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‘SEAL Team’ Season 4 Episode 2 Review: Did Clay do the right thing by taking the blame for letter Ray wrote?

If both Jason and Ray are gone, who will lead Bravo Team? Will Sonny be in charge?

Bloodshed. Gunshots. Explosions. The second action-packed episode of ‘SEAL Team’ picks up right where the last one ended. As Cerberus (Dita The Hair Missile Dog) withers in pain, shots are fired all around Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz). Jason fights for their lives as long as he can as the Bravo Team comes to his aide soon. The team zooms off on small off-road vehicles just in time for bomb explosions and their mission is completed.

“Hell of an entry,” Romeo Team leader (Kenny Sheard) remarks as they arrive. The mission is completed and Bravo returns to base. Once back, Jason tells Ray Perry (Neil Brown Jr) he was right and that 13 years ago, that op changes their lives. The show beautifully intertwines interpersonal dynamics with their duties as all the members meet their loved ones.

Mandy (Jessica Paré) and Lisa Davis (Toni Trucks) share a moment where the latter tells her, “I should have known to trust your instincts.” Mandy smiles and asks, “So, we're good?” Soon after, Sonny Quinn (AJ Buckley) drops by and says he is proud of her.  

Well, the biggest question is: What happened to Cerberus (Dita The Hair Missile Dog)? Will she die? She is alive but brutally injured. It will take a few months for her to pick up pace and Jason says that it may finally be time for Cerberus just to be a dog. Sigh! Did you know she has been through three seasons and 60-plus missions? Well, Cerberus needs some time off, doesn't she? 

Did Clay do the right thing by taking the fall for Ray?

Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn (Judd Lormand) announces that Ray is taking a break for two months while he is offered the Chief Warrant Officer cabinet. Ray is thrilled and when he goes back home, Naima and his daughter are happy to see him.

In a major twist, Jason tells the team that NCIS is on a witch hunt to find out who wrote the letter to Ambassador Marsden’s husband. Convinced that someone from the team did it, Captain Lindell puts the blame on Clay and he accepts it. The punishment will be huge and the biggest shock comes when Ray confesses he wrote the letter and asks Clay not to take the blame on his shoulders.

When Clay asks him if he can give up his Warrant Officer post and his new house, for it, Ray is hesitant. Clay assures him that what he's doing is right. But is it really? His girlfriend, Rebecca doesn't feel so and she makes it clear that he shouldn't have taken the fall. As one fan said, “Brotherhood means everything to Clay...that's why he took the blame for writing the letter to protect Ray.”

Why did Mandy say goodbye to Jason?

What's cooking between Jason and Mandy? As the two take some time off to have a burrito, she jokes, “What time are you knocking on my door tonight?” The two start discussing Afghanistan and he tells her that he thought they agreed to keep that in the past. Tired of Jason's ways of shrugging everything off, she reflects back on her life and says she was just a teenager when she got in.

She chose this life for herself. But, after 20 years, she cannot do it anymore. “If I don't walk away now, I will lose myself,” she tells Jason and walks away. Does that mean it's over between the two? 

Is Jason gone for good?

Ray tells Jason that it was he who wrote the letter, not Clay. With his mind already preoccupied with all the pain from his past, Jason gathers everyone and announces that he has decided to step down. He tells Clay to grab everybody and have them come together. Saying that he is a better warrior than a husband or a father, he said that he has come to realize that the team can do well without him. Jason Hayes is done. 

Is that a good decision? Will stepping back from Bravo give Jason some perspective? One fan said, “What are the odds he becomes an instructor for a month before he can’t be away from the field anymore and comes back. Or something like that. He can’t just leave!!” 

Directed by Christopher Chulack and written by Spencer Hudnut and Dana Greenblatt, the one-hour episode leaves one too many loose ends with a triple shock: Is Mandy and Jason's love story a crushed affair? Did Clay do the right thing? If both Jason and Ray are gone, who will lead Bravo Team? Will Sonny be in charge? Well, only time will tell. 

‘SEAL Team’ premiered Season 4 with two new back-to-back episodes — titled ‘God of War’ and ‘Forever War’ — on December 2, 2020, from 9 pm ET to 10 pm ET and then from 10 pm ET to 11 pm ET. More episodes in the series will air every Wednesday in the 9 pm slot on CBS.