The Elder, John Wick's main antagonist, and the High Table, both play crucial roles in the rich mythology of the franchise. For hired guns like John Wick, the High Table provides oversight to the world's most powerful criminal organizations. There are twelve seats on the council and each spot goes to a different member of a specific group. The Russian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, and Triads are all confirmed to have a seat at the table. The High Table determines Continental leadership, the Bowery King, the Director, and many others. The Elder in John Wick is the one who controls the High Table and all these other organizations.
More about John Wick's world is bound to be revealed in the plot of John Wick: Chapter 4, which sees John and his friends go up against the High Table. John Wick's High Table was responsible for ordering the $7 million hit on John Wick after he killed Santino D'Antonio. It was also the High Table that restricted John's use of Continental services, and sent the Adjudicator to enforce its will on The Director, the Continental, and the Bowery King in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. All these decisions can be traced back to the Elder, John Wick's only real boss, and the new overarching antagonist in the franchise.
Parabellum Used The Elder To Build The Lore Of John Wick
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum added another new element to the franchise's mythology with the introduction of The Elder. He is the mysterious and powerful leader of the High Table who lives secluded in the desert. It is not specifically stated why The Elder resides in the middle of the desert, but it is likely a way to keep him safe. John Wick nearly died from dehydration on his search to find The Elder, but his men found Baba Yaga after he passed out.
The Elder is the only one who can offer John his life back by removing the excommunicado status and the bounty on his head in exchange for him killing Winston. To prove his renewed loyalty to the Elder and the High Table, John Wick is forced to cut off his ring finger. This act brought John back within the good graces of the Elder, and the High Table and signaled that John will return to serving them once his new mission was complete.
However, John couldn't go through with killing Winston. This backfired on John as Winston shot him several times, sending him falling off the roof of the Continental at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum with the Adjudicator watching, which gets Winston back into the High Table's good graces. This is presumably why Winston shot John Wick - though it's possible Winston deliberately shot John's armor and pushed him off the roof to save him from the Adjudicator. In any case, with John betraying the Elder and the High Table once more, both powerful entities should factor greatly into the John Wick franchise's future.
How The High Table & Elder Factor Into John Wick 4
The final trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 already spoils a crucial encounter by showing the Elder, John Wick, and no one else in the middle of the desert, in what looks like a classic Moroccan standoff. The Elder tells John, "The only way John Wick will ever have freedom and peace is in death." John replies, "Yeah, not really," before raising his gun. John also meets a new nemesis in the Marquis - another servant of the High Table - whom John must face in single combat to earn his freedom. Apart from the true power of the High Table in John Wick, Chapter 4 is bound to reveal more about the Elder and his closest servants.
