SEAL Team, for six seasons so far, has followed the lives of the Navy SEALs’ most elite unit, both on dangerous, high-risk operations and back home. The military drama returns for its seventh and final season on August 11 on Paramount+.
The team has lost members (RIP Clay and Full Metal, enjoying their Cerberus retirement), been through hell, undertaken intense, complex, and stressful missions, and faced conflict within the unit, but they’ve made it through. But there’s always the chance that one of them won’t come home or that something goes wrong overseas. It’s happened multiple times over the years.
Ahead of the season’s farewell, we’ve rounded up the best episodes below. Watch, then let us know which ones made your list in the comments below.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or call 988. If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.
“Tip of the Spear” (Season 1 Episode 1)
This is the episode that introduces us to Bravo and its support team—led by Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) and including Ray Perry (Neil Brown Jr.), Sonny Quinn (A.J. Buckley), and Lisa Davis (Toni Trucks)—the kind of missions they take on and the high cost of their work, with the death of one of them (Daniel Gillies’ Nate). Clay Spenser (Max Thieriot) is a rookie, part of the Green Team (and incredibly arrogant), and when he joins Bravo on a mission, he clashes (for the first of many) with Jason. It’s almost perfect setup for what to expect from the rest of the series.
“The Worst of Conditions” (Season 2 Episode 3)
Tragedy strikes Jason at home, when his estranged wife Alana (Michaela McManus) dies in a car accident. Bravo rallies around Jason, most notably Ray rushing to the hospital to be with him, at a time when the two are at odds. Episodes that emphasize the pain of great loss – the series constantly shows how Bravo, their loved ones, and their friends are a family – tend to stand out, and this episode is no exception.
“Time to Shine” (Season 2, Episode 13)
Even before this episode, it’s clear that Sonny hates water, which is remarkable for a SEAL. But things get much worse as time goes on, as he’s trapped in a rapidly filling submarine torpedo tube — and running out of air — while the team is on a secret mission off the coast of North Korea. It’s a matter of one man’s life versus the lives of many… and it’s clear where Bravo stands when one of his own is in danger.
“Medicate and Isolate” (Season 2, Episode 19)
One thing SEAL Team does well is highlight what happens to these soldiers after they return home, most notably and tragically with Brett Swann (Tony Curran), who struggles to get treatment at the VA because he failed to document the traumatic brain injury he suffered in combat. Clay tries to help, having become close friends since returning home to recover from his injuries, and so he’s the one who finds Swann after he commits suicide.
“All Along the Watchtower: Part 2” (Season 3, Episode 6)
The second of two parts sees the team continue to try to protect Ambassador Nicole Marsden (Khandi Alexander) and civilians in Yemen as the compound catches fire and trouble finds them during their escape, leading to the need to improvise to keep everyone safe. Sadly, not everyone survives the trip, with Marsden dying of his injuries along the way.
“Fog of War” (Season 3, Episode 13)
What really happened that caused the mission to go awry? That’s what Bravo has to deal with on the flight home, when an explosion kills the person they were trying to rescue—but the cause of that explosion turns out to be one of the team. There are questions about exactly what happened, who remembers and saw what, and who threw a homewrecker into the room to cause the explosion. And while Ray is willing to step in when he thinks he’s responsible, the same can’t be said for who’s actually responsible. Bravo then has to decide what to do with its newest member, Vic Lopez (Lucca De Oliveira), who’s willing to let one of his “brothers” take the blame.
“God of War” (Episode 1, Season 4)
It’s a rocky start to Bravo Season 4 in an episode directed by Boreanaz: Jason chases Cerberus when the dog, recently spooked, runs away, and the rest of Bravo tries to find its missing members. Meanwhile, flashbacks show when Jason started to become the “always-doing-everything” guy at Bravo.
“Shockwave” (Season 4 Episode 4)
It’s only a matter of when not if Jason returns to operating—and brings Clay, benched, along—after Ray is caught in an explosion then taken during one of his assignments as Warrant Officer. But even with the team (mostly) back together, finding their brother is going to take time, while his wife Naima (Parisa Fakhri) waits at home, surrounded by the Bravo extended family.
“Horror Has a Face” (Season 4 Episode 6)
Bravo’s search for the captive Ray has as happy an ending as it can—after we have to watch him being tortured for three episodes in increasingly tense, intense, heart-wrenching, and hard-to-watch sequences. Those make seeing him save himself, then his brothers find him all the more satisfying, with his reunion with his family a perfect way to cap off the episode. But it’s clear this is something that will stick with him—and it does.
“One Life to Live” (Season 4 Episode 16)
Bravo loses one of its own, Full Metal (Scott Foxx), whose injuries after protecting his teammates from an RPG prove to be fatal. The team pays tribute to him, both out at sea and back at the bar. This finale also raises the question of just what Jason’s headaches mean, if Ray will face his PTS following his captivity and torture, and what the future looks like for Clay and Stella (Alona Tal).
“Frog on the Tracks” (Season 5 Episode 5)
After airing on CBS for four full seasons, the military drama moves to Paramount+ with this episode, with the majority of the action taking place on a train, with Bravo trying to stop suicide bombers (and Sonny hanging on on top of it at one point!). Jason’s focus is saving Mandy Ellis (Jessica Paré), formerly a CIA officer working with the team, after finding a photo confirming she’s been taken. It’s pretty much the same show it was on the broadcast network, except now in situations where you’d expect to hear profanity, there is some.
“Conspicuous Gallantry” (Season 5 Episode 8)
Something that becomes apparent—and SEAL Team spends significant time addressing—in Season 5 is the trauma that Jason has gone through and the effects on him, including his memory. For instance, in this episode, as Clay digs into the events that landed the entire team in the hospital, he realizes that the person responsible for bringing a building down on them is none other than Bravo 1 himself.
“Low Impact” (Season 6 Episode 1)
The beginning of this one is hard to watch and as gruesome as it is because it’s streaming. Following the ambush at the end of Season 5, this premiere begins with Clay’s leg a mess and he bandages it himself—meanwhile, Jason puts his own life on the line to protect his team—but the doctors have no choice to amputate once he is brought to a hospital. The episode does a great job of highlighting how everyone is affected while Clay’s in limbo: his wife Stella at home, Jason going back to her at Clay’s request, and Sonny staying by his side in the hospital.
“Watch Your Six” (Season 6 Episode 6)
The show’s 100th episode focuses on its characters, specifically the bond between the brothers, which Clay is very much still one, even though he’s no longer on Bravo. And when he’s hurting in the aftermath of losing his leg and trying to figure out what that means for him, everyone rallies around him at Full Metal’s cabin.
“Damage Assessment” (Season 6 Episode 9)
It is absolutely devastating watching Bravo learn about Clay’s death, Sonny refusing to believe it and lash out, the SEALs trying to do what’s best and not continue operating while they grieve only to be told they have to (due to a time sensitive op), and then toasting their fallen brother.
“Fair Winds and Following Seas” (Season 6 Episode 10)
Bravo misses Clay’s funeral, but the members do take a moment at his grave. And then while receiving a medal for saving Clay’s life in the Season 6 premiere, Jason speaks out publicly about his TBI and his fallen brother’s work to change the military’s view on such injuries. Then, when he’s brought before command for his actions, his Bravo brothers and other SEALs walk in to share their own struggles in one of the most powerful scenes of the show.
