Lioness Season 2 Episode 5 recap: The warehouse bust takes a darker turn

By this point in the series, Joe is p*ssing everyone off. But will here militancy pay dividends? The stakes are higher in Lioness Season 2 Episode 5 – and for once, she’s torn.

The binge-worthy TV show follows the overarching plot of taking down the Mexican drug cartel Los Tigres, which is linked to team member Josephina through her dad Pablo.

Joe has been trying to use her as intel from the inside since Episode 2, but their relationship has got off to a rocky start. Now, she’s faced with the ultimatum of a lifetime.

On top of that, the team has just discovered a warehouse smuggling children across the border, but Joe decided to leave them behind. Does the team support her decision in Lioness Season 2 Episode 5? Warning: spoilers ahead.

Team confidence hits rock bottom in Lioness Season 2 Episode 5

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Team Lioness returns from the warehouse, arriving back at Bliss absolutely furious. Cruz immediately questions how Joe led the bust, while Joe lays into the Mexican special agent for having the wrong intel (they’re looking for drugs, there isn’t any). There’s now a bigger concern about the children that hangs over their heads, but nobody’s got an answer.

Back in the CIA saferoom, Joe feeds the footage through to Kaitlyn. She explains that the children are to be sent across the border, but no narcotics are on the premises. While Joe indicates she wants to rescue them, Kaitlyn orders her to “leave them behind,” stating it looks like an attack from a rebel cartel. American hands look clean, and that’s what she wants.

Joe feeds this back to the team, who kick off. She reminds them it “isn’t a democracy,” suggesting they are heading back to Dallas. Josephina says this isn’t what she signed up for, asking to be court marshaled so she can testify against Joe. It’s left to Cruz to smooth things over, with Kyle questioning Joe for letting the team form their own opinions.

Joe pulls Bobby off to one side, saying she needs to check her email. One of the kids has a tracker in their shoe, which Joe planted there. Bobby is covertly tasked with finding where the kids are crossing, with the special agent hypothetically stating he could intercept them. Without violating restrictions, they come up with a plan to monitor it. 

While Josephina shares her concern about what’s happened, Cruz reveals she’s there to “protect the mission from the mission,” which includes her. Cruz questions Josephina on whether her dad is a “sheep or saint,” alluding to the fact they are all fighting for the greater good – even if that isn’t an outright win.

Pablo is the new target

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The team is soon on its way to Dallas, and the focus shifts back to the CCTV planted in Pablo’s house during Episode 3. Joe tells Cruz that Josephina needs to believe her father isn’t the target, which is true. After discussing the situation, Joe leaves with a newfound sense of appreciation for Cruz’s smarts. She phones Kaitlyn, saying there’s something she wants to explain in person back at base.

Presidential candidates complain to Kaitlyn that she hasn’t shared any security plans, with Kaitlyn keeping them completely in the dark about what’s happening with the cartel. Joe apologizes to Josephina, suggesting she should tell her dad the truth about what they’re doing. If he complies, her family is moved to safety. If he says no, they’ll raid his house and destroy him.

Josephina is tasked with presenting both choices to him, with Joe confirming they are only going after his contacts at this stage. The team disembark the plane, with Joe staying on. They set up to monitor Pablo’s house while Joe says she’s giving Cruz more free reign than she ever had in the same position. Kaitlyn, however, is concerned. 

Joe calls Neal from the plane, explaining she has a “way out” in order to spend more time with the family. He’s taking the kids on a double date with Kate’s new boyfriend. Cruz and Josephina turn up at her dad’s house, and she can hardly breathe. Cruz warns she needs to get it together, or they’ll both be killed. Joe gets back to the second half of the team at Bliss, who are waiting to intercept the cartel at the border.

The border interception ends disastrously

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Cruz and Josephina enter the house, with Josephina explaining she feels like she hardly knows her parents. She left home at 18, and that was pretty much the end of that. Cruz gives her the pep talk she needs, highlighting the criminal her dad really is. 

They sit down at the dining room table, where Josephina reveals “the truth.” Pablo goes on a homophobic rant about how dishonoring a woman is a terrible decision for a new army to make. He tries to make her view things against the system, referencing a cycle of despair that continues over and over again. 

Meanwhile at the border, Team Lioness – with extra US soldiers – intercepts the Mexican smugglers, with casualties on both sides. As our main cast begins to approach the children and get them to safety, a man can be seen emerging from the crowd through a sniper’s heat censor. He releases a grenade, blowing the entire group up. The Lionesses appear to be unharmed, but the rest (including the children) are gone.  

Lioness Season 2 is streaming on Paramount Plus on a weekly basis. Check out who Taylor Sheridan plays, whether Team Lioness is real, and what happened in the latest episode.

You can also catch up with more TV shows streaming this month.