The desperate mission to find Mandy concluded on SEAL Team Season 5 Episode 6, and it was another pulse-pounding hour of this Paramount+ (!) drama.
Mandy’s fate could really go either way because of Jessica Paré’s limited involvement with the show these days, but it didn’t make the search any less nail-biting.
The moment the team happened upon the burnt-out village, I thought they would find something belonging to Mandy to throw fans off until the actress returned to the series.
My jaw hit the floor when Many popped up to save Jason. They kept the secret very well, but her saving creates more questions than answers.
Bravo Team knows she could be playing them, and her tall tale about how she happened to be in this place seemed a little too fabricated.
She didn’t tell them about her being disavowed from the CIA, and there was a certain look from her when that was brought up.
Understandably, the entire team is reassessing what was fact and what was fiction with Mandy, and the truth is, they’ll probably never know.
Being alive was a shocker, but there’s so much more to tell with this story that I believe the team will find out something that will shock them to the core.
Jason was so fiercely devoted to finding Mandy that he failed to recognize the team was imploding from the inside.
The theme of the hour was secrets, and while some of the team’s actions were out there, Mandy was one of them. They all worked closely with her, and whether she was a hero or a villain, they needed to locate her.
Even if she was up to no good, the team would probably still want to hear it from her rather than somebody else.
Mandy has been such a pivotal aspect of the show, and as a viewer, it’s intriguing that you can question what you truly know about someone you’ve watched on a show for almost five years.
Jason going rogue and ahead of everyone else was one of the dumbest moves because he had no clue who might pop up when he least expected it.
He was desperate to find Mandy, dead or alive, and his mind was not in the right place. At every turn, he believed her to be dead.
I have no clue where this leaves Mandy’s relationships with the team because everyone had distinctly different views on her machinations.
I appreciated the way the show made us think Jason and Mandy’s relationship was over, but you could tell Mandy wanted his approval over everyone else’s.
The true test will be in whether she picks up the phone when she is back in the U.S. Jason will not be happy if he gets stabbed looking for her and she ghosts him again.
In essence, she ghosted the entire team, and will need to come to terms with the fact that everyone put their lives on the line to save her.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with the way the team escaped in the petrol-bombed cars. If you’re going to use a cheap cliffhanger, at least give us a satisfying resolution that is worth the wait.
All of that stuff was a little too easy, but the infighting between the members of Bravo Team did work very well.
There are undoubtedly questions about trust from within the team, more so after someone took concerns about Ray to command.
As a whole, the team is not functioning very well, and they need to find a way to leave their beef at the door.
Sonny and Ray’s chat about Clay was satisfying because it actually helped viewers understand where all the animosity was coming from.
Clay has never had the best relationship with his team members, and that stems back to his arrival on SEAL Team Season 1.
From the outside looking in, many people probably don’t like Clay because he has progressed quickly in his career, but he’s not the most approachable person.
I believe he will, at some point, take over the team. The questions about whether he’s earned his stripes were interesting, but this team needs to meet up and work out all their issues.
Having a bond is what will keep them together during the harshest of missions. Maybe they should go on a team-building day out when they return to the U.S.
I think they’d get a kick out of an escape room!
“Man on Fire” was a good episode, but it was far from perfect. The show is moving along at a decent pace, but we need to start confronting the fact that this team needs to make some changes to flourish.
My concern throughout every episode these days is that the communication will break down, and they won’t be able to perform as well as expected.
Then again, would we have a show if they all got along?
Sheesh.
What did you think of the mission to save Mandy?
Do you believe her story?
What are your thoughts on the state of the team?
Hit the comments.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.