We saw in Lioness season 1 how the entire mission with Cruz adversely affected Joe. Joe started questioning her own morals and ethics. She told Cruz that she had done the right thing by neutralizing the target, but the former told her that she started a chain reaction by doing so. Cruz told her that the children of the victim will seek revenge, and the cycle will keep on going. Cruz told Joe that she had turned her into a monster. Cruz made it very clear that she didn’t want to see Joe ever again in her life, and at the end of season 1, they parted ways. So let’s find out what conflicts Joe encounters this time around in Lioness season 2 and if she once again crosses paths with Cruz.
Spoiler Alert
Why was Hernandez kidnapped?
Congresswoman Hernandez got kidnapped in the first episode of Lioness season 2, and the news spread like wildfire in the entire country. It was the first time that a cartel or a gang had targeted a politician, and by doing so, they wanted to set an example. She was trying to push a legislative bill that would allow the authorities to deploy military forces on US soil. It was speculated that if the bill became a law, then it could prove fatal for all the illegal immigrants who generally entered the US from Mexico and other borders. Kaitlyn Meade’s husband believed that it was not the work of some specific cartel. He was of the opinion that some major players who were involved with the oil business had something to do with the entire issue. Joe was at her home, and she was trying to forget the trauma of her past and lead a normal life. She was trying to be there for her kids, and she was genuinely making an effort to mend her relationship with her entire family. It felt as if Joe was itching to be back in action. She just couldn’t make peace with her new life. Edwin Mullins called for an emergency meeting to discuss the matter of the Congresswoman’s kidnapping. The president was keeping a tab on whatever was happening, and he also knew that it was a matter of great concern for the nation. The reputation of the United States of America was at stake, and they had to hit hard and as quickly as possible. Joe went to attend the meeting where she met Kaitlyn and Byron Westfield. Joe was going on a mission to rescue Hernandez. She was told that she wouldn’t get the support of the US Navy Seal or Delta forces. Her bosses told her that the most they could do for her was to ask the TFO (Task Force Orange) to accompany her. Joe had no option. She had to make do with whatever she got. The US law enforcement authorities, this time around, wanted to set a precedent. They wanted to show the culprits what they were capable of. The US officials knew that the Mexican government might have the support of China and that the latter would be waiting for them to commit one small mistake. But still, saving the politician was paramount.
Were Joe and Kyle able to save Hernandez?
Joe once again met Kyle and got to know that he was the one who was going to go to Mexico with her. Three other team members, Tracer Dean and Cody, also tagged along with Joe, and together, they embarked on the mission to save Congresswoman Hernandez. They crossed the border and entered the enemy territory. They received an email, and the Congresswoman was being taken to some other location. Luckily Hernandez had a tracker on her, and that made it easier for the authorities to keep tabs on her movement. Joe and her team got into a deadly shootout with the gang members, but in the end, they were able to save Hernandez. Then came the difficult part, where they had to find a way to escape from the country. They couldn’t use the normal route, and so Cody, after getting the intel, decided to drive the vehicle off a cliff, as that was the only way to reach a safe spot where the goons wouldn’t hound them. Cody’s heroics saved the day, but the US soldiers lost one of their team members. Joe lashed out at Kyle for not making a foolproof plan and blamed him for the death of the teammate. Kyle told her that he couldn’t have done anything in that situation, no matter how hard he tried.
What happened between Neal and Joe?
At the end of Lioness episode 1, Joe called Neal and told him that she wouldn’t be back home for a few days, and the latter knew that she was going on a dangerous mission. Joe never spoke explicitly about her mission. Firstly, any information related to any mission was top-secret, and secondly, she didn’t even want her family members to get worried. Neal didn’t say a word to Joe. He knew the kind of conflict his wife would be dealing with on the work front. He didn’t want her to get stressed about anything else other than what she was already dealing with. The mission was over, and the news of Congresswoman Hernandez being rescued was covered by every media outlet. Neal realized that that was the mission Joe went on. Neal lived in constant fear of losing his wife. He controlled his emotions and didn’t say anything in front of his kids, but that didn’t mean that everything he saw in the news didn’t affect him. Joe gave a call to Neal after things calmed down. She broke down over the call when she heard her kid’s voice. Joe’s professional life was taking a toll on her mental health. I personally don’t know if she would be able to continue working in the special operations department or not, but the road ahead is going to be extremely difficult. There will be moments where she will lose faith in herself; there will be moments where she won’t be able to make sense of anything, and it will be interesting to see how long she is able to maintain her composure and keep moving forward.
