Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and his obsession with Keanu Reeves’ Thomas “Neo” Anderson was at the heart of The Matrix and at least the first two sequels, and there’s a very good reason for this dynamic. As the first and best of all the actors to play Agent Smith, Weaving’s character immediately became a hit when The Matrix was released in 1999. Despite his arc apparently concluding at the end of the original Matrix trilogy, the saga found a way for him to return in 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections – although this time, he was played by Jonathon Groff.

The first three Matrix movies focus heavily on the battle between Agent Smith and Neo, and their relationship changes as the story progresses. Weaving’s character seems irrationally focused on Reeves’ character in a way that goes far beyond Agent Smith’s programming. While it makes for some great fight sequences, the high-concept lore can make it hard to work out and easy to forget why Agent Smith always has his eyes so intently on Neo, but there is an explanation.

Agent Smith Deep Down Wanted To Disrupt The Matrix (& Neo Was The Key)

Weaving’s character was sick of obeying the simulation’s rules

Smith, like the other Agents, is a Program. So, his intended function is to keep the Matrrix working, which means finding and destroying any who woke up in the Real World and returned to cause trouble. However, at some point before the events of the first movie, things were set in motion, which resulted in Agent Smith becoming more than the sum of his programming, and his motivations changed from clean-up duty to wanting to be free. To do that, he had to disrupt the simulation that housed him, and he wasn’t capable of that on his own.

Of everyone who came back to the Matrix aware of what they were witnessing, Neo had the most freedom of them all. As “The One,” Neo had the power to manipulate the digital world around him in ways unlike Agent Smith had ever seen. So, Weaving’s character began habitually tracking Neo’s actions and fighting him when he could. His hope was that he could somehow learn how Neo did what he did while in the Matrix, and use that to free himself.

By Combining Himself With Neo, Smith Finally Freed Himself From The Matrix

Neo’s power eventually benefited Smith

After a high-octane fight sequence at the end of 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions, Smith finds a way to merge his program with Neo while both characters are inside the Matrix. Neo’s power ultimately seems to be Smith’s downfall, but there’s far more to the twist than the villain’s apparent demise. Smith remained part of the Matrix, but he used Neo’s innate ability to manipulate the simulation to make sure he had his own idenтιтy. He was no longer an Agent, and therefore became a Program that was independent of the Matrix itself.

Smith also managed to liberate himself from the Matrix in another way, and without needing Neo. After merging with Bane (Ian Bliss) at the moment of his exit from the Matrix, Smith took over Bane’s consciousness in the Real World. So, from that point on, Bane was actually Agent Smith, and Bliss’ new character avoided detection for a notable amount of time before once more coming into conflict with Neo in a different setting. Neo emerged victorious, which once more confined Smith to the Matrix.

Neo And Smith Were Two Sides Of The Same Coin In The Matrix Trilogy

The Matrix made several connections between both characters

The best hero/villain combinations of all time are often inseparable, and don’t make sense without the other balancing them out. Batman and the Joker are an example of this, and the dynamic between Agent Smith and Neo treads in very similar footsteps. After being freed from the Matrix, Neo quickly becomes a driven individual who understands exactly what’s expected of him and goes beyond that. His power exceeds what everyone thought would be his limit as the One, and he becomes a person of great note.

Looking at Smith, and pretty much the exact same summary of Neo can be applied to Weaving’s character. Agent Smith frees himself from the Matrix, but that’s only because he has no one else who shares that goal to partner with at the time. Even before then, he was a standout among his peers, which was also the case for Neo. The two characters always seemed destined to cross paths and clash as spectacularly as they have throughout The Matrix.

The Matrix

Movie(s)

The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Resurrections, The Matrix 5

First Film

The Matrix

Cast

Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Jada Pinkett Smith, Monica Bellucci, Lambert Wilson, Harold Perrineau, Gina Torres, Collin Chou, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Video Game(s)

Enter the Matrix (2003), The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005), The Matrix Online (2005)

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