This article contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Special Ops: Lioness, available on Paramount+

Episode 3 of Special Ops: Lioness opens Sunday morning and is a complete reimagining of the spy drama genre.

If you can count on showrunner Taylor Sheridan, it’s to shatter, reshape, and redefine mainstream Hollywood. And did he do it in “Special Ops: Lioness”?

Episode 3 takes us on a unique journey through Cruz’s (Laysula de Oliveria) surgery to bring her Mark, Aaliyah (Stephanie Budenbrock), and her obnoxious fiancée and friends to a proper conclusion. to introduce. One of the most disrespectful friends mentioned is Kamal, played by Britney Spears’ husband Sam Asghari.

And he turned out to be a really great actor! Most of the stories involving Asghari, Buddenbrock, and their friendship group are pretty melodramatic, but it’s a perfect setting for the rest of the season.

Review: ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ is a heart-pounding adrenaline rush from start to finish |@DailyCaller⁩

What’s your all-time favorite Taylor Sheridan show? “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “King of Tulsa,” or something else? https://t.co/52Nuo3dFkR

— Kay Smythe (@KaySmythe) July 21, 2023

In fact, most of Episode 3 was much more of a setup than a game changer. Caitlin (Nicole Kidman) got a creepy warning from a colleague, Joe (Zoe Saldana) dealt with a disaster at home (poor thing to add) and we didn’t take action. It’s not.

The episode’s best B-line story was about Joe’s team, a team of mentally superior Special Forces-turned-CIA lunatics engaged in an explosive smash-and-grab operation that went way off the rails. . At first, I thought this scene might be a little dramatized, but I really don’t know when it comes to things like this when it comes to men.

Either way, the episode as a whole set me up perfectly for the rest of the season. With so much out there, it’s still hard to know exactly where this is going. (Related: ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ episode 2 is violent, scary, and hilariously funny)

In the same way that Sheridan completely changed the face of the Western with his hit series Yellowstone, or rewrote the organized crime thriller book with Hell or High Water, most spy dramas are “special”. Coming after Operation” would fall short of his standards.

So how is that possible? No one gets the same kind of funding as Sheridan. It suits him well.