History Headscratchers / MissionImpossibleII

** Especially with Nyah loose, if she started an epidemic, they'd need to have massive production by the next day.

** Given how contagious and fatal the disease is, they'd need to have it already manufactured and distributed around the world before the outbreak happened, otherwise everyone would die before they could be cured. As we've seen with COVID vaccines, this takes a long time.

*** For example, with that level, the existing holders of 50% of the shares could refuse to sell theirs, driving the price ever upwards: a ''short squeeze''. Thus it's highly unlike a trader will take this risk.

* Who's going to sell Ambrose all those options?
** For his plan to work, he needs a bank (or fund) to let him make a huge gamble ... and then pay him his winnings, rather than e.g. refusing to make good, on suspicion of market manipulation.

*** This is explained immediately after the lab scene (Swanbeck and Ethan talk, explaining the blood draw, and then Ambrose and Nyah talk, explaining the Ambrose's plan for Nyah to start the epidemic), and the Chimera-infected blood is analyzed by McCloy at the lab building.

** Maybe it's just sadism? Taking [=McCloy's=] company away too, adding insult to injury?

** Presumably the intention was for it the timing to be close, but it doesn't add up.

** The CDC is based in Atlanta, but there are no non-stop flights from Sydney to Atlanta (it would be 19 hours, which is longer than any regular commercial flight): they all go via Los Angeles or Texas (Dallas or Houston), and the timing is more feasible (14 or 15 hour flight). Even on a direct flight, with stop and border control, there's no way he'd get to the CDC in time.
** He just needs to get to a medical facility, presumably in the US.

* If the virus takes 20 hours to be contagious, and the break-in occurred after 11 pm (so Nyah injected herself after this), Nyah had until 7 pm the next day to be cured (about sunset in Sydney at this time of year: late March/early April). They find her much earlier than this: it's not near sunset (early afternoon, say 2 pm), but they act as though it was close.

*** Yeah, I'm pretty sure releasing her was just pure sadism. Even if she manages to keep from infecting anyone, he doesn't lose anything (since he already has the samples, and can release Chimera later if he needs), and she'll either commit suicide or die painfully once the virus goes into its final stage.

*** That does seem to pretty much be what happens. Before the attack, Ambrose seemed to just be showing that he had Nekhorivich's work, which -[=McCloy=] would want to pay money to get back. Afterwards, [=McCloy=] may well figure out that Ambrose had broken into the building, but since Ambrose has control of all materials, knowing this information would not be all that useful.

** He likely doesn't consider that she might try and commit suicide, which can be a case of EvilCannotComprehendGood if it never occurs to him that she would be willing to kill herself to save everyone. (it's possible he did and considered that a SadisticChoice and revenge on her for "betraying" him, but he does seem to believe that the release of the virus was imminent so this is unlikely). The most probable explanation though is just that he didn't think she would be able to kill herself in time, or he didn't considered that she'd jump off a cliff to do it and thought that leaving her in the centre of town limited her options to to do so safely (i.e. if she, say, jumped off a building or got hit by a car, the virus might still be released from her corpse). We also don't know for certain if Nyah jumping into the ocean would guarantee the virus being destroyed or simply infect underwater life and later humanity anyway.
** As for Ethan, that one is easier- his crew had checked her for transmitters already and she had been clean (since the one she actually had can't be detected), so he genuinely thought they had no way of tracking her down- as it happens, if their laptop wasn't needing repaired, she would have been found much earlier, but he has no way of knowing that and may have interpreted Hunt not showing up to save her earlier as further proof that he can't find her.

** In the series they employ are a multi-national private espionage organization commonly employed by the U.S. Government so they could put anyone in charge.

* One thing that's not altogether clear is why [=McCloy=] goes along with Ambrose's plan. Grabbing the Belleraphon from Nakovitch is one thing given that he ran off with it, but having no problem breaking into his building and stealing the Chimera virus in order to ''sell it back to him?'' Why the hell would he go along with that? Did his company not bother telling him that armed men attacked his building, killed scores of guards and stole a WMD?

