How The Continental’s Villain Twist Was Foreshadowed In John Wick Universe

Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Continental.

The Continental director Albert Hughes explains how that big KD twist was set up in her first appearance on-screen. Serving as a spinoff prequel to the John Wick movies, the new Peacock series chronicles a young Winston’s (Colin Woodell) rise to power at the New York City Continental Hotel. The Continental cast includes a host of newcomers, including Mishel Prada as KD, a cop who is later revealed to have a personal vendetta against Winston for his accidental murder of her family years earlier.

Now, following The Continental‘s finale, Hughes breaks down the final episode’s big reveals in an interview with GamesRadar. The filmmaker, who helmed episodes one and three, explains that the reveal that KD was in the apartment that Winston burned down was hinted at in her first scenes. Check out Hughes’ full comment below:

“When she’s in bed with Mayhew, in the script for that scene they describe her scarring – and when you watch that episode, you can see it right there. Some people read that scene as something other than what it is, seeing it as her simply wanting to dominate a man, but it’s not that. Her whole mission throughout is to get to The Continental and if she has to use this chump along the way, she will.”

“That was always our plan as she is actually low-key the protagonist of the whole story. She’s the only outsider in this universe, with that event from her childhood being the catalyst for everything. The women take care of the baddies in episode 3, which is refreshing. Winston meanwhile is more like the character from the films, sipping back enjoying his whisky, a chess player who doesn’t really get his hands dirty. Although he does in the final act which causes some problems.”

How Was The Continental Received?

As the first John Wick spinoff, there was a lot of pressure on The Continental to deliver. The show, after all, would serve as the first test regarding whether the franchise can work without Keanu Reeves and, crucially, director Chad Stahelski. After John Wick: Chapter 4 took the franchise to new heights earlier this year, the early reviews for The Continental didn’t paint a promising picture for the spinoff.

Critics are generally quite mixed on The Continental, with reviews taking issue with fight scenes that don’t stack up to those in John Wick, overly-dark visuals, cheap callbacks to the movies, and a generic villain from controversial actor Mel Gibson. Scott’s portrayal of Winston, too, proved divisive, with some critics praising the actor while others feel like perhaps he was miscast.

The Continental seems to have proven more popular with general audiences, with the show currently holding an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to a 63% critics score). It’s less clear just how many people actually tuned in for the three-episodes spinoff, and viewership will be a key metric in terms of whether the show is deemed a success or not. It’s unknown whether The Continental will be getting a season 2, but the hit-or-miss reception means the extended John Wick universe has gotten off to something of a rocky start.

Source: GamesRadar