Where Agent Smith Went At The End Of Matrix 4 & What His Final Line Means

Warning: Spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections

Agent Smith returns in The Matrix Resurrections, and his final scene in the movie exemplifies his nature as a program. It’s been a long time since The Matrix franchise initially wrapped up with The Matrix Revolutions in 2003, and co-creator Lana Wachowski’s return in The Matrix Resurrections incorporates the nostalgia of the original trilogy as a key element of its story. Agent Smith, played in Resurrections by Jonathan Groff, helps demonstrate that.

The movie opens with Neo (Keanu Reeves)—back to using the name Thomas Anderson—living the life of a world famous video game designer, having created a trilogy of games appropriately called The Matrix. As Neo begins to re-awaken, his business partner reveals himself to be Agent Smith, a pivotal character played by Hugo Weaving in the original trilogy. However, his and Neo’s relationship is quite different in Resurrections than it was previously, with Smith now a rogue program determined to take the Matrix back to its original design after the overhaul made by the Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris).

In Neo’s efforts to free Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) from the Matrix again after he returns to the real world, Neo confronts the Analyst in a coffee shop where he and Trinity originally met. As Trinity wakes up again, the Analyst orders her and Neo killed, only for Smith to arrive and save them. He departs with the words “Here our unexpected alliance ends. You know the difference between us Tom? Anyone could’ve been you, whereas I’ve always been anyone.” He then departs the body of the man he’d taken possession of. While this doesn’t clearly reveal where Smith has gone, he does seem to have fully regained his abilities as an Agent, and appears to once again be a sentient program within the Matrix.

Smith’s last line also is a nod to both Neo’s nature as the One and Smith’s own as an Agent. As Neo learned in The Matrix Reloaded, he was the sixth anomaly within the programming of the Matrix to inherit the code that made him the One. Smith’s words allude to the One as an every man or woman who discovers their abilities masked by the facade that the Matrix represents – whenever the One is born anew, he or she could truly be anyone.

Additionally, the second part of Smith’s quote harkens back to Morpheus illustrating how Agents operate in The Matrix. Tasked with policing the Matrix, Agents are programs capable of possessing anyone plugged into the Matrix, apart from those who have left by way of the red pill. As Morpheus put it while mentoring Neo, “Inside the Matrix, they are everyone, and they are no one.” Smith is essentially re-affirming to Neo that he, like all Agents, exists within whichever human vessel he’s hijacked at the time. Smith’s parting words in The Matrix Resurrections highlight the dichotomy of who both Neo and Smith himself are – the One could’ve been anyone in the Matrix, with Neo being the newest incarnation of the simulation’s messiah, while Smith, as an Agent, is anyone at any given time.

NEXT: The Matrix Trilogy Recap: Everything You Need To Know Before Resurrections

About The Author

Brad Curran
(714 Articles Published)

Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he’s also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world’s great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he’s not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he’s also known to just pop in “The Room” from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

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