Forget playing strip poker with half-naked models in Yellowstone Season 5, Lioness Season 2 wins the award for the most unnecessary Taylor Sheridan cameo of the year.
Let’s address some admin first. What is a cameo? I’m going to lean into the definition Marvel fans use and say it’s a role that appears fleetingly across movies or TV shows. They’re not integral to the core plot, but they add a little spice along the way.
Essentially, this is exactly what TV mastermind Taylor Sheridan enjoys doing in his own shows. Just this weekend, we’ve seen his expert horse handler, Travis Wheatley, grace us with his presence in Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13. He’s on hand to save the day except his hero status isn’t what it seems – Travis ends up forcing Beth to play strip poker in exchange for helping auction off her horses and cattle. He later reveals he’d have helped regardless, and the ick oozes out of him.
Amazingly, though, this isn’t even his worst cameo of the week… or in fact, possibly ever. That comes courtesy of Lioness Season 2, which wrapped up its eight-episode run with an explosive standoff on the Turkey-Iran-Iraq border convergence. As luck would have it, Sheridan himself was there to be the hero of the hour after having been randomly absent from the action for the last five episodes.
Cody massages Sheridan’s ego in a brand new way
Instead of a sexy cowboy, Sheridan plays action man Cody in Lioness. We first meet him when he helps Joe rescue a kidnapped congresswoman on the Mexican border in Season 2 Episode 1, then again in time for the finale all-out war in Iran. Basically, he’s not doing much more than throwing his weight around and looking cool shooting guns.
Sound familiar? Close your eyes, and Travis and Cody could be the same person. There’s a common theme to how Sheridan likes to join a show, and it’s all about making himself look as good as possible. There’s horse riding! There’s shooting! There’s telling a woman she doesn’t need to worry anymore because a big strong man is in charge!
But there is something that makes Lioness’ Cody that much worse. Where Travis exists in Yellowstone to drive Beth’s story forward (at least, that’s the case this season), Lioness Season 2 feels like it exists to see Cody win. If I’m honest, I haven’t cared about him at all during the Los Tigres storyline, but Sheridan makes sure he’s all we can think about by the time it wraps up.
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We’re used to seeing a level of self-indulgence from him, but this is taking things to another level. We might as well be holding placards that say “Hail Sheridan” as we gather around a golden statue of him whenever a new episode airs. We’re feeding his ego in an entirely new way… a way that feels like it should be addressed in his own time.
Hang on, weren’t we supposed to be following Joe’s emotional breakthrough as she realizes her family is way more important than almost dying at work every two seconds? Oh yeah! Forgot about her – that helpful man has taken over the post-battle debrief so she can spend some vaguely used time sobbing by herself outside. What a gent.
It only takes a quick Google search to see fans who are growing tired of the gimmick, too. “Cody will probably save the day on Yellowstone too,” one fan posted, with another agreeing, “Taylor has a self-aggrandizing ego.”
Listen, it’s not all bad – I fully agree that if you’re calling the shots on the other side of the camera, you’re absolutely within your rights to have a badass cameo. But we get you’re brilliant, Taylor. That’s clear purely through the fact everything you touch turns to gold. We’ve seen your dazzling brilliance with guns, horses, and not-so-much women… give us something other than a self-important hero.
All seasons of Lioness are available on Paramount Plus. Learn more about Bella Hadid as Travis’s girlfriend, and what went down in the Lioness Season 2 finale.
You can also catch up with the best TV shows of the year.
