What D&D Alignment is Agent Smith?
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Today we take a look at Agent Smith from the Matrix Trilogy! I love non-human characters and their character arcs and I hope you guys are as excited as I am for Matrix Ressurections!~
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#dnd #matrix #matrixressurections
“If Neo is the One, then Smith is the Zero”
Holy fuck thats genius
Smith is the opposite of Neo in more ways than One. He is both Everyone (the many) and no one (the zero), just like how Morpheus described Agents in general. Neo is truly the middle point in all this, being the One, having as purpose, to balance against Smith. Smith is there to unbalance. When Smith infects the Oracle, there is no host body to be connected to, so he becomes the Zero. Note that the Oracle also tried to unbalance the Matrix in her own way. Also note that "Oracle" starts with an O.
For this moment, and only this moment, I swear you and I are the same person. The whole thing is in the flow between the binary, the balance, where the absolutes always fall to their foil when they beat them... neverending creating of grey areas are the only real balance, never 0 or 1, always toggling between them.
Smith and Neo are surprisingly good examples of the concept of "Yin" and "Yang"~ there is no good without evil and there is no order without chaos~
@@zachhawn8720 True. There is much wisdom in Tao.
What I love about Smith is that he takes the concept of one of Lawful Evil's main archetypes, "The Henchman", and expands on it by asking what happens when the henchmen starts to outgrow his role. Combine that with the fact that Smith is a AI program and is now learning the power of agency (hah) and you have one of the strongest antagonistic forces ever created!
I’d love to see you cover the Primarchs from 40k. Though the research would be astonishing, it’s a guaranteed 18+ videos
Trying to cover anything 40k with how games workshop has been handling things with fan made content as of late might be a bad idea
I would love to see him try to figure out the alignment of the emperor
@@jackmack4181
Just in case it never comes:
Chaotic Neutral, though arguably Chaotic Good.
The Emprah ever did what _he_ thought the right thing to do, only relegating authority to others when _he_ had no other choice or when his sphere of influence grew too thin and he needed to reinforce it (as it was the case with the Primarchs).
The Emprah grew so powerful and influential among humanity, that the very concept of opposing him was utter bollocks; ultimatelly though, all his actions led for him to become the very thing he feared: A god.
Encased in his throne as an effigy, his image is now used as a catalyst for veneration among the flock and a tool for control for his most "loyal" servants;
Should he ever be free from this, the Emprah will rise as the Chaos God of _Order._
@@jackmack4181
Just in case it never comes:
Chaotic Neutral, though arguably Chaotic Good.
The Emprah ever did what _he_ thought the right thing to do, only relegating authority to others when _he_ had no other choice or when his sphere of influence grew too thin and he needed to reinforce it (as it was the case with the Primarchs).
The Emprah grew so powerful and influential among humanity, that the very concept of opposing him was utter bollocks; ultimatelly though, all his actions led for him to become the very thing he feared: A god.
Encased in his throne as an effigy, his image is now used as a catalyst for veneration among the flock and a tool for control for his most "loyal" servants;
Should he ever be free from this, the Emprah will rise as the Chaos God of _Order._
Dude screw that 40k childish stuff. The game is so bloated and the lore convoluted. There’s nothing relatable to reality in those characters.
Agent Smith, what a powerhouse character. Dominates every scene he’s in.
Not unlike Garak of Deep Space Nine. That’s right the crusade continues for a Garak alignment video
Garak absolutely deserves a video, but it'd be at least an hour fricking long. And he's probably the perfect example of how a Lawful Evil can become a Lawful Good through just a change in circumstance, not even a change in attitude.
You have my full support in this crusade, good sir.
Garak is the best, but I don't think Stu has time for 7 seasons, each about 24 hours long. Even if handed a list of only the episodes with Garak... got to be close to half of it.
@@demonac You'd think, but Garak only shows up in 37 episodes, which goes to show how solid the character is.
