SEAL Team - Parallax - Review: "When Workplace Relationships Go Bad"

On Base:

Ray, as usual, is acutely aware of the mental state of the members of Bravo Team. He realizes that there’s something going on with Clay. When Ray questions Clay and Sonny about going outside the wire to drink, Clay turns into the guy it took me more than a season to stop actively hating.

Later, Clay admits that Stella left him. Clay’s given up on ever having a family and the job. There’s not a lot Ray can do to help him. Ray won the lottery with Naima.

Ray tells Clay that he needs to get himself “squared away for the good of the team”. Clay counters by suggesting that Ray may need to give that speech to Jason as well.

Here is where I hit a bump with the episode. Clay tells Ray that he, Ray, seems to be the only one who is considering the good of the team. He doesn’t believe Bravo 1 cares about the good of the team at all.

It’s the pensive expression on Ray’s face that caused me a moment of annoyance. Ray looks like he’s considering whether or not Clay is right.

But Ray is as aware of what’s going on with Jason as he is with all of Bravo Team. In fact Ray’s already spoken to Jason about where his head is at.

We finally got some background on Mandy. She was raised by a con-woman and never knew her father. It makes me believe she was telling Jason the truth when she said she spoke to Harrington because she thought he needed more time with his kids.

Davis seems to be the only person capable of asking Jason how he’s doing and getting an honest answer.

Missions:

We finally got to meet the big bad for this set of episodes. Andres Doza made his first appearance, and he is a villain that actually lives up to the hype.

Before we get to the title card, he, personally, kills four people. One of them was his sister-in-law. I’m used to seeing these kinds of villains order minions to do the dirty work.

Mandy and Rita finally get a lead from Carla Reyes. Doza’s most trusted lieutenant and closest friend has been getting freebies from Reyes’ escort service for years.

They decide to lure the guy to Mexico City by attacking a meth lab and making it look like a rival cartel hit.

That works. El Lazo arrives in Mexico City and requests a girl. Unfortunately, Mandy and Jason are sent undercover together to make sure they don’t lose El Lazo before the escort’s phone can be tagged.

They are not a team right now and that never bodes well for a mission…especially an undercover mission.

Jason and Mandy spot El Lazo when he arrives and set up surveillance on him. They’re staring so hard at the man that I can’t imagine anyone not noticing them. The op falls apart when El Lazo gets a phone call and disappears.

Jason decides to follow him despite Mandy’s instinct that something doesn’t feel right.

He no longer trusts her. All he can see is that, if Bravo Team doesn’t follow El Lazo, they lose their only opportunity to get Doza.

Would Jason have stopped and considered Mandy’s instinct if not for the issues going on between them?

Is he pushing so hard because he, as Ray said, has taken on fixing Lopez’s situation as his responsibility?

Or is Jason pushing so hard because he’s worried about his kids and wants to get home as soon as possible?

Or was following El Lazo actually the best option in the situation?

Personally, I think that, while Jason is more intense than usual, the biggest issue with this mission is his inability to trust Mandy. What do you guys think?

Regardless, it appears that Mandy’s instinct was right; Bravo Team was burned. Nothing like an RPG to put a period on an episode.

Miscellaneous

Sonny consulted Cosmo™ for suggestions to get Clay through his break through. Seriously, Sonny is totally awesome in my book.

Why hasn’t Jason called his mother, the guardian looking after his children?

No new nicknames for Clay this week. I knew it was going to stop sometime. I’m kind of bummed by it though.