The 'Lioness' Season 2 Finale Spells Doom for 'Yellowstone'
No other series on television moves quite like Lioness. I'm at the point where you could convince me that the CIA drama takes place just days before Mad Max's apocalypse survivors start up their motorbikes. In the blink of an eye, even the most random crimes somehow lead to potential global nuclear conflicts. The average speed in this show is 200 miles per hour and the only acceptable speaking volume is at the top of your lungs. Lioness season 2 didn't just jump the shark—it blasted its brains out.
Where do I even begin? In the beginning of the Paramount series, viewers were led to believe that the kidnapping of a Texas congresswoman over the U.S.-Mexico border would somehow lead to China invading Taiwan. (I know. This is insane in and of itself.). Joe (Zoe Saldaña) began training a new Lioness to help the team take out a Chinese agent in Mexico who was planning the whole operation, but that plan went to shit by episode 4. The Lioness team uncovered a child trafficking ring halfway through season 2 and blew the whole operation sky high. Then, a meeting with high-ranking CIA members in last week's episode course-corrected the show entirely. Now, Joe and her team are tasked with eliminating two Chinese nuclear scientists in Hakkari, Turkey. Oh, and did I mention that Joe just nearly died?
As I recover from the whiplash, I can't help but think of another Taylor Sheridan series that recently sent viewers up the wall. Yes, I'm talking about Yellowstone. The writer killed off multiple characters within the last few weeks, including its lead actor (Kevin Costner). After this clusterfuck of a Lioness finale, I'm incredibly worried for Yellowstone's final episode next week. A big part of that concern has to do with Sheridan's work both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. The writer doesn't just put Joe's team in insane situations—he saves the day himself.
Let me lay out the scene for you. As planned, Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez) and Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) board an attack chopper and blast the hell out of the unsuspecting Iranians and the two Chinese scientists. Mission accomplished. It's over. Let's go home. Joe's team is only around five or six people, however, so the Iranian compound quickly floods the battlefield with a hundred confused infantry ready to retaliate. Carrillo's helicopter is shot down. She can barely walk when she frees herself from the wreckage. Luckily, backup arrives just as Carrillo lets out a wail of despair.
Oh, what's that? It's a bird! it's a plane!! It's Taylor Sheridan!!!
Like Bradley Cooper in American Sniper, Sheridan's delta force character arrives and picks off twenty to thirty Iranian combatants like it's child's play. “Piece of cake,” he says. Then, Sheridan blasts a tank’s underbelly and takes out everyone inside. He levels another couple dozen Iranian soldiers before backup arrives. “Nick of time,” Secretary of State Morgan Freeman says as he watches a video feed in his war room. America lives to see another sunrise... all thanks to Taylor Sheridan.
Joe returns home, where her husband (Dave Annabele) is waiting for her outside. He's not even mad anymore. They're just lucky that she came back alive. “If I had a family, kids, I would have sent a missile,” Cruz tells Joe. “No,” she responds. “You wouldn’t.”
What about the cartel? The child trafficking ring? The Chinese threat to invade Taiwan? America waging a mini war in Iran? Forget it. Roll credits. We’re done here. Readers, I wish I was kidding.
Well, there is one more insane plot thread to sort out. But Sheridan isn't personally involved in that one, so it's over quickly. Despite leading the show's central drama for the past eight weeks, the Carrillo family cartel is fully dispatched of in seconds. If you recall, Josephina's father, Pablo Carrillo (Damian Castro), is their bridge to Los Tigres Cartel leader Alvaro Carrillo. His brother is reportedly housing a Chinese agent. Barely any of that plot even matters anymore.
Five seconds after we finally meet Alvaro, Pablo shoots his brother in the head. A quick coup? Placing someone in power who is more favourable to work in the U.S.’s best interests? Now that’s the CIA I know. “What makes me sick is how little will change,” Byron (Michael Kelly) says. Then, he ships the spy off to Guantanamo faster than how quickly the credits rolled once Joe returned home. I can't say I'm pleased with how it all wrapped up.
If Yellowstone ends with Taylor Sheridan's character personally purchasing the Dutton family ranch, I'll lose my mind.
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