IR TV Review: SPECIAL OPS - LIONESS - EPISODE 4 (“The Choice Of Failure”) [Paramount+]
The blindsiding that sometimes that is not seen makes for the best drama. What is intriguing in the 4th episode of "Special Ops: Lioness" entitled "The Choice Of Failure" is that the side stories are just as textured as the main stories. This of course comes down to good writing. Without giving too much away, the aspect of Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) as far as assimilation sometimes causes lapses in judgment. With joe (Zoe Saldana), it works on two ends, both professionally and with her team in terms of what she can't control. Joe's Husband, Neil (Dave Annable) really gets to shine here because the aspect of restraint, emotion, logic and tactice perfectly balances in a wrecking ball of a situation with very little blood (but yet so much) and many consequences.
How this reflects on Joe and the op on the domestic front they are dealing with spills over in many different ways. It only works if the viewer understands the trajectory these characters are on in a specific ways. A side catastrophe for her team because of her order is just the tip of it. Compartmentalizing is an interesting animal and one sees it very clearly pinnacling in a scene between Joe and Kaitlin (Nicole Kidman), her superior. It is a tightrope and writer Taylor Sheridan just nails the dynamic by also knowing how to cast right as well. To give any more away about the episode would spoil it. But that said, because of what came before, this episode runs very light on action expect at very precise intimate moments that mean alot. This is why it succeeds because it knows the balance of where it is going. A
By Tim Wassberg
