After almost three decades of globe-trotting espionage, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning marks the explosive conclusion to Paramount’s iconic action franchise. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, joined by long-standing cast members like Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), and Hayley Atwell (Grace).
While the film is packed with signature Mission: Impossible stunts and spy thrills, it also delivers emotional closure for the series’ core characters. Here's how each character’s ending shapes the legacy of Ethan Hunt and the IMF team.
Warning - This article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
The Fate of Every Major Character in Mission Impossible 8
Luther Stickell: The Ultimate Sacrifice
Luther Stickell stands as the only character besides Ethan Hunt to appear in all eight Mission: Impossible films, making his fate in The Final Reckoning particularly significant. The franchise’s most consistent presence comes to a heroic but devastating end when Luther sacrifices himself to manually disable a bomb planted by Gabriel in the film’s first act.
Luther’s death scene pays homage to his technical expertise—the skill that introduced him in the original film—while showcasing how much he’s evolved. When faced with a choice between his own survival and potentially millions of lives, the once-reluctant recruit doesn’t hesitate.
What makes Luther’s death especially poignant is the quiet moment he shares with Ethan beforehand. "For those we never meet," are Luther’s last words, a mantra repeated by Ethan that acknowledges their unparalleled partnership and what it stands for without resorting to melodrama.
It’s precisely the kind of restrained emotional beat that has defined their relationship since 1996. However, fan reception to his death and The Final Reckoning in general has been mixed across the board.
Gabriel: The Dark Mirror Falls
Esai Morales’ Gabriel, introduced in Dead Reckoning as both Ethan’s nemesis and strange reflection, meets his end during The Final Reckoning’s breathtaking biplane sequence. After pursuing Ethan through clouds and canyons, Gabriel eventually falls to his death following a mid-air struggle.
As learned in Dead Reckoning, Gabriel was responsible for killing Marie and framing Ethan, essentially creating the IMF agen that's been followed for eight films. He represents the path Ethan could have taken. Both men experienced loss and betrayal, but where Ethan channeled that into protecting others, Gabriel became the threat.
The mid-air battle symbolically takes place between heaven and earth—a fitting setting for two characters who have operated in moral gray areas throughout their lives.
Benji Dunn: Wounded But Resilient
Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn, who evolved from comic relief tech specialist to full-fledged field agent over five films, survives The Final Reckoning but not without significant cost. The film’s second act sees Benji severely injured during an ambush at the IMF’s temporary headquarters.
This injury sidelines Benji from the film’s more physically demanding climactic sequences but allows him to rise up to the occasion and become the stand-in captain of the team for almost the entire second half.
Pegg’s performance, balancing humor with genuine pain, reminds audiences how far the character has come since his introduction in Mission: Impossible III. He represents the heart of the newer films, as the everyman who stepped up when needed.
The film’s epilogue is left open-ended for Benji, but fans speculate that he probably returns to a training role within a reformed IMF, mentoring new recruits with stories that they barely believe.
Grace: Guardian of the Future
Hayley Atwell’s Grace, introduced in Dead Reckoning, completes her transformation from reluctant thief to crucial IMF ally by playing a pivotal role in defeating the AI entity. Using the skills that once made her an effective pickpocket, Grace manages to transfer the malevolent AI into an isolated device, effectively imprisoning it.
What makes Grace’s conclusion particularly satisfying is how it honors Ilsa Faust’s sacrifice from the previous film. The closing scene, where Grace silently gives the Entity, now trapped in a 5D optical drive to Ethan, suggests the franchise could theoretically continue with new blood even as this particular story concludes.
Grace’s ending provides the franchise with the cleanest slate should Paramount ever decide to reboot or continue the series. As the newest addition to the core team, she represents possibilities rather than conclusions.
Ethan Hunt: The Uncertain Future
After eight films of saving the world, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt gets perhaps the most ambiguous ending of all. Having defeated both Gabriel and contained the AI entity, Ethan finds himself victorious but fundamentally alone. The film’s final scene shows him walking away after acknowledging his comrades in a crowded town square.
What makes this ending particularly powerful is how it acknowledges the toll of Ethan’s heroism. Throughout eight films, he has lost his mentor (Jim Phelps), his wife (Julia, through separation rather than death), his protégé (Lindsey), his equal (Ilsa), and finally his closest friend (Luther).
Ethan saved the world but that’s the tragedy of the character—his gift is protecting a normal life he can never have. But the predominant feeling is that of a man who has given everything to his mission (becoming the one the world never meets) and now must find purpose beyond it.
The Legacy of Impossible Missions
From the beginning, Mission: Impossible has explored trust, loyalty, and sacrifice against the backdrop of increasingly spectacular action sequences. By allowing Luther to make the ultimate sacrifice, positioning Grace as a potential successor, and leaving Ethan in thoughtful ambiguity, the film honors these themes while providing emotional closure.
For a franchise that began by shocking audiences with the betrayal of its apparent hero (Jon Voight’s Jim Phelps), coming full circle to showcase unwavering loyalty feels particularly appropriate. The IMF team that began as strangers thrown together by necessity ends as a family bound by choice—even as that family experiences profound loss.
With an action-packed and longer runtime than its predecessor, Dead Reckoning, The Final Reckoning leaves behind not just spectacular stunts and clever disguises but a legacy of characters who evolved beyond their spy thriller origins into something more human and, ultimately, memorable.
