Is Oleksandra Balakin Behind Joe’s Kidnapping in ‘Lioness’ Season 3? The Truth Revealed

‘Lioness‘ has captivated fans as they try to unravel the mystery surrounding Joe McNamara’s setup, with one name consistently surfacing in discussions: Oleksandra Balakin. This enigmatic Ukrainian operative, introduced this season, entered the CIA’s sphere with information that seemed a bit too convenient right from the start.

The timing of her arrival, combined with the subsequent events, has made her the most talked-about character as the season approaches its climax.

Oleksandra Balakin is portrayed as a Ukrainian FISU operative and a long-term mole within Russia’s SVR. She provides the CIA with the location of Russian asset Aleksi Yurimov during a meeting with Joe at Georgetown University.

Immediately following this, two Belarusian contract agents appear at Joe’s doorstep, a sequence that viewers quickly recognized as suspicious. This chain of events prompted her own team to question her motives.

Joe’s team ultimately deemed the situation too suspicious to overlook and abducted Oleksandra outside an exclusive social club to interrogate her. Played by newcomer Elizaveta Neretin, the show clearly intends for viewers to question her motives from her very first appearance.

When Joe personally takes over the interrogation, Oleksandra makes a daring move. She theorizes that Joe was only suspected of leading the Lioness program before the two men sent to her house were shot, and that this incident confirmed her identity to the Russians. She also requests to be called Alessa, a detail that adds a layer of humanity to her character just as suspicions around her peak.

The central mystery of the season intensifies when Joe herself is kidnapped. In season three, episode six, Operation Treasure has already resulted in thirty-seven arrests, and Joe feels confident enough to tell her family it’s safe to return home to Virginia. However, weeks later, she is kidnapped.

With time running out, Kyle McManus locates Oleksandra, who is now in witness protection in Tulsa, Oklahoma, believing she may possess crucial information. Initially, he sought her out because he feared the Russians would find and kill her, but after Joe’s abduction, he realizes she might help track down the kidnappers instead.

When Kyle informs her that Russian contract agents have taken Joe, Oleksandra disputes this, asserting that Russia would never risk a direct confrontation with the United States. This suggests that someone else is orchestrating the operation, and her instincts point to an unexpected source.

Oleksandra inquires whether Joe has ever successfully led a mission against Iran, and Kyle’s reaction seems to confirm her suspicions. She theorizes that Iran’s foreign policy is heavily influenced by revenge and a desire to project strength, meaning the more damage Joe’s past operations inflicted, the greater Iran’s motivation to retaliate.

Oleksandra’s working theory posits that while Russian operatives are executing the kidnapping, Iran is orchestrating the larger operation, potentially with a Russian officer coordinating alongside them, and the extraction likely routed through Houston. This theory gains traction when an Iranian operative appears to take custody of Joe.

Episode six concludes with Renat handing Joe over to Iranian mercenary Babat, while Kyle seizes the jet intended for her escape. This leaves the kidnappers in disarray, and episode seven, titled Kiss the Girls, showcases the show’s most thrilling action as their improvised plan begins to fall apart.

By the end of episode seven, the CIA’s suspicions have shifted toward Oleksandra Balakin, the very person who has seemingly been aiding them throughout. This twist reframes nearly everything she has said and done since her introduction.

The escape attempt quickly unravels when police spot the van, confirming the Lioness team’s suspicions. Babat forces Joe to stand and threatens her and the officers if she moves, but she defies him.

In the ensuing firefight, three of the four officers are killed, but Joe manages to grab a weapon and take down her captor along with another assailant before fleeing, pursued by three more mercenaries. Tex and Randy arrive to save the surviving officer and chase down the shooters, while the rest of the team arrives by helicopter to neutralize the remaining threats.

Bobby and Cruz finally reach Joe on the ground, and she breaks down. The question remains whether Oleksandra was a genuine ally or the mastermind behind the entire operation as the show approaches its season finale.

With her convenient intel, her keen insights into Iran’s motives, and the CIA’s growing suspicions, is Oleksandra Balakin the double agent who orchestrated Joe’s kidnapping from the beginning, or the informant who ultimately saved her?