SEAL Team - General Discussion

[dwmarch]

I liked the finale and how it tied back into some long-running plotlines on the show. I also find myself wondering how much this is an issue for real world Special Forces operators out there. It's an interesting conflict. We know that when it comes to DEVGRU versus the various enemies of the week, the SEALs are always going to come out on top. But SEALs versus the military? That has potential.

How far does Sonny's obligation to Stella and Brian go? I am picturing a Sonny-Stella-Davis love triangle now. Like, Sonny and Davis will be inching closer to getting back together but right before they can, Stella will jump on Sonny and make him forget all about Davis. But knowing this show they would wrap the whole plot in angst while I feel like it would be better if it was slightly comedic.

Speaking of Sonny, he was happy to punch a Colonel out but didn't mention going after the mall cop who actually killed Clay. The team discussed what happened and they seemed to have all the details so it's not as if they wouldn't know where to look. I would like to see some follow up on that security guard.

I guess they took Cerberus out for a pee before going to the graveyard? That could have been awkward.

[b4pjoe]

Good finale which also works as a series finale if it doesn’t get renewed. Truthfully I am on the fence on if it should get renewed.

[FreshPrince]

It was a sad ending but bit too much of melodrama towards the end of episode with concussions and syndromes etc.; it seemed like what's going on in NFL to raise awareness about injuries but this is the army, will anyone care? I mean that's what soldiers do I guess.

[dwmarch]

Renewed for season 7:

https://deadline.com/2023/01/seal-team-renewed-season-7-paramount-plus-movie-1235225561/

Be advised, there are spoilers for the end of season 6 if you're not there yet.

[b4pjoe]

I only wish that still had their 22 episodes per season. 10 Episodes is too short.

[Artsda]

 

[b4pjoe]

☹️

[dwmarch]

Not sure how I missed this last week but we have a Season 7 trailer now!

Looks like we're in for some solid action to close this show out. It'll be back on August 11th.

[b4pjoe]

8 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Not sure how I missed this last week but we have a Season 7 trailer now!

Looks like we're in for some solid action to close this show out. It'll be back on August 11th.

Good news...10 episodes too. I was expecting about 6.

[preeya]

Dylan Walsh,  come on man.  And his name is Walch.

[dwmarch]

And we're back! Bravo is back on duty with a two-episode premiere.

The first episode is a lot of catching up on everyone. We catch up with the families (Jason, Ray, Stella, Sonny) and we learn that Bravo has been assigned to the literal doghouse where they will pick up dog turds. Lots of grousing about "Operation Fuckery", which is shorthand for Command not appreciating Jason and co. making a scene about health issues at the end of season 6. The team gets assigned to a training mission in Sweden along with a new guy, Drew Franklin.

I'm not sure what to make of Drew just yet but he has a certain charm despite being introduced as an outsider who doesn't like teams. He's shifty, teaching the Swedish troops fake tactics from the Rambo movies in exchange for local currency but he also uses that power for good such as when he steals a fancy watch for Sonny to give to his daughter. There's a plot dangled about his rich family not wanting him to talk to a reporter so we can expect that of course he is going to do that. All in all it seems a lot of folks have the wrong idea about him and he's happy to let those people hold onto their beliefs.

Jason is emotionally mature and almost happy through most of these first episodes although he's still quick to anger in defense of his team. We get some nice emotional moments from him, especially how traumatized he is after being forced back into action.

There's also some great stuff from Omar, who has to choose between saving a mother or her daughter. I also appreciated that for a show that has featured Muslims as the bad guys numerous times, here we see that they are the victims of terrorism and indeed seem to have been intentionally targeted by "ultra-nationalists".

I liked the SEALs running towards the danger in this episode although I am not sure how realistic that is. I hope there are some Youtube reactions from actual SEALs or Special Forces types because encountering an active shooter scenario in a public place is certainly something that could happen. The local cops wanting to wait for a SWAT team has echoes of Uvalde but no one brings that up in the show. The one cop handing his pistol over is something I don't think would ever happen but it does happen a lot on TV.

There was one thing I didn't quite buy and that was how the team learned of the incoming VBIED. Okay, grabbing a radio from the bad guys was a great idea. But why are the bad guys openly discussing their plans? In order for the team to learn about the incoming threat, one of the bad guys had to say something like "hey, where's that explosive-laden vehicle that was supposed to crash into the triage area?" and the bad guy driving had to respond that he was on the way but wouldn't be there for a few minutes. I'm also no explosives expert but I feel like using another vehicle as a barrier would just create more shrapnel. But this show has already given us North Korean vehicles that explode when someone looks at them funny and a car that exploded when it had an impact to the windshield. I guess we could say the bad guys bought their bomb at IKEA and didn't read the instructions before putting it together.

All in all, off to a great start and I'm glad to have this show back!

