Spoiler Warning for The Continental “Night Two”The Continental’s second episode, titled “Night 2: Loyalty to the Master”, certainly ended on the darkest note. The miniseries, a prequel to The John Wick franchise, premiered on Peacock on September 22, 2023, and has been interested in showing how Winston, played in the series by Colin Woodell, will take ownership of the titular hotel by the time of the John Wick film series. Where “Night One” ended with the tease of Winston looking to go to war with Cormac (Mel Gibson) following the death of his brother, “Night Two” was about Winston and assembling his forces getting ready to make a move against Cormac.

Since The Continental is set up as a three-episode miniseries, the creative team envisioned them more as movies. That means the second installment in the trilogy is the darkest, and that is certainly the case in “Night Two.” While Albert Hughes directed “Night One” and the upcoming “Night Three,” the middle chapter was helmed by Charlotte Brändström. Born in Paris to Swedish parents, Brändström previously directed the 1994 romantic comedy A Business Affair and has worked on many television series, including Outlander, The Witcher, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Brändström sat down with MovieWeb to break down the shocking moments of the episode and provide some behind-the-scenes details and the surprising connection between the world of John Wick and the realm of Middle of Earth.

Brutality of Violence
Peacock

John Wick is a franchise known for its action. The R-rated series has made a name for itself for its level of violence. It is a very heightened world, with over-the-top violence that can somewhat be cartoonish in the best way possible. The violence is meant to inspire cheers and applause. Yet that shifts in “Night Two.”

Towards the end of the episode, Cormac beats the skull of his favorite musician, fearing he will take Charon away from him. It is a brutal scene, one that stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the franchise. This scene inspires horror instead of awe and stands apart from the rest of the franchise. “It was definitely deliberate by the producers and showrunners to make it different and more gritty,” said Brändström.

“We are really setting up how dangerous Cormac is. It was that way in the script, and it was very important. I was on set that day with both showrunners, Kirk Ward and Greg Coolidge, and it was very important to both of them to show how crazy and dangerous Cormac is and set up the break into the hotel more dangerous to set the stakes.”

Audiences now know how big of a threat the character is as they await “Night Three.”

Brändström’s Favorite Moment to Direct
Peacock

“Night Two” is filled with great dramatic moments. As it is the second part in what’s viewed as a trilogy of sorts, the episode features a lot more character-centric scenes and dialogue scenes that audiences are used to in the John Wick franchise. While audiences are here for the action, these character moments give insight into old established favorites, but also some of the newer characters audiences are meeting for the first time.

When it came to directing this episode, Brändström said one scene that jumped out to her was in the beginning, as Winston is waiting outside by the stairs at the morgue. “It’s a very important character moment when he puts the sheet back over his brother’s face because that is his moment of decision,” said Brändström. “That is the moment he switches and becomes a different person and becomes a hard-edge killer.”

Related: Exclusive: The Continental Director Albert Hughes Discusses the World of John Wick

That moment, in particular, was inspired by a movie that not many people would associate with an action franchise. “I always look for references of great scenes from movies I’ve seen before that are great character moments. The two that came to mind and one that came to me was in the Clint Eastwood movie Mystic River when Sean Penn identifies his daughter’s body in the morgue. He has gone crazy on the scene of the crime and is screaming, but by the time he gets to the morgue, he has become cold and a different person.”

Favorite Character and Future of the Franchise
Peacock 

We asked Brändström if she would be interested in returning to the John Wick franchise in some capacity. She said that the decision was up to the producers, but she did take time to speak about how great of a time she had on the series and working with the cast. She had high praise for many of the talents, including Colin Woodell and Ayomide Adegun. Yet two names did jump out to her.

“The character I love is KD, played by Mishel Prada. I love all the scenes with her because it’s a bit of comic relief, and she is so badass and so much fun. I would love to make something else with her.”

Related: Exclusive: The Continental Producers on the Challenge of Bringing the World of John Wick to TV

She also mentioned Nhung Kate as Yen Scott. “She is really kick-ass and so good with action. She is also very emotional and a really good actress.” She even revealed a fun behind-the-scenes fact. “That small scene in the van, when she gets her suicide vest on before she meets Frank in the club, was a very intimate moment. The interesting thing about that scene is the man who plays her husband is her companion in real life, Johnny [Trí Nguyễn], and is a big famous action star in Asia.”

Johnny Trí Nguyễn worked as a stunt double on films like Spider-Man 2, Serenity, and X-Men: First Class before moving to Vietnam and starring in Vietnamese films The Rebel and The Kiss of Death and most recently was seen in Spike Lee’s 2020 film Da 5 Bloods.

Lord of the Rings and John Wick’s Hidden Connection
Amazon Studios

Brändström directed two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power season one, episode six (“Udûn”) and episode seven (“The Eye”). She is currently working on season two, where she will direct four episodes. While it would seem the world of swords and sorcery of The Lord of the Rings would be very different from the ballet of bullets and guns that is John Wick, the two stories have a lot in common, in fact. “John Wick is a fantasy franchise. It’s a modern fantasy franchise,” Brändström said.

She then said, “I even remember Chad [Stahelski] said in an interview that he loved John Wick because it was a modern-day Lord of the Rings.” That interview was from the site CBR from earlier this year before the release of John Wick: Chapter 4.

Brändström is clearly drawn to franchises with vast worlds. “What I love about this kind of series is it is world-building. You build a parallel world and try to find the humanity and ground it. What I loved about Tolkien is that it is a lot about humanity and species and days of old mythology, but you identify with the characters. I felt that was very important in this series was to get into the characters.”

Brändström looked to find the humanity in a series that is defined by assassins, hitmen, and killers. Alliances have been drawn, backstories revealed, and the threat made more real. The stage is now set for the epic final conclusion.

The Continental “Night Three” streams on Peacock on October 6, 2023.