*CARDASSIA VULT*
As soon as you called Smith the Zero, I finally noticed that the One is a reference to binary code XD
5:22 I always love little touches that make the losing side in a fight appear more competent - increasing both tension and our perception of the winner's ability. Like how Smith, about to get hit by the train, misses the foot as Neo leaps away, but tries to regain his balance and make another swipe before being hit. Smith has no 'quit' in him.
Also: gotta give random props to Agent Smith's FRENCH dub actor (seems to be Vincent Grass, though I can't find the Matrix in his IMDB?), for cramming all the extra French syllables into Smith's speeches while still feeling like the same character. Check the big climax speech from French Revolutions: ua-cam.com/video/2ftmfS9pA4g/v-deo.html
You forgot a ding for Lawful Good and Neutral Good from the GE Hospital commercial xD
Lawful Good for his fascination with improved tech helping human lives
And Neutral Good for offering a kid a lollipop, even giving him the choice of red or blue
Admittedly I've never really seen the draw of the Matrix, but even I have to like Smith. He's just great as a character.
Also, totally using "the Zero", that is a great term for his role.
I probably would have started Smith at Lawful Neutral at the beginning. The agents follow orders, not hating humanity nor caring about them, either. They're willing to negotiate if possible, but always follow what they are told to do. That's enough to make me think me say the agents (and Smith at the beginning) are lawful neutral.
Please cover "Murder Drones" Pilot in the future! (day 9).
Eyyyy, I only watched the first movie, but I REALLY like agent Smith, he is a very good character. Wonder where he is gonna end up...
PS: I do agree with MatPat that Smith IS in fact the One.
I would really like to see a DnD alignment video on GlaDOS from Portal 1 and 2
I'm surprised there's not a chaotic evil ding for deadnaming Neo.
ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....that's a very modern read on the matrix that even the wachowski's are only sorta okay with. I thought about it but I don't think it was necessary to bring up.
@@TheLoadingCrew That's fair, I was more making a joke that it wasn't mentioned. It doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the video at all.
I would argue that agents are actually lawful neutral working for a lawful evil system. They don't have any malus towards the renegade individuals and from their perspective they are simply safeguarding the system and following their designated programming.
Smith is one of my favorite villains. The journey from following orders like a good soldier, to an evil destructive rebel, was always interesting. Good video.
Agent Smith's laugh around the 9 minute mark is hilarious, creepy and unsettling all at once.
What D&D alignment is Agent Bishop (2003 TMNT)?
I'd argue that Agent Smith is more in lawful side than in chaotic side.
Everyting about Smith gave me chills as a child when I first watched the Matrix just hearing him gloat " You hear that Mr. Anderson?... That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death... " gets me every time
I’d argue Smith’s starting alignment should be lawful neutral since he doesn’t have much free will at the outset of the series.
I suspect the secret he learned from the Oracle was that the humans had died long ago and that the plan the Oracle and Architect came up with was creating programs that believed they were humans in order to give the rest of the machines purpose. The problem the system had was that one of the human/programs would become aware that they were able to see the code. If they awoke to the fact that they were not humans and just programs the entire system would crumble and meaning for the programs would be lost.
I always liked the idea that Neo is only the One because of Smith. Smith is what makes this iteration of Neo the one to free the Matrix. In the end, it was his hatred for humans which set them free
Please do D&D Characters Alignment for the characters of Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon movie series?
Ok this video explains So Much about the plot that I just did not understand from when I watched it. Holy crap!
I ALWAYS watch the post-analysis. Nat-20 post-analysis, Nat-20 video
I've been really enjoying these advent videos man. Awesome job to all you guys out there! These matrix videos especially are getting me excited to watch the new movie and I'm not even into the series lol. Have a great day guys :D
Loved Agent Smith and this was a lot of fun to watch. Great video and insight into this character
Hmmm... Just 1:20 in. But I would have said that he is lawful neutral at the start.
