War (2026) s01e03 Episode Script

1
("COME YE SONS OF ART"
BY HENRY PURCELL PLAYING) ♪
Come, ye Sons of Art
Come away ♪
Come, ye Sons of Art
Come away ♪
Tune all your voices
And instruments play ♪
To celebrate, to celebrate
This triumphant day ♪
Tune all your voices ♪
- Hi.
- GABRIEL DUVAL: Hi.
To celebrate, to celebrate
This triumphant day ♪
To celebrate, to celebrate
This triumphant day ♪
- (SONG CONCLUDES) ♪
- CARLA DUVAL: How are you?
- Life? School?
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Any girls you like?
- (CUTLERY CLINKING)
Or boys?
- I'm in a throuple
- Hmm.
GABRIEL: with two guys
from the rugby team.
- It's really serious.
- (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Be fine if you were.
You started shaving.
Like a year ago.
(CUTLERY CLINKING)
(SNIFFS) So why don't you
just tell me
what you brought me here
to tell me?
(CLICKS TONGUE, EXHALES)
It's okay. No one's listening.
Carla Duval!
- (SHUSHES)
- GABRIEL: Carla Duval is here!
No one cares.
Okay.
It's Morgan.
- Is he sick?
- CARLA: No.
Listen, I know
how close you are,
you and your stepfather.
- And that will never change.
- You're getting a divorce.
(EXHALES)
Nothing will change for you.
Morgan and I
We'll stay friends.
GABRIEL: He cheated.
- I'm not saying that.
- You're not denying it.
I will always love
and respect him.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(CHUCKLES) Wow.
It's as bad as that?
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(THEME MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
MICHAEL STEFANOU: So this is
what we're looking at.
Thirty million in year one,
becoming 340 million
by year five.
Now, a decade into the marriage,
we estimate Henderson's worth
at all his companies, assets,
bits and bobs
At around one billion pounds.
I mean, that would qualify
as a change of circumstance.
Yeah. You put these numbers
in front of an arbitrator,
they'll have to agree.
Prenup doesn't hold.
- But can you prove it?
- Yeah.
Give me the forensic accountant
for a couple more weeks,
- I'll definitely be able
- Weeks? We have days.
We need statements,
company records.
It's urgent. So let's
you and I do that together.
(LOW RIVETING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
What we need is a story.
Personal, emotional.
The feeling of these numbers.
Whoever the arbitrator
ends up being
needs to understand
that the prenup
isn't just worthless.
It's a miscarriage of justice.
- We need
- The Shawshank Redemption.
Or at least Erin Brockovich.
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- (TELEPHONE RINGING)
Why don't you just go and listen
with a glass
against the door, babe?
- SAEED MASOOD: Yeah, I thought Serena put him on the case?
- Hmm. She did.
And yet he's still out here
with the menials.
Your word, not mine.
Cleo, call Carla.
Tell her I'm inviting
some of the team over for lunch.
- CLEO HYLAND: Yeah, will do.
- Uh, Johnny, you're coming too.
- Bring a notebook.
- (MUSIC BUILDS) ♪
Unlucky.
(GROANS) See ya later, wankers.
(SMACKS LIPS) Hmm. Bye.
BEATRICE UBOSI: You don't
have to pretend your flight's delayed
if you want to stay
another night, Jefferson.
Of course, you can claim it.
Of course, you can claim it.
Then why ask me
if you know you can't?
What? What tone?
- I have to go. I love you too.
- (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
Ah! If all marriages
were as harmonious as yours
- BEATRICE: Don't.
- (DOOR CLOSES)
ST. JOHN SMALLWOOD:
We'd be having a lot less fun.
We'd be doing fine.
ST. JOHN: Not that
it's any of my business.
If your man gets caught,
it's us who gets fucked.
Eh, he won't.
He's become useful to them now.
All sense of perfidiousness
is on pause.
- I don't like it.
- I know.
Even though I agreed to it.
- Well, you did.
- It must never get back.
(SIGHS) Look, if David Schill
is giving pocket money
to some random kid
from a rival firm,
it has very little
to do with us.
BEATRICE: St. John
If indeed
that is what is happening.
I'm serious.
We go to arbitration.
We protect the prenup
and make a settlement
as fast as possible.
Then all this goes away.
No one ever
has to find out about the boy
or that Morgan
can't actually pull
25-year-old girls anymore.
- Least of all Morgan.
- BEATRICE: (LAUGHS) Exactly.
The innocent victim
of a sordid scam.
Poor man. Look.
We don't have any final say
on who the arbitrator is.
We served,
so we get to shortlist.
Five names,
but they get to pick.
So we send them five names.
ST. JOHN:
They research those names.
Yes.
