Joe's Intense Lioness Season 3 Episode 7 Rescue Mission Broken Down By Taylor Sheridan Star

Published Sep 17, 2026, 10:18 AM EDT

Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Lioness season 3, episode 7!EXCLUSIVE: Joe's rescue mission has finally come to a close.

Lioness star Laysla De Oliveira, who portrays Cruz Manuelos, unpacked the intense moment from season 3, episode 7, detailing the riveting events that unfolded. Lioness season 3 has been shifting focus between two timelines, the latter of which sees Joe kidnapped by foreign agents as revenge for a mission she conducted six months earlier. In season 3, episode 7, the QRF team manage to save her after her kidnappers are pulled over by police. A gunfight ensues, killing three officers but also saving Joe in the process.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley, De Oliveira explained how satisfied she was that Lioness season 3 was able to deliver a powerful conclusion to Joe's kidnapping arc, while leaving room for more exploration. As for Cruz's perspective, she believes the former Lioness thought they'd find Joe, specifically believing if the team got a chance to rescue her, they would. She unpacked how that belief stems from her relationship with Joe and what it means for the two characters.

Check out what De Oliviera had to say below:

ScreenRant: Okay, for starters, finally rescuing Joe in this episode. How satisfying did that feel? And also, if you could just talk about knowing that it's coming, while also fans are all speculative.

Laysla De Oliveira: I'm just so happy that we're finally rescuing her, because it's one thing shooting the season, and we're shooting out of order, and with different timelines. It's another thing watching with everyone and being like, "Damn, they're right, like, X amount of weeks have gone by, and we haven't found Joe." I've been really enjoying all the videos of people teasing us and saying that they're gonna go find her themselves. I'm happy that we can give that to the audience, that that is resolved, and that also that there is more to come.

ScreenRant: When Joe's on the plane, and she's talking with, I believe it's Two Cups, there was a line that was said, "I didn't think we were gonna find you." We never got that perspective from Cruz. Did Cruz always believe in her heart that Joe would be found?

Laysla De Oliveira: I think Cruz thinks that if she got a chance, which she did, she would get her. Cruz is the best at her game. She's incredibly confident when it comes to her job, and I think that's where the emotion came from. It's not the not thinking that she wouldn't get her; it's not thinking that she wouldn't get the chance. There's no doubt in Cruz's mind that if Joe was in front of her, that she wouldn't save her. And so, I'm happy that they got the chance that she so wanted.

The characters in Lioness managed to rescue Joe just in time, as she was in the hands of an IRGC operative and his ruthless team, losing a toe in the process. While she's finally free, she doesn't want to see her family yet, believing she's not going to be truly safe until she knows exactly who was behind her kidnapping. The episode ends with her heading to Washington, D.C.'s CIA headquarters, determined to work with other QRF members, including Cruz, in finding and killing those responsible for her torture.

Image via Paramount+

Based on De Oliveira's statement, it seems like, despite the friction between Cruz and Joe over the years, she still believed in her enough to know that they would find her alive. It showcases how resilient the two characters are, having originated from a tense beginning that ultimately bloomed into an alliance. And, it seems, that alliance is far from over: The two will be working side-by-side again to determine who kidnapped Joe, and what should be done once they discover the culprits behind the decision.

The penultimate episode toyed with the idea that Ukraine was responsible, deducing they wanted to make it look Russian or Iranian to push for either a ceasefire or additional war funding from the United States. The government will be questioning Oleksandra Balakin, the defector who helped aid in their mission six months prior, to determine if this is the case. Depending on what they find out, heads may roll yet in the Sheridan series, changing its political landscape forever.

With the show just days away from the season finale, it won't be long until Lioness reveals the truth behind Joe's kidnapping and just what forces are truly behind what's happened to her. Since De Oliveira's Cruz is still a major part of the QRF's ongoing missions with the Lioness program, her and Joe will have plenty to do as they track down the culprits and bring them a permanent form of justice.