by Johnny Loftus for Decider
Well, Joe made it to the hospital in time for her daughter Kate’s leg surgery, which went as well as can be expected, given that they had to insert a rod into her femur. And with Kate in a recovery room as we open the action on Special Ops: Lioness Episode 5 (“Truth Is The Shrewdest Lie”), mother and daughter have an honest conversation about what led them there. “I don’t hate you,” Kate says. “I just miss you.” And Joe says that all of the moments of Kate and their family’s life together that she missed were all in service of a job she chose, a job that gives her the opportunity to help other families have those same moments. She thought doing this work would set an example for her daughters. She thought it would help them see that a woman can do virtually anything she sets her mind to. But while she regrets how much time she’s spent away, Joe doesn’t apologize for that to Kate or her husband Neil. And even if she wished to, Kaitlyn Meade is at the hospital, too, and she gives Joe just two hours to spend with the family before it’s back to work time. Spy Shit waits for no one.
Joe’s brief appearance at the hospital also added some context to her relationship with Neil. He continues to function largely as a solo parent, and seems resigned to it, even if it’s clear he dislikes sharing his wife with the needs of the United States government. The two sides of Joe’s life, the professional and personal – her fam fam and her work fam – remain at odds with one another, and it seems like it’s getting worse, which even Meade acknowledges. As they head from Kate’s bedside back to Langley for an ass-chewing from Deputy Director Westfield, Kaitlyn suggests a station chief position for Joe. Somewhere somewhat stable, and she could bring her husband and kids. “We have to think of something,” Meade says. “Because my marriage shouldn’t be your goal, Joe.”
“I lend you my team and you fucking hang me.” Joe has no patience for Kyle’s arrogance. It was his botched operation in Texas that put her in hot water with the CIA brass, and Westfield warns her that her team assets are not to be loaned out on the fly for sketchy ops conceived on the back of a cocktail napkin. (Michael Kelly remains locked in High Asshole mode for these scenes – his character has never been seen anywhere but in a CIA conference room, but Kelly owns the space completely.) But Kyle is lucky. The intel that inspired his unsanctioned romp turned out to be so solid that a mission to neutralize the threat (and clean up his mess) has been authorized, and it’s already in motion as Joe joins her team in San Antonio. Cruz is also there. This isn’t anything to do with the undercover. But kicking down doors and taking out whoever’s inside is something this Marine has lots of experience with. And Joe, Cruz, Kyle, Bobby, Two Cups, Tucker, and the rest of the QRF team load up and don their night vision goggles.
Read the rest of the recap, HERE.