Yes, Lioness star Laysla De Oliveira has seen the Joe-Cruz shipping

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Lioness season 3, episode 7 "Kiss the Girls."

After a grueling search, Joe has been saved.

Much of Lioness season 3 has been about the team trying to save Joe after she was abducted, and now they finally have her back. The final harrowing chapter of the mission happens on a football field, where Joe stages a bold escape attempt. Thankfully, she makes enough noise to get her team's attention, prompting them to descend on the field, both on the ground and by helicopter, to bring their leader home.

It was Cruz and Bobby who reached Joe first. The emotional release as Cruz hugs Joe feels like a culmination of all the trauma Joe faced in captivity. “Being able to say it out loud is solidifying how she really feels. She’s never said it out loud before, and I do think that she does love Joe,” the actor shares. It was a powerful moment that showcases their love and loyalty for one another.

Hearing Cruz say no one wants to save Joe more than marks a big change in how Cruz sees her relationship with Joe for anyone who remembers how angry she was when Joe shows up at her place in season 2. “Joe has always seen Cruz as like a mini-her or some kind of reflection of her. But it’s taken Cruz a little bit more time to get there because, well, she’s younger and she’s still going through life and she’s still learning things,” she says.

Austin Hébert as Randy and LaMonica Garrett as Tucker in Lioness, episode 7 of season 3.Ryan Green/Paramount+

During the intense reunion, Cruz jokes that her girlfriend Josie can see the hug between Joe and Cruz. “What’s happening to Cruz is she’s starting to feel a lot more comfortable in herself, so she’s starting to crack jokes,” she explains. From the start, the operative was sure of herself as an operative and professional, but what she’s found by joining Joe’s team is a path for herself she didn’t know was an option.

The action-packed sequence was shot on one of the final days of filming. “Kudos to Zoe because it’s really hard to stay in that depth when there’s so much excitement percolating around you. But she did a wonderful job, and we all just locked in,” De Oliveira says.

After serving as a Lioness herself, Cruz now has a clearer sense of her future. “She does have a sense of purpose. She is going somewhere with her career, and Joe’s provided all of that for her,” she explains.

Joe has saved Cruz’s life a few times. Now, Cruz gets the chance to return the favor.

Zoe Saldaña as Joe and Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz in Lioness season 3.Lauren "Lo" Smith/Paramount+

Yes, De Oliveira has seen the posts from Cruz-Joe shippers. No, it’s not happening, according to her: “I think people just like seeing Cruz kiss people.”

“What people are seeing is the chemistry that the actors have, but I think it’s not even maternal. I would say more like a big sister. Like, that’s her boss,” she says about the ship, “People are too horny. Okay, we need to settle down.”

But De Oliveira does understand where it comes from. “I get like this too when I watch shows. So I do try to watch it from the perspective of everybody. I think everyone on the show is so beautiful that sometimes when you’re watching scenes, it’s hard not to be like, ‘Now kiss.’”

Lioness is streaming now on Paramount+.

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