Now that the whole story has been released, can we talk about the trilogy's targets and how they figure into the plot?

I just got the last non-bugged challenge in Hitman 3 (damn Estate Wines) and so I’ve been thinking about the plot of the trilogy. I thought it’d be fun to talk about how each target figures into the wider plot now it’s all been revealed. I know how some targets fit in, but not sure about others. So, starting with Hitman 1:

Paris

Viktor Novikov – Hires Lucas Grey to wipe all the information the FSB has on him, in exchange for all the information IAGO has collected, which includes information on Providence.

Dalia Margolis – Runs IAGO.

Not sure why Grey wanted them dead, my speculation is either he was worried Viktor would blab to Dalia or he found out about the sale of the NOC list while working with Viktor and wanted to prevent the bloodshed that would follow.

Sapienza

Silvio Caruso – Working on a virus that can kill individual targets by programming in their DNA for Ether Biotech, a Providence company

Francesca De Santis – Works for Ether Biotech.

Grey contracts ICA to take them out to disrupt one of Providence’s evil schemes. Unclear what scheme is, but the ability to kill anyone you can get DNA from would be very useful for a sinister cabal to have.

Marrakesh

General Reza Zaydan – Hired by Providence to start a coup in Morocco in conspiracy with Claus Hugo Strandberg , involving him robbing the country blind and getting everyone mad enough to cause a riot that will allow Zaydan to declare martial law.

Why did Providence want there to be a coup in Morocco? Who knows, but Grey puts a stop to it, maybe just to get their attention?

Bangkok

Jordan Cross

Son of Thomas Cross, a Providence Operative.

Ken “the Brick” Morgan

Partner in Morgan, Yates and Kohn with Providence Herald Don Yates and a key Providence lawyer.

Grey contracts ICA to kill Jordan Cross to lure Thomas Cross out of hiding so he could kidnap him for the key to the vault that contains the names of all the other Providence operatives, and kill Ken Morgan as a bonus.

Colorado

Sean Rose, Penelope Graves, Ezra Berg, Maya Parvati – Members of Lucas Grey’s Militia, presumably working with him against Providence.

Killed by 47 in a tragic case of crossed wires. Oops.

Hokkaido

Erich Soders – High ranking ICA executive, agrees to defect to Providence, betraying the ICA and providing Providence with a list of all active ICA operatives, in exchange for a sitrus inversus heart transplant he desperately needs to stay alive.

Yuki Yamazaki – Providence operative sent to facilitate Soders’ defection.

47 kills them before he can officially defect.

Hitman 2

Hawkes Bay

Alma Raynard – Ex girlfriend of the ex Sean Rose, and another member of Grey’s militia.

Killed by 47 to help track down Grey. Oops again.

Miami

Robert Knox – CEO of Kronstradt Industries, a former Providence company. Defects to help Lucas Grey.

Sierra Knox – CFO and Robert’s heir apparent.

47 is tricked by Providence into killing them.

Santa Fortuna

Rico Delgado, Andrea Martinez, Jorge Franco – Run a drug smuggling cartel that is working with Grey in his war against Providence.

47 kills them as he continues to look for Grey. Honestly, Grey, a simple phone call to let us know we’re on the same team would have avoided a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

Mumbai

Wazir Kale / the Maelstrom – A high ranking member of Grey’s militia.

Dawood Rangan – Bollywood sleazeball, enemy of the Maelstrom.

Vanya Shah – Slum queen, enemy of the Maelstrom.

The Maelstrom is targeted as part of 47’s attempt to track down Grey. No idea why Rangan and Shah had to die.

Whittleton Creek

Janus - Former Providence Constant, Ark Society leader, now retired and in hiding in Vermont

Nolan Cassidy – Janus’ bodyguard.

47 finally realises he’s on the same team as Grey, and together they target the former Providence constant, in order to draw the new constant out of hiding.

Isle of Sgail

Zoe and Sophia Washington – New leaders of the Ark Society, a group of billionaires with many Providence members obsessed with preparing for the downfall of civilization.

