Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning ending explained.

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      Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

      Is this the conclusion of Ethan Hunt's journey? Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning was certainly presented as the culmination of Tom Cruise’s three-decade story with Ethan Hunt, and it offers a conclusive ending that feels quite definitive. There are significant character deaths and an abundance of action that fans of this series have come to appreciate. Let’s delve into the details.

      What unfolds in The Final Reckoning?

      The Final Reckoning acts as a direct follow-up to its predecessor more than most Mission: Impossible films. Consequently, it follows Ethan and his team as they strive to thwart Gabriel and the AI system known as The Entity from seizing control of the world through various nuclear arsenals. To dismantle The Entity, Ethan and his team must hack the source code from within the sonarsphere located at the bottom of the sunken Sevastopol submarine. They then need to utilize Luther’s poison pill to bring it down.

      This results in Hunt swimming down into the submarine, where he briefly loses consciousness before being revived by Grace. After confronting Gabriel, the team is accompanied by Jim Phelps Jr. and a CIA team. Gabriel escapes in a biplane, leading to the film's most exhilarating sequence as Hunt chases after him and clings to the plane's wing. The two engage in a mid-air confrontation, with Hunt eventually triumphing and securing both the poison pill and the source code.

      What is the film's conclusion?

      Paramount Pictures and Skydance

      As expected, Hunt and his crew successfully complete their mission and save the world from The Entity. Ethan's parachute ignites while he's trying to place the poison pill in the podkova, yet he ultimately lands safely. All those who feared that Cruise would eliminate his most famous character were overreacting. Ethan survives this mission.

      At the film's conclusion, he and his team share a brief reunion in London before parting ways among the crowd, content that their objectives have been fulfilled.

      Who survives and who doesn't?

      Paramount Pictures

      Although one might anticipate a film like this to be rife with deaths, only one main character perishes in The Final Reckoning. Luther, who has been with Ethan since the beginning, dies in this chapter, signaling that Ving Rhames may no longer be able to perform the necessary action sequences and that this franchise might genuinely be approaching its end. Luther’s death occurs relatively early in the film when a bomb set by Gabriel and his men detonates beneath London.

      General Sidney, portrayed by Nick Offerman, also dies due to a bullet from an Entity spy, but he is a new addition to the franchise in this film.

      Is this the conclusion of Mission: Impossible?

      Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

      While it's impossible to definitively say, the indications strongly suggest that Cruise and McQuarrie may be ready to step away from this franchise after this film. Ethan Hunt might still be around to save the day, but the ending of this movie implies that we may not witness any more of his adventures. He has prevented a nuclear apocalypse and has earned a long respite.

      Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is currently in theaters.

      Joe Allen is a freelance writer for Digital Trends, covering movies and television. He frequently writes about streaming...

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