Yeah, he despices [I hope that's how it's spelled. I'll ever hate english righting. But at least is not french] humanity. But he FOLLOWS the code. He doesn't follow the code for his own gain or detriment of others. [At the start]
Watched this before seeing the new Matrix. Calculating that into it, I'd argue that he is NOW Chaotic Evil.
And as he is revived or created like every other character save the Analyst, it’s fair to say he is just that since that Smith is another person.
First of all, great video.
Now, I am always unsure if non human antagonist characters really qualify as evil.
I mean, yes he is helping to keep humanity captive in the Matrix and hunts and kills any human that free themselves but is there really evil intentions?
When the colonists started to have troubles with wolves that devoured their livestock they hunted them until they became an endangered species. That was terrible and evil by our standars but not at the time...
...
Anyways, great analisis and I can't wait for next week Neo's video.
Except, going by his In The Dark motive that he spelled out for Morpheus in the first one, he is at his core _tired_ of doing what he’s “supposed” to do.
He abhors whatever possessed his creators to make his environment _so_ sickening to him, to the point that he’s gaslit himself into believing humanity has a ‘stench’ that he cannot escape so long as he exists “as he is” (as a program, _within_ the Matrix).
To that end, going with the wolf comparison, he’s _closer_ to a trained, domesticated dog that believes with his whole heart and soul (digital though they be) that he is a wolf, and then goes around convincing other dogs that they’re wolves without leaving them a concrete motive that isn’t their own, but his.
"That was terrible and evil by our standars but not at the time..." Is your point that, if, say, there was a nation where stoning gays wouldn't be considered evil, it isn't evil if you do it there?
@@RasmusVJS of course it will be evil of I do something I myself consider evil. Especially since I would likely receive a stoning myself.
But that wasn't my point, my point is that Agents, maybe not Smith but for the other programs human lives both of those connected and freed from the Matrix have different values than for us.
Another example would be the AIs from the Polity.
@@martinratagris Ah, so you're using the "intention rather than outcome" school of thinking, and because they themselves don't consider what they do evil, they shouldn't have the alignment of evil, because evil is only for those who, knowing what they're doing is wrong, still do it?
@@RasmusVJS Pretty much. One could argue that there are some things so despicable that they are objectively evil regardless of culture but any crime in human history has been at some point endorsed by it's societies and religions as just and noble.
Do you call a family that mutilates their daughter by crippling their feet evil? By our standard yes, by theirs not it was just a cultural practice.
Giving colored glass in exchange for valuable land that a race that has lived there for generations? That's just making smart business.
Slavery, murder and any number of atrocities have been committed by men that believed they were doing good and following the law.
For non-human not organic sentient beings with their own culture and values it's even more complicated to assign them terms like evil.
To those suffering their actions they are evil but from the point of view of their peers they're dutiful in their responsibilities.
You forgot some parts for the initial identification of his alignment- Humanity started the war and escalated it into the making of the Matrix, the machines considering humanity a pest and too dangerous and savage to be kept alive.
The Matrix is a prison and the Agents it's wardens, meaning, depending on what perspective you choose, any of the "Lawful" alignments could apply.
smith put hugo weaving on the map for me, one of the very best characters in the film series, and in cinima in general.
I would love to see you cover Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes or X.A.N.A from Code Lyoko.
"You are a bastard."
"You would know, Mom."
I wonder if Smith ever thought to ask her *why* she programmed him to hate the Matrix. Had she intended to sacrifice him and Neo to end the war all along?
Can you do a Hugo Weigand version of this video: a video where we get to see your best Hugo Weeknd impression!
Chaotic Evil. For sure.
I know that you have December booked for videos, but i'd love to see you cover Dr. Maruki from Persona 5 Royal sometime. I don't wanna give away anything for people who haven't seen that content in P5R, but i'll just say that I think he would be perfect for one of these alignment videos.
Can you please do Bard Armstrong from Lisa the Painful.
I would love to watch a video about Gilgamesh from Fate: Zero. Also, good video.
