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Well, I warned you. My very long explanation of ‘Benji uses clothes like Ethan uses masks’ kind of theory. And also the ‘Benji uses clothes to align himself with Ethan’ theory a bit too

So in RN we see first of all…

Benji in a ghillie suit (camouflage)

Benji in a very standard office suit (camouflage)

Benji in a tux (social situation camouflage)

Benji in a suit - which came from the bag Ethan bought (probably) so Benji as Ethan sees him

Benji in another suit to get into the vault

And only once the disk is got does Benji dress in his own, bright, distinctive clothes (a version of which he bought for Ethan).

And isn’t it interesting that Lane put Benji in a dark coat, covering up all that wonderfully colourful individual style?

But the whole experience with Lane taught Benji something - geeky t shirts and loud shirts make him an easily spotted and classified target. So he went back to the lesson he’d learned - camouflage.

And what is the IMF if not grown men playing at disguises?

At the beginning of Fallout he’s dressed as the geeky scientist the arms dealer is expecting. In Paris, persuading Walker he is weak, useless, scared, soft, he goes for the Gay Professor - shirts, braces (suspenders means something very different in my country) bow ties. He even wears glasses, which he doesn’t normally do.

It works. Walker thinks he’s soft, a geek, incapable of fighting. He underestimates Benji. He doesn’t know what Benji is capable of. So Benji fools him and beats him (and also Lane, really. Benji works out how to defuse the bomb)

But once Walker is gone, Benji dresses a lot more practically. In Kashmir, he dresses like the rest - mission wear.

Dead Reckoning - Benji echoes Ethan’s style. Ethan wears a blue suit - Benji wears a blue jacket. Ethan wears suit and tie - so does Benji. Benji is consciously or unconsciously aligning himself with Ethan by echoing Ethan’s style and colours.

At the end, knowing they will probably go on the run again, he is leaning - not quite, but leaning - toward the Gay Professor again.

And now - London.

Ethan is in hiding. Luther is in hiding. Benji is out in the open. We can assume Benji has been gathering tools and treatment for Luther, information for Ethan, whilst being visible and out in the world. He is in the most danger. So he has disguised himself again - full on Professor. Tweed and ties. Completely harmless. Doddery old fool. Bad car. Absolutely not a threat.

Once back on mission, he is back in mission clothes. Warm, practical, discreet.

And then….

In the plane, once Ethan is back, Benji is in shirt sleeves. Ethan is wearing what I think is Benji’s sweater. Benji took it off himself and gave it to Ethan.

And the clothes Ethan wears in South Africa are clothes Benji bought for Ethan. Ethan would have gone for his standard black, always his default choice. It’s Benji dressing him in Benji’s colours and styles - the jacket, the gloves, the browns, the white shirt.

As in Rogue Nation, Ethan bought the clothes he wanted to see Benji in, in Final Reckoning Benji has bought the clothes he wants to see Ethan in.

Benji uses clothes the way Ethan uses masks - to hide, to redirect, to disguise.

But Benji also uses clothes to align himself with Ethan. Even to some point to establish ownership over Ethan - as Ethan once did with Benji in Vienna.

There. Told you it was long. Did it make sense?

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julia haunts the narrative in a way that is actually so facinating because it's like. it IS incredibly misogynist that nyah got written off off-screen, and julia's entire purpose in mi3 is to be the damsel in distress that just HAPPENS to be the hero's wife and not just a girlfriend.

but that shifts with ghost protocol. it continues to evolve when we meet ilsa, then alanna, then grace and paris. because suddenly the hero isn't shuffling through love interests like the hollywood misogynists want. the hero's now haunted by his wife who's not even dead.

we know ethan thinks he's a destructive force in the lives of everyone he's ever loved. it's why despite ilsa being the perfect match for him, he never goes far enough to make her anything close to being his wife. even tho some may argue benji's in the same boat as ilsa, ethan's not pursuing him either. he doesn't look at paris or grace or alanna as anyone with that kind of fervor, bc such behavior is unbecoming of a man who is, fundamentally, Married.

to a woman who isn't married to him anymore, but that doesn't matter, does it? because ethan has a mission, but a part of that mission is keeping his Wife alive, even if he doesn't get to see her, even if she's married to someone else and had a baby in another version of the movie. the work never ends, but the man is Married regardless. even tho he ruined julia's life just by looking at her that day at lake wanaka.

and julia, who lives in the shadows but enjoys the sun, she only gets to enjoy it until it's winter again. until the next Bad Thing happens and she'd forced to drop everything and move again. until the sun burns her skin again.

until she's reminded that she, too, is Married. not to erik, who's only her mortal husband, but the immortal who she made the mistake of talking to that day at lake wanaka. she's Married to a man who's functionally a monster in her life, but she can't stop. because he is, despite everything, a good man. but he has a mission.

and when Hades calls Persephone back to the underworld, she'll follow, because she knows exactly where she belongs. she's always known. she didn't choose to become a ghost to preserve her life. she did it so ethan didn't feel guilty about not saving the world. she belongs to ethan, both in life and in death. he made sure of that, even if he didn't intend to.

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So what do you icemav enjoyers feel about them beating each other bloody in a /affectionate way?

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small benthan drawing but as this reference photo

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Ethan Hunt since 1996:

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“We’ll figure it out” 💔

Reference

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the kiss of life (1967) but its ... spies

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benjiii!!

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Oooo gurl you look so tuff 🤑 🔥

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Danny phantom if he was a GIRL ‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

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He doesn’t deserve you my glorious queen Valerie 💔💔💔

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Anyone else think Robert is autistic coded? I know Jake is playing an actual person but: Liking puzzles, being a bit anti social, fidgeting, doing something that confuses others, sticking to a schedule? You can't take Autistic Robert away from me

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ZODIAC (2007) dir. David Fincher

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sorry for party rocking!

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The head & the heart… or whatever

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quack