Merovingian (The Matrix)

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The Merovingian

The Merovingian is a fictional character in the movies The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, portrayed by Lambert Wilson in both films. He is a rogue computer program coercive created by the Matrix. As one of the few entities able to directly manipulate the code which creates the Matrix, he is that program's unofficial power broker. While technically a sophisticated program, his persona is that of a mannered bourgeois French gourmet. He enjoys fine attire, scintillating banter, and carnal pleasures. He is married to Persephone, who resents his philandering. The Merovingian is the leader of a group of Exiles, employs The Twins and others as his henchmen, holds the Keymaker prisoner, and controls the Trainman.

Trivia and speculation on the Merovingian's origin and function

• The Merovingian was named for the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings, who were said to have been descended from Jesus. Ironically, the Merovingians always wore their hair very long.
• When The Oracle speaks to Neo of "vampires, ghosts, and werewolves," she is foreshadowing his encounter with the Merovingian and his entourage (such as The Twins, who can alter their bodies at will to become incorporeal). These henchmen are likely programs the Merovingian had saved from deletion in previous versions of the Matrix. However, according to Persephone, these "monsters" created more problems than they solved.
• The Merovingian was referred to by Trinity as "Merv".
• The Merovingian states that he has survived all of Neo's predecessors. Persephone also reveals that the Merovingian used to be "like Neo" when she speaks of initially falling in love with him.
• The Merovingian's restaurant is named "Le Vrai" (which means "The True" in French), and the initials "LV" appear on many of its walls. However, "LV" is also Roman numerals for "55", which given the previous number-play scheme could refer to "5". The Architect told Neo that there had been five "Ones" before Neo. Also, when the Merovingian is first seen at his table, he has five glasses at his seat, while Persephone (perhaps his analog of Trinity) has three chocolates on her plate.
• There is also speculation from fans that the Merovingian was intentionally created by the Machines as yet another "form of control"; in this case being a program created specifically to contain and control rogue programs within the Matrix. Also, symbolically, the serpent from the Bible. He represents an alternative to the pious aspects of Machine life/culture.
• Based on the allusions in the movie of Persephone (in Greek mythology, the kidnapped wife of Hades, god of the underworld) and the name of his nightclub, Club Hel, the information in the movies appear to support the Merovingian's origin as one of the major elder influences of the Matrix's creation. Perhaps the Merovingian was the program that added cause-effect elements to Matrix beta 2 (the second version of the Matrix described by the Architect that also resulted in failure) to bring a level of simulated choice in order to keep human minds from rejecting it. This is further supported by the Oracle's comment to Neo that the Merovingian is "one of the oldest of" programs such as she. Since the Oracle was key in creating a successful Matrix, this justifies the Merovingian's actions in trying to kill the Oracle: He may be jealous.
• The Merovingian's speech that there is "no free will in the world, only lines of causality" closely mirrors the works of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes said that there are only lines of cause and effect in life, and the best one can do is enjoy oneself in life with material pleasures, which the Merovingian does in abundance. This is interesting because Neo and Morpheus seem to represent Socrates in the Matrix trilogy; the Matrix itself could be viewed as a modern-day version of Plato's allegory of the cave, in which Socrates (in this case Neo) urges people to break out of the Cave that they think is the real world (the Matrix) to be free in the Real World. Hobbes was a major critic of Socrates' works and believed in the exact opposite of his teachings.
• Another possibility is simply that the Merovingian was the first Exile. A powerful program, perhaps a subordinate of the Architect who turned on him in an allegory of Lucifer's Fall. Taking the allegory further, he fled to the Matrix to build an empire of his own, perhaps with intentions of one day storming the Source with an army of fellow Exiles. However, he would be frustrated by failure due to the cyclic nature of the Matrix—the source of his defeatist Hobbesian philosophy, Persephone's disdain for him, and his extensive knowledge of the Matrix essential for him to sustain himself and his syndicate through the reloads.

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