After everything that happened in Lioness “Kiss the Girls,” the Season 3 finale should have plenty to deal with. Joe may be back with her team, but she is clearly not the same person who was taken. The kidnapping and everything she went through in captivity are likely to follow her into the finale, especially now that she is struggling to even feel comfortable at home. Joe has spent years putting the mission before everything else, so the finale could finally force her to question how much of herself she has sacrificed for the job.
The biggest question, however, is who was really behind the operation against Joe. Kaitlyn and Byron appear to be getting closer to the truth, and Oleksandra is looking more suspicious with every new piece of information. If she really has been manipulating events from behind the scenes, the finale could reveal that Joe's kidnapping was only one part of a much bigger plan. Ukraine may have been using the conflict between Russia and the United States to create exactly the kind of instability it needs, making the entire situation much more complicated than a simple revenge operation.
I also expect the finale to put Oleksandra under serious pressure. She has been one of the most unpredictable players this season, and if Kaitlyn and Byron decide that she cannot be trusted, they may have to choose between using her information and taking her down. There is also a chance that Oleksandra is not working completely alone, if she has been manipulating several governments and intelligence agencies, there could be another person above her who has been quietly directing the operation.
Joe's return could also lead to one final mission. Even though she needs time to recover, Joe is unlikely to simply sit back while her team finishes the investigation without her. If the people responsible for her kidnapping are still active, she may insist on being involved in bringing them down. It could put her directly in danger again, but it would also fit Joe's character. She has never been good at walking away when the job is unfinished.
At the same time, I expect Cruz, Kyle and the rest of the team to become important as the investigation reaches its final stage. Joe's kidnapping has already shown how quickly things can go wrong, so the finale could force the team into another dangerous operation where there is no room for mistakes.
The emotional side of the story may be just as important as the action. Neal and the children have already seen what this life is doing to Joe, and her decision to avoid going home suggests that something has changed permanently. The finale could leave Joe facing a choice between returning to the family she has spent so much time protecting and continuing with a career that has slowly taken her away from them.
Whatever happens, the finale is likely to end with the conspiracy exposed, but Joe's personal story may not get such a clean resolution. She survived her kidnapping, but surviving may be the easy part.
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