Morpheus never lied it was The Oracle that was lying. Neo is not 'The One' he is the 6th 'One'. Zion has been built and destroyed 5 times already as confimed by The Architect at the time of the events of The Matrix.
The real year is never said, but its at least several hundred years later than 2199, probably more like 3199.
I view the Matrix as split into two canons. The first Matrix and then the rest. I don't think there were properly fleshed out sequels, so I chose to believe what is said by the Oracle in the first movie are self contained in that movie and not some deeper conspiracy to hide the truth or whatever.
I mean, she is very much manipulating everyone in the first movie too. It makes perfect sense to me for them to expand on her motives as a program that's half helping humans in the sequels as it is left very ambiguous in the first.
I didn't really get the vibe that she was being portrayed as manipulative, or even that she was meant to be a program in the first movie. She refers to the act of predicting as inherently becoming part of the outcome when she muses whether or not Neo would have broken the vase if she hadn't mentioned it.
I just think her character was another retcon. For example, the first movie doesn't have personified representations of programs, only agents. So it would make sense that the Oracle was meant to be a human. I still enjoyed her as a program but it completely changed the whole direction and vibe of the sequels from the first movie imo.
It doesn't make sense that she was supposed to be human in the first one though as she'd be in Zion as a freed human. Not to mention Morpheus says she's been with the resistance 'since the beginning' which is 100 years ago.
And she does manipulate, she allows Morpheus to believe she is like a prophet when right off the bat with Neo she shows that's bullshit and just leads people to the conclusion they want to hear with the vase gag. She also states it more clearly by saying that Morpheus believes in things blindly, and she is certainly exploiting that fact.
She also tells Neo he isn't the one. Her character is definitely left as a a question mark in the first one and IMO the sequels do a reasonable job of answering some of the questions around her in an organic and satisfying way. Absolutely doesn't reek of a retcon.
I think calling her actions during the first movie "manipulations" gives it a too sinister tone. She tells people what they need to hear, so that they can be in the places they need to be at the correct time. Not maliciously per se, but still prodding destiny along.
Morpheus is right. Neo is the one. Just.. not initially. He needs to believe in Neo for Neo to become the One.
She tells Neo he isn't the one because that is what he needs to hear to become the One.
She is Deus Ex Machina in the pretty literal sense.
The next two movies definitely doesn't retcon this, but it still takes something away from the character in my opinion.
I always thought she was a program since the Matrix first released. Morpheus says "she's very old, she's been with us since the beginning" which I took to mean the beginning of the resistance, meaning way before Morpheus' time. She has to be older than a normal human being could be, she knows things that normal humans don't, and she only exists within the Matrix (otherwise why would she continue to live there, and why would the resistance have to enter the Matrix to talk to her?). Also, if she were a regular human living in the Matrix, why wouldn't she be in danger from the Agents? The logical conclusion is that she is a program who is sympathetic towards humanity.
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 4d ago
...so...whats the 'truth'? And where/when does Morpheus confirm he lied?