SEAL Team Series Finale Ending Explained (2024)

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from the SEAL Team series finale, "The Last Word."

The end of SEAL Team is finally here, and the series finale is as emotional as anyone predicted. Paramount+'s military drama, created by Benjamin Cavell, premiered in September 2017 and ran for seven seasons before concluding in October 2024. The journey was rough, but in the end, every SEAL Team character got a happy ending (and, surprisingly, no one died despite a close call in Afghanistan).

All season long, Jason Hayes has been struggling with what war has done to him. He essentially believes that he is only a killing machine for the U.S. government, and Jason resides to accept that fate. He thinks that war has the last word. Thankfully, Jason comes to his senses by the hour's end because of Mandy Ellis' and Ray Perry's advice. However, while many expected Jason to die in the SEAL Team series finale or, at the very least, resign from the Navy SEALs, his mission isn't over and the show closes with David Boreanaz's character remaining as Bravo 1.

How Jason Finally Forgives Himself & Why He Stays With Bravo

Jason Visits The Family Of The First Person He Ever Killed

After killing the terrorist during the two-part SEAL Team season 7 premiere, Jason grows distant from his family and friends. He is consumed with guilt for what he has done and how many people he has killed as a Navy SEAL. Especially after his run-in with Ross Curtis and seeing what war turned him into (a traitor), Jason is resigned to the fact that he is just like Curtis and can't be forgiven. However, after talking with Mandy and Ray in episode 10, Jason tries to atone for his sins by visiting the wife of the first man he killed.

While in Afghanistan on a separate mission, Ray and Sonny Quinn accompany Jason to the village where the woman lives. Unfortunately, "The Last Word" doesn't show Jason's entire interaction with her, but he describes what happened to Ray and Sonny afterward. Jason tells the two men he feels "humbled" by the conversation.

The woman told David Boreanaz's SEAL Team character that she doesn't blame him for what happened to her husband because, the way she sees it, if her husband had killed Jason, she wouldn't want his family to blame him for Jason's death. His blood would have been on the Taliban's hands. So, she doesn't forgive Jason because she doesn't hold him accountable for her husband's death, and she believes everyone can be reborn. The interaction between Jason and the Afghan woman seemingly changes his perspective, and he's finally able to forgive himself.

After his conversation with her, a weight lifts off of Jason's shoulders. His mood noticeably changes when he's back in the United States as he has come to terms with his role as a Navy SEAL. As a result, Jason doesn't leave Bravo. Instead, Jason continues leading the elite team of Navy SEALs (which still includes Omar Hamza and Drew Franklin) on missions overseas as the SEAL Team season 7 episode fades to black.

Does Jason Kill Curtis During The SEAL Team Series Finale?

Jason Says Curtis Isn't "Worth It"

Before Jason's penance in the series finale, the episode has to pick up from where SEAL Team season 7, episode 9, left off. Jason and Drew are on a mission to assassinate Curtis for his treason against the United States. Bravo 1 and Bravo 6 find him in a small village, but Jason is unable to pull the trigger. He puts his gun down and starts to walk away before Drew completes their mission and kills Curtis.

Drew follows through because he wants revenge for Curtis' involvement in trying to kill his brothers and because leaving him alive would have ended Jason's career. The newest member of the Bravo Team in SEAL Team season 7 is ultimately able to do something Jason isn't. Jason probably didn't pull the trigger because when he looks at Curtis, he sees his future self. However, Jason's feelings about war having the last word fortunately change by the hour's conclusion.

Bravo's Final Mission In Afghanistan Explained

Jason, Ray, & Sonny Almost Die

Bravo returns from their mission in Honduras at the beginning of SEAL Team season 7, episode 10, just to get deployed again quickly afterward. Their op involves traveling to Afghanistan to infiltrate a former high-ranking Taliban official, Ahmed Amir, who was exiled for siding with the northern alliance. Bravo is also given $150 million to hand over to Amir to help spread his influence. Essentially, the Navy SEALs are assisting the U.S. in supporting an agency regime change to fracture the Taliban and curve China's influence in Afghanistan.

