Even Zoe Saldaña Is Side-Eyeing Her Character's Tumultuous Love Life On Lioness

Warning: Spoilers for "Lioness" Season 3 ahead.

The Season 3 finale of Taylor Sheridan's latest hit show "Lioness" had viewers questioning if there was a future for Zoe Saldaña's character Joe McNamara and her husband Neal McNamara, but one person who isn't surprised is Saldaña herself. In fact, the actor advocated for a split long before it happened. As fans of "Lioness" will know, in Season 3, Joe was abducted. We won't get into all the details here, but she did eventually make it back home. However, rather than returning to her family right away, she decided to keep investigating her kidnappers instead. That didn't bode particularly well for Joe's marriage, especially since Neal expressly told Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman's character, and Joe's boss) about her near-constant absences and the fear surrounding her being in the field, even admitting, "I can't do this anymore." 

Sure enough, when Joe eventually did come home, the house was empty and her family was gone. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Saldaña quipped that it was a long time coming. "I just kept calling Taylor as he was writing this season and sharing with him, 'I don't know why he would stay. I'm putting him in danger, I'm putting the girls in danger. If violence and threats approach the door of our home because of what my partner does, I would have to put my children first and leave," she shared. Just as well Saldaña's real-life husband is an artist! The actor added that, for a long time, Sheridan disagreed, but naturally, she appreciated his eventual 180, enthusing, "I am grateful to Taylor that he gave Neal the f***ing strength to leave her in order for him to make a point," adding, "Because, if not, Joe's a machine, she would've never stopped." 

Zoe Saldaña's criticisms of Joe McNamara's approach to family life are nothing new. Just a few months prior to the Season 3 finale, the "Avatar" star confessed to Entertainment Weekly that she didn't know why Neal McNamara stuck around. "If I was in Neal's shoes, I don't know if I would stay, if I would be this accepting," Saldaña asserted. She completely understood his frustrations with Joe, pointing out, "For him, it's very clear that, by choosing to start a family, he has to honor his daughters before he honors other people's daughters, and he doesn't understand why Joe can't see it that way." Likewise, of Neal's promises to be his wife's home, "He's promising her that he's gonna be there, but the question is, can she?" All that being said, it's also worth noting that the Oscar winner is still rooting for her character to patch things up with Neal. 

In a September 2026 chat with People, she opined, "Do I believe that if we're able to come back for a Season 4 this is the end for Neal and Joe? [...] I hope not, because they are a true love story." Saldaña hinted at this in her interview with EW too, noting, "If we are able to come back and do a Season 4, I wouldn't want their story to just have ended like that. Because these are two people who really found each other. I feel that Joe and Neal are like doves, they mate for life." Saldaña clearly has some conflicted feelings about Joe, and we don't blame her. "Lioness" isn't exactly the coziest of Taylor Sheridan's shows, but it's keeping us on our toes (Saldaña included).