Key Points
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Archie Renaux breaks down Johnny’s big reveal during the Nov. 5 episode of HBO’s War.
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The character has been lying about being a mole for the entire season, up until this point.
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“It’s very much shock,” Renaux tells EW.
This article contains spoilers fromWarseason 1, episode 6: “The Simple Act of Paying Attention.”
Things have finally come to a head for Archie Renaux’s Johnny.
Thursday’s episode of War ended with a major flub by the HBO show’s standout character, leaving the viewers wanting more. Yes, after nearly six weeks of lying to his bosses at Taylor & Byrne while acting as a mole for competing law firm Cathcarts, Johnny’s jig is up.
In the final moments of this week’s episode, Morgan (Dominic West) and Carla (Sienna Miller) are finally headed to court with their respective lawyers in tow. As Serena (Phoebe Fox) is headed into the courtroom, she receives some advice from Johnny: “The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.”
Johnny quickly realizes his mistake when Serena recognizes the quote, which had previously been regurgitated by Cathcarts’ senior partner David Schill (Miles Jupp). Serena has <a href="https://comicvibe.com/keanu-reeves-officially-returning-for-john-wick-animated-prequel-movie/” title=”Keanu Reeves officially returning for John Wick animated prequel movie”>officially uncovered the mole.
“It’s very much shock,” Renaux tells Entertainment Weekly, unpacking the jaw-dropping sequence. “He definitely feels his heart drop to his stomach.”
Johnny keeps his “poker face” during the stand-off with Serena. Only after she gets pulled into the courtroom does Johnny allow himself a “f—” moment. “I was always gonna play it in a way that was a little bit ambiguous,” Renaux explains, hinting that the scene almost looked very different.
“There was a whole bit where Johnny actually goes inside to court, originally, that we shot,” he says. “But I think it just made more sense for him, in the final cut, to run off and start trying to fix or save himself. We wanted to leave it sort of like, Oh, does she know?“
The big reveal comes just after Serena and her husband, Nick (James McArdle), had fired a younger partner at their firm, Saeed (Shaheen Jafargholi), whom Johnny had set up to look like the mole.
“He does all the hard work. Someone takes the rap, someone takes the hit for him. Saeed gets fired. He thinks, ‘Okay, I’m in the, I’m in the clear now. Just get through court, get this done.’ Then, it’s a little slick line that he obviously quite enjoys,” Renaux says. “That’s his undoing. It’s so good.”
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The Shadow & Bonealum adds, “It’s such a good line for him to be caught out on.”
While this character has been “so fun” for Renaux, it’s nothing like who he is in real life. “I’m such a bad liar,” he tells EW. “I don’t feel good about doing it either. I don’t like lying. I panic. I can’t deal with that.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
