Never Forget! How SEAL Team Kept Clay’s Story Alive in the Final Season Premiere
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SEAL Team is back for its seventh and final season, and as the members of Bravo Team try to get their lives back on track, the absence of Clay Spenser, played by Max Thieriot, becomes unsettling. But how did Clay Spenser fare on SEAL Team, and how did the members of Bravo Team cope with his death?
How did Clay Spenser die on SEAL Team?
When Fire Country was greenlit, it was clear that Clay Spenser’s days were numbered. After all, the show not only starred the main cast, but was also executive produced by Max Thieriot, who created the character Clay Spenser on SEAL Team. Thieriot may be good, but he can’t be in two places at once. Something had to change, and that something was always Spenser’s character.
In the SEAL Team Season 5 finale, Clay’s fate was left unknown after his team was ambushed in a war zone. Fans certainly thought that was it. But no, Clay survived. However, he did not survive his next near-death experience, in Season 6, Episode 8, “Aces and Eights.” In the tragic scene, he saved Ben (Joey Pollari) from committing suicide, but a security guard shot Spenser and killed him.
SEAL Team showrunner Spencer Hudnut told TVLine of the decision: “Yes, it’s shocking and it’s horrible and it was an accident, but what’s really important to me is that Clay, in my mind, died a hero. He saved Ben from making a terrible decision, he saved Ben from committing suicide, and he came full circle from the Swanny storyline in Season 2, but here he gets to succeed.”
The show is a Paramount+ military drama series created by Benjamin Cavell. It follows an elite unit of US Navy SEALs called Bravo Team, who carry out the most dangerous missions around the world. The show, which previously aired on CBS for four seasons, just began its seventh and final season. The cast includes David Boreanaz, Jessica Paré, Neil Brown Jr., A. J. Buckley, Toni Trucks and formerly Max Thieriot.
See also: Could Max Thieriot Return to SEAL Team?
Thieriot plays Clay Spenser, a Navy SEAL and Special Warfare Operator First Class on Bravo Team. Spenser follows in the footsteps of his father, Ash Spencer, a former member of SEAL Team 3. He played Spenser from the first season of SEAL Team, which premiered in September 2017, until his final appearance in Season 6, Episode 8, “Aces and Eights.”
In Season 7, we see the team still dealing with the aftermath of Clay’s death. This is especially evident when Sonny makes a statement on Ben’s behalf during his sentencing hearing in a way that honors Clay’s memory. He tells the judge that Clay would never blame Ben for his death, asking the judge to give Ben “a second chance at a good life,” because that’s what Clay would have wanted. It’s the show’s way of keeping Clay alive, which seems fitting, since in many ways Thieriot has been a part of the soul of this show from the start. Gone, but never forgotten.
