Brothers In Arms – As the opening episode of The Continental begins, a man is interviewed by police in New York City in 1955. A young Winston (Fflyn Edwards) asks a young Frankie (Ben Robinson) what is going to happen now. Frankie tells him to shut up because they’re watching them right now. He argues that a bunch of cops are going to tell them a bunch of lies. Frankie warns him not to say anything because he didn’t do anything anyway. Years later, Lawrence tells Frankie Scott (Ben Robson) he isn’t supposed to be there. Frankie pretends he was taking a girl down there and hopes Lawrence (Antonio Magro) won’t say anything.

Lawrence tells him to get out of there before he shoots him. Frankie tells him happy New Year before he leaves. Many people are happy to see Frankie join the party. Cormac (Mel Gibson) invites Frankie over before telling everyone he picked him off the street. When Corine comes over, Frankie walks away and leaves. Frankie and another man wait for the subway train to pass before climbing into the tunnel. They climb up and use another subway train to pull the door off a vault just as New York City celebrates New Year’s. Frankie isn’t there for the gold and instead is looking for something else. Once Frankie gets the coin press, his partner turns on him and points a gun at him.

Frankie shoots him. That causes the other guy’s gun to go off killing some of the people at the party. When Lawrence and others approach Frankie, he manages to find a way to escape into the subway tunnel. After he jumps out of a window, a man begins shooting at him. Before the guy can reload, Yen runs him over and yells for Frankie to come. The taxi is filled with bullet holes as she flees the scene. In London, Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) speaks to a group about building car parks. He mentions the price to Mr. Davenport who says numbers don’t scare him. However, he is worried about handing money over to a firm he has never heard of.

Mrs. Davenport (Claire Cooper) joins them because she is bored. Winston tells her that he is trying to lay car parks on her husband. Mrs. Davenport reveals that her husband has a piece of David Bowe’s current tour. Winston asks if they know Tony DeFries who is David’s business manager. Once she says yes, Winston says Tony is one of his biggest investors. Winston calls Tony to see if he’ll say hello to Mrs. Davenport. Tony speaks to Rosalind Davenport who tells her husband that he has just torn him a new a-hole. Before they leave, Mrs. Davenport tells his men to wire the money. At the motel, Rosalind visits Winston and they discuss what they just pulled off.

She wants to know what he saw when he was watching her. Winston saw a woman who was a bit sad and lonely. He also believes she is a woman who deserves better and may have needed to hear it from someone. They have sex. Later, Rosalind tells him that she doesn’t know why she trusts him but she does. She wants to know all about his family. As she continues talking, Winston starts looking around. He is attacked from behind by three masked people. A woman dressed as housekeeping injects him with something that knocks him out. The masked men take Winston out in a laundry basket. Cormac brings several men forward.

He asks Mr. Flynn (Mate Bede-Fazekas) to shoot Mr. Avery (Peter Fancsikai) for him. Flynn reminds him of the rules so he doesn’t have to do it. Cormac asks Charon (Ayomide Adegun) to open the veranda doors. Then, Cormac begins telling the others about the rules and this institution. He is angry that they haven’t retrieved the coin press, but he knows he can’t kill them. If he broke that rule, he’d walk out of the hotel unprotected and his enemies would hunt him down. He mentions his family. Cormac admits he has no one except Charon who is only a teenager. He tells Avery that he can walk out of here or spare his family by jumping from the balcony.

Winston is brought to the motel where Avery jumps to his death outside. He is taken to Cormac who wants to know where Frankie is. Cormac admits Frankie became an asset to him because the war made him efficient, cold, and earned him a promotion. Winston questions what he is doing there then. Cormac explains that Frankie stole something from him and it holds the entire establishment together. Winston doesn’t think that is his problem, but Cormac says it is now. Winston realizes Cormac wants to his him as bait to get himself out of trouble although he argues Frankie doesn’t care about him. Cormac orders him to find Frankie. Otherwise, he’ll bring the weight of the whole institution down on both of them.

