*WARNING: Spoilers below
“Lioness” season three is officially in the books, and it gave fans a wild surprise at the end.
Season three of Taylor Sheridan’s hit CIA/military series focused heavily on the kidnapping of Joe (Zoe Saldaña) and the attempts to rescue her.
LIONESS SEASON 3 EPISODE 7 DELIVERS JOE’S RESCUE IN A GUNFIGHT FANS WON’T STOP TALKING ABOUT
She was eventually rescued in episode seven in a brutally violent and bloody gunfight. That left one major problem unresolved:
Who was the puppet master behind it all?
“Lioness” fans react to shocking finale
Fans were led to believe throughout different parts of the season that it could be the Russians, Ukrainians or the Iranians.
The answer was revealed on Sunday.
Something much more complex and rooted in the history of “Lioness.”
It was revealed in the final moments that Aaliyah Amrohi, the daughter of the season one target, was the puppet master who orchestrated the entire operation against Joe as revenge for the killing of her father.
TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S ATTENTION TO WEAPONS HANDLING SETS ‘LIONESS’ APART FROM OTHER MILITARY DRAMAS
It’s also clear that Aaliyah isn’t going to stop, and the stage is set for the fourth and likely final season. The season finale – titled “The Unraveling” – also featured an epic restaurant shootout scene when Joe ordered her team to engage the man who kidnapped her. Let’s just say things didn’t go as planned.
L-R: Thad Luckinbill as Kyle, Jonah Wharton as Tex, and Austin Hébert as Randy in Lioness, episode eight of season three. (Photo Credit: Ryan Green/Paramount+)
Reactions to the season finale poured in on Reddit. Check out some of the reactions from viewers below:
- As soon as the season 1 score started playing at the end, I knew who we were going to see.
- I’m not even 10 minutes in and so pissed for Oleksa.
- That was a bad call by Joe to engage. Very bad call. Should’ve elected to tail. They were in a crowded restaurant, she should’ve never said to engage.
- I knew Aaliyah was behind this.
- That episode has such an eerie and suspicious feeling vibe to it very excited to see what happens next season after that ending.
- Aaliyah is no longer that bubbly girl. Her demeanor is full of hatred. Hopefully it won’t be another 2 years before we get the next season.
- NEVER. IN. DOUBT.
- But imagine how powerful Aaliyah has become to be able to run such an operation. I am really happy that she is free.
- Aaliyah is one of the best female characters Taylor has ever written, in my opinion. I think it’s very symbolic that he brings her back to the fourth season, which will probably be the last. Ending a female protagonist show with a female villain is great.
- Congratulations to “Bring Aaliyah Back” crowd. Your efforts were indeed rewarded haha.
- I very much enjoyed the dialogue between Joe and Yurimov on the plane. Two equals who respect but would kill the the other. To me that was the highlight of the episode.
- Whoa, still shocked. I see things come full circle.
- Aaliyah about to get her piece of revenge! So excited for S4!
- I knew Aaliyah would be back. Just thought it would be sooner.
- Heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. Harrowing. Gonna find out soon what exactly it entails.
- Thank you Taylor Sheridan for starting to bring back closure to Aaliyah’s story. So looking forward to season 4!
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The surprising twist, which I figured out during the interrogation scene, is another example of Sheridan keeping fans on edge and always guessing what’s coming next.
It’s actually a bit surprising he managed to keep such a large reveal hidden from the public. It came shockingly close to slipping out, judging from a random Reddit post.
A woman shared a photo of herself with Stephanie Nur, the actress who plays Aaliyah, taken when the show was filming in Fort Worth after seeing her at a coffee shop.
Stephanie Nur as Aaliyah in “Lioness” season one. (Photo Credit: William Gray/Paramount+)
It certainly feels like the next season will be the conclusion of the show, and seeing as how so much of Cruz and Joe’s arcs are tied back to the actions of season one, it makes perfect sense. While I have no idea what’s coming, my guess is many characters won’t make it out alive. It wouldn’t make any sense if they had happy endings.
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It goes against everything the show has given fans through three seasons.
Morgan Freeman as Edwin Mullins in Lioness, episode eight of season three. (Photo Credit: Ryan Green/Paramount+)
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Do you have a theory on how “Lioness” will conclude? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
