Warning: Contains SPOILERS for From the World of John Wick: Ballerina!
From the World of John Wick: Ballerinasees the return of the titular assassin after his death inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, andJohn Wick 5has to resolve a major plot hole that the spinoff movie created with his return.Ballerinais the firstJohn Wickspinoff movie, and while it has a different protagonist, it couldn’t fully separate itself from Keanu Reeves' John Wick.
Ana de Armas' Eve Macarro encounters John Wick several times throughoutBallerinathanks to both of them belonging to the Ruska Roma family. Although John Wick is currently dead in the franchise’s timeline,Ballerinatakes place in betweenJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - ParabellumandJohn Wick: Chapter 4, explaining his return.
Although Eve’s encounters with Wick are mostly peaceful, this changes atthe end ofBallerina. As Eve is running through Hallstatt, she again runs into Wick. This time, however,he tries to kill her. After a fight, the duo actually teams up, and while they leave on peaceful terms, a major plot hole is left completely unresolved.
John Wick Working With The Ruska Roma In Ballerina Made No Sense
Based On John Wick 3’s Story
Eve’s encounters with John Wick throughoutBallerinahave to do with the Ruska Roma family. Eve’s story is meant to take place simultaneously withJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, withBallerinaoffering another perspective of the scene in which Wick meets with the Director in order to ask for safe passage to Casablanca.
Viewers who remember the story of the thirdJohn Wickwill recall that the film seesWick get declared “excommunicado.“This means that the world of assassins' various organizations can’t work with him, including the Ruska Roma. Thus, he is outcast from the family in the third film, with the Director even being punished for helping Wick get to Casablanca.
This is where the plot hole comes in. At the end ofBallerina, the Ruska Roma discover that Eve is in Hallstatt. The family had previously had a treaty with the Hallstatt cult, and Eve’s actions risk starting a war between them. So, the Ruska Roma decide to take Eve out. Confusingly, the person that they hire to do the job is John Wick.
Since John Wick is excommunicado inJohn Wick 3, the Ruska Roma shouldn’t be working with him during the timeline ofBallerina’s climax. They could have hired anyone to take out Eve, andBallerinadoesn’t give a story justification as to why the Director would pick Wick of all people. After all, she had just had her hands stabbed for helping him previously.
On top of that,Wick has no reason to work for the Ruska Romaat this point. Despite him being outcast, he doesn’t owe the family anything. Wick has his own problems to deal with thanks to the growing bounty on his head, so it is incredibly odd why he made the detour to Hallstatt to kill Eve for seemingly no reason.
Keanu’s Return In John Wick 5 Can Clear Up The Confusion
It Has A Chance To Fix Ballerina’s Plot Hole
Luckily, the franchise has the perfect opportunity to clear things up inJohn Wick 5. Despite Wick’s death inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, a fifth movie is happening, and Keanu Reeves has been confirmed to return. This means there will be at least one more movie focused on Wick, and it can fixBallerina.
John Wick 5already has a lot to explainthanks to the decision to bring Wick back after his death. However, it really needs to explain why Wick worked with the Ruska Roma inBallerina. Simply having a few lines would be enough, but the upcoming sequel cannot ignore this plot hole.
John Wick 5could retcon the franchise by revealing that Wick had a good reason to help the Ruska Roma again during the events ofJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Perhaps killing Eve was part of his deal with the Director, and the third film simply didn’t show this.
It could also be that the Director has been secretly helping Wickever since he was declared excommunicado. Stabbing the Director’s hands may not have been enough, and it could be that her allegiance to her family member is stronger than her allegiance to the High Table.
John Wick 5 Ignoring Ballerina’s Ruska Roma Plot Hole Would Hurt The Franchise
It Makes The Spinoffs Feel Less Important
John Wick 5has to explain this plot hole, as ignoring it would really hurt the franchise. Firstly, it would be the franchise’s first big continuity break.John Wickhas had a surprisingly consistent story, butBallerina’s ending completely undercuts the entire story ofJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.
On top of that, ignoring the plot hole would also hurt theJohn Wickspinoff movies. Allowing sloppy continuity errors like this to go unaddressed makes the spinoffs feel like an afterthought. Withthe Caine spinoff filmand several otherJohn Wickspinoff projects in the works, this is not the best way for the franchise to recover afterBallerina’sbox office failure.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
Cast
Ballerina follows Eve Macarro during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, as she undergoes rigorous training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma. The film expands on the John Wick universe, charting Eve’s initiation into the clandestine world of professional assassins.