47 and Grey visit the Isle of Sgail to kidnap the Constant, and to kill the Ark Society leaders for good measure.

New York

Athena Savalas – CEO of the New York branch of the Milton-Fitzpatrick bank, a Providence company that has a vault which contains information on the Providence partners.

47 infiltrates the bank to steal the list and take Savalas out in the process.

Haven Island

Tyson Williams, Ljudmila Vetrova, Steven Bradley – Run a luxury resort for billionaires with a side business “managing” the reputations of shady characters. The Providence Partners engage their services to erase their identities and help them disappear.

47 assassinates them all before that can happen.

Hitman 3

Dubai

Carl Ingram, Marcus Stuyvesant – Two of the three remaining Providence partners, fake their deaths as part of their aforementioned attempt to disappear.

Grey and 47 track them to Dubai and finish them.

Dartmoor

Alexa Carlyle – Final and highest ranking Providence partner, has also faked her death, is in Dartmoor to arrange her “funeral”.

47 makes that funeral a reality.

Berlin

A whole bunch of ICA operatives – Sent to hunt down and kill 47.

I assume they were sent by Diana as part of her plan to make the Constant think she’d betrayed 47 so she could become the next Constant and take Providence down from the inside.

Chongqing

Hush – ICA cybersecurity specialist.

Imogen Royce – ICA archivist.

Killed by 47 so Olivia can hack the ICA mainframe and leak information on its existence (with 47 and Diana’s involvement redacted) to the world. I guess to keep up the facade to the constant that 47 and Diana are now enemies?

Mendoza

Archibald Yates – Diana’s main rival as the next Constant, former member of Morgan, Yates and Kohn and Providence operative.

Tamara Vidal – Providence Herald, aide to the Constant.

47 kills Yates so Diana gets the job, and Vidal so she gets off Diana’s back[?]

Carpathian Mountains

Arthur Edwards / the Constant – The man, the myth, the legend, now in charge of Providence.

47 either kills him or makes him forget his identity. Cue ending cutscene and credits.

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The reason we killed the Washington twins is actually because of Edwards’ poison. In case of Edwards getting compromised, either of the twins could trigger the killswitch, killing Edwards and therefore avoiding any information we would get out of The Constant.

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He didn’t want any loose ends. During the cutscene, he sends a text message that says this to someone (likely Olivia) to have the ICA come in and ensure that things are tidied up. Victor was Grey’s target, Dalia was targeted as per MI-6’s instructions based on the anonymous tip from Grey. He had no reason to have her killed.

He didn’t care about the virus. It was to get a Herald out in the open to follow so he could obtain a second key (as he already had Cobb’s).

Thomas Cross wasn’t kidnapped and killed for a key (as the vault had already been broken into at this point). They wanted him for his money to fund the militia. Jordan was killed to get Thomas out in the open, Ken Morgan was killed as per a request from the Highmoore’s. That part of the contract didn’t come into Grey’s plans (like Dalia).

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Ah, good points, that makes more sense. I must’ve got the order of the cutscenes confused - it’s been a while since I watched the H1 ones.

Oh yes, they do say that don’t they? Good point.

I understand it like this: Shah, Rangan and the Maelstrom worked together for Grey. That they want each other dead was something that came out while doing the mission, and you’re able to use this for yourself (like letting the Kaschmirian do the work). In the end, all of them had to die because they all were part of Greys militia.

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This part is never really made very clear in the story. But I think it’s that Diana and 47 joined Grey’s fight back in H2, this is something the ICA finds out about in H3 and they (rightfully?) have to strike back against Diana/47 for breaking the rules.

Grey says it in the cutscene after Dubai. ‘If the ICA finds out what you did’.

As they get into the seedy underbelly of the ICA, deep in the laboratories, you see that they’re not the neutral clean organization they’re made out to be, but more akin to 47’s own creators, Ort Meyer/Providence. Someone wanting to control others, so it makes sense on a symbolic level that 47 has to cut ties with them.

47 also mentions in Berlin, that “the ICA has been compromised”. I’m not sure if he is referring to Soders and Providence here, but that is perhaps his argument for being in the right when violating their protocol.

