 Hey guys, welcome back to Come Again, TV the only place on YouTube where all geek culture collides. I'm Shannon, and today on the show, this is John Wick Explained. Born Jardani Jovanovich, John Wick has been known by a number of aliases. Among these, Baba Yaga, which in Slavic folklore is a supernatural being who appears as a deformed and ferocious looking woman who commonly appears as either a character that tests the hero, villain, or something altogether ambiguous. Other aliases include The Legendary Hitman, The Boogieman, The Devil, and The Rebirth. A Rusca Roma orphan from Belarus taken under the wing of the director and brought to the U.S., John Wick developed various martial arts skills and eventually served in the United States Marine Corps. After leaving the Marines, John became a professional hitman and joined the Continental. The Continental is a hotel catering exclusively to criminals. John gained a reputation for his efficiency and became highly respected and feared within the criminal underworld. It was this reputation which drew the attention of Russian mobster Viggo Tarasov, who hired Wick as his personal hitman. You see, Viggo had personally witnessed Wick kill three men with a single pencil. Eventually, John would fall in love with his future wife Helen and decided to leave his life of killing behind. The only way Viggo would allow John to leave is if he were to complete an impossible task killing all of his rivals in a single day. He did this with the help of a blood oath with Santino D'Antonio, which was eventually fulfilled when John kills Santino's sister so that Santino may take her place as one of the members of the High Table. You see, a blood oath is actually a marker between two individuals. A marker is a small round metal object indicating the debt of a blood oath between two individuals. Opening in the middle to reveal a divided surface, the debtor presses a bloody thumbprint on one side to commit an oath as oath, while the debtee likewise presses their bloody thumbprint to the other side to indicate when an oath has been fulfilled. Records of blood oaths are registered and tracked by the Continental under the supervision of Winston. He tracks the issuance and redemption of blood oaths in his own leather-bound record book. The High Table, as I mentioned earlier, is a council of high-level crime lords. Each leads one of the underworld's 12 most powerful organizations. Twelve seats make up the council, with each seat being owned by a family. They are considered the ultimate authority in the underworld and have several police, politicians, and bureaucrats worldwide under their control. The High Table Chancellor is the adjudicator, who is also a representative of the elder. So when John needed help from Santino, he was given manpower and equipment in exchange for this blood oath. Upon completing the impossible task, Vigo freed John from his service, whereas John then retired from his life of crime. Following the death of his wife, John Wick had remained withdrawn from the world of organized crime, instead choosing to spend his days driving his prized car and carrying for his dog Daisy, who was left to him by Helen. All this changes when Losef Teresov stupidly assaults John, stealing his car and killing his dog. In an attempt to protect his son from John's wrath, Vigo sent several assassins, including Marcus and Miss Perkins, to eliminate his former associate. However, the ultimate result of the conflict is the death of both Losef and Vigo, along with Marcus, who was killed by Vigo for attempting to assist John, and Miss Perkins, killed by Continental Hotel staff, for violating their rule. With his vengeance against the Teresovs accomplished, John recovers his car from Abram Teresov, wanting peace. He allows Abram to live in exchange for a truce. He then returns to his retirement with a new house and new dog. It's at this time that Santino arrives to collect his debt from John. However, John refuses, and Santino destroys his house with a grenade launcher. John goes to the Continental Hotel, where he is confronted by Winston, the manager of the Continental, who tells him to fulfill his debt. Otherwise, his life is forfeit, which John eventually does. However, after he completes his mission, John discovers that he is now Santino's next target. Later, Santino tries to make peace with John, but he is ignored and places a $7 million bounty on his head. A lot of hitmen attempted to kill John, including Cassian, but John kills them all, except Cassian, who was the right hand of Gianna di Antonio, until Wick killed her. Cassian is left alive for professional respect by John. John manages to kill most of Santino's henchmen, and leaves Aries badly injured. While Santino escapes to the Continental Hotel, the Italian demands Winston to revoke John Wick's membership, but he decided and tells him that Continental is his kingdom, and John hasn't broken any rules yet. In the same time, Winston tells Santino that he has privileges in the Continental. However, John arrives and finds Santino. Winston tells Wick to walk away, but the hitman ignores his warnings and kills Santino inside the Continental before returning home. In order to understand the importance of this act, you have to understand exactly what the Continental is. The Continental is a chain of hotels located all around the world that function as a neutral territory for members of the criminal underworld. The Continental's rules are as follows. No business can be conducted on the hotel premises, including fighting and carrying out contracts on other assassins in the hotel. A blood oath once sworn must be carried out, or those who don't hold up their end of the deal will face the death penalty. Killing the holder of the blood oath is of course unacceptable, as well as running away. Usually, if a rule is broken, the individual who breaks the rules or fits their life. So, after John killed Santino in the Continental, he meets Winston, the manager of the New York Continental in the park. Winston informs him that the bounty on John's head has been doubled by the Kamora and the High Table internationally. John is then informed he is now ex-communicado, but is provided one hour to prepare and is provided with a marker for future use. At first, John casually walks away from Winston, but after hearing cell phone after cell phone ring, John realizes the danger he is in and the urgency to prepare for what comes next. Wick and his dog start to run, but the Bowery Boys begin to track him. John uses the hour he is given by Winston to send his dog to the safety of the Continental and retrieve a crucifix and marker medallion he had hidden in the New York City Public Library. It's at this time that the adjudicator tells Winston that he will have to step down as general manager of the Continental since he helped John by delaying his ex-communication by one hour. John eventually made his way to the Moroccan Desert to find the Elder, but passed out due to dehydration. He is carried on camelback towards the Elder's tent when the Elder questions John on why he has come. He states that he wants to remember Helen. John cuts off his own ring finger in a sign of loyalty towards the High Table and hands his wedding ring toward the Elder. The Elder tells Wick that in order to remember Helen, he must kill Winston, who has refused to step down in the position of manager of the Continental. John refuses to kill his friend, and the adjudicator has the Continental status as a neutral area revoked, sending in several teams of the High Table's most well-trained assassins to kill them both. After the first wave of assassins have been slaughtered, the adjudicator phones Winston to propose a truce. The two meet on the rooftop of the Continental and Winston manages to convince the adjudicator to stay in power by stating that even if the High Table takes the Continental, they won't be able to hold it due to his connections across New York City. However, when John walks up onto the rooftop, the adjudicator questions what will be done about him, to which Winston simply shoots John and lets him tumble off the roof and into the street by which Sharon compliments his boss on the move being well-played. When the adjudicator attempts to have John's body recovered, it is discovered that it has vanished, informing Winston of this, the adjudicator warns him of the consequences. There you have it guys, you're now caught up on John Wick and ready for Chapter 4, which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 21st, 2021, as well as the television series The Continental, which is set to air on Starz, in which Keanu Reeves will reprise the role of John Wick. If you enjoyed that video, make sure you hit the subscribe button right there, so you can stay up to date on all things geek culture. Also, make sure you check out one of these two playlists on the side for more videos just like the one you just watched. I'm Shannon for Comic Getting TV, the only place on YouTube where all geek culture collides. Take care Geeks.