{"id":9374,"date":"2026-09-22T16:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=9374"},"modified":"2026-09-22T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:38:12","slug":"lioness-season-3-finale-ending-who-is-the-mole-cruz-theory-season-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/22\/lioness-season-3-finale-ending-who-is-the-mole-cruz-theory-season-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is the mole in Lioness? Explaining the wild Cruz theory after the season 3 finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Lioness season 3*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Lioness season 3 finale finally revealed who was behind Joe McNamara\u2019s kidnapping. But there\u2019s one mystery it very deliberately didn\u2019t clear up: who the hell is the mole?<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the third chapter of the Taylor Sheridan<\/a> series, there have been suspicions that someone on the inside has been feeding information to Joe\u2019s (Zoe Salda\u00f1a)<\/a> enemies. And just when it looked like Ukrainian intelligence officer Oleksandra Balakin (Elizaveta Neretin) could be responsible, the finale completely blew that theory apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, the final moments reveal Aaliyah Amrohi (Stephanie Nur)<\/a> – remember her from Lioness season 1? – was the person who ordered Joe\u2019s abduction all along. And it appears she\u2019s using Joe as bait, as she wants \u201cthe others\u201d to come and save her<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Following this reveal, some have speculated that the CIA mole doesn\u2019t exist, but there\u2019s one pretty wild theory that suggests they could be someone with a very personal connection to Aaliyah: Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira).<\/span><\/p>\n

But before we get into it, there\u2019s a pretty important question to answer: does Lioness actually confirm there\u2019s a mole at all?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lioness season 3 finale still leaves the mole mystery wide open<\/h2>\n
\"Aaliyah
Credit: Paramount+<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, the finale doesn\u2019t confirm whether there\u2019s a mole still inside the CIA, but it certainly doesn\u2019t rule it out either. <\/span><\/p>\n

The idea that there could be an infiltrator inside the agency has been circulating since the start of Lioness<\/a> season 3, largely because whoever targeted Joe appeared to know far more about her and her movements than they should have. <\/span><\/p>\n

As said, the last scene of the finale revealed Aaliyah was actually the person behind the abduction attempts<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you’ve forgotten season 1, Aaliyah was the daughter of terrorist financier Asmar Ali Amrohi. Cruz was sent undercover to get close to her, but the pair ended up falling in love. Cruz was eventually exposed and killed both Aaliyah’s fianc\u00e9 Ehsan and her father before escaping.<\/span><\/p>\n

So yeah, Aaliyah has some pretty personal reasons for wanting revenge – and she doesn\u2019t simply want Joe dead. When she\u2019s told that the second attempt to take Joe out of the country has failed, Aaliyah replies, \u201cWe have to get her out. If we get her out, the others will come to save her. And then we have them all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But that still doesn\u2019t explain how Aaliyah knows enough about Joe to target her in the first place. The finale never explains exactly where that information came from, leaving open the possibility she had someone on the inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that brings us to a pretty wild theory doing the rounds right now. <\/span><\/p>\n

The wild theory that Cruz could secretly be the mole<\/h2>\n

One Redditor has suggested Cruz could have secretly reconnected with Aaliyah at some point after season 1 and become the compromised link between her and Joe\u2019s operation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It's now clear as day…<\/a>
byu\/House_Visual<\/a> inSpecialOpsLioness<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n