NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Special Ops: Lioness episode 6, "The Lie is the Truth."
Special Ops: Lioness continues to take its time to set up its key relationships and stakes, with episode 6 furthering Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) and Aaliyah's (Stephanie Nur) relationship, revealing the political stakes to the main mission and introducing key characters for the first time (hello Morgan Freeman).
Let's break down exactly what happened in Special Ops: Lioness episode 6.
The right questions
Cruz is on her way to Aaliyah's in the Hamptons. It'll just be the two of them, so Joe (Zoe Saldana) stresses the importance of her remembering everything she tells Aaliyah, instructing her to tell snippets of her true life, but changing the names.
Joe is preparing for a big meeting of her own, which Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman) tells her is being moved to the White House, making it even bigger. While the change of venue is a surprise to Kaitlyn, it's not for her husband Errol (Martin Donovan). Kaitlyn says if Errol dishes on what he knows, she'll give him some info that could help him, but only if they ask each other the right questions.
Kaitlyn is able to figure out the Secretary of State is likely going to be in their meeting. Errol learns that if Kaitlyn's current mission is successful, it could put billions of dollars of oil back on the market. However, he says that's not necessarily a good thing; it's all a matter of perspective.
Spa day
Aaliyah has arranged a complete at-home spa day for her and Cruz. Cruz is not used to being pampered like this, which only endears Aaliyah to her more. She tells Cruz she is going to make it her mission to find her a husband. When she asks what kind of man she wants, Cruz says the most important thing to her is someone who will stand up for her.
After their treatments, Aaliyah tells Cruz she wants to be her true friend, to be someone who will stand up for her. But to do that Cruz has to be honest with her, starting with the real reason she has the bruises on her face. Cruz tells her a version of the story of her abusive boyfriend we saw in episode 1, which Aaliyah accepts as the truth.
Not so far away, the team is monitoring Aaliyah's from another house in the Hamptons. They are a bit bored by it all until they hear something downstairs. Going into action mode, they neutralize a trio of burglars who have broken into the house.
The Secretary will see you now
Kaitlyn and Joe wait all day for their meeting, a strategic move to make them antsy. When they are finally brought in, they sit down next to Byron Westfield (Michael Kelly) and across from the president's Chief of Staff Mason (Jennifer Ehle), NSA advisor Hollar (Bruce McGill) and Secretary of State Mullins (Morgan Freeman).
Kyle (Thad Luckinbill) is then brought in to tell his version of what happened in San Antonio. He sticks with the story that San Antonio law enforcement oversaw all facets of the operation, but Mullins and the rest of them know that's a lie. They quickly dismiss Kyle and drill Kaitlyn and Joe, who also refuse to acknowledge the CIA was in charge of the operation, claiming there is no evidence that can lead back to them. Westfield takes it further, saying he wishes they could take credit because the actions likely saved thousands of lives, but he agrees with Kaitlyn and Joe, they got the result they wanted and no one will know that it was the CIA's doing.
Mullins then moves on to Kaitlyn and Joe's current mission. They reveal their target and that they have a Lioness embedded with his next of kin, the closest they've ever gotten to such a high-value target. When asked what the next steps are, Joe explains Cruz will attend Aaliyah's wedding, they will confirm the target is there and then eliminate him with a drone or missile strike. When asked how Cruz will call the strike in, Joe says she won't, she'll make the call without Cruz's knowledge, confirming they'll sacrifice her to complete the mission.
Hollar says they will continue with the mission, but the administration will make the final call on if they order a strike. When Kaitlyn asks why, Mullins basically confirms this is punishment, making it known they can't pull covert ops on US soil and get away with it.
After the meeting, Joe can't figure out why the administration wants to take control of things. Kaitlyn wonders if they may not want to kill their target, preferring the destabilization he helps cause in the region. Whatever it is, she intends to figure it out.
Calling in a favor
Joe gets a call from her team informing her about the break-in. Unable to call the police, Joe instead reaches out to Kyle and calls in the favor he owes her. He makes his way up to the Hamptons, intimidates the burglars and pays them off to ensure they don't talk to anyone about what they saw that night.
No more band-aids
Joe arrives home after the long day to find Neal (Dave Annable) turning one of the downstairs rooms into Kate's (Hannah Love Lainer) temporary bedroom for when she gets back from the hospital. They decide to go have a drink by the pool, where they both agree that Joe needs to figure out how to be there more. Joe also recommits to Neal, telling him there will be no more band-aids (referring back to the woman Neal said he spent time with while Joe was abroad).
Slumber party
Cruz and Aaliyah cap off their day with a good old-fashioned slumber party, watching Paranormal Activity and then The Notebook to end on a less creepy note. Cruz is brought to tears by The Notebook's love story. This prompts Aaliyah to acknowledge that she will never be in love like that.
Cruz tells her not to marry Ehsan, but Aaliyah explains as an Arab woman saying no to this marriage would bring shame on both families and likely lead to her being locked away at best or, at worst, killed. "To choose love would be the death of me," she says. She then asks if Cruz has ever been in love, to which she says no. They both say they would like to feel it just once.
The next morning, Cruz is awakened by a screaming Aaliyah. But these are happy screams, as she finds out her wedding is going to be taking place in the beautiful Majorca. In her excitement, she kisses Cruz, who then kisses her back passionately. When they break, Aaliyah tries to brush it off, but Cruz knows she is in deep trouble as her feelings may threaten her mission.
New episodes of Special Ops: Lioness premiere Sundays on Paramount Plus.
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