Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Continental episode 3.
The Continental has provided an origin to both Winston Scott and the character’s opposition to the High Table. The Continental‘s place in the John Wick timeline means that it has adequately explored earlier aspects of the latter movies. From how Winston became manager of the New York Continental to the alliance between Winston and the Bowery in the future, The Continental has provided the John Wick films with plenty of context.
The main way this was done was through the origin story of Winston Scott. By the time of The Continental‘s climactic ending, Winston became the externally hard-faced manager with a good heart beneath that was shown throughout the John Wick films. Similarly, another aspect of Winston’s character from the John Wick films was given more context through the events of The Continental: Winston’s future defiance of the High Table.
Winston Killing The Adjudicator Foreshadows His High Table Opposition In John Wick’s Movies
Throughout The Continental, the looming threat of the High Table’s Adjudicator hung behind the events of the series. This came to a head in The Continental episode 3 when the Adjudicator threatened Winston and declared his newly-acquired hotel as suspended from High Table activities. In a show of guts, Winston killed the Adjudicator with little remorse as a message to the High Table that he is here to stay and the criminal organization can either work with him or face the same consequences that its authoritarian did.
This sets up his journey in the John Wick movies that saw him oppose the High Table at various points. From his leniency to give John a one-hour head start after killing on Continental grounds to his outright defiance against the Adjudicator in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Winston has always been shown as someone who does not simply roll over when the High Table demands. The origins of this character trait are displayed in The Continental with Winston’s outright murder of the Adjudicator from the 1970s.
The Continental’s Winston Twist Explains Why He’s Controlled The Hotel For So Long
Aside from setting up Winston’s future disregard for the High Table at different points, The Continental‘s twist killing of the Adjudicator also explains how he remained in charge of the titular hotel for so long. Given that The Continental is set in the 1970s, Winston has been the manager of the establishment for over 40 years by the time of John Wick: Chapter 4. By killing the Adjudicator shortly after becoming the hotel’s proprietor, the franchise has made clear the reason for Winston’s longevity.
If Winston is able to kill the Adjudicator with little to no consequences, it is no surprise he has held onto the hotel for so long. It is clear that, to an extent, the High Table respects strength. Winston demonstrated his ruthlessness by killing the Adjudicator and faced no repercussions for the act, meaning the High Table likely took his message and began to work with him. This aspect of The Continental explains why Winston remains the manager of the hotel for so long, further cementing the John Wick prequel as an effective origin for Winston’s character in more ways than one.
