John Wick’s prequel show The Continental features a clever tease about the future of Keanu Reeves’ assassin, reiterating why he’s so feared.

The Continental episode 2 includes a reference to Keanu Reeves’ John Wick that helps underscore why he becomes the world’s most feared assassin. While the original John Wick movie picks up as the titular hitman returns to the criminal underworld after his retirement, the franchise emphasizes that the legendary “Baba Yaga,” aka The Boogeyman, is unmatched against other assassins. Despite the fact that he’s finally killed in John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending, John Wick’s first spinoff proves that his legend and formidable reputation transcend time.

Peacock’s three-part TV show The Continental takes place approximately 40 years before John Wick’s timeline, exploring the origins of Winston Scott’s rise to power as The Continental Hotel’s manager in the late 1970s. While Keanu Reeves’ John Wick isn’t featured in the series, The Continental nevertheless includes numerous Easter eggs and references to the assassin. Perhaps the most on-the-nose foreshadowing of John Wick’s future occurs in The Continental episode 2’s ending, as an ominous reference underscores why Keanu Reeves’ character is so feared by those in the criminal underworld.

The Continental Episode 2 Prophesies The Boogeyman Years Before John Wick Arrives

Toward the end of The Continental episode 2, Lou meets with the Orphan Master, who has taken control of their neighborhood in Chinatown. During the meeting, Lou is given chicken feet and mentions that her grandmother used to hang them at her door to “scare away the Boogeyman.” After Lou leaves, the Orphan Master orders someone to nail chicken feet to the door, noting that “The Boogie Man will be coming.” Of course, the Boogeyman would come to refer to John Wick within the show’s universe, making the line an ominous warning several years in advance. The Orphan Master may not have meant John when speaking the warning, but Keanu Reeves’ Baba Yaga will certainly be coming.

While Reeves’ character is still many years away from becoming a globally feared assassin in the franchise’s timeline, The Continental’s John Wick reference proves just how formidable of a nickname “The Boogeyman” truly is within this universe. Fearless assassins and crime lords are hanging chicken feet in superstitious rituals in order to ward off such a figure, indicating that earning this nickname in John Wick’s world is no small feat. John became the Baba Yaga because of how truly terrifying of a threat he was to those in his world, explaining that no other assassin could surpass the level of fear the utterance of his name would bring.

John Wick’s Spinoff Show Teases Another Iconic Character’s Nickname

In addition to a nod to John Wick’s Baba Yaga nickname, The Continental episode 2 sets up the future monicker of the franchise’s Bowery King. The Continental episode 2 reveals that before Laurence Fishburne’s character in John Wick‘s timeline, the Bowery’s underworld organization was led by a woman named Mazie. When describing Mazie, The Continental character Lemmy explains that she’s known as the “Queenpin of the criminals,” which is seemingly a nod to Mazie sitting on the Bowery’s throne as its “queen” during the prequel series. Of course, Mazie being the Bowery Queen in The Continental sets up the origins of the Bowery King’s title in John Wick‘s movies.