Trinity (The Matrix)
| Trinity | |
|---|---|
| The Matrix Trilogy character | |
 | |
| First appearance | The Matrix |
| Last appearance | The Matrix Revolutions |
| Created by | Wachowski Brothers |
| Portrayed by | Carrie-Anne Moss (films) |
| Voiced by | Jennifer Hale (The Matrix: Path of Neo) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Trin |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Hacker |
| Title | First Mate of the Nebuchadnezzar |
| Children | None |
| Relatives | Unknown |
| Religion | Unknown |
| Nationality | American |
Trinity is a fictional character in The Matrix franchise. She is portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss in the films. In the gameplay segments of Path of Neo, she is voiced by Jennifer Hale. Trinity first appears in the original Matrix film and she becomes Neo's lover part-way through the trilogy.
Character overview
Like the series' other main characters, Trinity is a computer programmer and a hacker who has escaped from the Matrix, a sophisticated computer program in which most of the human race is imprisoned. Though few specifics are revealed about her previous life inside the Matrix, we are told that she cracked a database so secure that she is famous amongst hackers, and that Morpheus, one of a number of real-world hovercraft commanders, initially identified her and helped her escape from the program. At the beginning of the series, she is first mate on Morpheus' Nebuchadnezzar and serves mainly as a go-between for him and the individuals he wishes to free from the Matrix. As the series progresses, her primary importance as a character becomes her close relationship with Neo. She is skilled with computers, at operating vehicles both inside and outside the Matrix, and in martial arts.
Throughout the series, her Matrix-given name is never revealed.
Role in the films
The Matrix
Trinity is first introduced at the beginning of The Matrix, in a phone conversation with Cypher, which is heard offscreen. This cuts to a dingy hotel room fight scene between Trinity and a group of police officers. Also on hand are Agents, sentient programs that police the Matrix to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them.
Trinity is next seen communicating with Neo for Morpheus in several encounters. Eventually, she and the rest of the Nebuchadnezzar's crew unplug Neo from the Matrix and begin his training as a new recruit in the war against the machines. She participates in several missions into the Matrix, including taking Neo to The Oracle, a sentient program inside the Matrix who seems, almost paradoxically, to possess greatly enhanced powers of intuition and foresight.
Throughout the film, it is apparent that Trinity has been in love with Neo from afar for some time, although she continues to conceal her feelings for him. Near the end of the first film, after he is killed by Agent Smith inside the Matrix, she speaks to his interfaced physical body and reveals that the Oracle told her that she would fall in love with The One, a prophesied individual capable of manipulating the Matrix to an unprecedented degree. She then kisses him, whereupon he miraculously returns to life both in the real world and within the Matrix. The resurrected Neo easily defeats the three Agents and returns to his body back on the ship. The first film ends with Neo returning to the Matrix to show people still unknowingly trapped there what they, too, might achieve someday.[1] This marks the beginning of a romantic relationship between Neo and Trinity which proves decisive in the outcome of the series.
The Matrix Reloaded
Trinity's importance as an individual character in the first sequel to The Matrix is fairly minimal for the first half of the film, though she appears in almost every scene. She aids in the rescue of the Keymaker from the Merovingian and in the subsequent escape, but her real role in the plot does not come into play until the climax of the story, where Neo is forced to choose between saving Trinity and reconstructing Zion while choosing to eradicate the currently existing one by entering the source Zion, the underground city where the last humans not living in the Matrix reside. Neo chooses to save Trinity and revives her after she is shot by an Agent.
The Matrix Revolutions
In the final installment of the Matrix series, Trinity is involved in the rescue of Neo from a cut-off segment of the Matrix, where he is being held by a program in the employ of the Merovingian. In the real world, Trinity goes with Neo to the Machine City in an attempt to negotiate with the Machines. While attempting to evade Machine pursuers, their hovercraft crashes, so that Trinity is fatally wounded and dies in Neo's arms.
After Trinity's death, Neo gives up his life to negotiate a truce with the Machines, being that he doesn't want to live without Trinity, by offering to assist them in defeating/deleting Agent Smith before he continues to run amok and completely shuts down the Matrix. The Architect is then shown reaffirming his promise to the Oracle to free all of those humans wishing to exit the Matrix for good.
