Exclusive: Lioness Star Elizaveta Neretin Breaks Her Silence on That Brutal Season 3 Finale
Reel Perspectives
September 22, 2026
Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers from the Season 3 finale of Lioness.
The Lioness Season 3 finale left viewers stunned with the brutal murder of Elizaveta Neretin’s character, a woman who had become an important piece of Joe’s (Zoe Saldaña) rescue. In an exclusive interview with Reel Perspectives Media, Neretin opened up about the shocking ending, her character’s final moments and the complicated role she played throughout the season.
Despite the shock surrounding her death, Neretin wasn't completely surprised when creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan told her what was coming. After the events surrounding Joe’s kidnapping, she felt her character could become a target because the timing of her involvement made her look suspicious. The irony, of course, is that she wasn't the mole the Lioness team suspected. Her information was acutely instrumental in helping bring Joe home.
Hear the Exclusive Conversation
Elizaveta Neretin opens up about her Lioness character, the shocking Season 3 finale, and the moment she realized her character's fate was sealed. Neretin also reveals whether anything else was filmed surrounding the brutal murder and shares the one side of her character she wishes viewers could have seen.
Neretin also explained that her character understood almost immediately that something was wrong when the two CIA operatives arrived at her home. Normally, there would have been communication and CIA lead operative Kyle (Thad Luckenbill) involved if she were simply being relocated. Instead, the men who arrived felt more like muscle sent to execute an order.
That realization was captured beautifully in Neretin's performance, particularly in the moment when her character recognizes that the men aren't there for a routine transfer. Even then, she refuses to see herself as a victim.
For Neretin, that was essential to understanding the character. Someone operating in this world can't afford to surrender to fear or self-pity. Her character knew the risks and understood how the game worked, which made her final moments even more powerful.
The finale also deliberately left the circumstances of her murder open to interpretation. Neretin confirmed that viewers didn't miss an additional death scene because nothing else was filmed. The sequence we saw was all there was, including the infamous creek where her body was left.
She believes the ambiguity was intentional because the way her character was killed makes it difficult to determine exactly who was behind it, adding another layer to the show's larger exploration of power and betrayal. Still, Neretin admits there was one aspect of her character's story she would have loved to explore: seduction. Viewers never got to see that side of her, despite it being another potential weapon in her arsenal.
It's a tantalizing glimpse at the story that might have been. Instead, Lioness chose to end her journey with a brutal reminder that nobody is completely safe in this world, including the people who appear to understand the rules better than anyone. Neretin's performance made the character much more than a potential suspect or a disposable piece on the board. She was intelligent, guarded, complicated and ultimately instrumental to the events surrounding Joe's rescue. The fact that she was not the mole makes her death even more frustrating, while the ambiguity surrounding her murder ensures that viewers will continue debating exactly what happened and who was truly responsible.
While her time on Lioness may have ended, Neretin's character left behind plenty for fans to dissect. She wasn't the traitor many suspected, she played a critical role in Joe's rescue, and ultimately became another casualty of the ruthless world she had learned to navigate.
Her shocking death may have closed her story, but it certainly didn't close the conversation.
Lioness Seasons 1-3 is streaming now on Paramount+
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