Is John Wick Really Dead After Chapter 4? An Investigation

It’s the age-old maxim of countless genre films: If you don’t see a body, that character (probably) ain’t dead. In “Chapter 4,” the climactic duel to the death ends with the “arrogant a**hole” Marquis outwitted one final time as a mortally wounded Wick plants a bullet squarely between the eyes of his foe. Granted absolution from the High Table and all of its obligations as part of the terms of this deal, he walks away a free man and asks Winston to take him “home” … before he stumbles to the ground, sees one final vision of his beloved wife Helen, and … that’s it. That’s our final glimpse of John Wick.

But, again, is this genuine proof that he’s really dead and gone?

Obviously, the only answer that matters is that director Chad Stahelski chose to approach Wick’s fate in such a way for a good reason. The question of future sequels remains somewhat up in the air, but that’s hardly a primary concern when watching the story in the here and now. In the confines of the film’s text, John is confronted time and again with the futility of his one-man mission to kill, well, basically everyone. “Where does this end?” he’s asked by close confidant Winston at a crucial juncture. The most fitting answer, as it turns out, could very well be that it ends with his own death … or, at least, that of his assassin identity.

Is it possible that John Wick, the Baba Yaga, had to die so that John Wick, the man who once escaped this life to settle down as a civilian, could live once more? That’s certainly a valid interpretation. But whether he’s six feet under or happily retired, it seems certain that John’s gunslinger days are over.