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Who kidnapped Joe? ‘Lioness’ finale reveals season-long mystery

Season 3 finale of ‘Lioness’, starring Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña, is now streaming on Paramount+

'Lioness' just aired its Season 3 finale and answered the question on everyone's mind. Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) suffered throughout the season due to her brutal abduction. Both fans and the CIA operative were keen to know the identity of the person who went to such great lengths to torture Joe. The finale titled 'The Unraveling' finally brings the culprit to light. Aaliyah Amrohi (Stephanie Nur), the bride whose wedding was destroyed in the first season, was the culprit. For those who have forgotten, the team targeted Aaliyah's father, and to get to him, Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) seduced her. It seems that the kidnapping was part of her revenge play against Joe's team. "Maybe third time's the charm. We have to get her out. If we get her out, the others will come to save her. And then we have them all," she said to her people about targeting Joe again in a penthouse in Doha, Qatar. 

Unfortunately, Aaliyah remains hidden from Joe and her team, as they keep looking in the wrong directions to figure out the mastermind. The episode opens with the NSA pursuing Russian national Dmitri Sokolov (Gene Farber) using plate readers and corporate intelligence. After Joe spots the Belarusian agent who had been involved in her kidnapping attempt, she commands her team to engage with him, a call that did not seem to be based on logic but on trauma from her abduction. The decision causes massive damage as a fight breaks out in a Washington, D.C. restaurant, which takes the lives of eminent individuals like foreign security personnel and an African diplomat. The team also suffers losses as Tex (Jonah Wharton) and Randy (Austin Hebert) are brutally injured. Tex and Randy execute the Belarusian agent, but are unable to get him to tell the mastermind's name.

Joe confesses to Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman) about her command in the restaurant. Kaitlyn warns her not to share this with anyone. The action then shifts to Guantanamo Bay, where a detainee reveals crucial details about Joe's kidnapping. The detainee, Alex (Sandi Todorovic), stated that the job was sold on the open black market. Anybody brave enough to grab an American spy at home was welcome to take on the gig. He further revealed that the kidnapping was planned in such a way that no one could trace the financier behind the operation. Iran gave the money to KSS, who then got Sokolov on board. Sokolov brought Renat, the Belarusian agent, who hired the people on the ground.

Alexi Yurimov (Jack Dimich) is eventually released to Maxim Petrov. Before going, he makes it clear to Joe that Ukraine was not involved in her abduction. "Never underestimate how many hate you," Yurimov tells Joe. He asks Joe to focus on Iran for answers. It makes Oleksandra Balakin's eventual death at the hands of CIA operatives a massive mistake, who received this fate on the suspicion that Ukraine was involved in the abduction. Joe is shocked at the episode's end, when she returns to an empty home. Joe expected warmth in her family's embrace after six days of captivity, but instead she was greeted with a "For Sale" sign outside her house. The spy finds a note from her husband, which is hidden from the audience. She eventually breaks down in her daughter's bedroom. To find out what Aaliyah has planned against the Lioness team, fans would need to wait for the next season. All episodes of 'Lioness' are currently streaming on Paramount+.