Bravo's mission is successful, and after it's completed, Jason meets with the wife of the first person he killed. However, on their way back, Taliban soldiers attack Jason, Ray, and Sonny, significantly outnumbering them in personnel and weapons. It seems this is the end of the road for them, but that shockingly isn't the case. Jason, Ray, and Sonny don't join Clay in the SEAL Team deaths as they somehow make it out alive. The episode never shows their escape, and viewers don't learn how they survived. Ray injures his arm, but other than that, he, Jason, and Sonny leave Afghanistan with just a few scratches.

Why Sonny Gives Up His Trident

Sonny Comes Clean About Assaulting Decker

Lisa Davis joined Bravo on their mission in Honduras during SEAL Team season 7, episode 8 to get some of the heat off of her regarding the investigation into who assaulted General Decker. Unfortunately, Davis learns in episode 10 that her time away had little effect. So, Sonny, not wanting the blame to fall on Davis, confesses to punching Decker, effectively giving up his trident for her. Sonny wants Davis to get her dream of working at the Pentagon alongside Admiral Rivas, and this is the only way her dream could become a reality.

A.J. Buckley's likable SEAL Team character becomes one of two Bravo members who leave the team during the series finale. Since he is no longer tied to DEVGRU (and because Stella and Brain are moving to California), Sonny joins Davis in Washington, D.C. Sonny and Davis finally get their happy ending and can be together in the Paramount+ military drama series.

Why Ray Becomes The Head Of Warfighter Health, Not Jason

The SEAL Team Series Finale Tricks Viewers Into Thinking Jason Accepts The Position

Towards the end of SEAL Team season 7, episode 10, the finale fools the audience into believing Jason resigned from Bravo and accepted a new job as the Head of Warfighter Health at DEVGRU. In reality, Ray is the one who left and accepted the position. Jason's time with Bravo isn't over yet, but Ray's is as he has been planning on retiring all season.

However, instead of helping Naima run Spenser House, Ray is guiding warfighters through TBI treatment options and other mental health problems. After yelling at Ben and continuing to feel uneasy at the veterans center, Ray steps away from Spenser House. He even tells Naima that Spenser House feels "tainted" for him. So, it just makes sense that Ray would become the Head of Warfighter Health in SEAL Team if Jason declined the job.

Why SEAL Team Is Ending With Season 7

Paramount+ Canceled SEAL Team

In November 2023, Paramount announced that SEAL Team season 7 would end the show. Additionally, the previously announced standalone movie was canceled. According to David Boreanaz's interview with TV Insider, the military drama was canceled partly because the story had run its course (at least, for Jason). Boreanaz explained:

"So starting the season it was like, okay, this is the perfect way to wrap that cycle up for [Jason]. For me, I knew that that was the right way and I knew going in before the writers' strike that I was done. I had expressed my interest not to do the show anymore. I was finished regardless of even if they wanted to do two more seasons, one more season. I was done. So then the writers' strike hit, and it became six months later and that had already been decided."

Boreanaz would have left SEAL Team after season 7 regardless if it was the last one or not. So, his exit likely influenced Paramount's decision. Meanwhile, the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes also had a hand in SEAL Team's cancelation.

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SEAL Team

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SEAL Team is a military drama that follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan, and execute high-stakes missions.

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Cast

David Boreanaz , Neil Brown Jr. , A.J. Buckley , Justin Melnick , Toni Trucks , Tyler Grey , Max Thieriot , Judd Lormand , Jessica Paré , Dita The Hair Missile Dog , Parisa Fakhri , Alona Tal , Scott Foxx , Kerri Medders , Jamie McShane , Raffi Barsoumian , Mike Wade , Emily Swallow , Kaliayh Rhambo , C. Thomas Howell , Michaela McManus , Tim Chiou , Rachel Boston , Michael Irby , Ammon Jacob Ford , Lucca De Oliveira , Adelaide Kane , Dan Briggs , Beau Knapp , Mark Semos , Michael McGrady , Shiva Negar

Release Date

September 27, 2017

Seasons

6

Network

CBS , Paramount

Creator(s)

Benjamin Cavell

Source: TV Insider