ST. JOHN: Discover four
of those names look
- like they might side with us
- And they pick the fifth,
the lawyer
who will side with them.
Except that's the arbitrator
we really wanted all along.
That's why
I like working with you.
And why Jefferson's always
on his best behavior.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
SERENA BYRNE:
How'd it go with Gabriel?
Well, everything's my fault,
obviously,
because everything's
always my fault.
He has no idea
what I've given up for him.
I should have taken him
to the cottage in Normandy,
and told him there.
All that sea air.
(SIGHS) He'll come round,
just you wait.
Takes after you.
- CARLA: Entitled?
- SERENA: Headstrong.
Need that fire now, Carla.
Need to find
the change of circumstance
in your marriage,
break the prenup,
get you what you deserve.
CARLA: What about the fact
that he slept with someone else?
- (SIGHS) Carla
- 'Cause that wasn't in the wedding vows.
we've spoken about that.
We've spoken about it
in the legal sense.
We've not talked about the fact
that it makes him
a piece of shit.
We should be going
after the terms
of the original prenup.
Make the case
that you were badly advised,
you didn't know
what you were agreeing to,
bring a malpractice suit
against the original lawyers
because they never should have
agreed to such unfavorable terms.
That's what we'd do in New York.
Maybe he's right.
Nicholas was
the original lawyer.
Yeah. And that's what makes it
such a good play.
NORA OKAFOR:
So you're saying sue Nicholas?
Not personally, no.
The firm
that he was working for,
before Taylor and Byrne
was ever set up.
They'll never see it coming.
No, they won't,
because even they don't think
we're that stupid.
(SIGHS) Need a cigarette.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, I'll go. I can get 'em.
Carla, you said Gabriel had
no idea what you'd given up.
What did you mean by that?
- Projects I've turned down.
- NORA: Lucrative ones?
Superhero films.
You know, green screen.
A lot of waiting around.
NORA: And now you're doing
fringe theatre?
- CARLA: Yeah.
- (INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING)
- AH versus BH.
- Yeah.
- NORA: Reduced earning capacity.
- Yeah, could work.
If we can prove
you've sacrificed
career opportunities
for your family, for Morgan,
that could be
the change of circumstance
we're looking for.
We argue that things
have somewhat
you know, um (CHUCKLES)
Trying to find
the right word here, um
That your earnings have, uh
That my earnings have?
Well
nosedived.
(MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
BELLA CROFT: She wants me there,
which means she wants you there
because everyone else
is bringing a partner.
Christ, it's like
I've been stressing out
this whole time about getting
in her good books,
and now I actually am, it's even
more terrifying. (LAUGHS)
Hey, this is good. This is good.
I'm gonna try my best
to be there, all right?
BELLA: (OVER CELL PHONE)
No, you will be there.
Johnny, I would not be
being such a dick about this
if it wasn't ever so slightly
massively fucking important.
JOHNNY WARREN: Look, I can't
really talk right now. I'm at work.
You're meant to tell me that
I'm not being a dick about it.
Yeah, but I swore
I'd never tell you a lie.
BELLA: (CHUCKLES) Fuck you.
JOHNNY: Listen,
I'm gonna be there, I promise.
Oh, and it's black tie.
JOHNNY:
I haven't got a black tie.
- (LIGHTER CLICKS)
- BELLA: Then get one, Johnny.
Please.
I need you to do this for me.
- (DIAL TONE BEEPS)
- (CELL PHONE CLICKS)
Sorry about that.
- What's her name?
- (CLICKS TONGUE) Bella.
She wants to show you off.
In the black tie.
That you don't have.
- Yeah. Yep.
- (CARLA CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I'll get your number,
send you the details
for Morgan's tailor.
Tell them I sent you.
- (RIVETING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
- I
Are you sure?
His money is our money,
remember?
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
I'll see you up there.
Yes, I'll see you in a bit.
(MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)
- (DOOR OPENS)
- (MUSIC LOWERS) ♪
- (NICHOLAS TAYLOR CLEARS THROAT)
I need
high-grade pharmaceuticals.
(CHUCKLES) I can offer aspirin
and a cup of tea.
You're not allowed
to make me tea, remember?
Not in the office.
Well, in that case,
you can just have
the five arbitrators
Cathcarts sent over.
Come on, Eeyore.
You live for this, remember?
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
(MUSIC CONCLUDES) -
Okay, here are the rules of the game.
We work out which of these five
supposedly neutral arbitrators
they want us to choose,
then we choose the opposite.
Someone who'll wipe their asses
with the prenup
when they come in
for the opening session.
Well, Taverner's
off the table immediately
because he went
to school with Henderson.
Grann's too green,
Foster's too bright.
