Why Did Renat Kidnap Joe in Lioness? Why He Hands Her to Babat

Lioness Season 3 Episode 6 changes the answer to one of the season’s biggest mysteries. Renat appears to have kidnapped Joe as part of a highly paid rendition operation, but Russia itself may not have been the final client. Sugar Land reveals that the CIA now believes Iran is the most likely government financing the mission, while Russian resources and Belarusian contractors were used to capture and transport Joe. Renat’s behavior near the end supports that theory because once Joe is delivered to Babat’s side, he treats his assignment as complete rather than remaining in control of what happens to her.

That means our earlier assumption that Russia wanted Joe primarily for information about the Lioness program needs to be revised. The SVR may still value what Joe knows, but Episode 6 indicates that her actual kidnapping was probably a contract operation serving someone else’s objective.

Why Did the Kidnapping Initially Look Russian?

Almost every early clue was designed to point toward Russia. Belarusian contract agents had already targeted Joe in Virginia, Russian-linked personnel were operating inside the United States, and the SVR possessed partial knowledge of the secret Lioness program. Russia also had an obvious grievance because Joe’s side had captured Yurimov and spent months destroying intelligence networks connected to Moscow. From the CIA’s perspective, it was reasonable to conclude that Russia wanted Joe either as leverage for Yurimov or as a source who could confirm sensitive Lioness operations.

Episode 6 is where that explanation begins to fall apart. Oleksa tells Kyle that the abduction involves too much risk for conventional Russian intelligence, especially when Washington is monitoring international flights and Russian operations inside the United States have already been badly damaged. She argues there would be little upside for Moscow unless Joe were being traded for Yurimov, and the kidnappers’ behavior does not match that scenario. Once the team stops asking which Russian agency planned the mission and starts asking who could afford to hire the remaining network, Iran becomes the more convincing answer.

Was Renat Working for Money?

Sugar Land strongly suggests that money is the reason a Russian-linked officer would participate in such a dangerous unauthorized operation, although the episode does not show Renat personally discussing his fee. Oleksa estimates that kidnapping a senior CIA case officer on American soil and delivering her overseas could cost somewhere between $50 million and $100 million. She specifically considers whether a Russian officer might go outside normal orders for enough money before Kyle’s team begins looking at countries capable of financing the mission. Iran emerges from that discussion because it has both the financial ability and, apparently, a personal motive tied to Joe’s previous operations.

So it is better to describe Renat as part of the contracting and delivery layer rather than the ultimate mastermind. He has access to Russian infrastructure, Belarusian manpower and safe houses that an outside buyer could use without officially involving the Russian government in a direct confrontation with the United States. The operation can therefore look Russian at every tactical level while still serving an Iranian objective. That is the central trick Sugar Land finally exposes.

Why Would Iran Pay to Kidnap Joe?

The CIA believes revenge is the most likely motive. Oleksa asks whether Joe has previously overseen successful operations against Iran, and when the answer is effectively yes, she explains that a particularly damaging mission would give Tehran a strong reason to retaliate directly against her. She describes Iran’s approach as heavily influenced by revenge and the need to project strength, especially to its own population. The implication is that Joe was not chosen simply because she happened to be a senior CIA officer but because something she previously did made her personally valuable as a target.

Episode 6 still withholds the exact operation that created that vendetta. That missing history matters because Babat does not behave like someone interested primarily in questioning Joe about current CIA secrets. When he receives her, he tells Joe that his purpose is to take her to her death and describes a deliberately public and degrading punishment before that death occurs. His intentions fit revenge far more closely than a traditional prisoner exchange or intelligence interrogation.

Why Does Renat Hand Joe Over to Babat?

Renat hands Joe over because delivery appears to be the end of his side’s assignment. After American teams close in and the original escape route becomes increasingly dangerous, Renat tells the receiving side that Joe is now their problem and demands that they take possession of her. Moments later, Babat introduces himself to Joe and begins the next stage of the operation. The sequence is the clearest evidence yet that the people who captured Joe and the people who ultimately want her are not necessarily the same organization.

That separation becomes even clearer after Babat tortures Joe. Someone from Renat’s side angrily orders Babat to move her immediately because her screams could attract attention, then states that his job was to get Joe there and that everything afterward belongs to Babat’s team. The line effectively defines the division of labor inside the kidnapping. Renat supplies access, manpower and transportation, while Babat represents the people who intend to decide Joe’s final fate.

Does Renat Feel Sorry for Joe?

Episode 6 gives us evidence that Renat’s side is disturbed by Babat’s behavior, but that is not enough to say Renat has developed sympathy for Joe or intends to save her. The objection comes when Babat’s torture creates loud screams at a time when American teams are already circling the neighborhood. The immediate complaint is operational because the noise threatens the safe house and everyone inside it. Renat’s people still participated in Joe’s kidnapping, imprisonment and transfer, so one moment of discomfort does not erase their responsibility.

There is nevertheless a meaningful difference between the two groups. Renat’s side appears to treat Joe as valuable cargo in a dangerous transaction, while Babat treats her as the object of a revenge ritual. That difference could create conflict now that the carefully planned extraction has collapsed, but the series has not shown Renat secretly planning to turn against Babat. Any theory that he will help Joe escape should therefore remain speculation until a later episode provides evidence.

What Does Episode 6 Change About Renat’s Role?

Sugar Land turns Renat from the presumed final villain of the kidnapping into something more specific. He appears to be the link that allowed a foreign client to access Russian infrastructure and Belarusian operators without requiring the operation to be an official Russian intelligence mission. The CIA’s new theory explains why the abduction looked Russian, why its risks did not make strategic sense for Moscow and why Joe is ultimately transferred to a Farsi-speaking captor with a revenge-driven objective. It also explains why Renat can consider his responsibility finished while Joe’s ordeal is only becoming worse.

So the updated answer is no longer simply that Renat kidnapped Joe because Russia wanted Lioness secrets. Renat appears to have helped capture Joe because his network was being used to deliver her to the people who really wanted her, most likely an Iranian-backed operation represented on the ground by Babat. The exact person who authorized the payment remains unknown, and the series has not formally identified which Iranian organization Babat belongs to. Those unanswered details now matter more than whether Russia was involved, because Episode 6 has made clear that Russian involvement was only one part of a much larger transaction.