War Season 1 Episode 1, “It’s Done,” wastes little time turning Morgan and Carla Henderson’s marriage into a legal battlefield. Carla secretly arranges proof of her husband’s infidelity and prepares to divorce him, but Morgan’s lawyers are already working on a plan of their own, including placing someone inside Carla’s legal team.
Carla Sets a Trap for Morgan
Morgan Henderson is celebrating the success of Zephyr, his company that has reshaped the social media landscape, when his marriage begins falling apart without him knowing it.
After receiving an award and giving his acceptance speech, Morgan leaves the event early. On the way back to his hotel room, he encounters Flora, a woman who had already caught his attention at the event. They sleep together.
What Morgan does not know is that the encounter has been arranged by his wife, Carla. Flora photographs herself with Morgan while he is naked and asleep, then sends the evidence to Carla.
Carla, an international film star, has suspected her husband of cheating for some time. Morgan has always denied it, but ow she has proof.
She takes the situation to Taylor & Byrne while promoting her latest film. Nicholas initially has reservations about accepting the divorce case, particularly after learning how Carla obtained the photographs. Serena Byrne sees the opportunity differently and wants the firm to take it.
Morgan is now a billionaire, and Carla wants to go after his fortune.
Can Carla Get Out of Her Prenup?
The photograph creates an immediate problem for Carla’s lawyers because of the way it was obtained.
After consulting Budgie, Nicholas and Serena are advised to delete the original image and have Carla send it to them again. That creates a paper trail showing that the lawyers did not approve the honey trap beforehand. Carla is also told not to contact or pay Flora again.
Their larger challenge is Morgan and Carla’s prenuptial agreement.
Carla had more money than Morgan when they signed it. Since then, Zephyr has become enormously successful and Morgan has become a billionaire. Nicholas and Serena intend to find a way to break the prenup and use the photograph to support Carla’s case, including showing that Morgan repeatedly denied cheating when she suspected him.
They also want to move quickly. The goal is to have everything prepared before Morgan and his lawyers at Cathcarts realize what Carla is planning.
Morgan soon gets suspicious anyway. He sees a newspaper photograph of Carla with the Taylor & Byrne lawyers and contacts John Smallwood at Cathcarts. Smallwood believes Carla will have difficulty getting money from Morgan unless there has been infidelity.
Morgan insists that he has been faithful recently. That particular version of events does not last long.
Johnny Needs a Job, but Cathcarts Has Other Plans for Him
While the Hendersons quietly prepare for war, Johnny is struggling to rebuild his legal career after returning from America, where he worked for Wyatt-Wren.
He interviews with David Shill at Cathcarts but fails to get the position. With money tight, Johnny is working as a waiter while dating Bella Croft, whose wealthy social circle only adds to his worries about where he fits.
Things get particularly uncomfortable when Bella introduces him to her friends. Angus mocks Johnny, while Ella covers for him by claiming that major London law firms are interested in hiring him.
Johnny continues going through unsuccessful interviews, and his frustration eventually follows him into the restaurant.
Angus appears while Johnny is working and starts humiliating him in front of the other customers. Johnny finally snaps and punches him, breaking his nose and losing his job.
Bella is angry when she learns what happened and warns Johnny about repeating whatever went wrong for him in America.
Johnny reassures her with some good news: he has received a job offer.
Why Does Taylor & Byrne Hire Johnny?
The offer comes from Nicholas and Serena. Johnny tells them that Cathcarts has also offered him a position. That pushes Taylor & Byrne to make a counteroffer, and Johnny accepts.
On the surface, his luck has finally changed, in reality it has not. Johnny is secretly working with Shill.
Cathcarts deliberately gets him into Taylor & Byrne so he can act as a mole inside the firm handling Carla’s divorce. Once Johnny confirms that he has been hired, Morgan learns what his lawyers have done.
He is not particularly happy about using a mole, but he agrees to continue with the plan.
Both legal teams are now preparing for the same fight, and neither side intends to play especially nicely.
Who Files for Divorce First in War Episode 1?
Carla and her lawyers want to make the first move. Nicholas and Serena plan to serve Morgan with the divorce papers on the night of Carla’s movie premiere, after the event is over. Carla approves the plan.
There is one problem: Morgan finally tells his lawyers the truth: he admits that he slept with Flora.
With the possibility of Carla using the affair against him, Morgan’s legal team decides they need to get ahead of her. Instead of waiting for Carla to file, they prepare Morgan’s own divorce papers.
That leaves both spouses heading to the premiere while secretly planning to end the same marriage.
Morgan and Carla arrive together and keep up appearances in front of the cameras. Carla still believes her side controls the timing.
Then Cathcarts makes its move. Morgan’s lawyers serve Carla with divorce papers on the red carpet, forcing her to receive them while standing beside her husband in front of the press.
Carla keeps smiling for the cameras.
The first move in their divorce war belongs to Morgan.