He'll try and turn it
into an intellectual argument,
which is dangerous
for both firms
and interesting only to him.
Daphne Jones-Johnson
is the one they want us to pick.
Divorced herself,
got rid of PNAs in the past,
track record of favoring wives
in her judgements
We're still working
on what the catch is.
There must be one.
JOY "BUDGIE" BUDGE: They
wouldn't put her up if there wasn't.
SERENA: Who's Mary Chebet?
Who the fuck is Mary Chebet?
It's the question of the day.
There was so much digging
required here
we thought she might've been
included just to waste our time.
It turns out she's an
end-of-the-pier battle-axe.
She'll never go for it
in a million years.
So they're steering us
towards Jones-Johnson,
Foster or Grann.
BUDGIE:
Again, nobody wants Foster.
And Jones-Johnson is the bait.
Leaving Grann,
inexperienced in arbitration,
but plenty of flying hours
as a barrister.
In fact, if you look deeper,
she starts to look
like the perfect candidate,
but what they're
hoping we don't spot
is that she worked for Beatrice
when she first qualified.
- Oh
- So Grann is the real trap.
Yes, or she should be.
(PAPERS RUSTLING)
- Oh, my God, Michael!
- MICHAEL: What?
This is from an interview
she gave to a feminist group
in 2009, in which she says,
that prenuptial
agreements are
"Almost without fail"
(INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
"morally
and inherently unfair."
I think they might have
fucked themselves in the foot.
SERENA: I agree.
NICHOLAS:
Those fucking foot fuckers.
(SERENA CHUCKLES)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC OVERLAPPING) ♪
MORGAN HENDERSON: Took the
tube today for the first time in years,
and as I was walking here,
I realized I was being followed,
stalked by a bus with a poster
of Carla's dreadful film.
(MUSIC FADES) - She's
trolling me via public bloody transport.
ST. JOHN: Yes,
and I know you, Morgan.
You prefer to be trolled
in the traditional way.
- Yes.
- On a social media platform.
Yes, preferably my own.
What's wrong
with good old green ink?
She knows, in arbitration,
you'll be the picture of calm.
Leave us to holler and flail,
make her look
like the unreasonable one,
the one who spends, uh,
300 pounds
on hand-cut Norwegian ice.
She only did that once,
to be fair.
Well, once is one time too many.
MORGAN:
I just want this over with.
It will be.
This should all be over
in a couple of days.
- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)
- ST. JOHN: Come.
Mr. Henderson? I'm sorry,
but he was quite insistent.
Gabe.
I'll, um, give you some space.
Morgan, we can talk later.
Gabriel.
(DOOR CLOSES)
So it's true?
You're getting a divorce?
- Does Mum know you're here?
- Answer the question.
We were supposed
to tell you this together.
(SIGHS) Why?
- Why are we getting a divorce?
- GABRIEL: Yes.
Uh
It's awful, actually, Gabe.
Your mum, she farts in bed,
and I can't
I just can't take it anymore
The truth.
People fall out of love.
That's the sad truth, Gabe.
And you're old enough
to hear it.
No one's parents are in love.
But they make it work,
or they make the best of it.
Why can't you guys do that?
(SIGHS) You know something,
the older you get,
the harder it is
to answer questions like that.
Look.
Go to my hotel,
watch a bit of telly.
Order whatever food you want,
all right?
- They have burgers.
- Oh, they have fucking burgers!
Please.
I'll be back this evening.
We'll talk then. I promise.
GABRIEL: You cheated
on her, didn't you?
- That's what she made out.
- What?
Or she cheated on you.
- Nobody's cheated, Gabe.
- GABRIEL: Bullshit.
(SOFT PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
I knew it. She fucking cheated.
I always knew one of you would.
- All right, that's enough.
- GABRIEL: She lied.
- She lied to the both of us.
- MORGAN: No, she didn't.
It was me.
I had a meaningless thing,
but that's not
why we're splitting up.
(CELL PHONE BUZZING)
(HESITATES) Look, just give me
one second, all right?
- Gillian? Yeah. Uh, what time?
- (SCOFFS)
(SCOFFS)
I'll see you back at the hotel.
Fuck you.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Yeah, yeah. (HESITATES)
Yeah, I can do that. Yeah.
(MUSIC FADES) ♪
Okay, let's do that.
- Are we connected?
- Yeah.
- (MONITOR BEEPS)
- Yeah?
- Yeah. Should be it. Hello.
- Oh, here he is. Hi!
- Hi.
- MICHAEL: Hey, Mr. Marshall. Hi.
Look, before we get into this,
we just want to say
that both Nora and I are
huge fans of your movies.
- You are?
- NORA: Absolutely, yes.
