Lioness Season 2 Episode 5 brings the stakes to a new level, as Joe’s increasingly militant leadership continues to strain her relationships with the team. The episode pivots on two major dilemmas: Joe’s hardline decision to leave a group of children behind at a smuggling warehouse, and the growing tensions within her team as they struggle with her leadership.
The mission is clear: take down the Mexican drug cartel Los Tigres, which is linked to Joe's team member Josephina through her father, Pablo. Since Episode 2, Joe has been pushing to use Josephina as an inside source, but their relationship has been rocky from the start. Now, Josephina finds herself facing an impossible ultimatum that could have dire consequences.
The episode opens with the team returning from the warehouse, furious over what just transpired. Cruz immediately calls Joe out for the failed bust, questioning her leadership, while Joe fires back, accusing the Mexican special agent of having faulty intel. It turns out the warehouse was a front for smuggling children, not drugs — a new, troubling development that hangs over the mission.
Back at the CIA's saferoom, Joe briefs Kaitlyn on the situation. The children are being smuggled across the border, but no narcotics are found. Joe is adamant about rescuing them, but Kaitlyn orders her to “leave them behind,” speculating that the operation may be the work of a rebel cartel, not the Mexican drug ring they’ve been targeting. American intervention would complicate things, Kaitlyn insists, and she wants to keep U.S. hands clean.
Joe conveys Kaitlyn’s directive to the team, and as expected, they are not pleased. Josephina, in particular, expresses her anger, declaring that this isn’t what she signed up for. She threatens to be court-martialed and testify against Joe. Tensions escalate, and it falls to Cruz to calm the situation. Meanwhile, Kyle questions why Joe has allowed the team to form their own opinions instead of sticking to her command. Joe then pulls Bobby aside to share some critical intel: one of the children has a tracker in their shoe — a tracker Joe planted. She covertly tasks Bobby with finding out where the kids are crossing, and together they devise a plan to monitor their movement without violating mission rules.
As the team heads to Dallas, Cruz and Josephina have a tense conversation about loyalty, duty, and the larger fight for the greater good. Cruz presses Josephina about her father’s role in all of this, implying that, like them, he may be a “sheep or saint” — fighting for a cause, even if the outcome is morally gray. Cruz’s insight seems to hit home, and Joe, reflecting on the situation, gains a newfound appreciation for her.
Meanwhile, Joe calls Kaitlyn, hinting that there’s something important she needs to discuss in person back at base. There, Kaitlyn is confronted by presidential candidates who demand to know the security details surrounding the cartel operation. Kaitlyn, ever the master of keeping things close to the chest, refuses to share specifics.
Joe has a heart-to-heart with Josephina, apologizing for the tough decisions she’s had to make. She urges Josephina to tell her father the truth about what’s happening — if Pablo agrees to cooperate, his family will be kept safe; if not, they’ll raid his house and destroy him. The burden of this choice now falls on Josephina’s shoulders, and she reluctantly agrees to present her father with both options.
While the rest of the team sets up to monitor Pablo’s house, Joe stays behind on the plane, letting Cruz take the lead. She trusts Cruz more than anyone in the same position, though Kaitlyn remains concerned about the mission’s risks.
Back at Pablo’s house, Josephina is on edge as she confronts her father with the truth. Cruz warns her that if she doesn’t pull it together, they could both be killed.
The conversation with Pablo quickly spirals into an intense, uncomfortable exchange, with Pablo launching into a homophobic rant about the moral failings of dishonoring women in the context of building a new army. He tries to manipulate Josephina into seeing things from his perspective, referencing a cycle of despair that he believes they are all trapped in.
Meanwhile, the border interception takes a devastating turn. With U.S. soldiers now involved, Team Lioness intercepts a group of Mexican smugglers, resulting in casualties on both sides. Just as they’re about to secure the children and bring them to safety, disaster strikes. A man, visible through a sniper’s heat sensor, emerges from the crowd and launches a grenade at the group. The explosion obliterates everyone in its path, including the children. While the Lioness team members survive the blast, the children — and any hope of rescuing them — are lost.
As the episode closes, the fallout from this failed mission will no doubt ripple through the team, and the moral cost of their decisions begins to weigh heavily on them all.
This episode left me with a lot to chew on, and I’m curious to see how the fallout from this mission will unfold. Joe’s trajectory is starting to look more and more uncertain, and I can’t help but feel that the consequences of her actions are just beginning to catch up with her.
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