caravanwest

[caravanwest]

You know how, in the opening credits of previous MI installments, the audience often gets glimpses of the action/scenes before they unfold? What if they really lean into that for Final Reckoning and they actually make the credits an integral part of the plot?

Imagine, if you will: when Ethan plugs in, we see what he sees as the credits roll. These are the Entity’s “premonitions,” which then drive Ethan’s every action throughout the movie, both physically and emotionally. Whether the Entity shows Ethan that he will always lose or, more dramatically, reveals what it would cost him to win—experiencing these “prophesied” events in such a visceral way would become a powerful motivator for Ethan’s decisions. It would be the underlying psychological warfare within the greater war, with Ethan desperately trying to avoid certain outcomes, only to potentially (or inevitably) run—knees high, arms pumping—straight into them anyway.

...Until the film’s end, of course, when he and his team—stubbornly human, stubbornly loyal, and stubbornly together—miraculously overcome the odds and save the world. But this time, the victory would clearly come with significant, psyche-shattering costs for Ethan. (I suspect it’s called Final Reckoning for a reason.)

Maybe it’s too heady of a theory, but I think turning the credits sequence into a key element of the story could be a fascinating twist on a franchise staple. It would effectively set up the stakes while also bringing the audience closer to the protagonist by making them active participants in his journey. They’d know what to look for, what to fear, what to cheer, and what to dread—because they’d be inside Ethan’s mind, sharing his experience from the start.

So my theory is - and this is just my first run at it - is all those shots of Benji being hurt come from when Ethan is plugged into the Entity, and it’s the Entity telling him what is going to happen - specifically that Benji is going to try to complete the mission without him, and Benji will die.

Ethan being Ethan, he immediately decides that isn’t going to happen. After all the Entity has been wrong before - it didn’t predict Ethan would steal the key from Gabriel, or that Paris would live.

So Ethan turns himself in to complete the mission alone (handcuffs…)

However, Benji being Benji, he’s not allowing that to happen, so he gathers together Paris, Degas and Grace, thus unconsciously fulfilling the Entity’s prophecy

At some point Ethan tells Benji he’s going to sacrifice himself to save him, to stop the prophecy

- but of course, Benji being Benji, he doesn’t allow that and runs off to take Ethan’s place.

But from that moment on, Ethan gives everything he is to saving Benji - even as the events exactly mirror the prophecy (Benji getting hurt on the cheek) but somehow they are reunited - Benji sobbing to see Ethan again, Ethan unbelievably relieved to have got Benji back, knowing what Benji means to him.

That’s what I have so far. And I know it leaves several gaps. But I think that’s the outline.

(Also addendum - I’m still convinced Benji is in the red plane. But I’ve no idea how that fits into this whole narrative nor do I have any proof. It’s just a feeling)

[caravanwest]

The more I look at this picture...

...the more I focus on Benji. Trusty ole, lovable, tortured Benji with his painfully bruised knuckles and the sickly, dark circle under his eye.

And the more I focus on Benji, the more I fixate on this particular wound on his neck:

It doesn't resemble a typical bruise, like one from being scratched, strangled, or hanged by a rope. It looks more like a hematoma: swollen, round, and centered around a puncture mark, almost as if it was caused by a needle or a similar injection device.

Which brings me to this shot from the teaser trailer:

Now, we know Final Reckoning is being marketed as the ultimate culmination of Ethan's journey/choices. Whether this shot is a direct flashback to the missing rabbit's foot sequence in MI3 (seems most likely) or more of a thematic callback/reference to the Chimera virus in MI2, one thing is crystal clear: the tag.

"Biohazard."

All this to say, are we about to see Benji forcibly injected with some sort of deadly toxin?

[caravanwest]

"I love playing Benji. And he really goes through it in this film. It's probably my favorite out of all the ones that we've done." — Simon Pegg on M:I The Final Reckoning, BAFTA Red Carpet (1:50:05)