- Which ones?
- (BOTH HESITATE)
GAVIN MARSHALL: Just kidding.
- (CHUCKLES)
- Oh, God. Thank you.
So you're repping Carla
in her divorce?
- MICHAEL: Confidentially, yes.
- NORA: Yeah.
And you want to know
about this movie
she nearly did for me?
Yes, so specifically, had she
not turned down the role,
what she would have stood
to earn.
So, we understand that it's not
just an acting fee,
it's also a share
of the, uh, future profits?
Oh, if she'd accepted the role,
she'd have earned
low seven figures,
box office share
might have added
half again, maybe.
- Right.
- GAVIN: But here's the thing.
She didn't accept the role.
Oh, yeah, we know that,
but if she
GAVIN: No, wait, wait.
She didn't accept the role
because she was never
offered the role.
NORA:
Too expensive, too difficult.
- Too not famous enough.
- Okay.
We said that we understood
that she turned it down
so she could spend
more time with the family.
He said that was BS,
then total BS.
Then BFS.
- Bull-fucking-shit.
- Okay.
He then said something
even more unhelpful.
He said that, he thought,
if anything,
she wanted to get away
from her family.
NORA:
Not exactly the maternal type.
MICHAEL: Sorry.
I thought that might work.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
I think it still might.
I think it's rather brilliant.
- (TELEPHONE RINGING)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Cleo? Send a driver for Carla.
- Tell her it's urgent.
- Okay.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
Just gonna make a tea.
Do you want one?
- Uh, yeah. Thanks.
- Saeed?
SAEED: No, I'm all right.
- (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
- (LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS)
(CELL PHONE BEEPS)
("RULE ONE" BY KOJEY RADICAL PLAYING
OVER SPEAKER) - I was sittin' sideways ♪
Born in the days where you
Stand by what you say ♪
Never let a broke boy
Know you gettin' paid ♪
Never let a quick lay
Lay up where you stay ♪
Never let them step up
On the carpet that you pray ♪
Number two, simple as can be
I mean, it's nothing new ♪
A broken heart expensive
I don't think many recoup ♪
- (CELL PHONE CHIMES)
- That honey trap was sweet ♪
Now it's give me the loot
Give me the loot ♪
I mean, my character's
an aristocrat
that stands to lose everything.
I think I'm in a better position
to understand her
than some polyamorous
German Gen Z.
- What are we doing here?
- (SERENA CLICKS TONGUE)
I have an idea to put in front
of the arbitrator tomorrow.
- Another one?
- Oh, but this one is good.
You're not gonna like it.
You told me before
about Morgan's bond
with Gabriel.
They spent a lot of time
together while you were away.
Filming.
The prenup,
written when Gabe was tiny,
doesn't factor him in
because Morgan wasn't a father
to him then. But now
In fact, one could say,
if one was so minded,
that he's been more
of a parent to Gabriel than
(HESITATES)than than
anyone could have
ever anticipated.
Gabe's his dependent.
And there isn't a bigger bloody
change of circumstance
on the planet than parenthood.
You're right.
- I don't like it.
- SERENA: This will work.
You watch.
This will win the argument.
And hey, you said yourself,
about Morgan and Gabriel,
how close they are.
That's not the part
I don't like.
Your argument,
the one you're not admitting to,
is that Morgan is a good parent
and I'm not.
Yes.
It's not the easiest job
in the world,
just to warn you.
(SIGHS) I am not saying
that it is the truth.
I'm saying that is
how the world sees it.
Because women like us are judged
in a way that men never are.
I know it's a double standard.
Let's fucking use
that double standard.
Do you really
think I'm a bad mother?
How often does
a father ask himself that?
The irony is I wanted to keep
this whole process civil
for Gabe's sake.
But maybe I just want to win.
Make him suffer like I did.
Fuck someone
and send him photos.
Well, maybe don't do that.
Do you really think we can win
with this argument tomorrow?
(INHALES)
Yes.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(CLICKS TONGUE) Okay, then.
- (DISTANT SIREN WAILING)
- (TRAFFIC HONKING)
(MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
(NOTIFICATION BEEPS)
(MUSIC TURNS DRAMATIC) ♪
Oh, Jesus.
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
(MUSIC FADES) ♪
(SOFT DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
("ESCAPE" BY NEMZZZ PLAYING
OVER SPEAKER) - (SNORTS, SNIFFS)
(LIVELY CHATTER)
Nice place, man.
- (BOTTLE POPS OPEN)
- Yeah. It's okay, I guess.
My parents are never here.
My brother's in Boston
doing his MBA. So
So
So, who gives a fuck? (CHUCKLES)
GUEST: (SCREAMS) Sorry!
