Critics Rating: 4.05 / 5.0
4.05
If Bravo Team isn’t what it used to be, SEAL Team isn’t what it used to be either.
I entered the seventh episode of SEAL Team season seven feeling a bit apprehensive. So much of this season didn’t work that I was surprised at how well this hour did.
Finally, I can empathize with Jason, and the team feels more cohesive. But understanding Jason doesn’t make his story any easier to bear, and even a cohesive team runs into trouble.
Jason Hayes, Family Man
Thankfully, Mikey isn’t a drug addict. However, he hasn’t learned anything at all from his father, which may reveal more about Jason’s work schedule than his parenting skills.
Mikey collapsed under the pressure of the injury almost immediately. Can you imagine if he had followed in his father’s footsteps into the battlefield? God help us all.
Despite the way he looked at it after the fact, Jason said and did all the right things. Even if you were in pain, you couldn’t and shouldn’t take any more painkillers. Jason knew that better than most.
Mikey stuck to his guns and nearly died when his friend tried to “help.” His friends were handing out painkillers, and Mikey accidentally swallowed a narcotic containing the deadly drug Trans.
The ending was happy, but that doesn’t make Jason feel any better about what happened. He blames himself for not listening to Mikey when he noticed his pain. That’s not the right conclusion from his experience.
Instead of reinforcing his need to be a family man, his visit home may have sealed Jason’s fate to die on the battlefield. His mind tells him he’s incapable of living a balanced life. No other Marine can, so why should he?
This event doesn’t force Jason to feel a deeper need to stay with his family, but rather seems to push him back into his comfort zone.
First thread of life
The conversation between Sonny and Drew over the comms was nothing compared to how Sonny led the mission over the comms.
Why Omar Bravo 2 anyway? Leaders don’t question themselves as much as Omar does. In my view, he doesn’t have the qualifications to be a leader. He’s easily confused.
Omar allowed his team to push him into actions he would not have done without direct orders from leadership. A natural leader is not influenced by those under him. Blaming others and saying he was forced into a decision he did not want to make was all that mattered.
He made up his mind when asked, but he still doubted himself, and I don’t think he really believed what he said.
Omar is not ready to drive. Period.
His team, especially Sonny, who has a lot of influence in their small group, do not fully trust or believe in him.
The song that happened suddenly, I loved drawing
He would drink with friends, share fun and games. All it took was a big emotional explosion to open up new horizons for him.
He and Sonny get along like best friends, which requires Omar to be more patient than he was in the middle of surgery.
But when the moment came, Drew had Omar’s back. He gave him excellent advice and suddenly became a friendly person, in addition to the wisdom he had shown in previous missions.
As you know, everyone knows the right answer until it’s their turn to make a decision. It will take some time for you to trust yourself to make the right decisions.
drew
We’ve wondered why Drew was added to the series at this late date, and now it makes sense that Bravo 1 will be there when Jason waves the white flag or is killed in battle.
He knows more about leadership than Omar, and has managed to gain the trust of his teammates. He has transformed from a lone wolf to a pack leader.
The advice he gave Omar spoke more about himself than what he thought Omar was capable of.
The best leaders don’t care where the good ideas come from. They just care about getting the job done and going home with a full complement of people. I can tell that’s your priority, too.
drew
The first two sentences in the quote above are straight from Drew’s heart, revealing his views on team leadership. His attempt to recover by throwing Omar a bone about his priorities didn’t work.
His past still makes no sense, especially after he shares why he wasn’t with Echo during the fateful operation.
Anyway, this was all the more reason for every other SEAL team to realize he was part of Echo. But thinking about it doesn’t make any difference.
I see a future where Drew is Bravo 1.
Bravo goes home
Bravo’s actions did what they intended.
They had demonstrated proof of concept for integrated deterrence, which was what Lisa had been fighting for. With the targets now on their backs, their mission was over.
Lisa is not happy with this success, perhaps because she knows that Bravo’s future is still at stake.
With four episodes left in the series, we may have just seen the last of Bravo’s best operation. If Jason’s future is going to be in the business, there will be another. But if he’s the lead, I expect the show to take a turn for the worse quickly.
Bravo has had a taste of a world without Jason and Ray, which could further change the dynamics of the team. With so many of them doubting themselves, it paints a dangerous picture of how the series could end – at least for Jason.
Adapt and overcome
During the episode, they used the phrase “adapt and overcome,” which is something SEAL Team members have to do on a regular basis.
But what the 100-Year Marathon has shown is that adaptation can sometimes make overcoming obstacles more difficult.
Jason adapts to all scenarios, but he has trouble fully integrating into his different worlds. This is not to say that Jason or any of the SEALs have a reverse Midas touch, destroying everything they touch. They are adaptable to the point where they will hide in unpleasant conditions just to keep breathing.
What happens when they lose this ability to adapt? We may find out in the last four episodes.
