SEAL Team‘s Move to Paramount+ Features Wild Train Ride, Cussing [Spoiler] — But What About Mandy?
The following contains spoilers from Season 5, Episode 5 of SEAL Team, which now exclusively streams new episodes on Paramount+.
SEAL Team on Monday kicked off its exclusive Paramount+ existence with a first-of-its-kind interdiction, a well-earned exploration (or three), and much wonder about former colleague Mandy’s current situation. (Click here to get a “free month” of Paramount+ code for veterans.)
Coming out of Part 1 of this SGS arc (which aired on the CBS channel!), Jason and Ray had just clocked a snapshot of Mandy taped to the wall of the terrorists’ found command center. Jason kept the discovery to himself, though, as Bravo rolled out to catch up to the commuter train that Boukare, the third and final HVT, is aboard, with designs on suicide-bombing the U.S. consulate not far up the tracks.
Arriving via chopper, Bravo hopped onto the train roof and entered one of the rear cars, where they changed into their civvies and got word from Davis that one of Boukare’s minions is live-streaming the proceedings, meaning 1) they have some intelligence on the man- and firepower in the front car and 2) Bravo will need to bandana down upon attack, to hide their identities. After sending Sonny scampering up train via the roof outside, Jason, Ray, Clay, Trent and Brock meandered forward one or two at a time, one car at a time.
Things went smoothly enough until Davis and her people gleaned that there were additional explosives on board beyond the S-vest, and Bravo was in the dark about the triggerman’s location. (Cue the series’ first F-bomb, properly dropped by Jason, who sprinkled in a few other cusses throughout.) Coinciding with that wrinkle was the unexpected departure of Boukare and some minions at the stop prior to the U.S. consulate.
Needing to stay on mission but not wanting to lose they only lead on Mandy’s whereabouts, Jason defied the CIA’s Dryden and had Clay and Trent get off the train to follow the HVT. Jason and Ray then inch forward closer to the front car, getting an ID on the triggerman.
And after some drama during which Sonny went offline, bodysurfing the train as it shot through a tunnel with low-hanging light fixtures, Bravo executed their mission, breaching the front car to take out the triggerman and other tangos — with Sonny gunning down the last one while dangling outside a side window.
Clay and Trent, however, lost Boukare. And in his frustration back at camp after, Jason confronted a tight-lipped Dryden with the Mandy photo. Realizing that Jason risked insufficient firepower aboard the train to chase after the HVT, Dryden pulled Bravo from the remainder of the pursuit. Jason then shared the Mandy news with Davis and the rest of the team, inviting the former to poke around for any possible intelligence on their former (civilian?) colleague’s location.
Later learning that Dryden’s Ground Branch team had a lead on Boukare, Jason volunteered Bravo to provide backup, noting that SGS had been eating GB’s lunch and throwing Dryden’s words back at him, about it being “operational malpractice” to not use all available firepower.
Dryden agrees, but assigns one man, Remington, to ride with Bravo as they do a vehicular approach to the building in a downtown district. Before they leave, Jason and the team agree they need to get to Boukare before GB does (lest he be shot on sight), after which Davis outfits Jason with a gizmo to quickly pull/relay data from SGS devices (plus a digital photo of captive Mandy, in case Boukare’s memory “needs jogging”).
During the drive, Bravo members wondered aloud about Mandy’s currently “disavowed” status, while also taking notice of random bursts of gunfire across the night sky — which Remington says is SGS lookouts way of warning of threats. And just as Bravo’s armored-up vehicles pulled up to the area where Ground Branch is already set up, those warning shots ceased. But before Bravo can fully appreciate how ominous that is, the sky above them begins raining molotov cocktails, bathing the two vehicles in flames….
