I was rewatching JW2 and realised when Santino was at John’s house he had this big smile on his face when he bent down to pet John’s dog. When you see a man like Santino always so composed and cold it was amazing to see a tiny break in his exterior.
So I’ve analysed Santino’s introduction and the whole Marker scene several times and just how well done it was at both introducing Santino and adding depth (downright selfishness) to John’s character.
The first time we see Santino (a well dressed Italian man with guards and expensive cars who clearly has a history with John) and his theme starts swelling, we as the audience, know only one thing: this dude is going to be trouble. Right away.
But I love the fact that this moment was added almost right after:
Because it just shows the complexity of people in this world. That no one is a moustache-twirling villain and that everyone is human (selfish and cruel and cowardly) just trying to claw for more power and survival. The most important thing about this little moment is the fact that John doesn’t see this exchange. So we, as audience, know that this moment is for us. We get a glimpse into more and that’s great.
