22 (the 22nd soul ever created) is the deuteragonist of Soul. She is one of the infant souls that lives in The Great Before for hundreds of years. Like every soul before her, 22 has been through the Personality Pavilions, which explains her endearing sarcasm, quick wit and occasional moodiness. She’s met every requirement to go to Earth except one. But no matter how many visits she makes to the Hall of Everything, no matter how many esteemed luminaries have mentored her, she can’t find the spark she needs to fulfill her requirements and make her way to Earth. It all changes when Joe Gardner came along.
Why She Rocks[]
- 22 has major character development in the film. She starts off as an unlikeable soul who hates Earth but later one she starts to like Earth after having such an experience that involved Joe and 22 going to Earth in a bizarre way.
- 22 serves as a comical role for the film as she does provide some humor such as meeting historical figures and some expressive gags that make her quite the character who would likely get a good laugh.
- Her appearance is so cute. No need to go further.
- 22 can be a visual representation of those who think that they don't have a reason to live. Sure, Joe did try to help 22 albeit nothing works as well as he thought for 22. Many people feel that they don't fit in until they realize that living on Earth is more than what you think. Mainly teenagers would find her relateable as her personality resembles a typical teenager.
- 22 believes that things like sky-watching or walking are a spark despite Joe thinking that those are really living and not purposes. Ironically enough, Joe was actually wrong as a spark isn't a soul's purpose according to Jerry. In other words, 22 was actually right all along as a spark is not about having a single purpose but enjoying regular old living.
- Despite 22 not liking Earth at first, she still helped Joe get back to Earth all thanks to traveling to The Zone. If it weren't for Joe accidentally bringing 22 to Earth as well, 22 won't have any character development.
- 22's friendship with Joe is pretty much like what you would expect with a student and a teacher. Of course, they don't really seem to get along well during the beginning, but it all comes to the plot where 22 was taught by Joe about Earth even if 22 and Joe were in the wrong bodies. 22 in Joe's body gives her a chance to interact with Connie (one of Joe's students), Dez (a barber), and Libba (Joe's mom) all thanks to Joe being her guide.
- Another thing is that she got mad at Joe mainly because Joe realized that her badge is filled out only it had joe's experiences and tastes, but that didn't stop 22 and Joe into forgiving each other later on as Joe stars to see that 22 is ready to live.
- The scene where 22 turns into a lost soul and returning back to her normal soul form was really touching as if you feel bad for her. And of course, the scene where she never got to see Joe again.
Bad Qualities[]
- 22 starts off as a jackass who hates Earth.
- She can be a bit immature to some viewers given her personality.
- It's still unclear where exactly the 22 went when she landed on Earth.
Trivia[]
- Despite being referred to as she, 22 is not considered a female as she as well as the infant souls are genderless.
- When 22 and Joe enters the Astral Plane, she claims that she has been messing with the New York Knicks for decades, which is a reference to the Knicks' reputation of continually losing matches.
- Near the end of the movie, when she finally heads to Earth, she is facing Asia, hinting that her human life will be spent as an Asian person.
- 22 was the twenty-second human soul ever created, presumably in the history of the world. This is of course how she earns her namesake throughout the film.
- At one point, the filmmakers considered ending the movie with Joe meeting 22 in human form, but abandoned this idea because every version they tried always felt unfulfilling.