Special Ops: Lioness review: Taylor Sheridan sends stock female characters to war
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The press release for Special Ops: Lioness — the new Paramount+ spy thriller from Yellowstone overlord Taylor Sheridan — describes Nicole Kidman's character as a senior CIA advisor who "must juggle the trappings of being a woman in the high-ranking intelligence community, a wife who longs for the attention she herself can't even give, and a mentor to someone veering suspiciously close to the same rocky road she's found herself on."
It's hard to tell whether that summary suits Kidman's Kaitlyn Meade; she is on screen for less than two minutes in the one episode of Lioness that Paramount+ made available for review. But don't worry — the above description can also be applied to Joe, a CIA operative played by Zoe Saldaña, whose mission to capture a Middle Eastern terrorist drives the story. Taylor Sheridan has never shown much interest in writing fully realized women; Beth Dutton may be a lot of fun to watch, but she's also a composite of clichés. For Lioness, Sheridan has assembled a handful of Strong Female Character tropes and sent them to war — resulting in a serviceable intelligence drama that escapes mediocrity thanks to its two leads.
Luke Varley/Paramount+ Laysla De Oliveira, Zoe Saldaña, and Nicole Kidman on 'Special Ops: Lioness'
As head of the CIA's Lioness program, Joe (no last name that we know of) recruits female soldiers to go undercover and befriend the women around high-value terrorism targets. When her latest operation implodes, ending with the death of her trusted operative (Ariella Ezekiel), Joe determines to keep a stiff arm's length from her next agent — lest emotions lead to more bloodshed. Enter Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira), a tough and brilliant Marine who, we are repeatedly told, outperforms male soldiers in physical challenges. Her goal: Befriend Aaliyah (Stephanie Nur), daughter of an Iranian militia leader. The operation kicks off with Cruz getting all dressed up in a stylish pantsuit and arranging an accidental meet-cute with Aaliyah at the Louis Vuitton boutique in Kuwait City.
Most of the female CIA characters in Lioness have gender-neutral names — Joe, Cruz, their fellow soldier Bobby (Jill Wagner) — and in Sherdian's world, the only way these traditionally beautiful women can succeed is if they also possess the strength and stoicism associated with traditional masculinity. ("No woman has done this. Most men don't," marvels one of the many male Marines who simply cannot believe how well Cruz did on her physical fitness tests.)
Lynsey Addario/Paramount+ Zoe Saldaña in 'Special Ops: Lioness'
Taylor Sheridan didn't create the Strong Female Character trope — an uneasy blend of realism, sexism, and fetishism — but he certainly leans hard on it here. Cruz is a hard-ass survivor who's been on her own since she was a teen. Mom's dead, dad's not in the picture; her last boyfriend (Ethan Jones Ramirez) was a violent degenerate. Joe, meanwhile, is overseas for work so often that she feels like a stranger to her daughters (Hannah Love Lanier and Celestina Harris) when she does come home, and it's implied that she and her loving but lonely husband, Neil (Dave Annable), have an open relationship. Career or family, ladies — choose wisely, because you can't have both.
Though their characters aren't particularly original, Saldaña and De Oliveira have more than sufficient skill as performers to elevate what is (and isn't) on the page. Bona fide action star Saldaña always gives good steely-warrior-woman, and she also instills Joe with an underlying sadness and devotion that feel grounded in something human. De Oliveira, a standout as the Big Bad in Netflix's Locke & Key, delivers both the brash and cocky charisma of a hardened fighter and the tentative vulnerability of a rookie agent facing a dangerous and daunting assignment.
Morgan Freeman, who does not appear in the series premiere, will bring his gravitas to future episodes as U.S. Secretary of State Edwin Mullins, and Michael Kelly glowers effectively as CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield. Excellent actors both, but their job here is merely to support the tough women of Lioness — women whose only weakness is that they care too damn much about taking down the bad guy. Grade: C+
The first two episodes of Special Ops: Lioness premiere Sunday, July 23, on Paramount+.
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