7 Things We Learned From the Final ‘Lioness’ Season 3 Trailer

Lioness just dropped a 2-minute-long trailer for Season 3 that’s meant to build anticipation for Sunday’s (Aug. 2) premiere. I slowed it down to search for key plot points, spoilers and answers to burning questions.

Like, who is this year’s Lioness?

The new highlight package doesn’t reveal her, but it does leak clues including:

1. Who is this season’s enemy and which country do they represent?
2. Why is Joe’s family in danger?
3. Are Cruz and Josie really a thing now?

READ MORE: Lioness Season 3 – Everything We Know

I’m going to begin with Joe McNamara (actor Zoe Saldaña), who appears to be spilling all kinds of secrets.

1. Joe Isn’t Hiding What She Does Any Longer

Season 2 of Lioness was very difficult on team leader Joe. She nearly died and the close call traumatized her family. Then, instead of resting, she went to war injured and nearly died again during the S2 finale.

The result of all this is she’s opening up about what she does for a living to her husband Neal (Dave Annable) and their two daughters, Kate and Charlie. Several clips from the trailer show this, but the most important quote is, “I’ve taken lives for this way of life.”

How many of us have had that kind of conversation with Mom? Me neither.

2. The Enemy Is Russia

I suspected Season 3 of Lioness would target Russia after the first trailer because so much of the imagery was gray and war-torn, and because actress Elizaveta Neretin (from Ukraine and Russia) was cast to play a key role.

American forces capture her, and she’s interrogated by Joe and her team. With a thick accent, this new character defies them all as her team of mean-looking men cause trouble on American streets (more on that in a moment).

Confirmation comes at :19 in the trailer as Joe and Neal are talking to one another with ABC News on in the background. The lower-third on the television reads: “The Apprehension of a Russian Foreign Agent.”

3. An Attack at Home

Take this literally. At 1:12, Joe is running an intruder off her property, and elsewhere we see American police getting killed and some sort of U.S. diplomat assassinated.

Two menacing men we’ve never met before appear across the trailer. One is thin and bald and the other has dark features and a beard.

I suspect these are the villains Joe’s quick response force (QRF) team will be chasing during episodes of Lioness Season 3. It looks like they score a pretty major win at some point.

4. Does Cruz or Josie Get Kidnapped?

The bad men get somebody. Here is a screenshot from 1:39. Who do you think it is?

5. Cruz and Josie’s Relationship Takes a Wild Turn

Season 2 ended with S1 Lioness Cruz and S2 Lioness Josie becoming romantic. Their relationship was a secret between them, and it seems likely they’ll keep it that way as not to compromise their mission.

Several clips from the two Lioness trailers hint at a progression, including one that finds both women in tight tops and short skirts (at 1:58 below) with seduction on their mind.

I actually think they’re working during this scene, because they look to be trying to seduce a dark-haired man, and a micro-second later we get signs that they’re going to capture him. Still, it looks to be a gig the women are very much game for.

6. Who Let the Dogs Out?

Ian Bohen joins Season 3 of Lioness as Grady, a US Army Delta Force operator and K9 handler. That’s why there are two separate dog scenes during these trailers — they’re his dogs!

Of course, Bohen was Ryan, one of the most trusted ranch hands on Yellowstone. Country music fans remember him as Lainey Wilson‘s character’s boyfriend.

It’s worth mentioning that the entire cast of Lioness is returning.

That includes Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade, Morgan Freeman as Secretary of State Edwin Mullins and Michael Kelly as CIA Deputy Director of Operations Byron Westfield.

Two Cups, Randy, Tex, Tucker and Bobby are all back on Joe’s team, and Kyle will return as well.

7. Someone Has a Gluten Allergy

If you doubted the intensity of the microscope I use for these trailer videos, you won’t any longer. As Joe is having difficult conversations with her daughters, they’re breakfasting on Lucky Charms and a gluten free cereal called Three Wishes.

As if Mama McNamara doesn’t have enough to worry about. She’s got to keep wheat and other allergens out of the house, too!