Aahana Swrup
In ‘Lioness,’ season 3, the titular CIA special ops team finds themselves in a race against time as their leader, Joe McNamara, gets abducted by an enemy organization. After six days of near misses and dwindling hopes, Kaitlyn Meade and the others finally find a glimmer of hope in episode 7. Having successfully foiled the kidnapper’s planned route out of the country, Kyle has effectively sent the foreign agents into a chaotic hunt for a new exit strategy. As a result, the chances of Joe’s retrieval become higher, planting a small seed of hope for her and the agents. On the other hand, the top brass, including Meade and Westfield, scramble to make sense of the forces in play that created this nightmarish situation in the first place. In considering all the options, they reckon with the daunting reality of arriving at an unpleasant conclusion. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Hyper-surveilled Texan Roads Become Joe’s, Saving Grace
In the aftermath of the capture of Babat’s private jet, things begin to look up for the CIA agents and their mission of rescuing one of their own. Although the vessel’s flight plans still remain a secret, certain key details are retrieved from the interception. The most important one remains the fact that the enemy now has to scramble for a new exit route. From the looks of it, it’s most likely that the kidnappers would seek out a way to Mexico to escape the US scrutiny and eventually book a one-way flight to their final destination. As a result, the authorities can monitor relevant roadways and airstrips, running plates on suspicious vehicles to ensure the perpetrators don’t escape right under their noses. Consequently, when Babat’s SUV, stashing Joe, along with plenty of hired muscle, crosses through Texas, the local police department quickly flags them through their shady license plates.
Once they’re pulled over, Baby instructs Joe to stay silent and threatens her with instant death otherwise. Meanwhile, their suspicious behavior compels the cops to alert their superiors, until the intel reaches the Lioness operatives. Yet, before Cruz and the others could arrive on the scene, Joe made her move. Instead of sitting around, hoping for a rescue, she takes advantage of the distraction to get the drop on her kidnappers and make a run for her life. This sets off a firefight out in the city streets between the underprepared local cops and the heavily armed foreign agents. Eventually, the cavalry arrives and manages to shoot down the last of the terrorists. In the end, Bobby and Cruz finally catch up to Joe, ensuring her that she’s finally safe and sound.
Meade and Westfield Encourage Mullins to Sign Oleksa’s Death Certificate
In the immediate aftermath of Joe’s rescue, the biggest question that presents itself remains connected to the identity of her abductors. The nature of the situation compels Meade and her husband to break their rule of not discussing their work with one another in an attempt to understand the hidden threads behind this plan. Horrifyingly enough, they come to the conclusion that since Ukraine stands to gain the most from the attack, there’s a strong possibility that it might be the unseen power behind the abduction. The bold visibility of the abduction, paired with the operatives’ willingness to die for the cause, suggests ideological motivation. This crosses Russia and China out of the race. On the other hand, places like Iran and other terrorist organizations lack the funding and infrastructure required to pull something like this off.
In the end, the thing that compels Meade to believe Ukraine’s guilt stems from Okesandra, the double agent who had flipped to the CIA a few months ago. She believes that she has been playing the long game this entire time. According to her theory, the war-torn country would want the US government to retaliate against Russia. This would give them the incentive to orchestrate Joe’s abduction to implicate the Russians in the scheme and stoke the fires of rivalry between the enemy nations. Whether this theory is correct or not, Errol assures Meade that it would end up in an official report sooner or later. This would be disastrous for national security as it would fuel anti-Ukraine sentiments in the United States. For the same reason, the CIA supervisor and Westfield advise Mullins to order Oleksa’s execution and snuff out the rumors before they take hold.
Joe Chooses Not to Return Home to Her Family
Once Joe is rescued, her team is concerned with getting her medical attention to start her road to recovery. Even though she’s eager to return to her family, the various injuries she has sustained, including a missing toe, take priority. Therefore, it’s Meade who knocks on Neal’s door to let him know that his wife is safe and will be home later that afternoon. Nonetheless, despite the good news, things remain tense in the McNamara household. Throughout this tense week, Neal has been lying to his daughters about their mother being out of town for a work meeting. Yet, his eldest, Kate, never really bought the lie and remains frustrated with being kept in the dark. Moreover, she’s skeptical of her mother’s return.
In the end, Kate’s skepticism proves to be true. Even though Bobby and Cruz drive Joe to her house, the agent chooses to return to the office before going in and meeting her family. Instead, she calls Neal on the phone to let him know she’s safe. At the same time, she tearfully tells him that she won’t return until she has actually put this situation behind them once and for all. Joe is scared of bringing danger with her to her home and into the lives of her family. Therefore, she wants to get right back to work and figure out the identities of the people who are responsible for her kidnapping so that she can kill them and rest easy.
Read More: Lioness Season 3 Episode 6 Recap: Sugar Land
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