AsLionessSeason 2continues, theTaylor Sheridan-helmed political thriller may feel a bit more familiar to audiences than before. WhileSeason 1 ofLioness(then titledSpecial Ops: Lioness) pushed our heroes into an international terrorist plot, this season brings them much closer to home. With conflicts brewing on the United States/Mexico border, tensions are higher than ever, especially since the series is beginning to feel particularly reminiscent of Sheridan’s first action thriller:Sicario. But there’s one scene in particular that feels ripped from the 2015 crime drama, and that’s the chase sequence from “Beware the Old Soldier.”
‘Lioness’ Season 2 Dives Into a ‘Sicario’-Inspired Plot
As Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña), Kyle McMannus (Thad Luckinbill), Cody Spears (Sheridan), and their team travel across the border to rescue kidnapped U.S. Congresswoman Hernandez (Czarina Mireles),they find themselves quickly discovered by Mexican officials. As they high-tail it north to the border, Joe and her allies are pinned on every side, forcing them to make a drastic decision: drive right off a cliff and into a river that divides the countries. It’s high-octane entertainment that pushes our heroine and her crew to the end of their rope and nearly kills them in the process. It also feels like something that we could have easily seen in one or both of theSicariofilms, each written by Sheridan himself.
This pulse-pounding, fear-inducing, and intense sequence leaves nothing up to chance. There’s a moment in there where we’re not sure if they’re going to make it back to the U.S., and the thought that they could be captured (or worse) is a frightening one. In many ways, Joe is brought into this whole extractionthe same way that Emily Blunt’s Kate Mercer was in the originalSicario.She’s not used to these sorts of operations, certainly not one so close to home, and yet finds herself in the middle of a war between the American government and the cartels. We know thata thirdSicariofilm is still in development, so it wouldn’t seem like too far a stretch ifLionessand Sheridan’s thriller trilogy crossed over in small ways going forward.
As the season continues, we learn that Joe’s latest mission revolves around inserting her latest Lioness —Genesis Rodriguez’s Captain Josephina Carrillo — into the very cartels that kidnapped the Congresswoman and killed her family, so that one of their high-profile leaders can be assassinated. Similarly,Sicario’s plot revolved around assassinating a certain cartel leader so that a single cartel might take its place, hopefully making it easier for the U.S. government to control (or combat) the problem going forward. It’s unclear if there will be any specific crossover betweenSicarioandLioness(it’s unlikely given the different studios involved), but the similarities are cearly apparent, andthey makeLionessa better series in the process.
‘Lioness’ Season 2 Review: Zoe Saldaña Is the Best Asset of Taylor Sheridan’s Thriller Series
Does Sheridan’s series stick the landing in Season 2?
Taylor Sheridan’s Work on ‘Sicario’ Drove Zoe Saldaña to Make ‘Lioness’
But we’re not the only ones comparingLionessandSicario. As early as the Paramount+ series' first season, Zoe Saldaña (who, like her co-starNicole Kidman, also serves as an executive producer on the project) was first drawn to the show because ofSheridan’s work onSicario. In fact, she considersLionessto beSicario’s “spiritual sequel,” and we can’t disagree. “I loveSicario,” Saldaña toldThe Hollywood Reporterin 2023. “I thoughtSicariowas a very interesting movie where normal people are trying to do the right thing in very bad ways, and so in a way, that felt very similar.” More than that, Saldaña noted that she loves thatLioness' politics, not unlikeSicario’s, are particularly “gray.” “These politics are very complex, and that’s what I was really hooked on.”
However, as the rest ofLioness' second season shapes out, we know that Joe will fight to do the right thing,even if it means making some terrible or horrific choices along the way. This was exactly what nearly broke our heroine after Season 1, and it’s what she continues to do now in Season 2. After all, that’s what real-life operators have to do to keep our country safe. If there’s anything that Taylor Sheridan does right with his two-season action thriller, it’s highlighting the tough choices made every day in the name of national security. As we near the halfway point inLioness' latest season, we can only hope it will lean even further into itsSicarioinspiration and push Joe and her Lioness team to the absolute limit.
LionessSeason 2 is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Special Ops: Lioness is a Paramount+ original series starring Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman. The series centers on a marine and a CIA agent who work together with the daughter of a dangerous terrorist group to destroy the organization. Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone co-creator) and Jill Wagner created the series, which was directed by Paul Cameron and Anthony Byrne.
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