Starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, War follows London’s adrenaline-fueled legal world as the city’s top two firms go head-to-head in the divorce case of the century. West and Miller portray the ultimate powerful couple who have everything on paper, but behind closed doors, their world is crumbling.
However, as a successful Hollywood actress and a billionaire, neither of them is ready to waste their time wiping the tears away. In this cut-throat world, it’s either fight or die, and the law can be used to drag anyone through the mud without dirtying one’s hands.
This is exactly what this juicy legal drama offers — scandals and dirt. London’s top two rival law firms, Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne, are about to go to war, and they will use any trick in the book to ensure their party wins. However, as the matter unfolds, emotions wreak havoc, betrayals break hearts, and love is put to the test.
A war is brewing in London
It all begins with a lavish award party in London held in honor of billionaire philanthropist and businessman Morgan Henderson. He has won the Pioneer of the Year Award, and there’s nothing that can bring him down. With a Hollywood actress as a wife and the world at his feet, Morgan is at the top of the world until he spots a ravishing young lady eyeing him from the corner.
After wrapping up his big speech, Morgan refuses his friend’s request to drive and instead walks to his place. As he takes the elevator up to the fourth floor, the young lady appears again to join Morgan in the lift. The chemistry and the tension between the two are undeniable, but Morgan doesn’t make a move even when the woman openly invites him to join her.
Morgan firmly refuses her offer, saying he ‘doesn’t do this,’ and bids her goodnight. However, when he disappears behind his room’s door, he doesn’t close it all the way. The woman smiles, and the next thing anyone knows, the two share a night of passion together. From a distance, it would seem a winning night for Morgan; however, he has no idea what kind of storm is coming for him.
The next morning, the mysterious woman wakes up and takes a photograph of herself in bed with Morgan. She then calls Carla, Morgan’s wife, and tells her the deed is done and that she has sent her the photograph. It was all a setup by Morgan’s wife, who is currently busy doing press tours for her upcoming movie, but in reality, she’s preparing to serve her husband a lifetime of pain and embarrassment.
The scene intercuts to a young man named Johnny, who is interviewing for jobs at different law firms in London. He returned from America after three years working at a reputable law firm, but the experience doesn’t seem to cut it in London’s highly competitive law scene. Johnny goes from firm to firm and recruiter to recruiter, trying to lure them in with his charm and skills, but every attempt results in failure.
We learn that Johnny is struggling to land a job as a lawyer and is currently employed as a waiter at a high-end bar. He’s dating Bella, whom he met in America, but he struggles to move in her social circle out of embarrassment for being jobless. One night, Bella and Johnny visit the former’s friends, where he meets Angus, Bella’s long-time friend. The two seem close, but it all turns awkward the moment Angus asks John about his job.
After dinner, John and Bella argue about her closeness with Angus and the fact that she keeps answering for John, which clearly indicates she’s uncomfortable disclosing her boyfriend’s unemployment. Fortunately, John and Bella work out their small argument, proving their relationship isn’t just for show.
On the other side of things, Carla is busy promoting her new movie when her lawyers, Serena and Nicholas, arrive. As they wait for Carla, the two argue whether to keep her as a client after learning she honey-trapped her own husband. Nicholas thinks they should walk away, but Serena argues that Carla offers them a high-profile case, and they shouldn’t miss the opportunity.
When Carla arrives, Serena tries to handle the situation by advising her against the idea she mentioned to them the other day. Serena thinks it would be unwise to use the woman Carla mentioned, Flora, to trap Morgan, but it’s too late. Carla shows them Flora and Morgan’s picture as proof of his infidelity, which will, by default, allow her to start the paperwork.
Carla admits that marrying Morgan was a mistake, and she has known for a while that her husband was unfaithful. The picture doesn’t change anything, nor does it affect her decision to divorce; it is simply evidence and a way to be financially secure. However, she makes it clear that if Serena and Nicholas are to take this case, they must take the photo into account and sue Morgan for every penny he’s got.
The ‘parties’ play dirty
At their law firm, Serena and Nicholas take advice from their senior lawyer, Budgie, who tells them to delete any trace of the photo and tell Carla to send it again so they can create a paper trail. They must put it on record that the firm strongly advised against using such tactics. They must ensure that Carla admits on record that she used Flora of her own accord and out of emotional distress and kept it from her lawyers until the very last minute.
