The Continental Hotel offers a lot of resources to whoever controls it. Cormac knew, leveraged, and held to it as much as possible.
After Frankie’s death, Winston decided to go to war with Cormac, and on The Continental: From the World of John Wick Season 1 Episode 2, he formulated a plan that included seeking allies, finding weapons, and exploiting weaknesses in Cormac’s people.
We also got a deeper insight into the relationship between Frankie and Winston, where Cormac was concerned.
The eighty-minute episode painted in broad strokes, attempting to flesh out characters and answering some lingering questions about the lives the characters had led before so that the decisions they made would feel justified.
It was no secret that Frankie hated Cormac — I mean, he stole the most valuable item under his care – but the reason behind this hate was unclear.
The cold open showed Frankie and Winston as kids and what crime they committed that Frankie took the fall for and went to prison.
The idea that someone exploits other people is disgusting. The idea that someone exploits children is beyond disgusting.
There’s people in there. [Crying] Frankie, there’s people in there.
Young Winston
Having a child such as Winston carry several people’s deaths was cruel. And even beyond that, Cormac didn’t stop exploiting them because later, Frankie would leave Vietnam, and Cormac would take him under his wing.
One of the best things about this show is how it centers its stories around real-life events.
We saw Yen and Frankie’s first meeting in Vietnam, where a failed suicide bombing attempt had them crossing paths, and the rest might just as well be history.
Frankie saved Yen from a terrible situation and brought her with him to America. Someone doesn’t forget something like that. When they fell in love, Yen was done for.
She refused to accept that Frankie was dead and found Winston, the closest person she could blame.
But Frankie’s death was a result of his actions, and the part anyone else may or may not have had to play in it is not that relevant. Except if that person is Cormac, it is the only thing that matters.
But after isolating herself, she realized that Cormac would not rest until he had wiped everyone who knew Frankie from existence, just like Winston had said.
Going against any establishment that had taken decades, if not centuries, to establish itself would not be easy. Winston needed allies, and allies he sought.
He needed a proper marksman, and the bounty hunter tasked with killing a pedophile was a great addition to the team.
Before Bowery King controlled the invisible army, it was under Mazzy. They operated outside the regular ecosystem, which made them perfect for the job.
Mazzy: The men I call my flock, you walk by them on the street every day, never noticing. Invisible. No self-worth. But you take those same men and give them back their humanity. Do you know what they give you in return?
Winston: What’s that? Everything.
Mazzy: And now that same invisibility, they embrace it. Because they no longer need you to see them. Because …
Winston: … they see themselves.
They were the same people who had helped John when The High Table put a bounty on him.
While learning about The Continental, it was also important to know about everyone else outside the system, and seeing the woman behind the “invisible army” was enlightening.
Of course, they were in their infancy, but it is wild to think that something someone started can be a great moving force. They had not made a deal with The High Table yet, so they weren’t restricted in what they could or couldn’t do.
One of the most loyal people to Winston in the movies is Charon.
Little was known about Charon apart from his admiration for John and how great of a consigliere he was.
In my The Continental: From the World of John Wick Season 1 Episode 1 review, I mentioned that we needed to get some background information about Charon, and they did not fail us.
It is always thrilling when a show anticipates what the audience needs and offers it to them.
After learning about Charon’s history in Nigeria and what Cormac had done for him, it made sense why he worshipped the ground the man walked on.
Learning what transpired and what the future promised was eye-opening about Charon. He knew what to do and wouldn’t deviate from that plan.
But there are some things one cannot anticipate, and for Charon, it was the cellist — even the best of plans run into wrenches.
Charon and Thomas liked each other more than friends. They might have been in love, but we will never know. Or will we?
Thomas: I wanted to tell you I’ve been accepted to a music Conservatory in Ireland. I’ll soon be leaving the city.
Charon: That’ll be good for you.
Thomas: Perhaps you could come with?
Charon: I could never do that.
Thomas: Why not?
Charon: When I first arrived, Mr. O’Connor promised he would bring my father over once I’ve proven myself. That time is soon.
Thomas: Hope he keeps his promise.
Winston approaching Charon to get him on his was a hail mary. It could have gone either way, but it leaned heavily on Charon saying no.
And even on leaving that bus, Charon was not prepared to jeopardize his future and that of his father over anything.
But finding the dead body of someone you love and being robbed of the chance to explore that love changes a person.
Charon: May I ask you a question, Sir?
Cormac: Sure.
Charon: What was it that Thomas was trying to steal?
Cormac: You. Loyalty.
Everything Winston said in that bus suddenly rang true. As he had done those decades ago, Cormac also exploited Charon’s childhood innocence.
We didn’t know how Winston planned to execute the plan, but it felt like Charon’s admission to being approached by Winston was part of it.
This assessment was cemented by the knowledge that Winston and Charon from the movies trust each other with their lives, and this must be when it started.
Charon’s position was not enviable. He had to avenge Thomas or get his father to America, affecting the people he loved.
The Vietnam War has been consistently referenced throughout The Continental: From the World of John Wick Season 1, and it is one of the binding factors between Miles and Frankie.
Some of the earliest recruits in Winston’s campaign against Cormac were Miles and Lou.
They also wanted to see Cormac taken down because he had made business hard for them. Residents in the hotel had gone wild and tried to steal from Miles and Lou.
Taking over The Continental was also an excellent opportunity for them. They would stop scrapping by and live. The gun business was risky, and the dojo’s grace in Chinatown had died with their father.
There were daily attacks by a Chinese gangster, and he wasn’t ready to let up soon. He was also a child exploiter, and that’s beyond disgusting still.
Elsewhere, KD was closing in on Winston, Lou, and Miles through Frankie. Mayhew’s attempts to deter her from that path bore no fruits.
She would do anything to progress her case. If that involved breaking a few bones or blackmailing a marital cheater, so be it.
She was one of the few female detectives, and she was going to prove herself worthy.
Intrusive thoughts
- The show’s title is a misnomer because there is little going on in the hotel in these two episodes. Maybe the third time’s the charm?
- The High Table is always lurking around, and Adjudicator is a no-nonsense woman whose face is shocking. Why didn’t they show it? It’s not like they shy away from making the audience squeamish. The irony is that Katie McGrath is very beautiful.
- There is something icky about a show introducing a queer character and killing them off in that same episode. Cormac‘s method of killing the cellist gave strong gay-bashing vibes. Did we really need all that?
“Loyalty to the Master” gave the characters substance perfectly, but can we get to the violence already? The takeover needs to happen.
What did you think? Chime in in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.