Winston refuses to cooperate so Cormac tells Charon to show him to the elevator. He tells another man to follow Winston. Winston speaks to Charon on his way to the elevator. KD has sex with Mayhew before watching the Buick guy not pick up his dog’s feces. Mayhew (Jeremy Bobb) asks her to take the handcuffs off. After releasing him, she says she has to go to work even though she is a fancy detective now. Mayhew drops his ring and apologizes. KD says she doesn’t care, but Mayhew says he may want her to care. Miles (Hubert Point-Du Jour), Lou (Jessica Allain), and Lemmy (Adam Shapiro) are held at gunpoint.

They end up breaking free and killing Uzan. Miles gives Uzan his fingers back and asks him to tell his boss not to mess with them. KD snaps pictures of Uzan leaving before following him. She contacts Mayhew to tell him that she is trailing the buyer. Mayhew laughs at his partners busting a guy’s jaw. Mayhew asks KD not to pursue Uzan, but she stops responding. Before she can go in, Mayhew pulls up and tells her to get in his car. As they argue in an alleyway, KD says she is looking for the supplier. She believes his name is Francis Scott but he is a ghost. Mayhew argues that they don’t have any authority there, but KD isn’t willing to let it go. Winston meets Charlie later that night. Cal (Matt Brewer) complains that the garbage strike is crushing them although Charlie says they’re doing okay.

Charlie questions what Winston is doing back home. Once he finds out, he tells Winston that Frankie might be in Chinatown which is rough. He is having his VA check sent there. Winston looks at an advertisement for Burton Karate. He tells Charlie about his brother stealing something important from Cormac. Winston doesn’t think he should throw away everything because Frankie returned from Vietnam and went back to work for the monster that ruined their lives. Charlie (Peter Greene) urges Winston to give his brother a break. Winston wants a car because he is going to find Frankie before Cormac does. Charlie eventually gives him a car.

He gives Winston advice for caring for his car which he calls the love of his life. He also gives him a gun. Once Lemmy is dropped off, Lou tells Miles they can’t do this stuff anymore. Lou reminds him that the war is over before asking if he is disappointed he survived. She doesn’t want this in their house anymore. Lou finds the window broken outside of Burton Karate. Miles admits his connections are drying up. They’ll have to do this if they want to keep the dojo doors open. Lou doesn’t think he cares about keeping the door open. They argue about the promise Lou made to their father while she worries Miles is going to get them all killed. Winston comes to the dojo moments later and speaks to Lou.

Eventually, he asks about Frankie. Lou says she sees it around the eyes before yelling for him to get out of there. When they hear muffled gunshots, Winston pulls a gun and asks her to take him. Lou takes him to the back and shows him a hidden door. Once they go down, Lou quickly takes the gun from Winston. He tells them he thought his brother might be in trouble. Lou says they were friends. She admits the gun thing isn’t her scene so she leaves and lets the others deal with Winston. They lead Winston into another room with more guns. Miles says Frankie cut him out too. He tells Winston how Frankie didn’t show up one night and Lemmy ended up getting hurt.

Eventually, he heard that Frankie moved into a hotel which Winston believes is The Continental. Mile talks about how Frankie took to killing and how they saved each other lives in Vietnam. Lemmy isn’t sure they’ll find Frankie unless he wants to be found. He goes on to say Frankie used to roll around in Alphabet City. Miles gives him a gun before he goes. A man outside watches Winston leave in his vehicle. The Adjudicator (Katie McGrath) watches Frankie’s partner get tortured. He insists Frankie took the coin press, but she accuses him of trying to outsmart the High Table. She knows that he was paid to betray Frankie.

He reveals that he was paid 40 grand to steal it. She explains it was an artifact that could topple an organization that predates the Roman Empire. Her henchman asks what she wants done with Cormac, but she says nothing because his reign may finally be coming to an end. Winston turns around. KD approaches The Continental and is allowed to come inside. She gets a drink at the bar and pays attention to the people around her. KD notices that the guy behind the bar has a gun in his shoe. She asks for a room only to be told they’re fully booked. The woman who helps her has a gun as well. Charon watches her leave moments later.

