SEAL Team is one of many shows ending or being canceled in 2024, with the military drama officially saying goodbye in October after seven seasons. Although much of Season 7 was written before it was canceled, the show still managed to wrap up its storylines for Bravo and even give David Boreanaz’s Jason a fitting ending. However, the actor did reveal some scrapped ideas for his character’s fate, and I’m glad they went with the ones that did make it to air.
It’s no secret that Jason Hayes has been through a lot during the show’s run, especially in its final season. However, after his TB became public, his son’s accident, and his PTSD interfered with how he functioned, he finally got his happy ending. He walked his daughter down the aisle, he no longer had to worry about blood on his hands, and his son recovered.
That ending almost didn’t happen, as Boreanaz told TV Insider that while no ending was seriously considered or something he wanted for Jason, the thought of killing him did cross his mind:
No, I don’t think so. I mean, obviously, at some point, I was like, well, maybe this guy should die. And then we don’t want to see him die. We’ve seen him get hurt multiple times. We’ve seen him get shot, which is pretty serious to see, pretty dramatic.
Considering Jason’s kids lost their mother, it would be cruel to kill him off, especially when his daughter is preparing for her wedding. Of course, no one can predict how his final mission will play out. However, since I’m still mourning the loss of Clay, killing off another beloved main character would be pretty cruel on the writers’ part. Besides, Jason just needs a happy ending.
That wasn’t the only ending briefly considered for Jason, though. Fans will remember that he considered leaving the field to become the Head of Warrior Health at DEVGRU, but Ray took over. But Jason had other options that didn’t include Death, Bravo, or Warfighter Health, as the Bones actor said:
And then we came up with the idea of like, Hey, let’s take him off the field and put him in a zone with Blackburn [Judd Lormand] and Davis [Toni Trucks] and try to dictate plays from the sidelines, and that didn’t work. And for me, I never thought of him as that type of character.
He’s too loud and curious and a little bit like a wildfire to sit back and dictate plays. He has to be involved. So that didn’t work.
While it would be fun to see him dictate plays from the sidelines, that definitely wouldn’t work for Jason. At least, he’d try it for a little bit and then realize that his heart is on the field. Remember, he hid his head injury because he wanted to be on Bravo. So staying away from the chaos wouldn’t work for him.
Thankfully, the series ends with Jason still at Bravo, still leading the team, and his head in the right place. It’s probably the best ending for him, and I couldn’t be happier that they stuck with it. Fans can decide for themselves whether the ending was the best or not by streaming all seven seasons with a Paramount+ subscription.
