Lioness Season 2 sacrifices the more intimate atmosphere of the first season to become more political. As a result, the second season is more scattered in its execution and worldview. While the action creates a compelling viewing experience, it’s harder to connect with the characters on screen.

The Lioness program needs a new addition after Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) quit at the end of the first season. Enter Josie (Genesis Rodriguez), an army pilot whose father launders money for a drug cartel. This connection means that she is the asset that was given to Joe (Zoe). Saldaña) without Joe’s vetting, which accounts for most of the drama surrounding this season.

But because of Lioness Season 2In the larger story landscape, Josie’s appearance on the Lioness show is secondary to the boring political conspiracies. Given that the show is called “Lioness,” it’s a missed opportunity to explore what it means to be part of this program. Instead, Josie’s character is underdeveloped. She brings a different energy to the team that keeps the show’s premise fresh, but the lack of development causes the season to suffer.

Lioness Season 2 loses sight of its original goal

It mostly concerns Cruz’s character returning Lioness Season 2 Episode 4 To be Josie’s shadow. Or, in Joe’s words, the person who gets Josie out when needed. But the change in Cruz’s attitude is difficult to understand. When we last saw her, she left the Lioness program after killing her lover’s father, saying she couldn’t just close her heart to these missions. However, in her return, Joe tasks her with getting Josie on board the mission, a mission that will require Josie to turn against the people she loves, just like Cruz did.

Their connection as former and current Lioness assets also leads to an attraction between the two, but unlike the first season, there is less focus on the Lionesses, resulting in their relationship being severely underdeveloped and lacking. Included Lioness Season 1 succeeds, whereas Lioness Season 2 That’s not the case, as the focus was heavily on Cruz as an undercover agent, which led to a more believable intimacy between her and Aaliyah (Stephanie Nur).

Putting more focus on Cruz and her undercover operation has benefited the show on the political front. In this way, the conflict was personal and the gray area of ​​those working for the CIA and the Lioness program was understood more as a criticism of the CIA and its operations. But inside Lioness Season 2the show loses that edge and supports these g more clearlyGovernment agents are viewed as heroes despite their superior power and bias toward both sides of global conflicts.

The expansion of political horizons clouds the situation

Count the number of righteous speeches about the common good and you will quickly lose track. While the series seems like it’s trying to portray these men and women as victims of their own morals for a greater cause, it justifies the approach a bit too much by expanding the second season to include more global conflicts.

And there are many global conflicts that arise in Lioness Season 2. This second season features a possible war on the United States-Mexico border, domestic shootings, drug cartels, human trafficking and potential nuclear threats from China. The amount of information lost regarding these conflicts flies by without much time to internalize the information before a new one arises. Meanwhile, the undercover operation between Josie and Cruz would be the more interesting storyline if only the series paid more attention to it.

The drama surrounding Joe and her family balances out the events somewhat. Lioness Season 2 shows Joe struggling between work and home life, especially now that her older daughter Kate (Hannah Love Lanier) knows what her mother does for a living. This personal drama intersects with her duty to her job and the justifications she must make along the way to be able to do that job. This is the only thread in the entire second season that is well thought out and well executed.

Although there are plenty of entertaining action sequences and Joe’s QRF team brings the same fun energy as before Lioness Season 1it’s still an unfocused season 2.

Lioness Season 2 is available to stream on Paramount+