Episode 1 of Special Ops kicks off in the chaotic landscape of Kobane, Syria. Isabel, a CIA Special Activities Division operative, frantically phones her boss, Joe, from a remote compound. Joe, stationed at a CIA/Socom forward outpost seventeen kilometers away, listens intently as Isabel's voice cracks with panic. She reveals that her cover has been blown, her identity exposed by a telltale cross etched on her ribs, a memento of her brother's passing. Their only option now is a hasty extraction.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocks the outpost, sending shockwaves through the desert. Joe's team curses the incompetence of the man who apparently skipped tactics training, his detonator cord the cause of the blast. As armed militia swarm in for the attack, Joe calls for air support. The skies fill with the roar of fighter jets, clearing a path for her team to rush to Isabel's aid.
As the terrorists close in on Isabel, Joe frantically calls Bobby, a trusted member of her team. She demands an estimate for the extraction time, her heart racing with every passing second. Bobby reports back, his voice tight with tension. The team is facing fierce resistance from the militia, and it will take precious time to reach Isabel. Joe listens helplessly to screams echoing over the phone line, her stomach churning with a mixture of fear and resolve. She orders the extraction team to hold their fire and prepare to detonate the compound, a decision that fills her with an unsettling sense of dread, even as she knows it's the right thing to do.
Flashback to four years earlier in Oklahoma City, where our protagonist Cruz leads a different life. She works at a fast-food restaurant, a far cry from her past as a stripper. Cruz is trapped in an abusive relationship with Edgar, and one day, she makes a desperate bid for freedom. She lashes out, hitting him, and flees, but Edgar and his thugs catch up to her. In a moment of panic, she stumbles into a Marine recruitment office. As Edgar and his men wait outside, Cruz's manager calls the police, and she spends the night in a shelter.
Sometime later, Cruz finds a new purpose in life. She takes the exam to become a Marine and passes with flying colors, setting records in her ASVAB and PT tests. Her superiors are impressed, but Cruz remains guarded. She explains that after her mother's death, she lost the will to try and became bitter and hateful, hating everything in the world, including herself. But now, as she stands poised for action in the Syrian desert, Cruz is determined to find redemption in the chaos and violence that surrounds her.
Returning to the present, Joe briefs her superiors about the extreme measure taken - calling a drone strike on the ISIS camp. She grapples with her decision, tormented by the fact that her trusting instincts led to Isabel's untimely demise. Without reaching out to her partner Neal, Joe returns home, feeling lost as she tries to navigate the complexities of her children's lives.
A few days later, Joe heads to Fort Bragg, tasked with selecting a new asset. It is revealed that she leads the Lioness team, a unit within the Special Activities Division. Their objective is to identify female relatives and acquaintances of high-value targets and infiltrate operatives close to them. To ensure Cruz doesn't have any tattoos that could compromise the mission, as Isabel's did, Joe asks her to strip down. Cruz is offended by Joe's methods, but Joe is nonetheless impressed.
The pair embarks on a flight to the camp, with Asmar Ali Amrohi, one of the leaders of the Iranian-backed Militia in Iraq, as their target. Cruz's focus is his daughter, who will be the starting point for her mission in Kuwait. They arrive at Camp Arifjan, where Cruz undergoes preparations. Joe introduces her to the team - Bobby, Two Cups, Tex, Randy, and Tucker. However, they are still unaware of Asmar's house location. All they know is that he has an apartment in Kuwait, where his daughter resides.
The next morning, Cruz, still nursing a hangover, prepares for her new assignment. Joe and Cruz set out to intercept the daughter. Cruz is visibly nervous about going in blind, without any background information on her target. But fate intervenes when she accidentally bumps into the daughter, who is trying on new jewelry. Cruz introduces herself as Zara Adid, and Aaliyah, Asmar's daughter, warms up to her quickly, unaware of the dangerous game that Cruz is playing.
