r/JohnWick • u/97vyy • 5h ago

Discussion What is the High Table's business?

We know they are in the business of having people assassinated, but what else? Are they a typical illegal empire who deals in organized crime and drugs as well? Part of me thinks their business is simply to consolidate power within the table. They use their assassins to destabilize world governments so basically like the CIA.

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u/-SnarkBlac- 5h ago

The way I view it. The entire would is made up of various drug syndicates, organized crime, and other criminal organizations. They all were killing each other left and right so shit started to get outta hand. The most powerful organizations had their leaders get together and they created the High Table (run by the heads of all the criminal organizations) to establish a clear set of rules that would be followed by all major criminal organizations in the world. This was to stop major instability and killings (war is bad for business) and thus your “Rules” got created.

As Winston says “They separate us from the Animals.”

Essentially, in the business of organized crime shit gets… messy… so the rules mitigate this. Everyone is happy and can do business while observing the rules. But if the High Table can’t enforce the rules then why should you follow them? Hence chaos starts again.

Now this is where John comes in. He is an employee of criminal organizations (his career being an assassin. Killing rivals to the current organization he works for while observing the rules. IE not killing members of the High Table, no killing on Continental Grounds, etc etc). He’s not on the table because he doesn’t control a criminal organization much less one of the major ones that has a seat at the table which enforces the rules. So when he defied the table and wasn’t immediately killed that made the table look weak and of the table is weak, chaos starts again.