After the mission at the heart of Lioness season 2 was filled with missteps and near failures, it is fitting that the season finale would be a chaotic and bloody affair as Joe (Zoe Saldana) and Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman) lead a two-pronged attack to strike back against their foreign adversaries and weaken the Mexican cartel aiding them. But does it all lead to mission success or failure? We’re breaking all the key bits of the Lioness season 2 ending right here (SPOILERS ahead).
Just in case you need the recap, Joe and her team are on their way to Iraq to send a message to their enemies that they can hit them too by launching an attack on an Iranian transport of two Chinese nuclear scientists tasked with enriching the country’s nuclear arsenal while it is still in Iran. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn attempts to fix the messy situation involving Pablo Carrillo (Demián Castro) and the cartels.
Without further ado, let’s get into what happens in the Lioness season 2 finale.
Operation Sky Hawk
As a pair of camouflage soldiers keep eyes on the Chinese scientists who are the primary targets of the mission, Joe and her team arrive at the army base in Iraq, the same one they plucked Josephina (Genesis Rodriguez) from. Bobby (Jill Wagner) starts handing out weapons to the team, but she’s reluctant to give Joe one, as she is still recovering and has been told to serve in only an observe and advise role on the mission.
Meanwhile, Josephina inspects the helicopter she is going to fly for the mission, with Cruz (Laysla De Oliveria) serving as her gunner. She says after the mission, the two of them should talk about what their situation is, though since neither of them is big into those kinds of talks, they agree to “not talk” together afterward.
Amber Whalen (Dawn Olivieri, fresh off her stint on Yellowstone season 5) goes over the details of the mission, which has been dubbed Operation Sky Hawk. The Iranian forces they are going to be running into may not be as well trained as them, but they are well armed, making it a dangerous situation. It’s noted that their backup is en route, but arrival is TBD. Now they just wait for the Iranian transport to move and get the official go.
Pablo gets a deal
Kaitlyn and Byron (Michael Kelly) arrive in Costa Rica to meet with Pablo. Since the cartel has been working with foreign enemies, they’ve been labeled a terrorist organization, which has allowed the CIA to freeze all of Pablo’s accounts. They remind him they’re not looking to build a case to prosecute but to eliminate threats to US security. In this case, Pablo’s brother Alvaro, who leads the cartel and has been working with the Chinese.
They offer Pablo a solution: he replaces his brother as leader of the cartel and forges a working relationship with the CIA, with him notifying them if any foreign enemies reach out in exchange for protection from prosecution and the freedom that comes from being in the US. Pablo accepts the deal and calls his brother to set up a meeting. When he asks if he can say that they’re CIA, Kaitlyn says yes, telling him there can be no trust with secrets, something she stresses he remembers.
At the meeting, Pablo quickly kills his brother and assumes control of the cartel. His first act is giving the Chinese agent over to the CIA, with Kyle (Thad Luckinbill) set to take him to Guantanamo Bay.
As Kaitlyn and Byron get ready to leave Mexico, Byron gets sick. Kaitlyn notes the longer you are away from the action the harder it is to be directly involved in someone being killed. That’s not what has Byron sick though; he’s sick about how despite all of this, little will actually change.
Under fire
Mullins (Morgan Freeman) brings Hollar (Bruce McGill) and Mason (Jennifer Ehle) into an observation room, letting them in on the operation he has ordered without the president’s approval. Mason quickly realizes this mission isn’t about the Chinese scientists, Mullins just wants to send a message. He openly admits to that, but assures them that they get to bask in the win if it works, but all the damage falls on him if it fails.
In Iraq, as the Iranian transport heads out, Operation Sky Hawk is a go, with Josephina and Cruz heading off in the helicopter while the rest of the team remains at base. Assisting them in the field is Cody (Taylor Sheridan), who along with another soldier sets up a sniper away from the attack point.
When Josephina and Cruz arrive at the target they open fire, destroying most of the vehicles. However, a tank manages to get a shot off and hits the helicopter, causing it to crash.
At base, Joe tells the team the helicopter is down and they need to head out. Joe sure as hell isn’t sitting this out though, suiting up and going with them.
Cruz helps Josephina, who broke her leg, out of the helicopter and takes cover as more Iranian forces are converging on them. En route, Joe is told that reinforcements will get to them in 19 minutes. Bobby points out that the six of them can’t last that long against what the Iranians have. That’s not their job, Joe reminds her, their job is to try. They come up on the Iranian forces and engage, with assistance from Cody.
But sure enough, Joe’s team is outnumbered and getting hammered. They fall back to the crash site, shortly joined by Cody as his sniper spot was found and attacked by an armored vehicle, which he ultimately manages to take out single-handedly by climbing on top of it and killing the soldiers inside.
Joe and the team meet up with Cruz and continue to engage with the enemies. However, they can’t stop their approach. As members of her team take a few hits, Joe tells Josephina to keep from using her pistol in case they need to use it on themselves to avoid being captured. She then takes a moment, closing her eyes and appears to mouth “I love you;” we have to assume to Neal (Dave Annable) and her family. Just then, the reinforcements arrive, driving back the Iranian forces.
In the observation room, Mullins breathes a sigh of relief that their mission succeeded. He is notified that the Chinese and Iranian ambassadors are looking to talk with him, but he decides he’ll let them stew for a while.
Returning home
Joe and her team return to base pretty banged up (though miraculously Joe got out of it all with barely a scratch and no lingering effects from her recent near-fatal injury). Cruz talks to Joe, telling her if she had a family and kids like Joe does, she would have just sent a missile to take care of their enemies rather than go in herself. Joe says no she wouldn’t, recognizing that she and Cruz are of the same mindset. Cruz thanks Joe for rescuing them.
Cut to Joe returning home to the US. Neal is waiting outside for her. He says he wasn’t sure if she was coming home. Joe wasn’t sure she was still going to be welcomed. But Neal assures her that she’ll always be able to come back to their home. They embrace and then head into the house to reunite with their kids.
And that’s a wrap on Lioness season 2. What did you think about the latest season? Share your thoughts in the comments below. You can rewatch all episodes of Lioness anytime exclusively on Paramount Plus.