Winston goes into an old theater where Woody Woodpecker begins playing. A noose is thrown around his neck and he is lifted from the ground. Frankie eventually comes out and tells Yen to stop. Once Winston is cut down, Frankie asks what he is doing there. Winston tells him what happened with Cormac and urges him to get the heck out of there. Frankie says he is staying because it is better to die on your own terms. He thinks Winston made a big mistake coming there. Winston says it is too late because they’re all running now. Frankie tries to tell him how big Cormac is now.

A group of men find Winston’s Mustang outside. Frankie says a group called the Nile promised them a way out if he stole the coin press, but they screwed him over. Winston thinks he can buy his way out, but Frankie argues that isn’t going to work. They hear an explosion. Yen wants to stay and fight, but Frankie thinks they should leave. The assassins enter the building and begin looking for Frankie. They think they hit the wrong building, but they were following a different car. Yen, Frankie, and Winston flee. Winston says they’re going to go see Charlie. He didn’t leave because Frankie is his brother and all he has left.

Once they arrive, Frankie tells Yen that Winston is their only chance of staying alive. She ends up walking away from him to make sure his brother didn’t bring more people to kill them. Charon informs Cormac that they eluded the team and escaped. Cormac says it is time to outsource so he asks for the Twins, Hansel (Mark Musashi) and Gretel (Marina Mazepa). Charon approaches them to see if they have time for another assignment. Mayhew drops off files for KD about Frankie. Winston tells Frankie that Charlie is readying their ride so they’ll have to meet him soon. Frankie says he went to work for Cormac because he had a plan.

Winston finds it odd that he never told Yen about him. He suspects Frankie resented him because he took the fall for him. Frankie claims he cut him out so he could escape this life and live a better one. He tells Winston that you sometimes have to make the decision you don’t want to protect the people you care about. Cal calls someone to tell them Frankie and Winston are there before asking what he should do. He loads a gun after the call. Winton says he is going to get Frankie and Yen out of there so they can start over. Yen kills Cal before he can attack them before Frankie realizes he sold them out. They flee from several cars full of people with guns.

Charlie’s friend waits by the helicopter. Charlie’s car is flipped before it is filled with bullets. Winston and the others try to reach the rooftop so they can flee in the helicopter. Cormac’s men come in shooting at them. Hansel and Gretel begin moving as the fight between Winston and the others continues. Yen kills a man with an iron. Winston shoots a man before Frankie takes the gun and finishes him. The three of them make it to the helicopter, but they realize Charlie is missing. Hansel and Gretel snipe at them from a nearby building. The pilot is hit, but he still manages to fly the helicopter. Yen has been hit as well.

Frankie tells her she is going to be fine. He tells Winston and Yen that they need to look after each other before he jumps out with the coin press. He is shot and killed. The box is returned to Cormac, but the coin press is missing. Winston and Yen go to Miles because they need lots of guns.

 

The Continental: From The World Of John Wick Review

The opening episode of The Continental set up the core story with Winston Scott being kidnapped by Cormac because his brother stole an ancient coin press. Cormac believes Winston can help find his brother and help him get the coin press back. Winston has other ideas though and prefers to help his brother escape and start a new life. The series has a lot of side characters and stories as well, such as KD, Mayhew, and others.

The story is pretty simple so the thin plot is often overshadowed by gory deaths and fast-paced action. While fans of the John Wick series will probably love The Continental, the opening episode was less than stellar. For everything the series does well, it does a handful of other things exceptionally badly. The performances and dialogue aren’t particularly good with some characters being whiny, cheesy, or just unlikable.

Some of the weapons in the episode looked like toys, especially the rocket launcher during the theater scene. The lack of originality here is very surprising considering there are characters named Hansel and Gretel. On top of that, Frankie’s decision at the end of the episode was pretty predictable. Truthfully, this isn’t a series to watch for the story. Instead, it is just brainless entertainment that requires little to nothing from the viewer.

If the characters were easy to cheer for, those action scenes may matter a lot more. However, many of them are comical with gunmen being unable to hit people in a vehicle right next to them, but magically killing four or five people in a line through multiple floors. The series is stupid and silly, but that may be exactly what some viewers are looking for.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Continental are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.