SEAL Team - In Name Only - Review

Ellis watches as Salim Hakan, the man she initially suspected of being behind the murder of Echo Team, is celebrated for the capture of Musa Ghani. Ellis still wants to go after him, but she has to prove it in such a way that his supporters back home can’t deny it.

The new owner of that poppy field is a holding company that was created in the name of Hakan’s wife, Permaz. They find out that she’s hiding with one of Hakan’s enemies, a human trafficker, Mazari. They figure if she went to that much trouble to get away from her husband, she might be willing to help them take Hakan down.

The problem is that simply by getting approval for the mission let’s Hakan know they’re looking for his wife. This guy’s connections are pretty well positioned. Hakan could have his wife killed before they can get to her.

Luckily, the human trafficker is a big enough fish that they get the go-ahead to go after him. No one outside of Bravo Team will know Permaz Hakan is the actual target.

Unfortunately, the only way the DOD will authorize it is if it’s joint operation with ‘their local partners’. Afghan Special Forces will accompany Bravo Team as well has having an officer in the TOC to observe.

One of the things that was interesting about the scene where the two teams met each other was that the Afghan Lieutenant approached the atmosphere of distrust with a sense of ‘if I were in your shoes I’d feel the same way’, so, rather than letting the situation devolve into hostility, they found a way to work together.

I liked the red herring of sending in a new guy for both teams to focus their suspicions on. And, yes, I fell for it. I shouldn’t have, but I did. In reality, the plant in the Afghan unit had been embedded long enough for those men to trust him.

The mission went off without any surprises. I’m not counting Permaz being attacked as a surprise, because everyone expected someone to go after her before the mission started. The human trafficker was killed, a number of women and children were rescued, and they were able to bring Permaz in for questioning.

She couldn’t provide any info on the Echo Team hit, but she did provide the names of people who may help them get the evidence they need.

Ellis has a sit down with Hakan. Finally, we get to see his true colors. He’s arrogant and feels secure in his position because of his American connections.

I suggest he keep in mind that American politicians operate under the same, extremely strong, sense of self-preservation that Hakan does.

The moment Ellis forces them to choose between Hakan and themselves, Hakan will lose. Although Hakan may realize this and is simply underestimating Ellis. Regardless, it was a pretty sweet moment when he threatened Ellis and Bravo Team stepped out of cover.

Mulwray finally had his interview with Jason. He tried to manipulate Jason into giving him some actual information to further his agenda.

Mulwray believes that the real reason America is in Afghanistan is to stabilize the country so that American business can move in to mine the country’s rare earth metal resources. There are trillions of dollars to be made. I have an easy time believing this given what bits I know about world history.

Ray thinks Jason’s relationship with Amy is a good idea because “she seems like ‘a lot’ but maybe you use ‘a lot’ right now.” (I still don’t trust her.)

When Ray tries to get Jason to accept that he’s letting their hunt get too personal and he’s worried that Jason will do something stupid.

Jason can’t promise he won’t do something stupid or reckless. The best he’ll do is promise not to put his brothers in harms way. I’m not sure I think that’s better.

Now we know the actual bad guy behind the murder of Echo Team. It’s the first name on Ellis’ suspect list. We’re at episode 17, so I’m guessing the trip to the season finale will involve getting the evidence on Hakim that will force the power that be to give them the go ahead to take him down.

It may not be a good thing for Jason (and Ellis) to be so focused on taking down the person responsible for killing Echo Team, but the writing has definitely benefitted from that focus.