Oh, you clumsy fuckers.
- Don't worry about it.
- Yeah, exactly. (CHUCKLES)
Money's like the one thing
that's not the fucking problem.
Way I see it, they've fucked up
the entire planet.
Fucked up politics. Everything.
- It's the end of fucking days.
- (CHUCKLES)
In ten years' time, we'll all be
fighting over water rations
- as the nukes come over.
- Yeah, not me, man.
My dad's getting AI
to design him
a bunker in New Zealand.
Uh, wait, no, no, no.
That is the one bottle
we cannot touch.
- Who wants some whiskey?
- (GUESTS CHEERING)
Dude, that's like 10K a bottle,
you fucking madman.
(CELL PHONE BUZZING)
THIBAULT HÜRLIMANN: (GROANS)
That's fucking rank, bro!
Then one would match that
with a white
marcella cotton shirt.
What is sir thinking?
I'm thinking
about what my dad used to say.
(SNIFFS) That any dickhead
can wear a suit.
- But he's wrong, isn't he?
- (INTERCOM BUZZES)
Not everyone
gets to wear one of these.
(DOOR OPENS)
On Mr. Henderson's account, yes?
Yes, that's fine.
(DOOR CLOSES)
DAVID SCHILL: Well?
They're gonna argue
that Morgan's become.
Gabriel's de facto father.
When they signed the prenup,
Carla was a single mother.
Now, because Morgan
did the decent thing
and took an interest, it's like
Gabriel's losing a dad.
And losing a dad at that age,
that stings.
Meaning the prenup's outdated.
- JOHNNY: That's the one.
- DAVID: Thank you, Simon.
You're welcome.
(CARD READER BEEPS)
I have
my 16-year-old stepson staying,
so you might need
to grunt hello,
pretend to understand
his musical references,
- that kind of thing.
- (CHUCKLES)
Gabe?
Gabe?
Must've gone to see his mother.
Scotch, beer, water?
- Uh, no thanks.
- Not for me, thank you.
Steven has
some interesting ideas
for preventing Carla
getting hold
of any Zephyr stock.
"Interesting" as in fraudulent?
Perfectly legal.
Simply depends on whether
you trust Gillian here. (LAUGHS)
GILLIAN POPE: Morgan.
We can do this another time.
-No, I'm listening.
-STEVEN DIXON: Right. (CLEARS THROAT)
So all you'd have to do
is to transfer the entirety
of your holdings in Zephyr
into Gillian's name.
Gift them, temporarily,
and Carla and her lawyers
can't touch you.
Rather brilliant,
don't you think?
MORGAN: Oh, ingenious.
Stop Carla getting anything
by giving it all away first.
Why didn't I think of that?
Is he billing us for this?
- It's a smart move.
- Is it?
So you don't trust her then?
(LAUGHS)
You got a mortgage, Steven?
School fees?
A second home in Cornwall
you can't really afford?
How much to pay it all off?
A million? Two?
Something like that.
Here.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
That's worth a million.
Or thereabouts.
It's yours.
No strings.
If you strip.
Down to your socks. Right now.
(LAUGHS)
(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY, HESITATES)
- I'm serious.
- STEVEN: I mean, Jesus.
Why?
Call it a bored rich man's whim.
You've got five seconds
to decide.
- Five, four.
- Morgan.
Three, two, one.
- Enough, enough, enough, enough.
- (MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY) ♪
It's not
that I don't trust Gillian,
or even my soon-to-be
ex-wife or anyone.
It's just that
for people like me,
the word "trust"
loses all meaning.
That's what you get after
about the first, oh, hundred mil.
And then you get this insight
that there are no lengths
to which people won't go.
There's nothing they won't do
to debase themselves,
to humiliate themselves,
and you,
if they think
they can get a slice.
I would let you have this,
but, um, Carla gave it to me.
She's probably gonna ask
for it back.
I'm interrupting.
No. No, St. John.
It's the other way around.
We'll, uh, leave you to it.
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
- Night, Gillian.
- GILLIAN: Good night.
- MORGAN: Night.
- (DOOR OPENS)
GABE: (OVER VOICEMAIL)
It's Gabe. Leave a message.
- MORGAN: Fuck.
- ST. JOHN: Problem?
I'm worried Gabriel's
gone out drinking
in a city he thinks he knows
from Instagram,
but he's barely ever been to.
ST. JOHN: How old is he now?
(SIGHS) Sixteen.
Well,
we remember what it was like
at that age, don't we?
MORGAN:
That's what I'm worried about.
Morgan, they're going
to use Gabriel
as a change of circumstance.
They're gonna argue
that you've become
a father to him.
And legally,
you're nothing of the kind.
