You know that saying that only a woman can write to women? Taylor Sheridan proves that with sensitivity directed to the right place, it is possible to have a macho man talking to the female audience. Her main character in Sicario is a cousin of the protagonist of Lioness and in a series that combines action, drama, and suspense in a way that many similar ones should imitate.

To begin with, the inspiration for the series: the military program Lioness (Lionesses) exists in the American government. The objective of Operation Lioness is always to insert an agent close to the wife or daughter of a suspect to gain information and arrange the best moment to kill him. If there are more victims along the way, so be it. In other words, there is room to always have a new season without the need to continue with the same story! And that is what we have here.

We return to the action sometime after where we left off, with the same cast we are now familiar with, involved in a challenge that is even more complex than in season 1. Joe (Zoe Saldaña) is better off at home, with her doctor husband, Neal (David Annable), and her daughters, but of course not for long. That’s because the season opens with a violent kidnapping on American soil and since the congresswoman was transported to Mexico, the rescue needs to be immediate and accurate. By the government’s choice, in a very grandiose way to make the news.

I’ll spare you the details because it’s pure adrenaline until the end. The interesting thing is to see that the showrunner, also an actor, makes a recurring and sensational cameo.

The season’s mission is now to insert a Lioness among Los Tigres because the CIA discovers that they are working for and with the Chinese, find out who the Chinese agent is, and kill him. And the Mexicans who get in the way too. Unable to count on Sergeant Cruz Manuelos (Laysla de Oliveira), Joe has (as usual) enormous pressure to organize everything in less than three weeks (she would need at least three months). Everyone wants her to choose soldier and helicopter pilot Josephina Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez) and of course, Joe resists as much as possible because she doesn’t like interference and because Josephina’s story is extremely suspicious: she is none other than the niece of the Los Tigres boss and claims to have no contact with her family.

We stopped in the second episode, when Joe finally meets Josephina, with the two following the cliché: that is, hating each other immediately. Josephina doesn’t want to be part of the program because, as she says, “no woman who joins it leaves alive”. But she has no choice.

What can we say about the return of Lioness Op? Thank you, Taylor Sheridan! The Paramount Plus series features an ultra-convincing Nicole Kidman (if The Diplomat had been with her, we would have another series), Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, and Jenniffer Ehle, among others, all bringing credibility to the scenes where politics are explained/traced and exercised.

Since I mentioned the Netflix series, here we have Kidman as the CIA chief in charge of Operation Lioness, Kaitlyn Meade, married to Errol, an influential lobbyist played by Martin Donovan in a relationship extremely similar to that of the protagonists of The Diplomat. With a deep voice, observant look, and few words, Kidman has a great presence and is further proof of her versatility.

Unfortunately, the weak link is Zoe Saldaña. Joe is a tormented agent because her professional commitment demands practicality of emotional distances that clearly take a lot of her mental health. We know this from her hysterical screams and raised voice in every scene where Joe is confronted or needs to exercise leadership. Just look at Nicole Kidman and you’ll see that she could do more if she could. But that doesn’t mean she’s any less of a character, she’s just not the best on screen.

I think the second season has an even more impactful beginning than the first, and just seeing in the credits that Cruz will return at some point makes me even more excited. Lioness has everything it needs to gain more attention among fans, she’s already one of my favorites of the year!

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