[dwmarch]

We're now at the halfway point of the last season and as expected, the team's wheels finally fell off. All the simmering conflicts of the first episodes blow up simultaneously as the team is stuck in a sweaty safehouse. But it's the new guy Drew to the rescue! After being rather taciturn with his teammates up to this point, he finally opens up during the argument and tells everyone the last time he was on a team, it was the ill-fated Echo team. I don't remember if we saw that on the show or not but apparently Echo was wiped out to the last man except for Drew and that's why he's not really a team guy anymore. This shuts everyone up and they all reset and start playing nice. However, Jason has been dealing with a crisis involving his son suffering a hockey injury (because for some reason he can receive personal phone calls while on this mission) and that coupled with some Lady MacBeth visions have him heading home at the end of the episode.

Interesting stuff so far but I hope we maintain a good balance of action mixed in with the drama. There was one hard takedown in this episode but most of it was Bravo team sitting on ass, getting increasingly frustrated. Now that we've worked it out, there are only five episodes worth of doors left to kick.

[Infie]

We did see Echo get wiped out.  It was the main driver behind season... 3 I think?  The one with the afghanistan deployment and the whole mineral thing. 

[mythoughtis]

We did see Echo.  It involved a Seal trainer they were all close with.  Adam, I think. 
 

I can’t help it.  This season just isn’t cutting it for me.   I miss Clay, Full Metal Jacket, etc.  I miss the overwatch crew as it was at the beginning.   Davis was good at that job, not so much at this one.  Anyone want to bet Davis got sent with the team because someone found out she’s been fraternizing with Sonny? 

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

It appears they are setting up everyone's exit.  Jason with the new TBI job, Davis with the promotion and I'm sure Ray is going to come around to being excited about Spenser House.  Who would have thought we see a more mature Sonny - first helping Ben and second moving forward with his invention.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

After the last 2 episodes, I now think Sonny may not make it out alive.  His daughter is squared away with money and a new stepfather.  He's going to make sure Davis doesn't take the fall for him punching that guy and if he does that, he'll be out. I think Sonny goes out a hero  I'll be sad if he doesn't make it out alive.

 

Sunday 10-6 - I'm glad I was wrong about Sonny but it was nice to see how much he has matured.  I'm glad Jason was in a better mental state but I think he should have taken the desk job.  Over all, a good wrap up of the series.

Edited October 7 by Mrs. Stanwyck

[dwmarch]

I'm surprised we got a happy ending, I was half-expecting the whole team to go out in a blaze of glory.

After setting up the chase for the Green Beret like it was going to be some Apocalypse Now/ Heart of Darkness situation, that plot was pretty anti-climactic. Jason and Drew had no trouble finding him and no trouble killing him, Jason's initial hesitation aside.

I was also a little surprised by Sonny and Davis riding off into the sunset together. I really thought after last week's episode that we were going to find out Sonny was so upset by the idea of Stella leaving because he had gone ahead and fallen in love with her but didn't realize it until he was on the verge of losing her. But it is nice to see them just be friends and have that beautiful bond without the complications of romance.

I don't know if it was intentional but Jason's quest for forgiveness ties back to Clay's death in a particular way. The team has constantly blamed the wrong people. Sonny went and punched out that Major/General while Ray blamed Ben. But no one ever came back around to the trigger-happy security guard who shot Clay in the first place! Security guards have rules of engagement too and they clearly were not followed here. I really thought the team would find that guy and hang him upside down over a cliff while explaining to him exactly who he shot. But they never came back to it at all. I don't think they even mentioned it. Reminds me of the Afghan widow who Jason apologized to. Jason said he was ever so sorry, she said it wasn't his fault, he said something like "yeah but I literally shot him, where do you think I got these prayer beads?" and she still insisted he wasn't the one responsible even though he was. I think these things might have been meant to be related but they didn't quite tie a bow on it.

Having Ray be the desk jockey is a great idea, it will keep him out of trouble! I was going to say he wasn't as much of a shit-disturber this season but then I remembered how he treated Ben. At least now since warfighter health most likely has very strict privacy rules, Ray won't be able to go around running his mouth like he usually does.

I don't quite buy the bit at the end where Sonny traded his Trident for Davis' career advancement. That is not generally how a bureaucracy works. Sonny taking the blame for the situation doesn't spare Davis from her part in it. But it's at least consistent with the show (Jason pulled a similar stunt early in the season) so I'll let it go.

Nice fake out with the under-fire exfil from Afghanistan followed by what looked like a funeral. I'm scanning the crowd trying to figure out who isn't there and then Pachabel's Canon starts playing.

I loved seeing David Boreanaz doing his utmost cheesiest dancing at the wedding. There's a similar scene in Angel and I will consider this a tribute.

Mandy says "I love you" to Jason but doesn't get one back. He says "love you, kid" to Davis though.

This show was a fun ride, I will miss it!