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The Ending of Peacock's The Killer, Explained
John Woo's latest action film is now on Peacock. Let's take a look at what its ending means.
**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers below for the ending of John Woo's new action movie, The Killer!**
Peacock's The Killer, the new action film from legendary director John Woo, is finally streaming, giving fans everywhere the chance to see Woo's latest offering in the genre that made him a legend. Starring Nathalie Emmanuel (Fast X) in the title role and packed with great action setpieces, it's a great way to close out summer movie season.
It's also, like many of Woo's films, a complex crime story with several major players and important twists and turns. So, with that in mind, let's take a closer look at how all those twists and turns translate into an ending, and what that ending offers for the characters and their potential future.
How does The Killer set up its ending?
The Killer begins with the story of Zee (Emmanuel), a smart and deadly assassin living in Paris who does jobs on behalf of her handler and friend, Finn (Sam Worthington). The first job we see her do involves cleaning out an entire back room at a nightclub, killing everyone inside, and while Zee definitely kills all the men in the room, she spares Jenn (Diana Silvers), a young American trying to make it as a singer who was performing in the room at the time. In the scuffle, Jenn is injured and loses her sight, making it less likely that she can identify Zee at all.
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Still, Finn pushes for Jenn to die, and Zee's efforts to finish the job bring her into contact with Inspector Sey (Omar Sy), a dogged detective who's investigating the murders in relation to a recent drug trafficking case involving a Saudi Prince (Said Taghmaoui) and the Parisian underworld. It seems the men Zee killed were responsible for boosting millions of dollars worth of heroin from the prince's private plane before it could be delivered to its French buyers. That means the heroin is lost, the French gangsters are nervous, and Jenn might be the only person left alive who knows where the drugs are.
Still, Zee feels a powerful connection to both Jenn and Sey, and suspects that Finn knows more about the drugs than he lets on. When she balks once again at killing Jenn, Finn gets angry and sends his own backup killers to finish the job, setting up a confrontation that changes Zee's life.
Peacock's The Killer Ending Explained
Zee shows up at Jenn's hospital room, saving her just in time from Finn's hired killers, and takes her to the safety of Zee's own Parisian apartment. There, Zee learns the truth about the drugs, and fakes Jenn's death in an effort to get more information out of Finn. Despite covering her tracks, it's not enough, and Finn's men abduct Jenn, all while Sey is getting pushback at work for still pursuing the prince.
Finally, it clicks for both assassin and detective. The real key to the mystery is Sey's own partner, Jax (Gregory Montel), who was in on the drug robbery the whole time and set out to frame Sey so he could get him out of the picture. With a bargaining chip in hand, Zee and Sey steal the drugs, and Zee goes to bargain for Jenn's life with Finn. Finn, having assassinated his own boss, reveals that his true plan is to use the heroin and the money he'll make from it to take over the Paris underworld, and he wants Zee by his side as muscle. Zee refuses, and offers a simple trade: Jenn for the heroin.
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The trade is supposed to go down at the duo's usual meeting place, a deconsecrated old church in the city, but chaos ensues when Zee finds herself surrounded by Finn's men. With Sey's help, she tries to fight her way out and save Jenn. Just as Finn thinks he has the upper hand, Sey detonates a charge hidden in the van carrying the drugs, destroying them. Finally, beaten down and wounded, Zee and Sey are able to kill Finn, save Jenn, and get away.
Does The Killer set up a sequel?
In the film's final minutes, we learn what happens to each of the key characters. Sey turns down a promotion and an award from his superiors, and threatens that unless he's allowed to keep pursuing the prince as a major player in the drug trade, he'll go to the media with what he knows. At the American embassy, Jenn reunites with her mother, ending her Parisian ordeal, while Zee watches from a distance.
In a final phone conversation, Zee reveals to Sey that she's considering a new line of work, though she doesn't know yet what she'll do or where she'll go. Sey seems certain they'll see each other again, but Zee offers no clear path for her future. As the film ends, we see her red scarf, which she used to strangle someone earlier in the film, float away in the wind.
So, while there's no clear direction for a sequel to go, The Killer does leave us with all of its major players alive and well. Who knows? Maybe we'll see Zee in another fight someday.
The Killer is now streaming on Peacock.