So you have
to tell the arbitrator
- that you're not his father
- (CELL PHONE BUZZING)
that he's Carla's son,
tolerated by you
because you were married
to his mother.
She wouldn't call me
if she wasn't worried about him.
ST. JOHN: Morgan,
you let it go to voicemail,
- and you let her handle it.
- (CELL PHONE BUZZING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
- (SIGHS)
- (CELL PHONE BUZZING)
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
- (SIGHS)
- (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
BELLA: Hi. How you doing?
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Hi.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
BELLA: Yes! (CHUCKLES) Hot!
- Wow. Wow.
- BELLA: Oh, my God.
- (KISSES) Nervous?
- Never.
- Lying?
- Totally.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(CELL PHONE BUZZING)
- BELLA: Hi. You okay?
- Hang on.
- Oh, shit.
- (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
I should get this. Just quickly.
- Johnny.
- JOHNNY: I'll be two minutes.
Promise?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll see you in there.
-BELLA: Okay.
(CELL PHONE BUZZING)
- Hello?
- CARLA: Johnny, it's Carla.
Serena's not answering.
I really need your help.
Oh, of course. Uh, it's fine.
Where are you?
CARLA: I'm in the car.
I've just left Holland Park.
I can pick you up.
("TEST" BY ATICH
& AJ TRACEY PLAYING) ♪
(SNORTS) - (SONG
CONTINUES OVER SPEAKER) ♪
(CHUCKLES) Fucking hell, mate!
Hole in one! (CHUCKLES)
Oh, mate!
- Shit.
- Ah! Fuck.
THIBAULT: So,
they're getting divorced, then?
(CHUCKLES) Your parents?
Uh, my parents heard
your, um, dad moved out.
Rented some new place.
Yeah, he's away with work stuff.
Right.
So he cheated, then?
That's why you're here,
wrecking my house. (CHUCKLES)
Fuck you.
Oh, look, man, big fucking deal.
Humans aren't built
for monogamy.
It It's all a big con.
Everyone knows that.
And men like Morgan Henderson,
they certainly
aren't built for it.
I mean, with his money,
he could literally have,
like, model-level women
every night.
What, you seriously expect him
to stay with just one?
Uh, no of fence to your mum,
you know. She's hot.
He's probably been doing this
for years, man.
Shut the fuck up.
(SCOFFS) Look,
I'm being serious.
You know, we can learn from him.
Marriage is a con.
Men like him,
like us, we don't need it.
I said fuck off.
You fucking incel.
- Incel? (CHUCKLES)
- (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
Mate, I'm just
telling you the truth.
Everyone cheats.
Everyone knows your mum
fucked half of Hollywood.
(HIGH-PITCHED RINGING)
- (GROANS)
- (SONG CONTINUES) ♪
(GUESTS CLAMORING)
- Fucking cunt!
- Fuck! Stop, stop!
(SONG CONCLUDES) ♪
NICHOLAS: Right. I've got
the forensic accountant call.
You've got the Zoom
with the doula.
Her name's Vanessa.
I had a good chat with her.
I told her you were busy,
but excited to meet her too.
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
What are you doing?
I am clearing your background.
I want to speak
to the forensic accountant.
- Really?
- I like forensic accountants.
I know, but he's not going
to answer questions
on nipple attachment anxiety,
is he?
(CHUCKLES) At least I hope not.
Good luck.
Her name's Vanessa.
- (LAPTOP CHIMES)
- VANESSA: (OVER CALL) Serena?
SERENA: Hi. Hi, Vanessa.
- (DISTANT SIREN WAILING)
- (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
CARLA: I tracked his phone
to somewhere around here,
but he switched it off.
So either he's done
something stupid
or he's about to.
How old did you say
he was again? Sixteen?
CARLA: Hmm.
- What?
- Nothing.
Just thinking
what would have happened
if my mum went looking for me
on a night out when I was 16.
I'm really worried, Johnny.
- This is my fault.
- It's not.
It's not your fault. Sorry.
This is the kid that responded
to Gabriel's post. Thibault.
- Thibault?
- JOHNNY: Thibault.
"Who wants to get fucked up?"
The answer
is Thibault Hürlimann.
So, we find Thibault Hürlimann,
we find Gabriel, okay?
- Okay? Yeah?
- Okay.
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
VANESSA: Well, I can be
more than just a doula.
I can be your nanny.
But I will need spending money,
my own keys and access to a car.
I'm sure all of that
can be arranged.
Oh. Then it's done. Easy.
I will look after your baby.
Bath, sleep, walk.
You don't
have to think about it.
It's not that I don't want
to think about it.
Because you are a career woman.
I do the bottle,
you do the laptop.
Thelma and Louise. (CHUCKLES)
Didn't they go
off the side of a cliff?
(INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(GUESTS CHATTERING)
(RETCHES, COUGHS)
Get it out.
(TENSE MUSIC OVERLAPPING) ♪
Gabe!
Gabe! (SCOFFS)
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
JOHNNY: Gabe! Stop!
Gabe! Gabe!
(BOTH GROAN)
- (JOHNNY PANTS)
- Who the fuck are you?
Your mum's lawyer.
- What?
- (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
GABRIEL: I'll go to the hospital
and then I'll go to the police.
JOHNNY: (HESITATES) Police?
Right, okay.
GABRIEL: I'm not a liar.
I fuck up and I own it.
Mate, they'll charge you
with supply.
Best case,
you get kicked out of school
and that's the best case.
- It's a shithole anyway.
- I mean it.
This is serious trouble for you
and your parents.
I don't give a fuck
about getting them in trouble.
They deserve it.
(SMACKS LIPS)
I was your age, right,
when my mum and dad
got a divorce.
And everyone goes on about
how you get two Christmases
and I just fucking hated it.
One Christmas Eve,
I took my dad's car
out without asking him.
His Mondeo. His pride and joy.
And I crashed it into some bins
outside a Co-op.
Proper wrecked it.
And he was so fucking angry.
I just I didn't give a shit.
I just thought
"Now you know how it feels."
So, you know, go to the police,
get yourself arrested,
get kicked out of school,
do whatever.
It's not gonna stop them
from splitting up.
They've fucked up their lives.
Don't fuck up yours as well.
Come on.
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
Sorry to ruin your evening.
JOHNNY: Ah, no, don't be silly.
You didn't
I'll see you tomorrow,
all right?
Oh. She liked it, by the way.
The whistle. The suit.
(CHUCKLES)
I don't blame her.
("GIVE ME A SMILE"
BY THANDII PLAYING) ♪
Hey girl ♪
Give me a smile ♪
I want a holiday ♪
On your island
Island, island ♪
Did you ♪
Hear what I said ♪
And did it hurt ♪
When you fell from ♪
Really love ♪
- (DOOR OPENS)
- JOHNNY: I'm sorry.
Bella, I'm sorry.
BELLA: What the fuck
was all that about?
- That was a work thing.
- No, you abandoned me.
That was a work thing.
I'm sorry.
- No, no, that's not
- It's my fault. It's my fault.
- It's my fault. Come here.
- You can't
You didn't deserve that.
I'm sorry.
- God, you smell so good.
- It can't happen again.
What?
I was so I was so embarrassed.
(JOHNNY BREATHES HEAVILY)
(GASPS)
I'm fucking angry at you.
I'm angry at me too.
But I'll ask you to wave ♪
Ask you to smile
Ask you to stare me out ♪
(BOTH MOAN)
(SONG CONTINUES) ♪
- (SONG CONCLUDES) ♪
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(ELEVATOR DINGS)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
JOHNNY: Sorry. Which floor?
BEATRICE:
We're going where you're going.
- (ELEVATOR DINGS)
- (MUSIC STOPS) ♪
(SIGHS)
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(GRUNTS)
JOHNNY: All right?
They're gonna accuse him
of caring about her son.
- Have you heard this?
- No.
Right. Well, either he admits
that it's true,
which breaks the prenup,
or he has to look the kid
in the eye
and tell him he doesn't care.
Ain't that brilliant?
(CHUCKLES) You see,
this is why they're so good.
'Cause even now,
with the enemy in the building,
they're still working the case.
SERENA: The other side have
just arrived, so let's, um
We can just pick this up later.
NICHOLAS: (OVER CELL PHONE) No, I'm not interested
in that. Right now, this is our priority.
Did you hear what I said?
SERENA (OVER CELL PHONE)
Oh, God, don't look at me.
They'll know that we're talking.
Okay. Do you think,
once the baby comes
Do you really think
we need a nanny,
or should one of us stay home?
Should I be staying at home?
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
Would you rather stay at home?
We've just set up a law firm.
Would you rather stay at home?
SERENA: (SIGHS)
- God, I don't know how I'm gonna feel.
(SIGHS)
Or even if I can do this
at all, Nicky.
Hey, hey, of course not.
Nei Neither do I.
It's not something
we've ever done before.
It's not work. We can't plan it.
Well, we didn't plan it.
But that's (CHUCKLES)
that's why it is so exciting.
(CHUCKLES)
Hmm.
NICHOLAS:
Just take each day as it comes.
Besides, you know what they say.
If people knew in advance
how crazy it would be,
no one would bother
having any children.
Great.
Hey.
- Serena.
- Yeah.
NICHOLAS: Hey, you're gonna be
an amazing mother.
