HBO’s new legal drama War opens with an immediate glimpse of just how vicious Martin Henderson (Dominic West) and Carla Duval’s (Sienna Miller) divorce is about to become.
**Spoilers for War Episode 1 “It’s Done,” now streaming on HBO Max**
Carla sends friends to lure Martin into a compromising situation, Martin has divorce papers served to Carla during her own premiere, and an employee at one law firm, Taylor & Byrne, secretly passes information to its rival, Cathcart & Sons.
Much of the premiere follows Johnny Warren (Archie Renaux), a sharp, attractive young man from a working-class background who is desperate to secure a position at one of London’s elite law firms. After being repeatedly turned away, Johnny returns each day to the humiliating routine of waiting tables at an upscale restaurant. Wealthy customers sexually harass him, while his affluent girlfriend Bella’s (Honor Swinton Byrne) friend Angus (Jake Simmance) repeatedly makes him the target of cruel jokes. Johnny finally loses control and punches Angus, forcing him to leave the restaurant job behind. When he returns home to Bella’s anger, he claims he has received a job offer and has one final interview—although the story initially sounds like another exaggeration.
War Episode 1, “It’s Done,” concludes with Carla’s attorneys, Nicholas Taylor (James McArdle) and Serena Byrne (Phoebe Fox), offering Johnny a position on the spot. He accepts—but the job is not what it appears to be. Johnny is already working for the opposing firm, Cathcarts & Sons.
Here’s how Johnny became the mole at the center of HBO’s War…
War Episode 1 Ending Explained: Whose Side is Johnny On? How Johnny Became the Mole
Johnny is first introduced during a tense interview with David Schill (Miles Jupp), a lawyer at Cathcarts & Sons. Schill gives the anxious applicant a vague response that sounds very much like a rejection, though he also takes note of Johnny’s previous experience in New York at the large firm operated by the Wyatts.
Later, while Johnny is clearing out his locker at the restaurant, he receives a phone call. At home, he reassures his concerned girlfriend that he has a job offer and only one final interview to complete. Given Johnny’s earlier bravado, it initially seems as though he may be bluffing. But when he impresses Taylor & Byrne during the interview—and receives a strong recommendation from the Wyatt family’s son—the truth emerges. The recommendation and the interview were both arranged by Schill as part of a scheme to plant an informant inside Carla Duval’s legal team.
Johnny’s supposed job offer was actually an assignment: infiltrate Taylor & Byrne on behalf of Cathcarts & Sons.
“I think it was a bit of luck because we had this show with two law firms and then we had this character who couldn’t get a job at a law firm and suddenly I thought maybe he could interview for both and then the idea that he might be working for another one,” War creator George Kay told DECIDER. “Sometimes when you’re writing you box yourself into a corner and then you think, ‘Oh, what’s the kind of craziest thing you could do at this moment?’ So then you have to sort of back structure it to build up to that twist.”
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Archie Renaux told DECIDER that he discovered Johnny’s double life when he read the first two scripts. “So I found out then, and I was like, ‘Okay, this is a juicy character,’” Renaux said.
“But [Johnny’s] not a bad guy,” Kay said. “He’s there because it’s his only way to get a job as a lawyer. Archie does a brilliant job tracking the emotional baggage that comes with all that.”
“I think he’s just got a bit of a chip on his shoulder to prove to himself,” Renaux said. “He’s trying to prove to everyone that he deserves a seat at the table, I think, and I think that sort of spurs him on. Aside from the desperation, obviously.”
Archie Renaux’s Johnny is therefore positioned as the mole who will fuel much of War’s first-season conflict. But where might viewers recognize the actor from?
Who Plays Johnny Warren in War? Why Archie Renaux Looks So Familiar:
Archie Renaux plays Johnny Warren in HBO’s War. The 28-year-old actor, who was born in Kingston-Upon-Thames, is Anglo-Indian on his mother’s side. He began his career as a model before moving into acting.
Renaux may be familiar to audiences from a range of recent projects, including Netflix’s hit young-adult adaptation Shadow & Bone, where he brought fresh appeal to Mal,* as well as the latest Alien installment, Alien: Romulus. He also starred opposite Camila Mendes in Upgraded and played Bella Ramsey’s considerate older brother, “Edward the Monk,” in Lena Dunham’s overlooked—and genuinely excellent—film Catherine Called Birdy. His upcoming projects include the romantic dramedy Falling, in which he will appear alongside KJ Apa and Isabel May.
Renaux can be found on Instagram at @archierenaux3.
*I found Mal very boring in the books, but Renaux made him compelling on screen.