3 Ways ‘SEAL Team’ Could Handle Clay Post-Cliffhanger in Season 6

Meredith Jacobs August 23, 2022, 4:03 pm

Max Thieriot as Clay Spenser in SEAL Team — Sonja Flemming/CBS

All of elite squad Bravo may have been pinned down and under heavy fire when SEAL Team Season 5 ended, but based on the trailer and photos for the Paramount+ military drama’s return on September 18, we only have to worry about one: Clay Spenser (Max Thieriot).

Clay is also the one who had planned to take time away from Bravo as the team headed to Mali, West Africa for their mission. As he explained to Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz), he planned to put up for Green Team so he could be there for his family, at least for the near future. Jason made sure he knew the door was open for him to return when he was ready. But now, it seems, that offer needs to remain in place for a different reason.

As we worry about Clay until September 18, we’re taking a look at the ways SEAL Team could handle the aftermath of that finale cliffhanger in Season 6, taking into account that Thieriot is also starring on the new CBS drama Fire Country.

Clay Survives, But His Recovery Spans the Season

The trailer shows Clay in the hospital and Bravo operating without him, so we know that whatever happens, he’s going to be in for some sort of recovery period. But could it be that it spans the entire sixth season, with occasional check-ins on his progress? (Thieriot, after all, could have filmed scenes for multiple episodes of that at the same time, if scheduling has to be taken into account.) And then he could either return to Bravo for the finale mission, or his future with the team could be up in the air for a potential seventh season (and to see if Fire Country is renewed).

Clay Survives, But Rejoins Bravo Around Midseason

Again, we know that Clay won’t be with Bravo at least for a bit, but rather than return for the final mission of Season 6, he could always be back to operating around Episode 6. That would mean seeing how he is on an op post-recovery this season, plus he’d still get some time at home with his family, like he wanted before they came under attack.

'SEAL Team': 8 Questions We Have for a Season 6

Clay Dies

The bleakest outcome is, we hope, the least likely. It’s hard to imagine SEAL Team killing off Clay — though the drama has lost team members in the line of duty in the past — but something could always go horribly wrong while he recovers, even once Bravo has spun up for their latest op. After all, imagine how tragic it would be for them to get the call that he died while they’re on the other side of the world, can’t get home for the funeral, and have to put their feelings aside to focus on the mission.

SEAL Team, Season 6 Premiere, Sunday, September 18, Paramount+