Zoe & Lioness: Women as defenders of freedom

I have been thinking about Zoe Saldaña a lot lately. I admit - her name was the first attraction, but I have also been a fan since Center Stage back in 2000. I adore her in Columbiana - one of the few (or many?!) action movies I rewatch, because she brings such grace and fierceness. It is that combination which is Zoe Saldaña’s calling card. This is epitomized in her role as Joe McNamara in “Special Ops: Lioness”, a Paramount+ show (guys, this is not advertisement! But secretly — or not so secretly — I want you all to watch it. It is worth the free trial, I promise you.).

But this is the deal: I do get annoyed when really skinny girls play bad-ass armor-lifting, heavy artillery wielding characters, because usually — I don’t believe it. I have actually shot a gun — in a gun range (long story! For another time. Maybe). But that “kick” is real. I’ve fired a Magnum .45 and… wow… I had to plant my feet to keep steady. I can only imagine what these assault rifles and machine guns do to your body. And I am not a small woman. I lift weights and have a decent stamina. So… some of these women playing soldiers (and to be clear: there are plenty of actresses who are believable in these roles! This is not a generalization.)… but some feel like… “oh, you look cute and determined”, but I can’t believe you would be able to do all that. And to be clear (again) - you can absolutely be skinny and STRONG; they are not mutually exclusive. But something about some of these portrayals come off as — yeah, nah… but, fine. Let’s do this. Shrug…

Hollywood is like this. Honestly, I take things as they come - and usually still enjoy the show or the movie… I get it.

Then Zoe Saldaña shows up in Lioness — and commands the room, commands the combat theatre, commands the sit-op, gets deep into the dirt, blood and frenzy of a situation and…

I. Believe. Everything.

And it’s not just her. Every single one of the women in this show would definitely kick any combat mission’s ass and hold down a — literal — fort, all by themselves, with grim ferociousness and no-fucks to give except getting their team home and completing the mission.

And it isn’t a weird show where the women all take charge and the men are “weirdly” just saying yes. They give as much as she gives. They take as much as she takes. She’s just the boss and there is no doubt.

Writing. Acting. Story. Phew.

Because it is the story. This show was written by a team that obviously had men and women and had people with a range of experiences in battle, in love, in family, in camaraderie — not because they had to — but because it made the story REAL.

You are watching a show about combat, military missions, political maneuvers, about failure and fear, resolve and commitment. It is only later you realize the writers layered other “issues” without making any of them an issue. Everything blends seamlessly into the MISSION — because that is all that matters: The mission.

Let me say it again with emphasis on story. Because that is all that matters: The mission and the humanity.

And Zoe Saldaña KILLS IT!!! I want to shout it from the rooftop. That this Afro-Latina, Caribbean daughter of immigrants, former ballerina, who has played dancers and assassins, who speaks with such sincere and firm decorum - screams her anger, her pain, her frustration - and loves fiercely, and cares against her own heart, and will tear you apart before you take her agency away.

But be warned, this show is not for everyone. A women-led show based in the American military experience, in this time where questions about American Imperialism are racing across the globe, is a choice. But this show is about precisely that - CHOICES that break you and commitments that hold you - when nothing else can. Morally grey - this show stretches the conscience of every character - and spins it into — choice. I did not agree with the characters choices, but I felt every tear of their bodies and minds and souls as they moved through their decisions and acted.

This is story. This is the cost of battle. And the cost is everything. There are no heroes. We don’t get to glorify war and make it something high and mighty (in my eyes), but this is something true. This is human.

Season 2 of “Special Ops: Lioness”. God damn! Zoe tore me apart. I gripped onto every episode like my lungs breathed because of it. While watching her, I realized — with staggering clarity — we don’t know Zoe Saldaña at all.

And this is actually a glorious thing. I am here to give her ALL her flowers.

She is giving us what we need, what she needs, but who she is — is her own. She doesn’t owe us anything other than the gift of her craft. And I am glad of it. It doesn’t mean we won’t get glimpses of her. But with her performance in Lioness, Zoe gifts us this: We are — each and every one of us — terrifically complex and bursting with multitudes riddled with grace and fierceness.

As I finish this essay, my main character Naïma and her lover, Ray, come to mind. They have to make choices that shred them to keep their commitments. Maybe this essay isn’t only because her name is Zoe Saldaña. Maybe Zoe and I are looking for the same thing in story. And if so, I am in great company (this self-referential tongue-twister is wild!). Indeed.

The feathered paradox of grace and ferocity is what our characters crave to unveil as they fill the page, the canvas, the space between unknowing and knowing. So, here’s to the writers, creatives, and witnesses to art — let’s remind each other to hold our multitudes — and set them free.

This is our mission. Our humanity.

[Postscript: Shout out to every actor on Lioness - Laysla De Oliveira (I need more of her! She owns her space), Nicole Kidman (I truly believe she rules the world), Michael Kelley (makes everything hit deeper), Morgan Freeman (because… is it real, if he isn’t proclaiming it?), and James Jordan (secretly my favorite because - old soldiers are around for a reason).]

[Post-postscript: I had a whole section on Emilia Perez, but it just didn’t fit in this essay. It felt like extra even as it has related themes and discussions. Maybe Emilia Perez and Zoe Saldaňa can be another essay. Maybe. In any case, this essay is long enough. Ha! If you got this far, thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope it gave you something back.]

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash