Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Features A Major Character’s Death That Got Fans Raging

Living up to the hype, the seventh installment introduces to us a range of new characters, with Haley Atwell as Grace, Vanessa Kirby as Alanna, Pom Klementieff as Paris, and Esai Morales as the main villain Gabriel. On the other side, the movie also kills off one fan-favorite character – Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Having been with the franchise since Rogue Nation, Faust is a crucial part of Ethan’s team since, and is also Ethan’s potential love interest. 

However, in Dead Reckoning Part One, Ilsa has met her demise, as she was fatally wounded after getting stabbed by Gabriel. Ilsa’s death comes as a big shock for everyone in the theater, since she’s a very competent member of the MI6, who’s a skilled sharpshooter and a master melee combatant, and is only behind Ethan in terms of battle prowess. She’s also a character with much room for development, and fans want to see her relationship with Ethan bloom, so to see her die so unexpectedly is disheartening.

Portrayed by the British actress Rebecca Ferguson, Ilsa makes her debut in the fifth installment of Rogue Nation in 2015 as an undercover MI6 agent, who penetrates deep into the Syndicate to gather intel and break Solomon Lane’s organization from the inside. She later forms an alliance with Ethan and his crew, and successfully captures the villain. Right from her debut, Ilsa instantly captures the hearts of the audience with her stellar performance and unrivaled charisma. 

Ilsa returns in Mission: Impossible – Fallout three years later, and once again works with Ethan to put a stop to Lane’s new scheme, this time fighting his right-hand man August Walker (Henry Cavill). The sixth movie also sees the two’s relationship being taken to a new level, as they share some intimate moments throughout the story. 

In Dead Reckoning Part One, Ilsa departs from MI6 and becomes a rogue agent, and is placed a bounty on her head as she retrieves one part of the key to unlock The Entity. When Ilsa becomes the public enemy, Ethan comes to the rescue, and fakes her death to help her evade the hunt from other organizations. After encountering Gabriel in Venice, Ilsa engages in a sword fight against the villain, and gets fatally stabbed in the heart. We later see Ethan holding a lifeless Ilsa in his arms, implying that the former MI6 agent has met her end for real this time.

Ilsa’s passing is sudden, and as she’s one of the series' favorite characters just behind Ethan, her death receives many backlashes and negative comments on the internet. As mentioned above, Ilsa is a crucial member of the team, who’s extremely competent with her sharpshooting and fighting skills, and is also Ethan’s main love interest in the last three titles, so it’s no wonder her death is hard to swallow for many fans. 

The internet has been raging for a while, asking Paramount to bring the fan-favorite character back in Part Two, while others refuse to believe that Ilsa is really gone and that it’s all a play by the experienced spy to get Ethan to focus on the mission instead.

“I am still hoping for a plot twist in part 2. She better still be alive.” Said Bensu Seol, a Twitter user.

“Dead Reckoning not that bad. Would give 10 out of 10 if they keep Ilsa Faust alive.” User Aarif Mac Szob8szlai exclaimed.

It seems that Christopher McQuarrie, the veteran director for the blockbuster franchise, is very much aware of the situation, and how fans can react negatively to Ilsa’s passing. Here’s what he got to say.

"Mission is primarily Ethan's journey (and) there is this continuum that the people closest to him, he tends to lose them. It was a really tricky conversation for us to have, and we knew that there would be some reactions to that, but we also knew this is the reality of the world that's been created over seven Movies," The director told USA Today, implying that the character’s death might be permanent to give Ethan more purpose and inner struggles in the upcoming final installment.

However, fans shouldn’t lose hope yet, as the fan-favorite character’s story might not yet be over in the franchise. Resurrecting a dead character isn’t a new trend in Hollywood movies, as shown in superhero movies like Marvel or DC, or the Fast Saga. Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible series is no exception, as they also have brought important characters from the brink of death before, such as William Brandt or Ethan’s ex-wife Julia. Ilsa herself also fakes her own demise earlier in the movie, so there’s still hope after all.

Besides, if you look into Dead Reckoning Part Two’s IMDb credit, Rebecca Ferguson’s name is still on the list, which hints that the character may still be alive somehow. There are many conspiracies on the internet about how Ilsa fakes her own death once again in the seventh movie, but given how the agent is stabbed directly in the heart by the main villain, these theories seem very unlikely. However, fans all around the world still remain optimistic about Ilsa’s unexpected return in Part Two, and if it becomes true, this is going to be one of the greatest plot twists of the franchise.

There are several reasons to give Ilsa her demise in Dead Reckoning Part One. First of all, it will raise the stake for the last installment, giving Ethan Hunt another good reason to go against Gabriel – now with a more personal motive. Secondly, Ilsa’s death will give more room for Ethan to develop his relationship with the newly-added Grace (Hailey Atwell), as the two also share some close sequences that hint at a possible romance throughout the movie.

However, Ilsa’s death also proves that the franchise is continuing a problematic trend that happens one time too many in the genre: to kill off the main heroine to give the protagonist enough pain and motive to move forward. It’s also used to up the stakes, and makes the villain’s ultimate end much more satisfying for the audience. This pattern might work in some situations, but killing Ilsa of all people doesn’t really make sense, as she’s a capable character who still has so much potential to be explored in the franchise. The fact that Grace is brought into the movie to replace her role immediately is another detail that doesn’t sit well with fans, and may prove to be the series’ fatal error.

What do you think about Ilsa’s death in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One? Do you think she’ll return somehow in the sequel? Let us know in the comment.