We're an amazing team. Let's
(SIGHS) trust that.
Now, could you do your loving
husband a huge favor?
Yeah.
NICHOLAS:
Get back to fucking work.
Oh, fuck off.
- (CHUCKLES)
- (CELL PHONE BEEPS)
(RIVETING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Good morning.
- Morning.
Do help yourselves to snacks.
ST. JOHN: Hmm.
How reassuring, for any client,
to see that none of your money
is being wasted on comestibles.
Now, now.
Good to see you.
- And you.
- (MUSIC FADES) ♪
RACHEL: All right.
As you know,
the arbitration process
avoids the need
for a court hearing,
but any ruling made here
will be equally legally binding.
Our task today
is to settle the validity
of the prenuptial agreement.
I have details of that contract
drawn up in May 2016
We'll be proposing grounds
for its dismissal.
I'm sure. Radmacher versus
Granatino establish
that prenuptial agreements
properly drafted
should generally be upheld,
a ruling I'm inclined
to agree with.
You don't think they might be
disadvantageous to women
from a
From a feminist perspective?
Fairness, transparency,
autonomy in marriage,
that's what prenups achieve
and that's what
the feminist perspective
is interested in too.
Not simply who gets
the bigger wad of cash.
- Shall we begin?
- Fuck.
Yes, let's.
(MUSIC FALLS) ♪
My client, Carla Duval,
is not present
in many of these photos.
Her work took her
across the world,
often for months at a time.
At Gabriel's
ninth birthday party,
his mother was in Los Angeles
promoting a movie.
His biological father
was also absent.
But Gabriel's
real father was there.
He was always there.
Teaching him to swim,
ride a bike, build a fort.
He's in this room.
His name is Morgan Henderson.
They have no legal relationship.
Mr. Henderson never adopted him.
The prenup takes
no account of Gabriel,
but the prenup is unfair.
Their circumstances are changed.
Their family is changed.
I challenge anyone
to look at those photos
and tell me that Gabriel
is not now Morgan's son.
(MUSIC FADES) ♪
I understand your client wishes
to make a response.
No, in fact, Ms. Duval will
make the response for us.
This was last night, I believe.
(CELL PHONE BEEPS)
CARLA: (OVER RECORDING)
Why are you not answering me?
He came to see you
on his own, upset,
and you send him away?
You don't check on him,
you don't call me?
You really don't give
a shit about me
or Gabriel, do you?
You never have.
You've never been
a father to him.
You have never been his dad!
Because the only person
you really give a shit about
is Morgan fucking Henderson.
I was upset, all right.
What am I supposed to do,
repress it?
Make myself ill?
It's what they taught us
at Gordonstoun.
What do people think
about a short break?
You should be
ashamed of yourself.
- I should be ashamed?
- He's upset.
His entire life
is falling apart.
You weaponized him
- CARLA: Oh, please.
- to score points against me.
We agreed
to talk to him together
and you went to his school alone
- to turn him against me.
- All I have done is been honest with him.
He's 16,
you terrible fucking narcissist!
CARLA: Oh,
I'm a fucking narcissist?
MORGAN: He doesn't need
to hear our shit!
Then stop fucking shouting!
(LOUD BANG)
You're the one
that fucking cheated!
You fucking betrayed us.
- What the hell is he doing here?
- He wanted to support me.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Enough, all right?
This is horrible.
And I'm very sorry about it,
but people get
divorced every single day.
You shouldn't be making him
a supporting character
- How dare you?
- in your mad,
- self-pitying psychodrama.
- (PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪
And you
- Morgan!
- MORGAN: And you shouldn't be taking advantage of all this
to behave like an oligarch
bloody princeling
'cause you think
we're too distracted to care.
I want you on that train
back to school this afternoon.
And I'll be
calling your headmaster
every day to make sure
you are there
and applying yourself.
Is that understood?
Gabe?
Gabe.
(SIGHS)
(SIGHS SHARPLY)
If you're not his father,
you're doing
a mighty good impression.
- (CARD READER BEEPS)
- (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
(LOW DRAMATIC MUSIC
OVERLAPPING) ♪
(LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS)
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
- (DIAL TONE CLICKS)
- GILLIAN: Morgan.
MORGAN: The arbitrator's
invalidated the fucking prenup.
(SMACKS LIPS) Shit, Morgan.
I'm sorry.
MORGAN: Yeah.
So I've been thinking about
what you and your advisor said.
- (BOTTLE POPS)
- (BOTTLE CAP RATTLING)
GILLIAN: And?
And I think you should do it.
Let's start moving the money.
I'll get onto that
first thing tomorrow.
Thanks.
(MUSIC RISES) ♪
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
(MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