Editorial

Taylor Sheridan Takes Vicious Potshot At Uvalde Police In ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Episode 6

Zoe Saldana as Joe In Special Ops: Lioness, episode 4, season 1, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: William Gray/Paramount+/LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 11: Director Taylor Sheridan speaks onstage at Paramount+ and 101 Studios world premiere of "1883" at Wynn Las Vegas on December 11, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas)

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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“Special Ops: Lioness” episode six dropped Sunday on Paramount+, and while many focused on the deluge of plot twists, some may have missed the vicious potshot aimed at Uvalde police officers.

During a volatile debriefing with White House leadership, including Secretary of State Edwin Mullins (Morgan Freeman), Joe, Kaitlyn, Kyle, and Byron (Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman, Thad Luckinbill, Michael Kelly), adamantly deny that their teams had anything to do with two events in Texas that left a slew of terrorists dead, and their weapons destroyed.

As viewers, we know the CIA team is lying to the White House. The White House knew the CIA was lying to them. And the CIA was fully aware that the White House knew they were lying, and didn’t give a crap.

So, Mullins pulled out the big guns. While I can’t remember his exact quote, it was something along the lines of, “Texas police take an hour to arrive at a school shooting, and you expect me to believe they took out five terrorists in a residential neighborhood like this?” (RELATED: ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Already Tipped For Second Season, Possible Franchise With Paramount+)

The quip sounds like a vicious potshot at Uvalde police, who waited 77 minutes before doing literally nothing to save the lives of Robb Elementary School students. The pathetic response meant that 19 children were massacred, along with two of their teachers.

Some might have a problem with creator Taylor Sheridan’s growing politically-driven narrative, but I think it’s brilliant. It’s smart enough to go over a lot of people head’s, but quick enough to hit at the core problems facing the U.S. But part of me feels the writing isn’t actually political at all. It’s human.