Haven’t watched the vid yet (pre vid adds still playing) I call chaotic evil
Overlord alignment please preferably the big body daddy aniz (watch overlord abridge for reference)
Trinston was here .
Do Cowboy Bebop next please!
love the content
I would argue that Agent Smith starts at LN. He follows the code because its the code to follow.
lawful neutral.
So, I've seen a theory floating around. Neo isn't The One, the Oracle never lied. Instead Smith is The One and that's why everything reset when he was finally linked back to the machines.
Is he like Clu from Tron?
What D&D Alignment is Arthas Menethil (Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King)?
lawful neutral easy
Could do a video on the Ains Ooal Gown from Overlord
he's on the list
@@TheLoadingCrew oh lol thanks for letting me know. I’m eager for that one
Neat, also how do i suggest a character from a series? If thats even a thing
just comment in a video with a suggestion. I read every comment, I just don't always reply (especially this month since like...3 videos are totally popping off and getting a lot of comments)
Seems like yt yeeted my comment for being too long
Anyway point was: watch monster strike's anime, lucy is a character id love to see analyzed, and the series itself is a houseki no kuni tier cg anime. Now the good thing is that the official channel monster strike TV has the whole thing up in hd on YT without ads, the bad thing is that the movie, which stole endgame's premise and ended up being better than endgame itself isnt available there so seven seas it is. I know one source but the subs are italian as i am a pizza lander. But yeah series is worth a watch, hope you like it
By the way
Neo being the One makes sense as if you put the O before the N
His name literally is One
Can you talk About Kaitou Joker?
about....what?
@@TheLoadingCrew What do you mean?
@@avrinrose5457 He's asking what the hell a Kaito Joker is.
what alingment are the staw hats from one piece?.
I wonder what some of the yugioh characters aliments are?
Yugi himself is likely lawful good, Kaiba true neutral or possibly chaotic neutral, the Pharaoh lawful neutral, Joey chaotic good, Téa neutral good, Marik neutral evil, Pegasus lawful evil, and Bakura and Zorc chaotic evil.
I didn't think of the series as having the deepest characters, but I just realized all the major ones cover the entire alignment chart, which is pretty cool.
Hugo Weaving's greatest performance. Though you could argue Elrond is a better performance.
Ahh. Yes. Evil Jacksfilms
You know whom else can give you red pills.... DR COX
I would have started him out as lawful good. He is self sacrificing to serve what he thinks is good. He really wants to get out, though, which makes him more chaotic. His disgust is a natural reaction to what he thinks is wrong.
Minigun
I don't think you can define Smith as Evil, Or a henchmen. He's allied with the villains of the series but they are an entire race of sentient beings. Can you define a soldier in a war as evil or good just because they fight in the war? I don't think so. Evil has to have malice behind it, just because what you do negatively affects people doesn't make it an evil action. Killing someone, is evil. But killing someone to save someone else is good, and killing someone because you are fighting a war against them and you are both soldiers is Neutral. From this perspective i think Smith and the other agents are Lawful Neutral at the start of movie 1, Its smith that changes to Chaotic Evil by the end of the series but that's because his actions become self serving and based on malice and his xenophobia
… Except he _does_ have malice behind his actions, even in movie 1. It’s subtle in direct comparison to the human characters, but blatantly obvious in comparison to his fellow agents, if not his fellow programs period.
When he is attacking Morpheus and Neo himself and has them on the ropes, he’s playing with his food. They have something he wants, and as evidenced by his victories he could have won sooner if he _wanted_ to, but he dragged out their fights for his own satisfaction.
Even among soldiers in war, that’s intentional malice. The other agents are Neutral, because they _are_ following their programming; Smith started where they are _before_ the film, and is such a standout character from them _because_ of how much he breaks from the mold.
@@alecLogan again tho the actions he takes, at least at the beginning of the movie, arent evil. As the first movie goes on he starts doing more evil acts but at the very beginning the worst he has is that we later find out he hates humanity, but if we take that as evil then anyone who fought in WW2 is evil cause they hated Nazi's
@@Lordgrayson That’s why I specifically said “behind his actions.”
