John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum continues the hard-hitting action of the titular character. A soft-hearted John Wick who at the same time could go all out breaking arms and legs ended the second chapter on quite a bad note. Well, taking a shot at someone who runs the underworld he works for isn’t a great idea after all. He broke the important rule of the High table by taking him down, and John Wick 3 sees him on the run now. Amidst this run, we learned more about Wick’s past and the way the underworld works here in this universe. Despite a simple straight storyline, there are a few aspects of the film that needs an explanation. So here we are explaining the ending of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Chad Stahelski directed John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum with Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams on the writing team. Keanu Reeves makes his return as the titular character and redefines what a highly-trained assassin means. The third chapter in the assassin’s life sees him being assassinated in turn. What goes down is a number of favors called in. Rules are broken, and finally, we meet much higher authorities. The ones that control the gangster business here. There is a lot more to this, so let’s break everything about John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum piece by piece.
John Wick 3 Plot Summary
John Wick 3 picks up where it left off in John Wick 2. We begin with John Wick running away after killing a high member from the table. Winston allows Wick to get a one-hour headstart. So he could run away before the members of the high table before they take the services he is offered as an assassin away. Wick picks up the advantage and visits a library in New York to retrieve some important things that may help him further. This involves a pendant which is a sign of a favor owed. He picks it up and battles an assassin hunting him down to leave.
Before his facilities go away, John Wick pays a visit to an underworld doctor in order to heal. But amidst his treatment, the people hunting Wick down flood the place. That too with a bounty on his head. John makes his escape to meet the director, who once trained him to be what he is today among the other assassin kids. With the pendant in hand and as he was one of their own, she helps Wick to tell him a path to Casablanca.
Meanwhile, A High Table Adjudicator makes her presence felt. She is here to keep in check with John Wick’s assassination. She leaves with a seven-day warning for Winston and Bowery for helping Wick and leaves with a seven-day warning. To prove she will punish whoever goes against the rules of the high table, she leaves the director all blooded in hands by her assassinator Zero.
On the other side, taking cues from the director, John Wick pays a visit to an old friend Sofia. By showing her the marker, he asks for direction to find the Elder. She helps him, and Wick soon finds himself amidst the desert looking for Elder. As he falls down on the verge of dying, he is picked up by Elder’s followers. Elders agrees to help John Wick by calling his charges off. But for that, he wants Wick to kill Winston, who is more like a reliable friend to Wick.
Also Read: John Wick 2 Ending Explained: John Killed At The End?
John Wick 3 Ending Explained
What Goes Down After Seven Days?
So coming to the ending of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum now. The Adjudicator, as promised, returns after seven days for a conclusion on John Wick’s assassination. She meets Bowrey King, who declines working for the high table and thinks high of himself. For that, he pays as Zero attacks him to kill. Next, the Adjudicator comes to Winston, but they don’t kill him yet. Why? Because during the time John Wick met Elder. Wick gave away his finger where he wore his wedding ring. Thus promising to kill Winston. This way, John Wick is coming for Winston, and Adjudicator looks forward to pouncing on the moment.
As Wick comes close to Continental Hotel, Zero and his army arrive to finish Wick. Although Wick finishes all of them off, Zero gains the upper hand. But the Manager interrupts the assassination reminding no one should kill in the hotel. This way, John asks to meet Winston, who knows what John is here for. With Adjudicator realizing Wick’s motives, she asks him to follow them. But Wick denies it. Adjudicator allows the entire hotel to be the place anyone on the table can come to assassinate. This leads many highly equipped assassins to arrive.
Did Winston Kill John?
With Wick gaining the upper hand, Adjudicator makes a deal with Winston in which he would have to shoot Wick down. In exchange, he can secure his position and the hotel as well. Winston easily agrees to the deal. He shoots Wick several times on the body, and eventually, Wick falls down from the hotel’s terrace. The Manager agrees Winston is using really smart moves. The question here is raised by many fans on the internet on whether Winston intentionally killed John? Well, he didn’t.
Much like John Wick, Winston kept his friendship and shot on the body of Wick where the bullet could be taken out easily. If wanted, he could have easily gone for a headshot. The adjudicator remembers this while walking out of the hotel. The moment she turns away to take a look at Wick’s body, but it seems like he escaped again. Winston promises the bounty of Wick is still on, and he will still struggle to live.
Meanwhile, the Tiktok Man brings John to the Bowery King, which aims to overthrow the high table members and become the sole King. He believes he could do this with a little help and ask for a hand from John. So, this way, John shows off the same cut finger he showed to Elder I and agrees to help to end the movie.
What Is Inside The Pendant Coin and Who Is Elder I?
The Pendant Coin appears several times in John Wick 3 as well as in the previous film. Like we mentioned above, the pendant coin is more like a sign of favor owed. It is kind of a promise you can never break. The insides of the pendant see a fingerprint of the individual who took the promise all drained in the blood. Wick in the film uses it to take a little help from Sophia. We also realize, the stories of Wick and Sophia dates back years. The movie doesn’t reveal Sofia’s promise, but we can easily say it has something to do with her kids. Probably John saved them.
Now, the pendant allowed Wick to take Sophia’s help on his path to Elder I. Who is Elder I? Well, the movie doesn’t reveal much about the Elders, and there is probably more than one Elder in the John Wick universe. Right now, we met the first one. These Elders are the ones that run the underworld from the shadows and have the ability to alter the rules of the High Tables. This way, John Wick went to get help from one of the Elders since they were the only ones in authority to get the charges on Wick off. That is all for the ending of John Wick 3.
Also Read: John Wick: Analysis Of The Franchise Before Chapter 4
