Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
The SEALs are back, but things are different.
The events of SEAL Team Season 6 led to Clay’s death and Jason spitting in his commander’s face while receiving a special commendation.
Jason’s actions have consequences in themselves, but when others stand next to him and spout obscenities about being debilitated by work-related injuries, the entire unit comes under attack.
As much as I hate the idea of any TV show being “like a feature-length movie,” SEAL Team has always had incredibly tight-knit episodes that feel like a day in the life.
Since the first episode of SEAL Team Season 1, every episode has ended with an inevitable scene. It gives the show a sense of endless urgency, which makes sense given the subject matter.
SEAL operators are always in an adrenaline rush, even when they’re with their families. They don’t have an off switch because turning it off would make it very difficult to turn it back on.
I can’t be the only one who appreciates real suffering victims. It’s not that I want them to suffer, but our “entertainment” often portrays victims as warriors. They’re not, but the SEALs are.
Watching Omar work with her injured mother, crying in agony and desperate for her daughter to be rescued, was unbearable. You can only imagine it would be the same for anyone in a similar situation.
When your life has changed dramatically, you have no face to lose during a terrorist attack.
Bravo is uniquely equipped, or so we believe, to be able to help those in need in ways that no other team is.
Whether it’s because of the way Jason and Mandy led the team in previous seasons or just bad luck, Bravo is lightning in a bottle.
what has changed
As we say, actions have consequences, and the team is in a very precarious position.
They had already been flagged for suspension, but Bravo was dealt a further blow when they banded together to issue a statement.
Bravo gets stuck with bad assignment, Jason takes responsibility
Literally! Bravo is in purgatory, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.
Sonny and Omar are shoveling shit, and Ray is stuck in a boring meeting, unable to speak his mind. Their current jobs are so irrelevant that Jason takes a temporary leave of absence to meet Emma.
But Jason was also responsible for shore duty for his teammates, which also bored him. Taking out his trident in exchange for their freedom was no small thing.
Thanks to Mandy and his kids, Jason has made tremendous progress. Perhaps for the first time in his life, he puts them first. But he was always very aware that he would soon fall into old patterns.
Ray is retiring in eight weeks, but Jason doesn’t have any plans yet. He’s worried about going back to his old ways, which is one of the reasons he decided to return the trident, but wouldn’t retirement be better for him?
Maybe I don’t fully understand how it works, but leaving the SEALs doesn’t mean you leave the Navy. Jason needs to figure out what his life will be like when the Navy is entirely in his rearview mirror.
the future of war
The future of warfare is changing. God, things have changed. When we hear about large-scale attacks behind enemy lines, it’s usually done with drones.
But Lisa’s promotion shows us the importance of fighting a bigger battle. She is making a difference, and her position will be critical in shifting the Special Forces’ focus from the war on terror to great power competition.
The fight for world dominance is changing, with terror giving way to things like election meddling, social media propaganda and drug trafficking as world powers try to derail the United States.
Lisa is working her way up, but that doesn’t mean other people like it. The farther she climbed up the ladder with her trident, the more resistance she encountered. Lisa, however, thrives on this confrontation. If I were to bet on the last man standing, it would be this woman.
She gained the trust of an admiral, and he believed in her.
While her peers complain about how she could possibly know this or that since she’s never been in combat, others recognize her power and what she’s learned from working with Bravo.
Emma’s concerns about Brad’s future as a SEAL are dismissed by Jason, who promises that everything will be fine. Work is changing.
Using an integrated deterrence strategy and evolving from counterinsurgency operations to full-scale warfare should mean the SEALs encounter fewer dangers than Bravo Team.
New SEAL Face: Drew Franklin
We were just getting used to Omar, who is probably my favorite SEAL right now, and now here comes another one.
Drew was a troubled kid and that’s why he worked with Bravo – like thoughts and all. Yet he had no desire to join this group of outcasts. Omar noticed his bad attitude right away. After all, he had just experienced the same thing not long ago.
You’ve got to wonder about a team member who doesn’t want to be a teammate. — Omar
The SEALs may not be a procedural organization in the traditional sense, but it caters to the public by having a reputable team — one that outsiders don’t trust and don’t want to join.
This strategy was highlighted in Criminal Minds and Chicago Fire, to name a few. There are always some bystanders who think they know more than they do.
By the end of “Chaos in the Calm,” it’s clear there’s a decent man hiding there. He saved Jason’s life in Sweden and even made some jokes with the guys before returning to normal.
However, with the introduction of his sister, we can speculate that he will soon discover what it means to be part of a team that cares about each other.
Most of these outsiders quickly discover what it’s like inside, and once they’re there, they rarely want to look back.
Sonny unexpectedly inherits Clay’s legacy
When Sonny tells how he helped Ben, Ray calls Sonny “Atticus Finch who kicked down the door.”
The Sonny we used to know still lurks within him, but he’s also shown tremendous growth.
He keeps his promise to Clay and helps Stella, whether it’s stocking up on necessities, fixing the toilet, or standing up for Ben (the man more or less responsible for Clay’s death) in court.
Wiping your slate clean is harder than it looks, though.
Sonny and Lisa had kept their friendship low-key when he assaulted an officer. Of course, Lisa investigated the officer for Sonny every chance she got, and now they both may pay the price.
Sonny thought he was fine because it had been so long. Lisa was right to be cautious. An investigation is underway into who attacked the man, and all clues point to Sonny.
Clay had just rediscovered life and found his own path when he was killed. Will Sonny follow suit? I don’t think he would have been killed, but his spirit might have been attacked.
He was working just as hard as Clay to pull himself out of his emotional morass. Can he survive being knocked down again? Will he come back from this?
What stays the same
Of course, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Bravo is still the best
There was no way the Swedes could have done what Bravo did when the terrorists struck.
Bravo usually takes place in situations we can’t even imagine, but a terrorist attack on a mall hit viewers differently. We’ll never know, but whether another SEAL team could have prevented the incident from escalating like Bravo did is debatable.
In military operations, embracing humanity is often seen as a hindrance, but in this case, it plays an important role. The Bravo team cares about each other, and the people they’re responsible for protecting are what set them apart.
However, the command was not too impressed. They were punished for rushing into the fire. Maybe the army’s problem lies with its commanders. Who would have thought?
Lisa and those who work with her may be able to change this response. The military wants to reduce the number of troops on the ground, but once reduced, they need support before, during and after their missions.
terrorism still exists
As much as we’d like to praise Lisa for helping the Navy change course, the horror remains.
They could never wipe out the tactical expertise of the SEALs, lest the world respond like the Swedes did during their terrorist attacks as bumblingly as they did.
As the United States moves away from tactical warfare, other countries are calling on the United States to show them the ropes. It took years of brutal surgeries for Jason to get his brain damage, but it only took Clay one fight to lose his leg.
The SEALs are never completely out of the woods. The world will always need their protection.
The premiere is split into two parts and works very well. Sometimes, you don’t want to wait for a payoff, and it’s been so long since SEAL Team Season 6 Episode 10 that waiting for the Swedish story’s dramatic conclusion can be painful.
What did you think of the premiere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