The firm decides to break Carla and Morgan’s prenuptial agreement since the former was worth much more when they got married. A case of cheating would significantly change things for Carla since Morgan wouldn’t want his name smeared, especially since someone is interested in buying his company, Zephyr.
On the other side of town, Johnny is still hustling for jobs. He’s working at the bar, where he has to put up with harassment even just so he can make a living. He goes through a series of interviews again but is rejected from each one. Tired, Johnny goes to Bella’s mother’s house, where he feels inferior yet again over his lack of employment.
At one of Morgan’s fittings for Carla’s movie premiere, St. John, one of Morgan’s lawyers, arrives to find out what his client wants. Morgan shows him Carla’s picture in the paper; she was photographed with one of her prenup lawyers, Nicholas, which can only mean trouble for him. St. John thinks Carla could be meeting with her lawyers for a number of things, but suspects Morgan must have done something if he’s that worried.
At Taylor & Byrne, a team of lawyers gets ready to tear Carla and Morgan’s prenuptial agreement apart. Serena suggests hiring more help, but Nichols thinks if they lose, their business will take a dent. However, Serena thinks they’ll make bank with Carla and also that they’ll win, and the only thing she’s worried about is that they do it all before the baby arrives.
At the bar, John is just wrapping up his shift when he comes across Angus and his peers drinking at one of the tables. He tries to avoid him but ends up serving them drinks. Just as expected of him, Angus insults John in front of everyone, and in a fit of rage, John punches Angus in the face. Although justified, John ends up losing his job despite being friends with the owner. Fortunately, at that moment, John gets a text that makes him smile.
When he gets home, Bella is furious because Angus had a big presentation and now his face is a mess. John explains how he insulted him, but Bella is more worried about her boyfriend losing his only job. She warns him not to ruin their lives in London, just as he did in America, which forced them to come back. Just as things heat up, John reveals he landed an interview with a firm, and Bella is over the moon.
The next day, John visits Taylor & Byrne for the job interview. At first, they aren’t impressed with his resume, but when John mentions he has another offer from Cathcarts, Serena immediately makes him an offer. Although John is surprised to hear his former employer gave him a glowing recommendation, he goes with the flow and accepts the job he was so desperately waiting for.
In the ‘war’ rooms, both Carla and Morgan meet up with their respective team of lawyers to think of a plan in case either one of the parties decides to slap the other with a divorce notice. Morgan’s lawyer, Beatrice, straight out asks Morgan who the woman was. He is taken aback but eventually has to come clean about his passionate night with a young woman named Flora Monroe.
Beatrice is not happy that not only did Morgan cheat, but he also happened to do it with a young woman — a prospect terrible both for his divorce and image. On the other side, Carla explains to her lawyers how she didn’t hire Flora to honey trap Morgan; it just so happens that she did her a favor out of friendship. Flora is a struggling actress who worked with Carla, and the latter happened to reveal to Flora her doubts regarding Morgan.
Carla only wanted to know if Morgan was cheating on her again, and Flora just agreed to help. However, Carla had forgotten all about it until she heard a rumor that enraged her once more, and she decided to collect evidence this time. Serena hears her out and tells Carla that she should enjoy her premiere tonight because after her big moment, they’ll serve Morgan via email.
Carla argues she wants to do it in person, but Nicholas turns down her idea because she’ll only be ruining her night. On the other hand, the lawyer who took John’s interview for a new solicitor position at the start of the episode tells everyone in the Cathcarts’ war room that he hired a rookie after a dear friend of his gave that person (John) a decent recommendation.
However, he told his friend to give an even better recommendation to anyone who was still open to hiring John and as fate would have it, Taylor & Byrne had an opening. In other words, Cathcarts orchestrated John’s hiring at Taylor & Byrne so he could act as their mole. Both law firms reassure their respective clients that they are the wronged party here, and if they have to get their hands dirty, they wouldn’t shy away.
Later that evening, Carla and Morgan drive to her movie’s premiere in the same car. The two make small talk but never reveal what they are about to do. At the red carpet, Carla takes the spotlight, and Morgan is left standing, but not for long. When everyone’s busy taking Carla’s photographs and drooling over her aura, a woman from Cathcarts appears in the crowd.
She casually hands Carla a serving notice and walks away. Carla is low-key shocked that Morgan would serve her divorce papers at her own premiere, but she’s unable to create a scene and is forced to smile as cameras flash in her face, standing next to her trophy husband.
War is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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