#SEAL Team Season 4 Premiere Review: Bravo Bombshells

It was well past time to shake things up, and maybe that’s what’s happening here.

SEAL Team Season 4 Episode 1 and SEAL Team Season 4 Episode 2 send several characters in new directions. Now let’s see how long that lasts.

First, let’s wish Cerberus a happy retirement.

Bravo’s combat dog knew when it was time to get out. Being in the midst of war is difficult for any creature to handle, especially a canine that can’t rationalize it as a human can.

I genuinely feared they were going to kill off Cerberus in Jason’s arms. He’s the character I’d most hate to see sacrificed.

Thirty Mike, sure, go ahead. He’s obnoxious and already has the feel of the unit’s redshirt. He’s just hanging around until they need a very special episode, then he’s gone.

Then they can bring in another disposable character to replace him. This is a war drama, after all, so there’s got to be a body count.

Cerberus’s departure has been on the wall for some time now and not just as an example to point out to Jason that he too has been hanging around too long.

The dog’s running off in combat put the team, especially Brock and Jason, in jeopardy, so it’s time for Cerberus to enjoy a more sedate life. It’s not like he can undergo counseling for his PTS.

But he still got more of a spotlight than Brock, Trent, or Full Metal have received over three seasons.

After his bolting in battle got both Brock and Jason injured, Cerberus redeemed himself by attacking a terrorist sneaking up on Jason, getting stabbed in the process. 

That led to Jason doing everything humanly possible to get his “brother” and surrogate to safety, dressing his wound and carrying the canine across a forbidding landscape, surrounded by enemies. It even appeared they were going to go down together.

Even after their travails together, Jason still didn’t seem to get the message that has been thrown at him for much of SEAL Team Season 3: He can’t be an operator forever.

His teammates, especially Ray, have been hinting at it while trying not to offend him. Natalie has been trying to get through to him, which is probably why they’re not still together.

Sports fan Jason has seen athletes sticking around too long after their skills have started to decline. He just didn’t realize he had become one of those.

That’s likely why longtime friends and coworkers Jason and Mandy ended up spending the night together. They were both attempting to forget the futility of what they have spent decades doing.

The drawdown in Afghanistan certainly provided an object lesson of this. Were the people of that country any better off after decades of war?

Mandy finally got through to Jason, walking away from the CIA, undoubtedly to a corporate security job.

Is Mandy gone for good? Probably. She and Davis have been doing the same job for most of last season, so she had become redundant. The student is now the master.

After only two episodes, this season is already promising some much-needed change across the board.

Is Jason done being Bravo One, and is he really ready to rediscover Jason Hayes? 

That doesn’t seem likely. But maybe he moves short term into a trainer role, teaching the next generation of operators.

But, based on the trailer for the next episode, Jason isn’t going to be removed from Bravo Team for any length of time.

If Jason isn’t Bravo One and Ray is off at Warrant Officer Training Academy, who does that leave in charge of Bravo?

It would have to be someone from outside, as Sonny is just off the equivalent of probation, and Clay just took the blame for the scandalous letter.

The trailer indicated that Bravo falls into disarray, and without Jason and Ray, that seems likely.

So it will be Jason to the rescue, but in what capacity? Bravo One? Consultant? Something else?

Clay did the admirable thing, taking the heat for Ray. As much as he had enjoyed dabbling in Washington politics guided by Rebecca, he was most at home with his brothers.

Clay was right that Ray had too much to lose and that as a single, now unattached non-commissioned officer, his career can survive and come back from the hit.

He may never be an admiral now, but Clay seems like he’d rather be Bravo One someday. He keeps being attracted to brainy women, but they just don’t get his choice of career.

Then there was the new, humbler Sonny, who did appear to learn something from his punishment in Texas. He is no longer Jason’s favorite knuckle-dragger but rather someone who can see things evolving around him. And he doesn’t want to be left out.

Also, there still may be something between him and Davis that’s going to get explored further, now that he’s got his head out of his ass.

And after Ray has successfully led Bravo in the field, can he possibly be comfortable going back in Jason’s shadow?

As the series ages, it needs some tweaks so it won’t become stagnant, and there now appears to be room for new blood to be injected as well with these potential changes.

To revisit the evolution of Jason, watch SEAL Team online.

Is Jason really done?

Has Sonny evolved?

Did Clay do the right thing?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.