War Episode 3, “Chip off the Block,” brings Gabriel directly into Carla and Morgan’s divorce as both legal teams prepare for the arbitration over their prenup. Serena believes Morgan’s relationship with his son could help Carla’s case, but Cathcart is already setting his own trap.
Why Does Serena Want to Use Gabriel?
Carla visits Gabriel at school and takes him out for lunch to tell him about the divorce. When he asks whether Morgan cheated on her, she doesn’t deny it, but assures him she intends to keep things civil.
Her lawyers face a much bigger problem. Serena needs to find a way to have Carla and Morgan’s prenup invalidated, and Johnny joins Serena and Nora at Carla’s house to discuss their options.
Johnny suggests arguing that Carla received bad legal advice when she signed the agreement and bringing a malpractice case against the lawyers responsible. The problem is that Nicholas handled the original agreement, making that route particularly complicated.
Carla’s declining earnings offer another possibility, but Serena’s team soon discovers that her explanation for what happened to her career doesn’t hold up particularly well. When they contact directors Carla previously worked with, they learn that she wasn’t receiving the offers she claimed she had turned down for her family. Some simply didn’t want to work with her.
One director even questions the idea that Carla stepped back to spend more time with Gabriel.
That gives Serena another way into the case. Gabriel has a close relationship with his father, and Serena wants to use Morgan’s role as the more involved parent to argue that Carla sacrificed part of her career for the family.
Carla doesn’t immediately like the idea of bringing her son into the divorce, but Serena eventually gets her on board.
The question hits close to home for Serena, too. With her own baby coming, she’s wondering whether to hire a nanny or temporarily step away from work. Nicholas assures her he will support whatever she chooses.
How Does Morgan Find Out About Serena’s Plan?
Cathcart prepares for the same arbitration, and Beatrice and Smallwood agree that Morgan cannot learn about the honey trap. Schill has his own secrets, so they see no reason to reveal that one. Instead, they focus on controlling the selection of the arbitrator.
Cathcart sends Serena’s firm a list of candidates. Serena’s team finds a woman who has previously spoken critically about prenups and assumes the opposing side has made a serious mistake by including her. They choose her; this is exactly what Cathcart wanted.
Meanwhile, Johnny is being pulled closer to both sides of the case. After overhearing him talk to Bella about attending one of her boss’s black-tie parties, Carla offers to send him to Morgan’s tailor to get a suit. At the tailor, Johnny runs into Schill.
He tells him Serena plans to use Gabriel and Morgan’s relationship as part of the argument against the prenup.
Morgan is already dealing with Gabriel directly. His son arrives unexpectedly while Smallwood is with him and demands to know why his parents are divorcing. Gabriel initially blames Carla, prompting Morgan to admit that he cheated on her. He insists, however, that the affair isn’t the reason the marriage is ending. Gabriel leaves angry and ignores Morgan’s request to meet him later.
What Happens to Gabriel?
Carla becomes increasingly worried when Gabriel stops answering her calls.
He has met up with a friend, and an argument about his parents’ divorce turns physical after Gabriel gets high. His friend’s comments about monogamy already bother him, but insulting Carla pushes him over the edge.
Carla tries to reach Morgan but gets no response. Smallwood has already told Morgan that Carla intends to use Gabriel against him and advises him to stop engaging with both of them. With Morgan unavailable, Carla calls Johnny.
Johnny is supposed to be attending Bella’s event, but he leaves to help Carla find Gabriel. His own parents divorced, and after they track Gabriel down, Johnny tries to keep him from letting his parents’ problems take over his own life. His help leaves another strong impression on Carla.
It causes problems with Bella, though. Johnny returns home and apologizes for abandoning her. They reconcile and sleep together.
Morgan has his own problems at the hotel. Gillian and Steven suggest temporarily moving his shares to Gillian so Carla’s lawyers cannot reach them.
Morgan tests how far Steven will go for money. He offers him an expensive watch if he strips. Steven starts to undress before Morgan stops him. The offer was a test, and Morgan has already got the answer he wanted.
Then Smallwood arrives with the news about Serena’s strategy involving Gabriel.
War Episode 3 Ending: Who Wins the Prenup Arbitration?
When Cathcart’s team arrives for the arbitration, Serena and Nicholas discover that their supposedly ideal arbitrator actually favors enforcing prenups. They have been played.
Serena still moves forward with the strategy involving Gabriel. Her presentation paints Carla as the less present parent and Morgan as the one who regularly takes responsibility for their son. The goal is to connect Carla’s career sacrifices to the family and weaken the agreement she signed.
Then Beatrice produces something Serena’s team did not expect: the voicemail Carla left Morgan while Gabriel was missing.
In it, Carla angrily accused Morgan of never caring about their son or stepping up as a father because he ignored her calls. The contradiction immediately hurts her argument.
Carla and Morgan begin fighting over Gabriel and their responsibilities as parents, unaware that he can hear them. Gabriel finally bangs on the glass wall, interrupting them.
Morgan accuses Carla of using their son against him. He then turns to Gabriel and orders him back to school, telling him to focus on his work and warning that he will call the school every day to make sure he does.
The arbitrator reacts positively to Morgan’s handling of Gabriel. It also fits the picture Serena has presented of Morgan as the parent who takes more responsibility for their son.
The result comes after Morgan returns to his hotel. He calls Gillian and tells her that the prenup has been invalidated.
Carla and Serena have therefore achieved what they wanted from the arbitration, despite Cathcart’s attempt to steer them toward an arbitrator who favors prenups. Morgan wastes no time responding. He tells Gillian to start moving the money.
