Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Return of Rolf Saxon Is a Bright Spot

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is now playing in theaters, and the movie features many nods to the seven films that came before. Up until 2023, the only returning characters from Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible (1996) were Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). That changed in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning when Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) returned after 27 years. Kittridge is back in The Final Reckoning, but he’s not the only familiar face from the first film. Rolf Saxon returns as William Donloe, the unlucky CIA analyst whose job is a casualty of one of Ethan’s crazy plans.

In Mission: Impossible, Ethan’s team drugs Donloe, causing him to leave his vault post to vomit in the bathroom. This gives Ethan time to plummet down into the vault and get the Non Official Cover list of agents. Unfortunately, Ethan’s accomplice, Franz Krieger (Jean Reno), drops his knife on Donloe’s desk, leaving evidence of their heist behind. When Kittridge learns the NOC list has been stolen, he blames Donloe and ships the analyst off to Alaska. Nearly 30 years later, we find out Donloe is still living there, and his journey in The Final Reckoning is a bright spot of the film.

Warning: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning spoilers ahead…

Rolf Saxon Becomes William Donloe Once Again

When Ethan sends Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) to Alaska to help him stop The Entity, they come to Donloe’s station. The character is still working for the CIA and living a quaint little life with his wife, Tapeesa (Lucy Tulugarjuk). Tapeesa helps Grace with a mission on the ice while Donloe stays behind to assist Benji. When the couple says their goodbyes, you worry they won’t see each other again. Thankfully, they end up being major contributors to the story.

Tulugarjuk quickly proves herself to be a great comedic presence, which instantly helps you root for her and Donloe. A showdown with a competing group causes their home to burn. Donloe survives the fire and is reunited with his wife. He then meets Ethan for the first time face-to-face.

When Ethan apologizes for basically ruining Donloe’s life, the analyst makes it clear that Ethan did him the biggest favor of his life. He’s happy in Alaska, and he never would have met Tapeesa if Ethan didn’t break into that vault all those years ago. The scene gives Ethan closure he didn’t even know he needed, and it marks one of the more tender moments of the film.

As if that heartwarming scene wasn’t enough, Donloe and Tapeesa end up being major players in the film’s third act. They offer to stay behind to deactivate a bomb, which will help stop The Entity. There’s only a ten-second window to escape the blast, but the brave couple doesn’t hesitate.

Do Donloe and Tapeesa Survive?

Thankfully, things work out for the duo, and they manage to pull off their job alongside Degas without dying. Donloe and Tapeesa’s combination of heart and humor makes them one of the best parts of the film, and proves that even a minor character can be brought back in a special way.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman and Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Mark Gatiss, with Rolf Saxon and Lucy Tulugarjuk.

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