Aahana Swrup
The short window of opportunity to rescue Joe from an agonizing fate continues to run out in season 3 of ‘Lioness.’ ‘Episode 6,’ marking the sixth day of the CIA agent’s abduction, finds Meade and Kyle running at full speed as the eleventh hour of the battle approaches. The latter manages to pull some strings to locate an old friend who can lend her expertise on the matter. As such, the team learns something new about the elusive enemy they’re dealing with, which promises to bring them one step closer to bringing their leader home. Yet, intercepting an unknown flight before it disappears into the airspace, in a way that can ensure Joe’s survival, remains a near-impossible task. Meanwhile, Joe finds herself face-to-face with the man behind her abduction, forced to reckon with the promise of her doomed demise. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Unmasking of Traitors Results in a Brutal Death
Back in the past timeline, shortly after the discovery of the scale of foreign influence over American institutions, cleanup efforts from the operations begin to emerge across the country. FBI sting operations are used as a front to explain the arrests of multiple members of Congress. Amidst these roundups, Mullins joins Meade, Byron, and Joe for a breakfast meeting with Senator Olson. The recent operation has revealed that the enemy has been funding the senator’s campaign, confirming that he was one of the many assets working against his own country. Thus, he’s presented with two options.
Olson can either resign and play by the rules that bar him from ever holding any substantial position of power ever again. Or he can wait for the DOJ to carry out his arrest in broad daylight. As the meeting comes to an end, Joe reminds him that there is always a third option available to him: signing off on his own death certificate. As Olson leaves the breakfast meeting, Bobby and Tucker diligently tail his car, ensuring the senator knows he’s being followed. This creates an incredibly tense environment where the politician has to confront what the future would look like for him.
Nonetheless, Olson can neither bring himself to call his wife to alert her about a future arrest nor submit his resignation. Over the past few days, the news has been lit up with conversations about the recent arrests. This naturally draws the public’s suspicions toward any civil servant’s resignation, taking it as a sign of their guilt. Consequently, the senator realizes there’s no way out of this situation that wouldn’t tarnish his reputation. For the same reason, he decides to take the third option and drives himself into oncoming traffic. In the end, Olson chooses death over facing the consequences of his actions.
Kyle Tracks Oleksa Down in Witness Protection
In the aftermath of the successful operation to catch national traitors, Kyle had floated a polarizing opinion at a high-level meeting. He believes that the FBI’s witness protection program is simply not safe enough for Oleksa, the SVR spy who was their chief informant in this operation. He thinks it will only be a matter of time before the Russians find her and take their revenge. For the same reason, according to him, the best course of action can only be to bring her back and offer her a job with the CIA. However, the tables ended up turning on him when Mullins approved his pitch but saddled him with the job to locate Oleksa, whose location won’t be readily available as per WitPro’s regulations.
Although this seems to be a chore, it ends up being the best tool in Kyle’s arsenal months later. On the sixth day of Joe’s abduction, the team grows desperate, aware that they will lose the agent if they don’t rescue her soon enough. Thus, Kyle, who successfully manages to find Oleksa, shows up at her door in search of some advice. So far, the CIA has been operating under the assumption that the Russians have Joe. Consequently, the double agent seems to be the easiest source for intel on the enemy. However, as Kyle and Oleksa discuss the details of Joe’s abduction, they begin to realize the entire game plan doesn’t seem to fit the Russian method in the slightest. Instead, it is much more likely that another nation, which has a personal feud with Joe, has simply employed Russian operatives in the States to do their dirty work for them. Ultimately, the conclusion remains that Iranian operatives have likely kidnapped the CIA Agent.
The CIA Shut Down the Kidnapper’s Exit Strategy
In light of the discovery that Joe’s kidnappers are more likely to be Iranian agents than Russian, the team adjusts their approach to the rescue mission accordingly. Since the kidnappers are still using Russian operatives to handle the initial abduction, Oleksa is able to provide some crucial information about their tactics. Notably, this includes the whereabouts of the agents’ preferred safe houses. Randy and Tex are assigned to check out the neighborhood and carry out searches according to protocol. On the other hand, Kyle and his Delta Force buddies scout for the airplane most likely to be used by the Iranians for the extraction. Lastly, Cruz and the others are on standby to act as the cavalry in the event of Joe’s discovery.
Cruz remains desperate for a chance to at least fight for her leader’s safety, unwilling to accept a future where loss comes without a brawl. Among these three teams, Kyle and the others are the first ones to snag a win. The specifications of the plane required to make the journey narrowed down their suspect list to a manageable amount. Thus, they’re able to locate the hangar housing the getaway aircraft correctly. From there, it’s only a matter of mindful confrontation to apprehend the pilot and his accomplices. On the other hand, although Randy and Tex don’t know it yet, Joe is being held in the same neighborhood they’re scanning. In the safe house, she finally meets the man behind her kidnapping, Babat, who promises her a cruel and dehumanizing fate once she’s out of the country. In the end, he cuts off part of her foot and takes her away to prepare for an alternate escape plan.
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