After things went completely off the rails with the mission, it’s time for a new plan in Lioness season 2 episode 7. Mullen (Morgan Freeman) visits Byron (Michael Kelly) at his home to discuss his strategy.
Once they get through a TED Talk on how America’s ability to come together has been destroyed and all those in power (presidents, senators, congress, the media) played a part in it, Mullen tells Byron the enemy is at the gate, they need to slam it shut; it’s time they go on the offensive. Mullen tells Byron not to seek official approval until after the mission has started, but assures him that when it comes time to jump on the grenade for this, Mullen will be the one to do it.
And with that, Lioness is taking on a whole new mission and direction in its penultimate episode. If you had a harder time keeping track of all the moving pieces, read our Lioness season 2 episode 7 recap below.
Getting back to work
Though Joe’s (Zoe Saldana) fate was left open-ended last episode, we see she has survived her wound, which turned out to be from a fragment of her cell phone, not a bullet. Still, the surgery to save her requires Joe to take it easy for a week. When Joe asks what if that’s not possible because of her job, the doctor says to just make sure she thinks before doing anything that could potentially reopen the wound.
Neal (Dave Annable) is by Joe’s side to hear all of this. Despite Joe apologizing for calling him as she thought she was dying, Neal is pissed, saying if Joe dies in the line of duty it will kill him as well. Joe doesn’t want to hear it. He knows she swore an oath to her country before she married him and what that meant; he needs to toughen up or divorce her. Still, she’s looking for her way out, but hasn’t found it yet.
Later, Byron comes to talk with Joe. Joe gives him more details about the ambush at the border, believing it was actually an attempt to protect a foreign asset, not just move migrants across the border. Byron tells her they’re going on the offensive, but that she’ll run the mission from Langley. Joe won’t have it, saying she decides how her team is run. But Byron reminds her that her team is expendable, Joe isn’t.
Lie detector tests
Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman), Kyle (Thad Luckinbill) and the rest of the team rendezvous in Dallas, bringing Guiterrez (Kirk Acevedo) to the safe house where they’re holding Pablo Carillo (Demián Castro). They have some interrogations to do. Kyle hooks Guiterrez up to a polygraph machine, while Kaitlyn talks with Pablo’s maid (Sofie Calderon).
After asking some base questions, Kyle dives into the hard stuff with Guiterrez: has he ever been offered payment from a criminal organization or a representative of a criminal organization? Guiterrez admits he has, but he didn’t accept the payment. Kyle follows up with why he didn’t report the offer to his superiors or another agency? Guiterrez won’t say unless he’s assured his answer won’t leave the room. But when Kyle makes it clear if Guiterrez doesn’t answer they’ll kill him, he finally spills the beans.
The reason he didn’t report being offered payment was because the person who offered it to him was another DEA agent, who Guiterrez killed. Despite everything, Guiterrez is loyal to what he calls a lost cause, lamenting that no matter what they do, they can’t make a dent in the cartels’ business, in large part because they’ve infiltrated every level of the US that helps them bypass the guardrails against them. He asks if the CIA really thinks they can come in and fix the problem so easily?
Kyle informs Kaitlyn that Guiterrez is telling the truth. The maid backed up his story as well. So what do they do now? They decide to move Pablo to a black site in Costa Rica, and then regroup in Langley. Flying him down to Costa Rica, Kyle notes Pablo has never once asked what all this is about.
Kaitlyn then goes to talk with Guiterrez. He comments on how he realizes now the CIA does not hold back once they have their target in sight. The problem is, there’s no way the cartel doesn’t know that something is going on. She says that could be to their advantage, forcing the cartel to be reactive. She stares down Guiterrez and ultimately decides they are back on the same team, giving him back his gun and phone.
House guests
Awaiting their next orders, Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) has Josephina (Genesis Rodriguez) stay at her house on base. They get closer, emotionally and physically, with Josephina thinking Cruz could help her forget her shame and guilt, even if just for a moment. But before they can take the next step, Bobby (Jilly Wagner) and the rest of the team show up. With the base not having a house ready for them, they decide to crash at Cruz’s. They recognize that they interrupted something but just push right past it.
That night, Cruz and Josephina share a room; Cruz tells Josephina it’s OK for her to sleep in the bed with her. Josephina asks if the mission is over because of her? No, Cruz tells her. She shouldn’t have stepped in, she should’ve seen if Josephina could have gotten things under control with her father.
Joe’s choice
Kaitlyn visits Joe in the hospital. After they squabble over the failings of the mission (Kaitlyn is upset Joe led the team into that ambush, Joe brings up her objections to how the mission was put together), Kaitlyn points out they need a new target and asks how soon Joe can be ready? She’s ready to go now, Joe assures her.
Neal wouldn’t agree with that, as evidenced by how he treats Joe when he brings her home. He tries to help her out of the car, but she refuses. She then finds Neal had a medical bed put into the living room so Joe doesn’t have to climb the stairs. Joe says he’s her husband, not her doctor, so she defies him and goes upstairs to take a shower.
After Joe gets out, Neal comes in, frustrated because there’s a car outside to take Joe to work. He argues Joe can’t be stubborn about the health risks, but before he can make his case she stops him. She tells him about the girl, about the age of their youngest daughter, who had been abducted and sold into slavery, then she witnessed a suicide bomber detonate a bomb and kill that girl in front of her. She can’t and won’t rest after that. She’s going to make sure that never happens again.
When Joe arrives at Langley, Byron and Kaitlyn are being debriefed on two Chinese scientists set to be transported to Iran, presumably to help with their nuclear program. Byron says their new mission is to show Iran and China just how far the US can reach, striking the scientists’ transport while they are in Iran. They’ll deploy Joe’s team, with Josephina flying them in to execute the strike. Joe insists she joins them. Byron orders her to observe and advise only, while Kaitlyn tells her to know her limits and not to become a liability. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn will go to Costa Rica to take care of the Carillo situation.
When Cruz and Josephina awake the next morning, another tender moment is interrupted when they get an alert about the new mission. They all head to the airport where Joe meets them, telling them things are going to get spicy. Josephina asks Joe what her part is in all this. Josephina’s going to get to save the day by showing them how good of a pilot she really is.
Before takeoff, Joe calls Neal, who can quickly tell she is about to board a flight for a new mission. He asks what he is supposed to tell their daughters if she dies from her injuries or whatever danger awaits? Joe says he can ultimately tell them whatever he wants. Angry, Neal says if Joe does come home, she needs to decide if she’ll ever be able to make her children a priority like they should be before throwing his phone and abruptly ending the call. Not the sendoff Joe wanted as she boards the plane.
New episodes of Lioness premiere Sundays on Paramount Plus in the US; Mondays on Paramount Plus in the UK.
