Ballerina explores the background of the newest character in the John Wick universe, but one reveal could have been cut from the movie entirely. The ᴀssᴀssin world of John Wick continues to expand with its latest spinoff, diving deeper into the Ruska Roma, the criminal organization first introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The organization adopted and trained John Wick (Keanu Reeves), as well as the newest character, Eve, played by Ana de Armas. The women within Ruska Roma are trained as expert ᴀssᴀssins and world-class ballet dancers.

However, Eve doesn’t originally come from Ruska Roma. She was initially part of a dangerous cult where children are raised to become ᴀssᴀssins and anyone who leaves is hunted and killed. Eve’s father fled the cult to give her daughter a new life, leading to his death. She’s found by Ian McShane’s Winston, who brings her to her new family. However, she discovers later that she has a sister who is still part of the dangerous cult. While it’s meant to be a major reveal, it has little relevance to the rest of the movie.

Ballerina Doesn’t Do Anything With The Twist That Lena Is Eve’s Sister

Lena Is Killed & It Leaves No Resolution

The rules of the cult are not exactly well-detailed. All that is known is that they don’t operate under the same rules as other ᴀssᴀssin groups in the John Wick universe, and they all answer to the Chancellor. One of their higher-ranking members is Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno). While her official standing is unclear, she’s clearly one of the Chancellor’s most trusted underlings. However, she turns on him when it’s revealed that Eve is her sister. She confronts her and the two argue before the Chancellor orders his soldiers to kill them, throwing grenades in the room where they’re speaking.

Eve survives, but Lena dies before the two can have any closure. Furthermore, the twist itself has almost no bearing on the narrative. Besides their brief conversation, Lena being Eve’s sister serves no purpose for the protagonist and her quest for vengeance. She’s still focused on avenging her father, so this reveal could be completely removed, and nothing would change. Eve doesn’t remember having a sister, and it’s never addressed again. The only thing the reveal did was show how heartless the Chancellor is since he killed Lena with no remorse after she turned her back on him.

Lena Being Eve’s Sister Needed To Be A Bigger Part Of Ballerina Or Scrapped Altogether

Ballerina Should Have Expanded More On Eve’s Backstory

Based on Ballerina‘s ending, it’s meant to set up a new storyline within the John Wick universe centered around Eve. She’s an interesting character, but the film could have dived even further into her backstory and her life before she joined the Ruska Roma. The film only loosely mentions her mother, and the reveal of her sister could have explained more about where she came from. The only detail known about her childhood is that she fled from the cult with her father, and the cult killed her mother in retaliation.

Lena’s reveal not only creates unnecessary questions about Eve’s background but also creates some plot holes. For example, Eve has no memory of her sister, but she would have been old enough to remember some of her experiences with the cult. It doesn’t make sense that she completely forgot about her sister. If the film wanted to include Lena as Eve’s sister, she should have had a bigger role.

Her death could have had more meaning if Eve had more time with her. She could have been another relative taken from Eve by the cult, adding to her anger and giving the audience more reason to care about her revenge quest. Instead, it’s a meaningless twist that isn’t addressed again after Lena’s death. Thus, the spinoff should have given her a larger role or cut Lena out entirely. Ballerina is still an entertaining ride, but this remains a confusing character choice by the filmmakers.