The newest episode of Paramount’s Special Ops: Lioness shows Cruz unfurling a new level of vulnerability with her newest friend, Aaliyah. In the previous episode, Cruz had eliminated a group of six terrorists with Joe’s team, and now she was traveling to Aaliyah’s place for a weekend trip. The episode gives a deeper look into Cruz’s mental state as well as the heartless world that she has to operate in. Here’s everything that happens in the sixth episode of Special Ops: Lioness.
Spoilers Ahead
What Surprise Does Aaliyah Have For Cruz?
Special Ops: Lioness Episode 6 opens with Cruz driving down to Hampton on Long Island, as Aaliyah asks her to hurry over because she has a surprise waiting for ‘Zara,’ Cruz’s pseudonym. Cruz finds out through the surveillance cameras that Aaliyah has planned an entire spa session for her friend. She’s surprised to find that there’s nobody in Aaliyah’s bungalow other than her most trusted security guard and a team of Arabic women to treat the two ladies to a spa session. The entire experience of a foam bath, gold facial, and manicure is alien to Cruz, and Aaliyah is surprised to notice that a woman who can shop in Kuwait doesn’t have the money to afford a mud bath. Cruz paints a story about how her rich uncle wants to get her married off, and so he spent the bare minimum to make her dress nicely but didn’t spend on the rest of the luxuries, quickly changing the course of the conversation to an emotional point.
Aaliyah empathizes and ends up agreeing to look for a husband for Zara after asking to be her best friend. She requests that Zara look into her eyes and name five of her best friends, and when Cruz can’t name any, she promises to be her friend. Then, as friends, she suggests having a sleepover like people do as children, with ice cream and bad movies, when responsibilities haven’t burdened their shoulders yet. After Aaliyah leaves, Cruz sighs exasperatedly, wondering what exactly she’s trying to achieve by deceiving a woman who’s probably the most genuine person she’s ever met in her life.
What Happens At The Debrief?
Elsewhere, Kaitlyn tells her husband Errol that there’s a mole in Qudrah Petrol who’s feeding information to the financiers and the enemies of humanity—someone rich enough to finance the World Trade Center and powerful enough to escape punishment. Errol gives her a heads-up that the Secretary of State will be calling Kaitlyn and Joe to the White House for a rather serious debriefing.
In the White House, Secretary Mullins (Morgan Freeman) thunders on Kyle McManus, Joe, Kaitlyn, and the CIA’s Deputy Director, Byron Westfield, for the stunt pulled in San Antonio last week. Mullins refuses to believe the SAPD could muster the ability to eliminate six Al-Qaeda terrorists with such proficiency and demands answers. Byron retorts with an argument laced with contempt that his team might’ve prevented something worse than 9/11 from happening again. He challenges the Secretary to find faults in their operations but would much rather accept a “thank you” for saving thousands of American lives that could’ve potentially been lost had the terrorists detonated the bomb that Joe’s team intercepted. Interestingly, Byron’s retort echoed the rant that Col. Nathan Jesep went on at the ending of A Few Good Men, thereby handing himself punishment.
After asking Kyle to leave, Mullins’ team questions Kaitlyn and Joe on the update on Amrohi, and Joe shares that she’s got a Lioness agent embedded with his next of kin, and if she’s able to establish contact, a hit will be ordered. It’s surprising for Mullins that the agent has no way to contact Joe and yet is supposed to order a strike on Amrohi when Joe corrects him by saying that she’ll order the strike, and it’s possible that the Lioness will be a possible casualty. Even the ruthless interrogators have to stop and ponder how little value human life holds when it comes to protecting a nation.
What’s Next For Joe And Neal?
While such a meltdown is happening in the White House, the Marines’ home is invaded by two robbers, who are quickly knocked out by the adept team, and the driver is dragged out of their car. Joe calls in Kyle to make the robbers go away, and after a lot of intimidation for the blindfolded robbers, one of whom wets himself, he hands them wads of cash as hush money. Kyle threatens to end their lives if they whisper about this incident to anyone, and the Marines watch as the scared robbers scamper to their car and drive away, possibly having given up the illegal life for good.
Joe returns home after a tiring day and finds her husband Neal preparing their daughter Kate’s room so that she has better ease with her wheelchair. Joe checks up on her daughter and then agrees to drink with her husband by the pool. Eventually, they end up kissing passionately, proving that whatever tension had surfaced last week in Neal’s mind has been put to ease, and their marriage stands strong once more.
Is Aaliyah In love With Cruz?
Back at Aaliyah’s place, the two women watch “Paranormal Activity,” and Cruz is terrified by the horror movie. To soothe their nerves, Aaliyah picks “The Notebook,” and by the time the credits are rolling, Cruz is bawling her eyes out. Both women share that neither has been in love in their lives, and when Cruz suggests that Aaliyah refuse the marriage with Ehsan, Aaliyah shows just how marital relations work in her customs. She tells her friend that if she refuses to marry the man chosen by her family, she’ll be locked in her home for life or be killed, while the other option is being a trophy wife in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cruz stays silent as she realizes that, despite having all the money she could ask for, Aaliyah has less freedom than she ever did.
In the morning, Cruz wakes up to Aaliyah’s squeals of elation and learns that her friend will be getting married in Mallorca, which is beautiful. Excitedly, Aaliyah kisses Cruz on the lips, who’s stunned by this sudden action, and responds by passionately kissing Aaliyah back before quickly coming to her senses. Aaliyah tries to play off the enormous sexual tension casually, but Cruz stares out the window as a thousand thoughts race through her mind.
How Does The Episode End?
Aaliyah has been in love with Cruz for at least a couple of episodes now, and this was further proven by the efforts she showed in ensuring Cruz got the best treatment, reserved for only the closest of Aaliyah’s friends. Her proposal to be Cruz’s friend was laced with a hidden request to be in some ways linked to this new friend’s life, and when she found out just how similar their lives had been, her devotion to the new friend grew further. However, Cruz has been experiencing a whole new set of emotions. Having been used to search-and-kill missions, she’s out of her wits when a kind woman showers her with unadulterated love and affection, wanting nothing in return, and Cruz is supposed to betray her family. Despite keeping her professionalism up, she slips and gives in to the sexual tension before realizing what she’s doing. Cruz definitely likes Aaliyah, and now she’s at the horns of a dilemma as she can’t decide whether to protect her friend or carry out her mission. We’ll be able to find out about her real feelings as the new episodes arrive.
