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In John Wick 2, at the end, John's license gets terminated because he conducted business on Continental grounds. Winston says to John that he did not abide by the rules and marks him Excommunicado.

The film ends with John and his dog running when all other community members staring at him. What I did not understand is, why John is running for his life? He becomes excommnicado, so is there any rule that the person should be killed?

Clearly, John doesn't have any bounty on him, why would anyone risk their lives to kill a person like THE JOHN WICK?

Can anyone explain me the ending?

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  • Winston says the contract doubled and went international
    – Mack
    Feb 23, 2017 at 1:01
  • 3
    There are two questions here - What is Ex-Communicado and an explanation of the ending.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 23, 2017 at 14:16
  • 1
    @tyler that's the same ducking question
    – cde
    Feb 23, 2017 at 17:04

3 Answers 3

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Excommunicado basically means that Wick becomes persona non grata and loses all access and privileges to underworld resources.

What I did not understand is, why John is running for his life?

Clearly, John doesn't have any bounty on him, why would anyone risk their lives to kill a person like THE JOHN WICK?

He does have a bounty on him, a HUGE one.

There's a $14 million hit ordered on him by the Chinese & Russian seats on the High Table.

As for the reasoning, it was a concious decision by the films creators

Keanu Reeves commented....

CinemaBlend via ScreenRant

“We wanted to come to a place that John literally had to fight for his life, and that he’s starting to become a little anti-establishment. And that’s really where the character starts to develop. It’s like the rules and world that he lived by, aren’t starting to work for him, and they’re not working! There are people who are out to get him because of [his] transgressions. And we liked that idea because we like John – when I say ‘we’ I mean the producers, the writer, the director — we like to see him suffer!”

“We wanted to put him in another vulnerable… ‘How’s he going to get out?! How’s he going to survive?! What’s it mean?! What’s he going to do?!’ I don’t know! We have some ideas. Maybe he needs to go to Jerusalem! Or he’s in the middle of the desert. Or whatever!”

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    AFAIK, Santino D'Antonio put a bounty of 7 million for John Wick's life but when and why did Chinese & Russian put the bounty? Could you elaborate? Thanks. Feb 22, 2017 at 9:27
  • Santino can't pay a bounty...he's dead. Wick broke several of the fundamental assassins rules there are consequences for that.
    – Paulie_D
    Feb 22, 2017 at 10:02
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    @chaitanya89 Basically The High Table doubled D'Antonio's original bounty after John killed him - the newly appointed Chair. They did not do this for his sister because John did it under a Marker rather than of his own free will.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 22, 2017 at 16:15
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    I think Santino already paid the bounty, when he ordered it. It will be awarded for whoever manage to complete it, unless it is pulled back.
    – bizi
    Feb 22, 2017 at 16:27
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    @chaitanya89 It was an off comment that was blink-and-you-miss-it style.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 23, 2017 at 14:16
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This is essentially excommunication or exile. From wiki:

Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular receiving of the sacraments. The term is often historically used to refer specifically to Catholic excommunications from the Catholic Church, but it is also used more generally to refer to similar types of institutional religious exclusionary practices and shunning among other religious groups.

This isn't limited to religions of course. Brotherhoods of many types use this. When excommunicated, you are no longer part of the group, you can't be supported by it, and no one is supposed to help you. Often trying to interact will result in harsher penalties.

Before excommunication, Wick had a bounty that anyone who was greedy or foolish enough could try to attack him if they want to. Excommunication isn't voluntary though. No one else is allowed to talk to Wick without risking punishment themselves.

Frankly, an organization of assassins, who risk being outed, would equate excommunication as a death sentence anyway.

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The ending is because there will be a JOHN Wick 3. HE is given 1 hr by Winston to just die or survive when he got excomunicado that means that anyone that's connected to the continental and an Assassin like Wick can kill him getting excomunicado is basically getting a green light to kill immediately.

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    Not exactly an explanation in-universe just by stating "there will be a sequel"
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 23, 2017 at 14:15

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