My GF and I just saw the movie and, while it was pretty good, we left scratching our heads as to how it fit the JWU, specifically John Wick's cameo in Hellstadt or Ballerina's 3rd act. We've read multiple threads, posts, and comments since then and came up with a theory.
-RANGE OF POSSIBLE TIMELINE- Beginning A scene in Ballerina showed Wick talking to the head of Ruska Roma over the phone and his ring finger was missing. This means that Ballerina must have happened AFTER Wick meets withe Table's Elder, where he had his ring finger chopped off.
End The ending sequences of Ballerina shows Eve in the New York Continental checking in with Charon and Winston. Charon dies in Act 1 of John Wick Chapter 4 (JW4). This means that Ballerina must have happened BEFORE Charon is killed off in JWC4.
Soooo, it looks like this currently....: Wick meets Elder <--------> Ballerina <--------> Charon's Death
-CONSTRAINTS & CONSIDERATIONS- 1. In John Wick Parabellum (JW3), Winston was given 7 days by the Adjudicator to deal with Wick. If Wick took too long to return from the Table's Elder, it would have meant that Winston would be replaced as the manager of the New York Continental, which isn't the implied case in Ballerina's ending. 2. Wick first met Eve when Wick's ticket was torn by the Ruska Roma, which occurred prior the 'Beginning' of the possible timeline, displayed above. 3. Ballerina's Act 2 (or 3, I dunno; it's the part prior to figuring out the cult in Hellstadt) is introduced to us with an explicit "Two Months Later" text. This means that 2 months have passed since Wick meeting Eve. With CONSTRAINT #1, Wick must have went back to the New York Continental in JW3 in less than a week and John's appearance in Ballerina must have happened afterwards. But, John suffers a fall from the NYC (New York Continental) by the of JW3, where he was picked up by the Bowery King and shown to be in the sewers. This establishes a new 'Beginning' for the range of possible timeline:
End of JW3 <--------> Ballerina <--------> Charon's Death
-WHEN EXACTLY?- With this in mind, the only time that makes sense to me for Ballerina to fit in the JWU is BEFORE the start of JW4. This gives John time to recover from the fall from NYC's heights, which may coincide with Ballerina's 2 months timeskip.
Q1: Why does the Cult choose to respect the Ruska Roma and NOT kill John immediately? A1: As mentioned in the movie, the Cult is not under the Table. The Cult, therefore, may not feel obligated to kill John, despite his bounty. Furthermore, after the fall from the NYC, John's status to the Table may be ambiguous, with the Adjudicator not finding his body by the end of JW3. This may have also left John's bounty in an ambiguous state. It was also stated in Ballerina that the Ruska Roma does not meddle with the Cult's affairs, and vice-versa, and that may be extended to the High Table with Ruska Roma being under the table. Q2: Why would John heed Ruska Roma's request, when his "ticket was torn" by this time? A2: While the JWU has shown us time and time again that "rules are what separates us from the animals", it has also shown us (similar to what a comment said in a different thread), that relationships and favors are a way of life as well. Ruska Roma has been heavily implied to have raised, trained, and protected John long before he became the Babayaga. Perhaps, John felt a sense of gratitude when the Ruska Roma directress called for a request, despite having his "ticket torn".
-ASSUMPTION- To further strengthen A2, I assume and theorize that Ella, the daughter of Norman Reedus's character, may as well be the daughter of Sofia (Halle Baley's character). Ella seems to have characteristics of African descent, while Norman Reedus does not. Sofia does.
It has been mentioned that Sofia has an unnamed daughter, which she no longer has contact with, as a condition set by the Table. Although in rough terms, John may see Sofia to be a comrade in arms, especially after their shoot out in Casa Blanca.
With the request of the Ruska Roma, John may have seen this as an opportunity to do Sofia a favor and check on Ella on her behalf. With John's ambiguous status as far as the Table's concerned, him being near the proximity of Ella but having no direct contact, and him fulfilling Ruska Roma's request, it becomes less likely for the Table to associate John's appearance in Helstadt with Sofia indirectly contacting Ella through John, which keeps both Sofia and Ella safe.
Plotholes may still exist in this head cannon of mine, but it's the only timing that makes sense to me.
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