Zoe Saldana and the ‘Lioness’ Paradox: A Border Chase That Looks Like Something Else
zoe saldana is at the center of a renewed debate around Taylor Sheridan’s political thriller Lioness after Season 2 wrapped: a standout chase-and-escape sequence that feels deeply familiar to viewers who connect the series’ most intense moments to Sheridan’s earlier crime drama Sicario.
Why is Zoe Saldana’s “Beware the Old Soldier” chase being compared to another film?
Season 2 of Lioness shifts the action closer to home, with conflicts brewing on the United States/Mexico border. The sequence drawing the most pointed comparison unfolds during “Beware the Old Soldier, ” when Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña), Kyle McMannus (Thad Luckinbill), Cody Spears (Taylor Sheridan), and their team cross the border to rescue kidnapped U. S. Congresswoman Hernandez (Czarina Mireles).
They are quickly discovered by Mexican officials and rush north toward the border under pressure from multiple sides. The escalation culminates in a drastic decision: drive off a cliff and into a river dividing the countries. The scene is framed as high-octane and nearly fatal, with the tension hinging on whether the team can make it back to the U. S. or face capture—or worse.
The comparison to Sicario is not presented as a subtle nod. The chase is described as the kind of moment that could plausibly fit into one or both of the Sicario films, also written by Sheridan. The familiarity is amplified by the season’s broader proximity to border conflict and cartel-related violence, which echoes the thematic territory associated with Sheridan’s earlier work.
What do the Season 2 plot details reveal about the show’s underlying blueprint?
Beyond the chase itself, Season 2’s mission architecture invites deeper scrutiny. As the season continues, Joe’s latest mission is tied to inserting a new “Lioness, ” Captain Josephina Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez), into the cartels that kidnapped the Congresswoman and killed her family. The operational goal is to enable the assassination of a high-profile cartel leader.
This plot mechanism mirrors a core idea associated with Sicario: targeting a cartel leader so that a single cartel might take its place, a structure framed as a way for the U. S. government to better control—or combat—the broader problem. The result is a narrative rhyme: infiltration, calculated violence, and an attempt to impose order on chaos through a targeted killing.
Verified fact: the season positions Joe in an extraction operation that she is not used to—especially one so close to home—placing her amid a conflict described as a war between the American government and the cartels. In that framing, Joe’s placement has been likened to Kate Mercer, the character played by Emily Blunt in the original Sicario, in the sense that both are pulled into an escalating situation that tests their boundaries and assumptions.
Is the show intentionally steering into the “spiritual sequel” idea?
The idea that Lioness functions as a kind of successor text is not limited to audience interpretation. Zoe Saldaña—who, like co-star Nicole Kidman, serves as an executive producer on the project—has publicly described Lioness as a “spiritual sequel” to Sicario. She has also said she was drawn to the series because of Sheridan’s work on Sicario, and she characterized that earlier film as a story where normal people try to do the right thing in very bad ways—an ethical tension she linked to Lioness.
That framing matters because it turns comparison into a stated creative throughline rather than an accidental resemblance. It also reframes the Season 2 chase not merely as an action highlight but as a signal: the series is willing to evoke a particular kind of pressure-cooker set piece associated with Sheridan’s film work, while re-centering the experience through Joe McNamara’s perspective.
At the same time, the prospect of formal crossover remains uncertain. A third Sicario film is still in development, yet any specific crossover between Sicario and Lioness is described as unclear and unlikely due to different studios being involved. That leaves the audience with a tension the show seems to cultivate: overt similarity in scenes and structure, paired with a practical barrier to any explicit narrative convergence.
Informed analysis (clearly labeled): The contradiction is strategic. By leaning into recognizable rhythms—border pressure, cartel entanglement, the moral cost of “solutions”—the series can harvest the emotional impact of familiar storytelling without having to inherit the exact continuity. That approach can make Lioness feel both accessible and newly urgent, while preserving its autonomy as a series built around Joe’s evolving role and the “Lioness” framework.
For now, what is verifiable is the on-screen symmetry: a border-centered Season 2, an extraction that becomes a survival chase, and a mission design that revolves around infiltration and assassination. With zoe saldana positioned as both the lead performer and an executive producer, the “spiritual sequel” claim becomes part of the show’s public identity—and a key lens through which viewers are being encouraged to read what they just watched.