A bad person can do their job correctly/within the margin of error and still be _bad_ . And Smith has definitely been the way his is for some time. He is not _inspired_ towards evil by the actions or words of the his peers or opposites, he was going to do it anyway (because it’s his job) and he gets sloppy by proxy of getting closer to his goal.
When interrogating Morpheus , he unplugs from the hive mind. While, mechanically, this prevents him from getting critical intel, why do you reckon he would do such a thing on purpose if he never has before? Meaning, he has done such before, but why would he do that? To handicap himself? Or just to keep his fellow machines from learning of his alternative motives?
If he’s aware that he needs to keep something about himself a secret from his peers, he has reason to believe they would scrutinize him for it, which leans on him recognizing his situation from a human perspective.
Now, all that said, one would imagine that if he were genuinely Neutral to begin with, few things would have gone the way that they did. _Making a deal_ with a human was, apparently, such a new concept that nobody suspects that to have been what happened for some time. Developing such an intense rivalry with someone he barely knows, furthermore, is hardly behavior one would expect from a program.
My point being, nothing that was _done_ to him or that he overheard or saw happen, _caused_ him to shift. He was already that way, just efficiently and effectively pretending otherwise.
@@alecLogan we arent talking about a rapid character shift tho, I'm saying he slides further and further towards Chaotic Evil as time goes on. Unplugging from the hive is a neutral act, its chaotic instead of lawful but its not good nor is it bad. Just cause he hates humanity doesnt make him evil, in fact because of that motivation you can even make a good case for him being a lawful Good starting alignment, he selflessly doesnt act on his emotions and follows the laws of the machines rather than purge the world of humans, because the machines need the humans for batteries.
All I'm saying is at the beginning of the movie Smith is a neutral or Good character from the perspective of the Machines(the perspective Smith has, because that's his side) then as time goes on, as he is enraged at losing to the humans, as he gives in to his more self destructive traits he slides slowly to neutrality and chaos, then into evil when he takes over all the other agents
@@Lordgrayson … I’m not talking about a rapid character shift _either_ . I’m saying that the motivations behind his actions drives his alignment, if not the actions themselves.
The agents are Neutral, sure. Agent _Smith_ is not. From the beginning and _growing more pronounced_ as the story progresses, he displays more and more signs of instability that do not align with his programming or serve any _real_ purpose for the Machines.
The agents, as neutrals, barely ever shift in expression. Even before the second installment, Agent Smith has been cocky, enraged, taunting, _menacing_ , ecstatic, a wide range in a condensed space for a creature that has no _need_ or application for emoting. The other agents are even caught off-guard essentially catching him with his “pants” down (they find him with his earpiece out and heavily emoting, but they barely give him a questioning look while he seems almost _ashamed_ that he let himself be seen like that).
Him hating humanity gives his actions drive that his Lawful Neutral peers _don’t have_ , making him more effective (if less _efficient_ ) in his pursuits of the redpills and combat.
You started this saying that the actions themselves shouldn’t qualify his positioning, and now are saying that even if he was intentionally being a cruel bastard, it should be his actions _in relation to his faction_ that place him, which, I don’t recall ever being on the table. If we’re judging by factions, everyone has at least two with potential for more alignments based on how many different viewpoints there are for a story. Which… is a lot of work and squinting, so we don’t do it that way.
To use the final example as an example, for the Machines, Smith _dying_ at the very end would be seen as a Lawful Good act, despite him not _wanting_ to and by all means being forced to. For Humans, it would be a Chaotic Good (if not Neutral) act, _if_ it really counts towards his alignment at all. You see how that gets wishy-washy? It doesn’t actually work.
isen't this this video proof that people are more complex thean just a 2d alligment since smith has influenses from diferent parts of the system.
Day 4 of asking him to cover Conan the barbarian but beg him to leave out the 2018 remakes
Saitama