Ep 6. Commandant

The Mission: Impossible season 4 episode 6 titled "Commandant" takes the IMF team on a mission to retrieve crucial intelligence from a high-security prison in South America. The episode starts with the team rehearsing their plan in a warehouse, where they simulate the prison complex using props and miniature models. The team consists of Jim Phelps, Rollin Hand, Cinnamon Carter, Barney Collier, and Willy Armitage, each with their unique skill set and expertise.

Their mission is to extract a political dissident named Manuel Escalante, who has been imprisoned for opposing the military dictatorship that rules the country. Escalante holds information on an illegal arms dealer who is selling weapons to the country's military. The IMF needs this information to expose the arms dealer and stop the flow of weapons before they end up in the wrong hands.

The team's plan is to infiltrate the prison by impersonating the warden and taking control of the facility. They plan to create a diversion by staging a fake prison break while Jim and Rollin retrieve the information from Escalante's cell. To make the plan successful, they need the support of the prison's commandant, General Rio Dominguez.

However, Dominguez is a staunch supporter of the dictatorship and has no love for the dissidents. He resists the IMF team's offer of a lucrative bribe and says that the prisoners are his responsibility, and he won't hand them over to the IMF. With Dominguez as an obstacle, the team needs to come up with a new plan.

The team's next plan is to undermine Dominguez's authority and create dissent among the prison guards. They need to pull off a heist and make it look like a group of prisoners has escaped, but they can't let Dominguez know that it's an IMF operation. To achieve this, they need to plant the idea of a prison break in the mind of one of the prisoners who has a chance of getting out.

One of the prisoners, a surly character named Carlos, is selected for the job. He is known to be a hardcore criminal and is desperate to leave the prison. The team stages a fight between Carlos and another prisoner and convinces Carlos that the other prisoner is planning a mass escape and he is not invited. They tell Carlos that they can help him escape, but he has to create a diversion by staging a prison break.

Carlos takes the bait, and in the middle of the night, he stages a break, triggering the alarms. The guards scramble to contain the situation, giving the IMF team the opportunity to infiltrate the prison through a hidden tunnel. Jim and Rollin retrieve the information from Escalante's cell while Cinnamon and Barney take control of the prison's communication system. Willy uses his mechanical skills to replace the prison's surveillance cameras with fake ones, buying the team more time.

The team manages to retrieve the intelligence and escape the prison without any casualties, but the mission is not yet complete. Dominguez is furious, and he wants to punish the prison guards for their incompetence. However, Cinnamon manages to convince him that the prison break was an accident caused by the guards' negligence, and the IMF team was innocent.

In the end, Dominguez agrees, and the team walks away with the intelligence they needed. As they prepare to leave, Jim Phelps reminds the team that their mission was not just to retrieve the intelligence but also to help the dissidents. He hands over a tape to the dissident leader, which has evidence of Dominguez's corruption and his involvement in the arms deal. With this evidence, the dissidents can expose Dominguez's corruption and bring change to the country.

The Mission: Impossible season 4 episode 6 is a thrilling episode that showcases the team's ingenuity and their ability to execute complex missions under pressure. The episode highlights the political turmoil in South America during that time and how IMF was instrumental in bringing change to those countries. With a gripping storyline, great acting, and excellent direction, the episode is a must-watch for fans of the series.