Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 ending, explained | Digital Trends

Almost three years ago, director Christopher McQuarrie began filming Mission: Impossible Showdown, Part 1, and it’s been a long journey to get to the big screen. Franchise star Tom Cruise headlined the Mission Impossible movie since 1996 with increasingly risky stunts and over-the-top action that has kept audiences coming back for more. But The showdown Part 1 takes things to another level with a story too big for a single film.

According to most accounts, ShowdownCruise’s two-film adventure will spell the end of Cruises Ethan Hunt and his time on the Impossible Mission Force. When the ending comes for Part 1Ethan’s team has changed forever and even greater challenges await us Part 2. If you need help making sense of it all, then you’ve come to the right place because we’re about to dive in. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to continue reading, preferably after you’ve already watched. The showdown Part 1.

Warning: The rest of this post contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible Showdown, Part 1.

How does Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 end?

The showdown Part 1 ends as it began, with Ethan receiving one of the usual IMF mission briefings and a warning that he and his team will be renegade if they are caught and killed. Unfortunately for the team, they’ve already paid the price. Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) has been murdered by Gabriel (Esai Morales), an enemy from Ethan’s past who has teamed up with the IMF’s newest adversary, The Entity.

As explained in the film, The Entity is a rogue AI program that may be the most advanced creation of its kind. The Entity is hinted to be sentient and its predictions of the future are eerily accurate, up to and including Ilsa’s death. Ethan and his team have spent the entire film trying to get a couple of advanced keys that may be the only way to control the Entity. However, while the rest of the world powers simply want to bring the Entity under their control, Ethan only wants to destroy it.

With Ilsa out of the picture and Ethan’s new ally Grace (Hayley Atwell) now a prisoner of the US government, Ethan was able to escape a wrecked train and reunite with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). Thanks to the dying words of Paris (Pom Klementieff), they now know that the keys open a chamber on a sunken Russian submarine that has the Entity’s original unaltered code. The submarine was shown in the film’s opening sequence as the Entity tricked its crew into sinking their ship. Now, Ethan and Benjii must figure out a way to get to the submarine – if they can find it. Meanwhile, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) has broken away from Ethan’s team to go off-the-grid and try to scan the Entity’s code on his laptop to find a way to destroy it.

Is Ilsa Faust really dead?

If you’re skeptical of Ilsa’s fate, then you’re not alone. THE Mission Impossible movies have already played dead. The beginning of this film tries to briefly convince viewers that Ilsa was killed during an attempt to retrieve one of her keys from her. Ethan helps Ilsa sell the illusion of her death and tells her to stay dead so she doesn’t get caught.

However, Ilsa breaks out of solitary confinement to help Benjii and Luther find Ethan and assist him in his time of need. It doesn’t seem like Ethan and Ilsa ever had a truly romantic relationship, but they clearly had an intimate bond, as seen when they enjoy each other’s company in Venice during one of the film’s rare quiet moments.

Ilsa’s death is even more tragic considering she gave her life defending Grace, a woman she barely knew. Ilsa fought hard, but in the end it wasn’t enough to save her.

Will Grace return in Dead Reckoning Part 2?

Haley Atwell’s Grace will almost certainly return, especially since the film goes to great lengths to establish her as the new female lead in the series. Although Grace and Ethan are at odds for most of the story, Ilsa’s sacrifice greatly affects Grace and she agrees to go on a mission with Ethan as the White Widow, Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby). Grace contemplates betraying Ethan and selling the two keys to save herself, but she ultimately chooses not to.

Under Ethan’s direction, Grace attempted to stop their runaway train and rescue everyone on board. She and Ethan also narrowly escaped thanks to unexpected help from Paris. But in the end, only Ethan managed to escape from the train. However, as advised earlier, Grace surrenders to IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) and offers to become one of her agents.

Presumably, this will allow Grace to reunite with Ethan, Benji and Luther when The showdown Part 2 comes next year. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see how it happens.

Mission: Impossible Showdown, Part 1 it’s in theaters now. Mission: Showdown Impossible Part 2 will arrive on June 28, 2024.

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