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‘SEAL Team’ Season 4 Episode 3 Spoilers: Will Natalie and Jason get back together and adopt Cerberus?

In a new sneak peek from Episode 3 ‘The New Normal’, Jason can be seen with his ex-flame Natalie Pierce (Emily Swallow)

Spoilers for ‘SEAL Team’ Season 4

‘SEAL Team’ is always packed with shocks and surprises. The season 3 premiere came with one too many bumps on the road. The biggest one probably was that Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) and Mandy Ellis (Jessica Paré) both decided to take a little break and step down from their duties.

“War has been my refuge for too long... and I’m done,” Jason told Bravo Team in the corner of the bar in the final scene of the second episode. Earlier, in a conversation with Mandy, Jason was taken aback when she said, “I can't do this anymore.” Baffled by her stance, he said, “What do you mean? It's who you are. It's who we are.” But Mandy was adamant. Mandy told Jason, “If I don't walk away now, I will lose myself,” and walked away. Does that mean it's over between the two? Did Mandy's decision take a toll on Jason's mind? 

In a new sneak peek from Episode 3 ‘The New Normal’, Jason can be seen with his ex-flame Natalie Pierce (Emily Swallow). Jason can be seen hanging out with Cerberus — who was rewarded with a normal doggy life — as Natalie lurks in the background. Is she back in his life? “I am going to guess there is a time jump of sorts between 4x2 and 4x3. Which will cover certain things like, the change of guard (temporarily!!!) and Natalie returning,” one fan said.

Another wrote, “That's really why I don't get bent out off shape regarding who Jason is dating....It's Alana who he takes with him everywhere. Her memory. Her photo. She is the love of his life... Doesn't mean he can't find happiness now but they probably won't stick either.”

Her character never went down too well with fans. “The one thing that always bothered me about Jason/Natalie, is that it always felt like she was always forcing him to change, always manipulating him into bwing who she wants but making it look like it was always his choice to do it. It just doesn't sit right,” one viewer wrote back on November 12, 2020. 

Talking about the huge shock, executive producer Spencer Hudnut told TVLine, “Look, we are all sad to see Mandy go.” He said, “It did feel like we were setting something up” between Mandy and Jason, adding, “One of the things about this show though is that we really do strive to honor the experiences of our service members. And by dramatizing the combat, the trauma, all the emotional stress, there need to be consequences.”

“Losing a CI in Venezuela, and then losing another one in Afghanistan… it has taken a toll on Mandy,” Hudnut explained. “The choice she made was a brave one, realizing much like Jason that this job has cost her so much, and she has the opportunity to break away and find a life for herself. As you can see in the moment, it’s a really difficult choice for Mandy, and one that maybe a day later she might not have made. But in that moment, she found the strength to walk away.”

She may be gone now... But Mandy might be back sooner or later. “There are plenty of ways to close the door on a character, and the door is still open for her,” Hudnut said. “Mandy will be seen again in Season 4.” In fact, Pare — whom Hudnut hails as “one of my favorite people I’ve ever worked with” — will direct an episode later this season. “I get people’s disappointment, and she and Jason have such a clear connection,” the EP noted. “But that connection influences what Jason decides later in the episode.”

Talking about his relationship with Mandy, David Boreanaz told Entertainment Tonight, “I don't know if it'll stick. I do think that his conversation with Mandy after coming back was pretty poignant at the one restaurant he likes to go. How she was like, 'No. This is still a carousel. It's not going to stop spinning. And we're not really effective in a lot of ways.' I think that was a jumping point for Hayes to make that decision. Was it hastily [made]? Was it done correctly? We'll find that out. And how does he deal with it? How does he manage not being all in all the time with the team, but also all in all the time with a wife? He doesn't know what that looks like. I think it's scary, and it's going to be terrifying. I don't know if he makes it.”

Coming on to Jason's awkward conversation with Natalie, Boreanaz added, “He's putting so much together. I mean, he's coming home to really nothing. His kids are gone: one's in school, one's at university. A relationship that he's trying to kind of mend and put back together is with Natalie. I don't know if it's going to work in a lot of ways. And that's the reality with these guys. Does he get pulled back in for one mission because one of his team members may die? That may happen. I'll tease that a little bit. But I will say at the end, his last dance is his last dance, and how he decides to deal with that, it's going to be pretty sad. I think it may upset some viewers, and they may ultimately see his departure from this show.”

What will ‘SEAL Team’ look like if Jason isn’t the leader? “At the beginning of Season 3, he re-enlisted for a couple more years, so you can’t just walk away,” Hudnut said. “He is still a part of the Navy, so he needs to find a new way to ‘burn off’ his enlistment. And the struggle for him will be: Does that bring him any sense of satisfaction the way operating does?” He also added, “This is a character who really has evolved to realize he needs to put himself first. It’s a more balanced Jason Hayes than we have seen in the past. But can he maintain that balance without Bravo Team? He’s really going to be ‘all in’ trying to have a life, but circumstances might not allow that to happen.”

‘SEAL Team’ premiered Season 4 with two new back-to-back episodes — titled ‘God of War’ and ‘Forever War’ — on December 2, 2020. More episodes in the series will air every Wednesday in the 9 pm slot on CBS. Catch the third episode ‘The New Normal’ on December 9, 2020.