Spoiler Alert: Spoilers follow for Mission: Impossible - The Final ReckoningAs (ahem) impossible as it sounds, Ethan Hunt’s journey has reached its end. Audiences recently saw the long-awaited release ofMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise’s last hurrah in the franchise that arguably made him a household name. While it’s a slightly bumpier ride than previous installments in the series, on the whole, it’s a satisfying conclusion and yet another sterling showcase of Cruise’s willingness to defy death for our entertainment. It takes a while to get to the stunts, but when they arrive, they showcase some of the best action in the franchise.
The Final Reckoningalso ties up a surprising number of loose threads from previous installments, finally revealing what the Rabbit’s Foot fromMission: Impossible IIIactually is,and bringing things full circlewith Jim Phelps, the antagonist of the original film. Almost all the fan-favorite characters get one last chance to shine, reminding us how much we will miss Benji, Grace, and especially Luther (RIP). Yet we can’t help but feel that the film, and by extension,Dead Reckoning, did one of the franchise’s best characters, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), dirty.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
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Wherefore Art Thou, Ilsa Faust?
One of the most surprising moments inDead Reckoningsaw the villainous Gabriel corner series newcomer Grace, only for IMF veteran Ilsa Faust to come to her defense. As Ethan races to the rescue, Gabriel gains the upper hand and stabs Ilsa, seemingly killing her. It was a death so out of the blue that fans almost unanimously didn’t believe it would stick, and it would later be revealed to be a fakeout.
Alas, this wasn’t the case: Ilsa is entirely absent fromThe Final Reckoning, confirming that she died in the prior installment (the fact that she faked her death in the opening ofDead Reckoningwas maybe a hint that the next time would be permanent). Obviously, theMission: Impossiblefilms are no strangers tokilling off characters in shocking ways, as the TV show’s protagonist dies at the end of the first installment, and Luther meets his end in the opening act ofThe Final Reckoning.
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But ever since she joined the seriesinRogue Nation, Ilsa has become a fan favorite, thanks to Rebecca Ferguson’s effortlessly charismatic performance. Such an abrupt departure immediately raised eyebrows, especially since, as delightful as Hayley Atwell is as Grace, her character fulfills a lot of the same functions as Ilsa, and thus it was easy to see her as a replacement.
So why was Ilsa killed off? In a 2024 interview withThe Wrap, Ferguson stated that while she’d enjoyed her time with the series, she was ready to move on. Additionally, since the films leaned increasingly into the team dynamic, she felt Ilsa didn’t fit within that: “Ilsa was becoming a team player. And we all can want different things, but for me, Ilsa was rogue… there were a lot of characters coming in, not leaving enough space for what she had been.”
‘Mission: Impossible’ Wasted Ilsa… And Rebecca Ferguson
But even if director Christopher McQuarrie’s hands were tied, it’s still not hard to think that he could have given Ilsa a better ending. For starters, she was always one of the most capable fighters in the franchise, so it doesn’t feel believable that she’d get overpowered in hand-to-hand combat. Even if Ilsa had died taking a bullet meant for Grace, it would’ve felt more in character for her and illustrated her loyalty to her teammates despite being a rogue player in most instances. Because the actual circumstances felt so out of character, it is no wonder that fans first thought it was a fakeout.
But more frustrating is how Ilsa’s death servesas a prominent example of “fridging”, a storytelling trope that’s undergone increasing criticism over the last decade.“Fridging” refers to any instance in which a female character is unceremoniously killed off to motivate a prominent male character. Despite often being derided as sexist, it remains depressingly common in modern blockbusters. Several MCU installments have fridged fan-favorite characters as part of key plot points, whileDeadpool 2received vocal backlash for fridging the female lead early on. Even Christopher Nolan has received criticism for often using this trope in his films.
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Especially considering how quickly theMission: Impossiblefilms effectively swapped out Ilsa for Grace, it feels like a genuine disservice to a fan-favorite character.Fans loved Ilsa because, while she was a lone wolf at heart, she genuinely cared about Ethan and company and was always willing to help them when push came to shove. As such, when the films barely mention her again after her death, it doesn’t ring true at all.
All this being said,The Final Reckoningwas still a satisfying wrap-upto an all-time great action franchise, and a love letter to the fans who’ve spent almost three decades invested in the journey. Yet it’s a testament to how much the film gets right that the abrupt sidelining of such a great character and performer feels all the more disappointing.Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis now playing in theaters.
