Sumith Prasad
The fourth episode of the second season of Paramount+’s thriller series ‘Lioness,’ also known as ‘Special Ops: Lioness,’ follows the development of the Lioness program’s mission to hunt down the Mexican drug cartel Los Tigres. Joe McNamara faces several obstacles ahead of the mission, forcing her to seek the assistance of an old ally. Since the latter has no choice, she joins the CIA officer and her team. Josephina Carrillo embarks on a mission with the Lioness team, exposing her to the clandestine gang’s ways and methods. The episode, titled ‘Five Hundred Children,’ ends with Joe making an immensely tough decision to set an example for her subordinates! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Joe Does Not Get What She Wants
‘Five Hundred Children’ begins with Joe meeting her two superiors, Kaitlyn Meade and Byron Westfield. She expresses how she cannot trust the newly recruited Lioness, Josephina Carrillo, since the Army pilot lied to her about not knowing Spanish or her Mexican family. Westfield asks her what she expects from a person who faces the impending death of her loved ones. The two high-ranking CIA officials are not ready to change the Lioness selected for the mission. Instead, they let Joe rely on a shadow agent who can track the movements of Josephina and kill her if she becomes a burden to the agency.
Joe concludes the meeting without getting what she wants. Her frustration grows when she notices a man following her. She informs Kyle about the person, and the two of them box the unknown individual with their cars. The head of the Lioness program then ties the man to the steering wheel of his vehicle and asks him to explain his actions. The individual introduces himself as Special Agent Gutierrez of the DEA. He asks her why his agency was not notified about the CIA’s mission to target a Mexican drug cartel. He also adds that Joe and her team have been acting foolishly since he believes that their target must have already known about the mission if he could learn about it.
Even though Joe doesn’t want to agree with Gutierrez, she knows that he is right about her organization’s recent operations that have not been so clandestine. Still, she meets with Kaitlyn and Westfield again to discuss tolerating a DEA agent. The CIA Deputy Director reminds her that every agency in the country wants a “piece of the pie” when they fulfill the mission to bolster their budget. Joe is surprised to know the reasoning behind adding Gutierrez to her team. When she wonders why these agencies do not prioritize the security and sovereignty of their nation, Westfield and Kaitlyn remind her that she is too naïve to think these organizations care for the best interests of the country.
Joe Brings Cruz Manuelos Back to the Lioness Program
When Joe realizes that she cannot send Josephina to Mexico alone, she decides to hire a shadow agent to look after the new recruit. The responsibilities of this second agent include killing the Lioness if she betrays her country for the sake of her Mexican family members and their influential drug cartel. If she remains loyal to the United States, her shadow agent is asked to kill their target. Since Joe does not have enough time to recruit and train another official to join Josephina, she returns to Cruz Manuelos despite how badly they separate after completing their mission.
After killing Asmar Ali Amrohi, Cruz leaves the Lioness program and serves in Africa. She goes on to shoot down a surprising number of pirates during this period. Joe wants Cruz back in the fold since she can trust the latter. The leader of the program has witnessed the former Lioness prioritizing the interests of her country even when her heart asked her to do the opposite. The protagonist is convinced that Cruz is the only one she can find on such short notice who is capable and experienced enough to complete the assignment satisfactorily. However, the soldier replies that she doesn’t want to work with Joe again.
Joe then clarifies that Cruz doesn’t really have a choice. She has already transferred the soldier to the Lioness program, which means the only alternative the latter can rely on is resigning from the service altogether. Before she can consider leaving the Army, Joe reminds her that she is too good to waste her career in Africa, killing pirates. The head of the clandestine group knows that Cruz is an ambitious officer who wants what is best for her country. Her assumption turns out to be right when the former Lioness rejoins the program despite her initial hesitation.
Joe Sets an Example by Not Saving Five Hundred Children
Joe and Cruz, along with their team, Kyle, Josephina, and Gutierrez, embark on a new mission. They collaborate with the DEA, which targets a cartel outpost with outdated information and technology. The head of the assignment is not happy with the work ahead of them, especially since the other agencies involved cannot even offer updated tech to complete the same. Still, she moves ahead with the mission with her original team and the new recruits. Josephina flies a helicopter and takes the rest of the group to the cartel outpost. A shootout ensues after they reach their destination.
Joe and her gang kill the cartel members while the local authorities arrive at the same place. She forces Josephina to destroy the police vehicles and eliminate the officers for the unhindered progression of the mission. After shooting down the adults at the site, the soldiers open a property, only to see hundreds of vulnerable children locked up inside the place. The serial numbers on their hands clarify that the kids are the victims of the child trafficking that happens near the United States-Mexico border. Despite being a mother of two kids, Joe decides not to save these children from the cartel outpost and abandons them after freeing them from their makeshift prison.
Joe does not save hundreds of children because she cannot do the same without jeopardizing the interests of the Lioness program and the CIA. It is physically impossible to rescue the large group of kids using her helicopter, which makes requesting support out of the blue a necessity. The resources essential to save hundreds of children have to be humongous in scale, which will leave the CIA officials exposed to the local authorities. By not saving these kids, Joe teaches Josephina and Cruz that there is no place for compassion within their team, as they are expected to function based only on the best interests of their country and agency.
Read More: Special Ops Lioness: Are Cruz and Aaliyah Gay or Bisexual?