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The reasons for the killings of the ICA Agents are easy: the ICA are compromised by the fact that they’ve become a Providence-company.
That is why 47 says the ICA is compromised.
He goes after the Agents to let the agency know that he will not be a part of the Providence ICA.

The only question with Berlin is really: Who is really chasing who? Why did 47 travel to Berlin nightclub in the first place, if not to kill a target? There is no target other than the ICA Agents? Are the agents moonlighting as nightclub security on the weekends?

What intel did lead ICA to the nightclub, if there is no mission for 47 in the first place?

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In the “You owe him nothing” Cinematic we learn that 47 tells Olivia to go to Berlin, but nothing of why(?)
In Berlin we encounter 11 possible targets of ICA Agents positioned in a Nightclub. 47 is there to track down Olivia, BUT - are you telling me that Olivia, a brilliant hacktivist could not scramble her own location, thus leading to ICA finding her, and camp out around the nightclub awaiting 47?

Guys, I actually think we’ve found a plothole.

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ICA are some of the best, even better than Hale as shown in Chonqing briefing. The reason they went there is because the club owner was in touch with Grey and it is heavily implied that the club was the rendezvous point after Dartmoor.

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Aaahh, that holds up.

Where do you have this from? They’re not a Providence-company. They did decide to take on Providence contracts along with Diana and 47, but when Grey is saying ‘If the ICA finds out what you did’, I think it implies that they will be coming after them for breaking protocol back in H2 and onwards by joining Grey and essentially taking contracts for personal gain.

Berlin was already used as a hideout by Grey and Oliva in H2. I assume 47 and Oliva were going to meet at the same hideout in H3, which is probably in some building adjacent to the nightclub - and the nightclub owner owns that place as well, so he has been renting the place out to Grey. But when Olivia get’s there to meet up with 47, the ICA agents are there and we know what happens.

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I can’t say I have any definite proof, no. But that was how I interpreted the meeting between Diana & Edwards in the You Owe Him Nothing-cinematic. It holds up too, because of 47’s line that the ICA is compromised.

I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Diana is not really ICA at this point in the story either, or she has definitely been playing both sides. I think that cinematic was just between Edwards and Diana. Edwards wants her, not the ICA. Also, 47 firmly trusts Diana throughout H3 (except for in the hallucination) - so he wouldn’t think that the ICA was compromised because of Diana. He rightfully believes that they’re on the same team and that she is playing Edwards.

i feel there was a bit of an under-utilised potential theme in the game, namely 47’s obsolescence.

there are a few missions where technology is present that would make the classic hitman redundant - sapienza and miami, specifically - that isn’t ever fully explored.

given it’s used as a bit of a wham line during untouchable, when diana dance-cucks 47, it didn’t quite have the impact it could’ve if a few more levels had introduced such tech. chongqing, in particular, seemed like a missed opportunity in that regard.

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I think I remember finding some intel in Chongqing about the future of the ICA being kids in basements flying mosquito-sized drones that can lethally poison targets, or something.

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When replaying Colorado, if you start as a Hacker and run into the intel room, you can hear Penelope Graves talking about the previous targets (“Why did the boss kill Novikov”). That’s pretty relevant to this topic.

As for the hacking, at the start of the Colorado mission, Diana says that Olivia is good, but “the ICA is better”. I also thought it was weird that the assassins are waiting for 47 in some random nightclub, but I suppose it’s one of Olivia/Grey’s safehouses. The club owner talks about it if you listen to his conversation.

It’s still a bit weird that the agents and 47 all stay put in the club, despite Olivia not being there anymore. 47 decides to “send a message” first instead of helping the wounded Olivia. Although, I dunno, maybe the mission in the plot happens in the span of ten minutes or something.

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Didn’t Olivia not tell 47 that she was hurt before he “sent a message”?

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Exactly, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t tell him on the phone. But you’d think protecting his contact would be his priority… eh, can’t expect 47 to show too much empathy. :neutral_face:

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ooo that would fit.

are there any other examples from the series?