Other portrayals
In Enter the Matrix, Trinity appears in a scene where she faces off against Ghost in a practice spar, the two subsequently discussing their shared belief that Neo can defeat the Machines despite the absurdity of the concept. Over the course of the game, it is heavily implied, although never expressly stated, that Ghost is in love with Trinity, but that she regards him as a brother for their having been freed from the Matrix at or near the same time.
Her role in The Matrix: Path of Neo is relatively similar to her appearances with Neo in the films; she has a spar with him during his sword-fighting training, accompanies him during the raid on the military building to rescue Morpheus (subsequently helping him to defeat an Agent on the rooftop), and is later rescued by him from some attacking Agents after the last meeting with the assorted ship captains.
Trinity also makes appearances in The Animatrix and The Matrix Comics.
Online
Despite having "died" during the course of the third film, Trinity made a return to the series in the official continuation, The Matrix Online. Taking on a major role in the game's final chapters it was revealed both she and Neo were actually the cumulation of decades of Machine research into translating human DNA perfectly into Machine code, allowing them to interface directly with technology without the need for simulated interfaces. Originally developed by The Oracle, this program was called The Biological Interface Program and was strongly sought after by the Oligarchy as a means to transfer their digital minds to physical bodies instead of the mechanical androids they had developed.
Without a physical form (the Machines recovered her program from her dying body) Trinity takes the appearance of a floating figure made of golden code when within The Matrix. Initially emotionally distraught with her condition (confusion, anger and sadness being the prominent emotions expressed during her awakening after being freed from the Oligarch Network) she eventually finds solace in the fact her existence is the key to finally rebooting the Matrix and erasing Oligarch override control once and for all.
She ultimately meets her end in the Source of The Matrix, merging with a human inside the core of the Machine code base itself, combining the three core groups; Man, Machine and Program. This initializes the final reboot sequence, removing the Oligarch control and allowing the Machines to finally exist without fear of cruel masters. Although it is unclear from the outlines Ben Chamberlain released prior to the game's closure, this conclusion likely sees the creation of a new truce between Zion and The Machines and is the basis for the new Matrix created around the concept of human thought control.
Name
The name "Trinity" is heavily associated with Christian theology, which involves the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When she cracked the IRS database before her release from the Matrix, she chose the alias of Trinity as a hacker, to imply that she is as enigmatic as trying to grasp the concept of a "Three-In-One Being."[2] Trinity is the force who guides Neo to his "salvation," as well as commanding Neo to rise up from his apparent death in the first film, implying a further parallel between her character and God.[3]
The name Trinity increased in popularity as a given name for female babies born after the release of The Matrix in 1999. In the United States, the name had been increasing in popularity throughout the 1990s, and was the 523rd most popular by 1998. In 1999 it was 209th, and in 2000 it was 74th. It peaked as 48th most popular in 2004 and 2005, and has remained in the top 100 female baby names since 2000.[4]
Skills and abilities
Throughout the Matrix franchise, Trinity is shown to be highly competent at many skills both inside and outside the Matrix, including martial arts, computer use, the use of firearms and other weapons, and operating a range of motor vehicles. Some of these skills can be downloaded from outside the Matrix as needed, such as when Trinity flies a helicopter during the first movie. Other skills are trained or inherent.
Trinity is seen to be especially skilled at the use of cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles, even in comparison to other hackers. In the first film, she pilots a Bell 212 helicopter and manages to maintain control even after its hydraulics system is damaged. In The Matrix Reloaded, she drives a Cadillac sedan[5] with ease while being chased by the Merovingian's twins, agents of the Matrix, and the police; even able to drive while helping Morpheus protect the Keymaker from one of the twins. She also carries the Keymaker to safety on a Ducati 996 motorcycle in a harrowing chase through oncoming traffic.
Combat, both armed and unarmed, is another area where Trinity excels. At several times during the three films, she is able to defeat large numbers of well-armed opponents, either by herself or with help from other characters. Trinity's signature attack is called the Double Eagle - in which she leaps into the air with her arms spread like wings and hovers for several seconds before delivering a thrusting kick - and she performs the Double Eagle in each of the three films.
See also
Sources
- ↑ Complete transcript of the first Matrix film
- ↑ Sparknotes analysis of major characters
- ↑ Parallels between the Matrix and Christianity
- ↑ "Popularity of a Name: Trinity". Social Security Administration. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ "Matrix Reloaded, Cadillac Remade". Motor Trend. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
References
- Faller, Stephen. (2004). Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations. Chalice Press, New title edition. ISBN 0827202350
External links
- Trinity at the Internet Movie Database