For all us non-lawyers in the crowd, it’s gracious of Episode 2 of War on HBO to clearly and distinctly plot out the legal process by which a divorce occurs.
asserted
divorce → ’ → which
A process, it also reveals, that its actual lawyers give a fuck about honoring.
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lawyers → reveal → fuck
Last time, one party got served before the other party even started.
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party → serve → ?
And this time, Cathcarts partner Beatrice Ubosi dutifully explains the initial legal stages of mediation and arbitration — while in the same breath dismissing these processes as formalities good only for opposition research.
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Ubosi → explain → research
“Just to be clear,” Suzie Levitniik (Kartanya Maynard) says in the Cathcarts war room, “there is no such thing as an amiable outcome?”
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Levitniik → say → outcome
Not at the price point where they operate.
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they → operate → point
It’s not like Cathcarts would deign to take a case that is beneath its perceived stature.
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that → ’ → stature
But we wonder how this process would play out for a non-rich, non-powerful client.
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process → wonder → client
For Cathcarts’ current client, his indiscretions are just static to clarify and rise above.
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indiscretions → clarify → client
Dominic West is hilarious as Morgan Henderson when St. John Smallwood probes the man’s infidelity like a stern schoolmaster.
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Smallwood → probe → schoolmaster
“No,” he responds when Smallwood asks if any other extramarital bombs will drop.
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bombs → respond → ?
“No,” Morgan emphasizes; Smallwood waits.
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Smallwood → emphasize → ?
“NO!” he repeats, louder.
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he → repeat → ?
But it’s very difficult to believe Henderson, because he and his wealth and power exist in a world where lawyers lie to themselves about the ethics of their very profession.
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lawyers → ’ → profession
Truths are lies and lies are truths — nothing matters but the win.
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nothing → matter → win
Maybe that’s what Johnny Warren has decided for himself.
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Warren → ’ → himself
The young lawyer from the wrong side of England’s class divide has gone full spy in the ointment.
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lawyer → go → ointment
From day one at Taylor & Byrne as an eager junior associate on the Morgan Henderson-Carla Duval divorce, he’s shuttling information to David Schill (Miles Jupp), his handler at Cathcarts.
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he → shuttle → Cathcarts
“Just show them the real you,” says his richer-than-him girlfriend Bella Croft (Honor Swinton Byrne).
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girlfriend → show → him
She means it as first-day encouragement, but it’s seemingly what Johnny’s actually doing.
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Johnny → mean → what
He willingly funnels vital inside info about the case to the opposing side, and willingly takes the cash-stuffed envelope Schill offers.
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Schill → funnel → envelope
It’s a win for Johnny’s perceived stature.
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It → ’ → stature
But everybody else is also fucking everyboy else!
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everybody → fuck → everyboy
Let’s meet Mumsy.
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’s → let → Mumsy
Melinda “Mumsy” Monroe (a terrific Camille Coduri) has injected herself, her leopard print wardrobe, and her flat’s leaky roof into her daughter Flora’s situation.
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Monroe → inject → situation
When Sabrina Byrne pushes the young woman to sign a non-disclosure agreement, threatening her with consequences for a plan Carla, Taylor & Byrne’s actual client, came up with, Mumsy appears at the firm with a demand: “Flora’s not signing nothing unless she gets 20 grand.”
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she → push → grand
Mumsy sees a payday, and an opportunity to stick it to “people like them,” i.e. the elites.
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Mumsy → see → them
But when Johnny intercepts her demand, he spins the payout to Serena and Nicholas Taylor as an opportunity, then sends to Cathcarts his voicemail describing the done deal.
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he → intercept → deal
That’s the real opportunity.
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That → ’ → ?
It’s a lot like criminal behavior.
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It → ’ → behavior
We said this series would get messy, and it is succeeding in this, scene by scene by scene.
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it → say → scene
Because while the war room at Taylor & Byrne feels empowered — their team is great, Cathcarts doesn’t know their strategy, etc. etc., all oblivious — Bea is licking her chops.
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Bea → feel → chops
The legal process they are using starts with an ‘F’ and ends with a ‘U.’
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they → use → U.
“We will win this,” Ubosi says gleefully at Cathcarts, “and they have no idea.”
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they → win → idea
But they are not leading from the front.
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they → lead → front
The named parties in the divorce are just taking orders from the expensive attorneys they hired.
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they → name → attorneys
Morgan rants about the prospect of giving Carla half his considerable assets, and having to support Gabriel (Aran Murphy), his stepson from Carla’s previous marriage, but ultimately takes instruction from Ubosi and Smallwood.
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Morgan → rant → Ubosi
And Carla agrees with Sabrina and Nicholas’s play, to vote for arbitration.
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Carla → agree → arbitration
“I’m an actress,” she says.
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she → ’m → ?
“I know my lines.”
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I → know → lines
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