** About the only possible explanation is that [=McCloy=] thought that Ambrose stole both of them from Nakovitch and not just Belleraphon, which Ambrose indeed had thought he had done at the start of the film. This doesn't explain why [=McCloy=] doesn't seem interested in or aware that someone stole ''another'' sample of the virus and slaughtered countless guards in the process, but evidently if he is concerned and aware he doesn't connect the dots and realize that Ambrose never had the virus in the first place and, thus, was the culprit of the attack on his company.

** It should also be borne in mind that Nyah killing herself or Ethan saving her doesn't automatically screw up his plan all that much, merely delay it, as he takes a blood sample from her and can potentially release the virus later on once he realises what happened. He would also still have bought his controlling stock in the pharmaceutical company and has others (as well as terrorists) already waiting to buy as well, none of whom presumably know he plans to unleash it himself, so he'd make a massive profit either way.

** In the series they employ French, Australian, Scottish and English agents, likely amongst others- its not that surprising.

** It should also be borne in mind that Nyah killing herself or Ethan saving her doesn't automatically screw up his plan all that much, merely delay it, as he takes a blood sample from her and can potentially release the virus later on once he realises what happened. He would also still have bought his controlling stock in the pharmaceutical company and has others (as well as terrorists) already waiting to buy as well, none of whom presumably know he plans to unleash it himself, so he'd make a massive profit either way.

** One also wonders if [=McCloy=] really had any other viable option. Let's face it, his security system, personnel-wise, is a complete joke, and he probably knows it. And I've got the impression that Australian public and probably even government weren't exactly aware of the nature of the project, so turning to law enforcement agencies is probably ruled out. That leaves him with few possible alternatives apart from complying with Ambrose' demands.

** Maybe storing the sample of her blood under some special conditions is enough to keep the virus alive?

* Why does Ambrose just let Nyah go after she injects herself with the Chimera virus? I can understand that he doesn't want to be anywhere near Nyah after she's contagious, but he lets her go when there's still time for Hunt to cure her or for her to commit suicide. Doesn't that seriously jeopardize his plan?

* Why does Ambrose just let Nyah go after she injects herself with the Chimera virus? I can understand that Ambrose doesn't want to be anywhere near Nyah after she's contagious, but he lets her go when there's still time for Hunt to cure her or for her to commit suicide. Doesn't that seriously jeopardize his plan?

** One also wonders if [=McCloy=] really had any other viable option. Let's face it, his security system, personnel-wise, is a complete joke, and he probably knows it. And I've got the impression that Australian public and probably even government weren't exactly aware of the nature of the project, so turning to law enforcement agencies is probably ruled out. That leaves him with few possible alternatives apart from complying with Ambrose' demands.

** One also wonders if [=McCloy=] really had any other viable options. Let's face it, the security system, personnel-wise, is a complete joke, and he probably knows it. And I've got the impression that Australian public and probably even government weren't exactly aware of the nature of the project, so turning to law enforcement agencies is probably ruled out. That leaves him with few possible alternatives apart from complying with Ambrose' demands.

** One also wonders if McCloy really had any other viable options. Let's face it, the security system, personnel-wise, is a complete joke, and he probably knows it. And I've got the impression that Australian public and probably even government weren't exactly aware of the nature of the project, so turning to law enforcement agencies is probably ruled out. That leaves him with few possible alternatives apart from complying with Ambrose' demands.

*** Could be that he is worried what will happen to him should he say no, I mean Ambrose is obviously quite crazy and dangerous.

*** That does seem to pretty much be what happens. Before the attack, Ambrose seemed to just be showing that he had Nekhorivich's work, which McCloy would want to pay money to get back. Afterwards, McCloy may well figure out that Ambrose had broken into the building, but since Ambrose has control of all materials, knowing this information would not be all that useful.
**** Could be that he is worried what will happen to him should he say no, I mean Ambrose is obviously quite crazy and dangerous.