John Wick asking for laundry

There are several codes in John Wick's assassin society. One of these is asking for dinner reservations, a codename for body-disposal services.

As John comes to the Hotel after the Red Circle club scene, he has this conversation with the concierge:

How good's your laundry?

I'm sorry to say no one is that good.

No. I thought not.

Is John actually asking for laundry for his blood-stained clothes? Or is this some code for some service? It seems silly that his concern at the moment is whether his shirt is decent or not.

analysis john-wick

Best Answer

Yes, he's literally asking about laundry.

Here's a more complete segment of the script, for reference:

The lobby is empty -save the Manager- who glances up from his computer... to find a wounded -and quite bloody- John walking towards him.

MANAGER: (without blinking) Good evenin’, sir.

JOHN: Evenin’. Is the doctor in?

MANAGER: Yes, sir. Twenty-four/seven.

JOHN: Send him up, please.

MANAGER: Yes, sir. Anything else, sir?

JOHN: Depends. How good’s your laundry?

MANAGER: The best, sir, however, I’m sorry to say that... no one’s that good.

John chuckles, sliding a gold coin across to the Manager.

JOHN: No, I thought not.

So, in this scene John is injured and asking for the hotel's live-in doctor (a literal request, not a code - to patch up his wounds.) This is a service that I expect many professional assassins in this world would need, so it makes sense that the Continental would offer one.

The manager asks if he needs anything else. He doesn't really, but since the manager asked, he inquires about the laundry to deal with his bloody clothing. He's not too surprised at the answer, of course. He was asking partly - if not entirely - in jest.