‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ Recap – ‘Theatre of Pain’

10/8/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE CONTINENTAL: FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK -- "Night 3" -- Pictured: (l-r) Colin Woodell as Winston, Ayomide Adegun as Charon -- (Photo by: Katalin Vermes/Starz Entertainment)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Series Finale of The Continental: From the World of John Wick. To revisit the previous episode, clickhere. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

When we last settled in to enjoy the wondrous Peacock series, The Continental: From the World of John Wick, a burning question was left at the top of all of our minds. Specifically, how would Winston Scott find his way to the top of the Continental? Because we know that his fate is to be in charge of this mysterious and prestigious hotel, but the ending of the second episode… made it seem as though perhaps his ascension wouldn’t take place in this story. After all, his alliance with Charon was non-existent. Not to mention, he still needed more soldiers for the fight against Cormac and well… that absolutely motivated us to tune into the show’s series finale post haste. To have that question, and some of the others this series has posed answered and well, the series finale of this saga certainly did not disappoint.

For ‘Theatre of Pain’ left no stone unturned, in fact, before we learned of how Winston ascended to a brandy-filled throne… other big questions were answered, and some big surprises were dropped into our laps. Such as the fact that Miles and Lou’s father… was a former assassin that worked out of the Continental often. A reveal that gave us a grand understanding of why there was a family push to bring this place down and potentially put it upon a different path. To set right the sins of a father and there was of course, another critical reveal that we will get to in a moment. Because we do need to talk about one of those surprises, specifically the one involving Charon and the Fairy Tale Twins. Because with Charon in the lead, they hunted Winston Scott, all around town, and despite his best efforts to rally more of an army at the last second and to evade capture… Winston was eventually snagged by this trio and stood before the man.

Making it seem as though, our earlier concerns about Winston not finding his rightful place in this tale, were justified. But thankfully… that was nothing more than a ruse. For Charon did all this to sell the act and give Cormac a sense of security, and well… that brought about all-out war inside the Continental. The kind that took our breath away and dropped our jaws with its epic nature, as we’ve come to expect from this franchise, courtesy of the fact… that Winston’s efforts did in fact, pay off. For he did get the army he needed and sowed enough chaos and enough terror in Cormac’s heart that the Armory ended up being untouched. Instead, Cormac worked to try and get the High Table to help him, and when that didn’t work, he pondered and eventually… opted to do the unthinkable and bury the building rather than let anyone take it from his desperate control.

THE CONTINENTAL: FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK -- "Night 3" Episode -- Pictured: (l-r) Katie McGrath as Adjudicator, Kirk Ward as Kachynski, Colin Woodell as Winston -- (Photo by: Starz Entertainment)

Which is where that other reveal we referred to came into play. Because KD was also inside the Continental as the big fight was taking place, and she wanted Winston and she found him, and we finally learned why it was so important for her to find him and face off against him. Because she was the only family member that survived that horrifying fire, and she wanted retribution for her pain and who better to provide that than Winston? The man that threw the Molotov cocktail? But Winston’s remorse, and some weapons support from afar, allowed for Winston to live and see the job to its end, with a powerful seed in mind. Because eventually… when he was face to face with Cormac in the bowels of the Continental, while his friends dealt with their own demons and past upstairs, since they too found peace and closure by bringing Hansel and Gretel to their end… he came to realize something about this place and what it stood for.

In that, Cormac O’Connor had turned it into a place of evil, a place where there was no decorum or respect or anything decent. Just a free for all where the worst parts of people were indulged, and watching KD plug a few bullets into Cormac when he spoke to how he was the one responsible for the death of her family, gave him an idea. Wherein perhaps this ugly world of assassins, where death was indeed the norm, could have decency and decorum, if the right man demanded it, at least on the grounds of the Continental and well… once this place was safe, and the fallen were mourned since not everyone made it out of the night alive… Winston made moves to make that happen. By putting the Adjudicator down and by making his intentions known to the High Table, giving rise to a new job for Winston and a new era for this iconic hotel.

Which was, the perfect way to bring this series to a close. For our questions were answered, every loose thread was neatly wrapped up and of course… the heroes won the day and grew and found closure before our eyes. Plus, the action that took place here, was the stuff of legend. Since it was tense and put us on the edge of our seats and left us hooting and hollering with the epic nature of some of those fights. Such as the rooftop one between Yen and Gretel. But what mattered most, is that growth, since this battle formed Winston into the decent manager, we met years ago when we were introduced to this incredible universe, and hopefully… we get more stories from this universe down the line. Because it’s a big world out there, with plenty of other stories to tell, and this hotel could serve to funnel all of them our way. But while we wait to see lies ahead for the future of this franchise… we can revel in the majesty of a perfect finale. One that told a wondrous and engaging tale about the humble beginnings of honor among assassins.

To learn more about the assembly of this dynamic series, check out our interviews with Lead Director & Executive Producer, Albert Hughes, and the show’s Fight Coordinator, Larnell Stovall.

Watch ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’

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