. It was thanks to this cycle that Neo became the one, having be predestined to do so. However, Neo proved to be unique as he would eventually break that cycle thanks to his love for Trinity, marking him out as an even more anomalous anomaly.
Why Morpheus Believes Neo Is The One
Morpheus dedicated most of his life to finding The One, guided by the Oracle’s words and by the belief that the Prophecy of the One was real. That said, neither the Matrix movies nor the Matrix expanded universe make clear when and how exactly Morpheus found out Neo was The One. There are, however, a few possibilities. One is that Morpheus was bound to find Neo and know right away that he was The One, almost as if it was an instinct – which would add up with what the Oracle told Morpheus. There is also the possibility Morpheus knew Neo to be the one thanks to Neo’s extraordinary hacking skills inside the Matrix, as what makes The One special is precisely the ability to bend the Matrix code to their will.
It's also important to remember that Morpheus did not know the entire truth about The One. In fact, a lot of what Morpheus told Neo about The One was revealed to be wrong in The Matrix Reloaded. Neo was not the second iteration of The One but rather the sixth, and the real-world year was something close to 2699 rather than 2199. The reason why Morpheus was wrong about those things is that no one from Zion knew about the five other iterations of the Matrix.
Why Neo Is The One: What Makes Him So Special
While The Matrix presents the idea of The One as the person who was bound to save humanity from the machines, The Matrix Reloaded reveals that the Prophecy of the One was nothing but a ploy created by the machines to keep Zion in check but also to make sure the Matrix simulation could go on forever without any major glitches. The Path of the One would regularly balance the Matrix equation, followed by the Prime Program being randomly uploaded in an individual inside the Matrix. The One would follow a mostly predestinate life that would lead them to eventually choose between saving 21 people from Zion and restarting the circle or letting everyone die. The One was not a savior, but actually an instrument of the machines to keep humanity in an endless loop.
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While all the previous “Ones” that the Architect shows Neo look exactly like Keanu Reeves's character, there is no guarantee that Neo was all the six Ones. In fact, it’s more likely that the Architect only used those multiple images of Neo as a visual representation of how the Path of the One had been working in those last few centuries. Therefore, if everything the Architect told Neo is true, then Neo was not necessarily special but rather a person that was randomly chosen to be given the Prime Program. Still, as the hero of the story, Neo broke the endless loop set up by the Architect in The Matrix Revolutions, achieving the first actual truce between humans and machines since the beginning of the war. That is what made Neo truly special, and what symbolically made the Prophecy of the One become something real rather than just a tale created by the machines.
Was Trinity Always Part Of The One Alongside Neo?
The Matrix Resurrections, which take place 60 years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, reveals that Trinity and Neo are both The One – at least in the Analyst’s new Matrix simulation. When placed close to each other inside the Matrix but without their full memories, Neo and Trinity generated far more electricity than any other human, which made them highly valuable to the Analyst’s plans. It’s only after Neo and Trinity remember who they really are and what they feel for each other that the duo can access their full powers inside the Matrix, suggesting that Trinity had been part of the prophecy all along. While the first three Matrix films do not suggest that a second person had been granted the Prime Program, Trinity was told by the Oracle that the man she would fall in love with would be The One, as revealed in The Matrix. As such, one interpretation is that Trinity had always been part of the Path of the One, at least in the sixth iteration of the Matrix, and whoever she would fall in love with would also be granted the Prime Program.
