When Lioness premiered, the hook of the series was Joe McNamara’s professional balancing act. She has to balance her responsibilities as a Lioness case officer, with honeypots’ lives in her hands, with her responsibilities as a wife and mother. But over the course of three seasons, the pressure of that double life has finally come to a boil. At the end of Lioness season 3, creator Taylor Sheridan finally set up the story he’s been building to from the beginning.
In Lioness‘ third season, as the deadly forces from Joe’s work life came to her home, her family had finally had enough of her putting her career first. Season 3 ended with Joe facing an ultimatum: she could either stay with her family, take some time to recover, and be there to emotionally support them, or she could go after her enemies and end this once and for all, and she chose the latter.
She claimed it was to secure her family’s safety, but it seems like she’s just much more comfortable in the field than she is at home, living a normal, mundane life with her husband and daughters. But her husband and daughters are perfectly happy with a normal, mundane life — they’re petrified by the life-threatening danger that Joe brings to their doorstep — and that rift was bound to become unmanageable sooner or later.
When Joe neglected her frightened, vulnerable family to seek retribution, that was the final straw. She succeeded in her mission, but she came home to find that it was all for nothing. Her family was long gone, and the house was empty and up for sale. This twist ending sets up Lioness season 4 as a major turning point for Joe. She’ll have to choose between re-committing to her family and going all-in on her career, and I’m worried she’ll make the wrong choice.
I’m Worried Joe Will Choose Her Career Over Her Family In Lioness Season 4
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Based on Joe’s track record, and the frustrating patterns in her decision-making throughout Lioness‘ first three seasons, I don’t have much faith that she’ll make the right choice in season 4. Obviously, the happier route for the story to go would be for Joe to realize the error of her ways, take a more hands-off position at work, settle in Washington permanently for a nice, stable, mundane, normal existence, and reunite with her husband and kids.
But Joe has consistently prioritized the job for three seasons straight, so it seems much more likely that we’ll see an ugly divorce and a custody battle in season 4, not a heartwarming family reunion. Plus, a stable family life in Washington wouldn’t make for a very thrilling TV show.
As a human being who cares about this family, I want to see Joe make the right decision and give her family the time and attention and love they deserve. But as a Lioness fan who can’t get enough of the show’s gritty, globetrotting action, part of me is excited to see her fully dedicate herself to her career, throw herself headfirst into her work, and start making reckless, rageful choices.
The ending of Lioness season 3 set up a pretty riveting plot for season 4. We finally learned who was behind the kidnapping — Aaliyah, now married to a wealthy magnate in Qatar with unlimited resources — and saw her order another attempt. We also found out the larger plan around the kidnapping: she wants to take Joe out of the equation, so she can swoop in with a hit squad and wipe out the entire Lioness team. So, suffice to say, the stakes have never been higher.
Not only will Joe have to evade her own captors in Lioness season 4; she’ll have to keep her whole team safe from would-be assassins. And on top of all that, she’s dealing with all the drama in her home life.
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