In an ideal world, Jason, Sonny, Ray, and the rest of the team would have time to mourn the death of one of their closest friends before returning to work.
SEAL Team Season 6 Episode 9 aimed to capture the aftermath of Clay’s untimely death and how it affected those around him.
It was a gripping hour of TV, and the cinematic nature of the first hour of this two-part event helped elevate the emotion.
You could tell by the bewildered look on Jason’s face that he strived to support his brothers, which meant he tried to show little emotion as he revealed the tragic news to the rest of Bravo Team.
If you watch SEAL Team online, you know Clay isn’t Bravo Team’s first big loss, but nothing can prepare you for losing a loved one.
Jason crumbling after telling everyone the news was another display of fine acting from David Boreanaz, but A.J. Buckley stole every single scene.
Sonny’s reaction was more heartbreaking than Jason’s, which was inevitable when considering he’d been helping Clay following the accident.
Ray: Naima said Clay was shot by a security guard.
Sonny: Security guard? Doing what?
Ray: Sounds like he was involved in an attempted break-in at the Air Force recruitment center.
Sonny: Clay involved in a break-in? There’s no fսcking way. Look, he’s had his bumps on the road, okay, but he has his stuff squared away.
Ray: This doesn’t make any sense, guys. Naima’s gonna keep me updated.
Their bond grew exponentially, and I think Clay would be proud of the positive changes Sonny’s made recently.
Sonny’s immediate reaction to not believing what happened was difficult to watch. Picking up the phone and wanting the person saying someone close to you has died to be proven wrong is a natural reaction.
It’s hard to compute losing or ever seeing someone again, especially when they’re as young and healthy as Clay was at the time of his shocking death.
The sad part of Clay’s death is that it occurred just when his former team members struck a chord and managed to work together.
All of the changes impacted Bravo Team, and it’s no surprise they were flailing by losing the team’s heart in Clay, even if he was still alive at that time.
The rest of the mission felt like a love letter to Clay because Jason, Omar, Trent, and everyone else worked very well together.
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the team’s future, if they’re going out, they’re going out in a blaze of glory.
Communication has been key to the team’s success, and now that they’ve mastered it, I hope it continues into SEAL Team Season 7 — and beyond.
Davis: If you’ve come to rub my face in it after Bravo achieved mission success, I deserve it.
Command: I wish this was about Bravo.
Davis: What’s wrong?
Command: Clay was shot and killed last night.
Davis: What? No, that… that can’t be. He’s here, he’s home with his family. Command: Details are sketchy at the moment.
Davis: This is going to destroy Sonny.
With the show employing a more cinematic look for “Damage Assessment,” the helicopter being shot out of the sky was one of the most predictable scenes in the history of the series.
Just when the gang thought they would be returning to the U.S. to mourn their fallen brother, their mission took a deadlier turn, and with SEAL Team Season 6 Episode 10 serving as the season finale, let’s hope we don’t have any more casualties.
The stakes of this mission have never been higher, and if the team is cut off from communicating with command and are compromised, they’ll be running straight into the lion’s den.
Naima feeling guilty about Clay’s death because Ben was in the veteran’s center she and her husband created made for a harrowing watch.
Davis. I am so sorry about Sonny.
Sonny: No. No, don’t say sorry about no rumors.
Davis: I wish this was a rumor. Yeah. You know, uh, he’s supposed to be safe at home with his baby boy.
Sonny: If you’d been a little more interested in getting justice for Clay instead of sending our asses back to Syria, I would be at home keeping him safe, do you understand?
Davis: Look, I know you’re upset, Sonny, okay?
Sonny: Upset? Upset?
It’s normal to have those thoughts, but you could see the raw emotion on her face, and I half-expected Stella to point the blame at someone.
Stella has been through the mill recently. Her husband was harmed while deployed, lost his leg, and then tried to bring the pieces of his life back together to be a great husband and father.
With all of the time jumps throughout this season, we barely scratched the surface of the emotional toll Clay’s injury and teething problems had on her.
She thought she was finally getting to write her book without thinking about her husband’s safety while deployed. She was at an almighty high, and now she’s probably at the lowest point of her life.
She’s lost her husband and will struggle to come to terms with what comes next. My best guess would be that Stella would leave town and possibly be closer to her family or start afresh somewhere by the beach and raise her son.
Arriving at the veteran’s center and revealing her husband was the happiest he’d been in years because he felt like a purpose must have taken a lot. After all, in the back of her mind, she was probably worried about coming into contact with Ben.
If not for that late-night phone call, Clay would still be alive and preparing to leave town with his family for a new start.
Davis learning of Clay’s death was another emotionally-charged moment, largely because she’s been so focused on ensuring she makes an impact at her new job that some of her relationships have fallen by the wayside.
Another big issue is her relationship with Sonny. He effectively washed his hands of her because he couldn’t comprehend that she would focus on something other than finding out what really happened to Clay before the accident.
I hope Sonny doesn’t hold Davis responsible for anything because, looking at the bigger picture, she’s one of the most crucial elements of finding everything out.
“Damage Assessment” was a solid episode of this Paramount+ drama series. I’ll be waiting with bated breath until the season finale drops in my inbox.
What are your thoughts on the aftermath of Clay’s death?
Did everyone handle it in the way you expected?
What’s your take on the helicopter getting blown out of the sky?
Hit the comments.
SEAL Team Season 6 concludes Sunday on Paramount+.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.