A Spoiler-Filled Breakdown of Ballerina 's Connection to John Wick
Warning: Spoilers ahead for From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
Before you see From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, in theaters now, it's worth catching up with the Keanu Reeves -led John Wick franchise. But for those who don't have time to watch the nearly nine hours of the action series, which begins with the titular hitman going on a killing spree over the murder of his beloved dog, don't worry. We're here to help you understand Ballerina 's connection to the John Wick universe.
Ballerina, the fifth film in the John Wick series, is a thrilling spin-off starring Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballet dancer-turned-assassin who, like John Wick, is a student of the crime organization known as Ruska Roma. (More on them later.) After learning of her family's secret connection to a cult-like army of killers, Eve embarks on a mission to get back at the Chancellor, the group's megalomaniacal leader, played by John Wick newbie Gabriel Byrne, who is responsible for killing her father when she was just a kid.
The Ballerina trailer revealed that the Baba Yaga himself, John Wick, plays a role in Eve's quest for retribution. But is he a friend or a foe? For those who don't care about spoilers, here's a breakdown of how John Wick fits into the Ballerina story.
When does Ballerina take place?
Much of Ballerina takes place at the same time as the 2019 film John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. That film begins with John Wick being deemed 'excommunicado' by the High Table, a formidable 12-person council that governs the most powerful underground crime organizations, for killing one of their members at the New York Continental, a luxury hotel that acts as neutral ground for hitmen and women. A very big no-no in this world where breaking the rules comes with very steep consequences.
With a major bounty on his head, John Wick finds himself fighting for his life with whatever weapons he can get his hands on: a knife, a gun, some horses, and, most notably, a New York Public Library book. It is him against the world and he knows he's running out of time. (Tick-tock Mr. Wick, tick-tock.) In order to survive, he'll need to act quick. So he returns to where it all began: the Tarkovsky Theater, the Ruska Roma's secret NYC headquarters, in hopes that the Director (Anjelica Huston, who reprises her role in Ballerina) will grant him one last favor.
Who are the Ruska Roma?
In John Wick, the Ruska Roma are one of the criminal organizations that have a seat at the High Table. The operation, made up of Belarusian contract killers, runs a ballet academy that is a front for their assassin training facility. The Director, the head of the Ruska Roma, took John Wick in when he was a young orphan and trained him to be a fighter that is light on his feet. She quickly became a mentor and a surrogate mother to the boy then known as Jardani Jovonovich.
While John Wick would become one of the most feared assassins the High Table's ever seen, he was also a gun-for-hire for a different crime family, the Tarasov Mob. But he is still a member of the Ruska Roma; his tattoo of the Cross of Lorraine, the Ruska Roma's emblem which is used by the Russian Orthodox Church, proves that. He hopes that his past service is enough to convince her to officially release him from duty. Even if that means she'll face the ire of the High Table.
The Director reluctantly frees him, but not without letting him know that by forsaking his connection to the Ruska Roma, he can no longer come to them for help. He will have to go it alone. Though as anyone who's seen John Wick: Chapter 4 already knows, even in this hyper-violent world, you can always come home.
What is Eve's connection to John Wick?
Ballerina visits the same moment from Parabellum in which John Wick comes to the Director looking for help from, this time through a different lens.
Like John Wick, Eve was adopted by the Ruska Roma after the death of her father. In Ballerina, we learn that it was actually John Wick favorite, New York Continental manager Winston Scott (Ian McShane), who helped spearhead her adoption by the organization. This seems to confirm that Winston's cross tattoo, which pops up in John Wick: Chapter 4, was a sign of his deeper affiliation to the group. Though, it probably puts to rest the rumor that he was John Wick's biological father. (Eve has a few meaningful tattoos as well, which are on full display throughout Ballerina.)
Eve is no prima ballerina so she's made it her mission to become a consummate killer. Specifically, one that is as prolific as John Wick. When the two meet at the theater, Eve is still a trainee trying to break into the contract killer business. She's looking for pointers from the best to ever do it, but at that point, John Wick is more than done with the assassin's life. Only months earlier, he was living the retired life and would have continued doing so if that group of Russian gangsters didn't kill the puppy his late wife gave him. When Eve asks him how she can become an expert killer, his advice is simple: 'Don't.' He tells her to walk out the door of the theater and leave the assassin's life behind. He suggests she forge a new path for herself before it's too late.
It's good advice, but not even John Wick takes it since Parabellum was far from the end of his hero's journey. (And apparently, John Wick: Chapter 4 won't mark the official end of the character either.) But Eve's Rashomon moment sets her up for her own Wickian adventure, complete with a fierce wardrobe of expertly tailored tactical suits. Eve must learn the hard way that her decisions have consequences, deadly ones.
How does Ballerina end?
With a visit from Mr. Wick, of course. In the final act of Ballerina, Eve goes looking for the man who killed her father: the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the leader of a cult-like community of assassins. But this isn't just business, this is personal for Eve. The Chancellor, we learn, is her maternal grandfather. Eve's father was trying to take her away from the life she was born into, and the Chancellor killed him. Unlike John Wick, the Chancellor believes there are no choices, only fate. He believes that Eve is meant to follow in her family's bloody footsteps and he'll do anything to bring her back into the fold—even kill her.
For decades, the Chancellor and his followers have lived in the remote Austrian mountain village of Hallstatt. Eve goes there looking to end the Chancellor's life, but to do so, she must take on the entire town of trained killers by herself, using everything from ice skates to katana swords to flamethrowers to beat them. Eve's unsanctioned act of vengeance does not go over well with the Director, who chooses to help the Chancellor in order to protect herself and the Ruska Roma. In Parabellum, the Director makes it clear that she is not that interested in the one, but the whole. So whether it's John Wick or Eve, she's willing to give them up in order to keep the Ruska Roma alive. But to take down Eve, she'll need to call in the big guns: the recently excommunicated John Wick.
The finale of Ballerina takes place after the events of Parabellum, but prior to the start of Chapter 4. In the final moments of Parabellum, Winston shoots John Wick in order to save himself and the Continental. John Wick somehow survives not only the bullet, but a fall off a skyscraper. He is still on the run from the High Table and every one else who is interested in his nearly $20 million bounty.
While there is a question as to why John Wick would bother helping the Ruska Roma at this point in his story, the rules of the High Table are clear: if you're given a name, you must take care of them. So John Wick arrives in Hallstatt on a side quest to kill Eve, only to discover that they've met before. Less than a year after their clandestine chat, neither has managed to get out of the assassin business. The two face off because they have no other choice, but John Wick decides to let her live, though not without a warning about the rules and consequences in this life they've chosen. He gives her until the stroke of midnight to kill the Chancellor and get out of town. After all, how could John Wick really keep someone from avenging a loved one?
But John Wick doesn't just give her more time. He chooses to help Eve with her mission. He becomes her guardian angel. With a sniper rifle, he fends off a flame thrower-wielding assassin who has Eve cornered before taking down a team of trained killers on his own. Only then is she able to get to the Chancellor before time runs out. Like John Wick, Eve couldn't do this alone. She needed a helping hand and a little luck to complete her ultimate task. And as he's done so many times before, John Wick makes the choice that he knows he could stand behind.
As delicious as it is to watch Eve take down her maniacal grandpa and his Bavarian town of psycho killers in an adrenaline pumping, hilarious scene, there is something even sweeter in watching John Wick tell the Director, 'It's done,' only to let her know that he didn't complete his mission, but Eve sure did. It's another friendly reminder that this is John Wick's world and we're all just living in it.
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