How SEAL Team's Huge Death Will Change Season 7

The "SEAL Team" family loses a member in Season 6 when Clay Spenser (Max Thieriot) passes away after being shot in the chest. The worst part about his sudden death is that he'd been in the middle of performing a kind deed when he died. During "Damage Assessment," Clay responds to a call from Ben (Joey Pollari), an emotionally despondent fellow veteran he had met earlier. Clay finds himself talking Ben down first from trying to destroy an Air Force recruitment center, then from shooting himself. Just as he's convinced Ben to surrender, a security guard sees Clay holding Ben's gun and shoots him. 

The Season 6 finale, "Fair Winds and Following Seas," gives the audience a hint as to how Season 7 should proceed. To wit: Clay's death finally inspires Jay Hayes (David Boreanaz) to accept the Iron Cross for his bravery, causing him to come to grips with his TBI publically. Though he's later called on the carpet for lying about his condition, his team backs him up, noting that they can still function successfully on the battlefield despite their own injuries. This is a fresh notion for the rough-and-tough group; Clay's death seems to encourage them to finally put the team above the country.

At Clay's graveside, Sonny (AJ Buckley) vows the team will look out for Clay's infant son, Brian, and widow, Stella. Additionally, Clay's photo will spend the entirety of the next season looming down on the crew from the wall of The Bunkhead, and Ray's (Neil Brown Jr.) vet center is posthumously renamed Spenser House. Meanwhile, Thieriot has another juicy role on a CBS drama to keep him busy.

While the "SEAL Team" crew mourns Clay, audiences might wonder why Max Thieriot left "SEAL Team." It turns out he's been pulling double duty for CBS since the show was moved to Paramount+ for its 6th season. Thieriot's other role is on "Fire Country," where he plays Bode Donovan, a hard-luck criminal who joins the California Conservation Camp Program to have his prison sentence reduced. The drama has become a huge hit for CBS, and Theiriot's attention has been understandably drawn in half between two big projects.

At first, Thieriot had been able to balance the dueling jobs. "It's obviously a juggle, but thankfully, we started 'SEAL Team' Season 6 before we started shooting Episode 2 of 'Fire Country,' so I was able to work it right into the gap in between," he said during CBS' virtual TCA in September 2022, as reported by Deadline. But the more successful "Fire Country" has become, the harder it's been for the actor to balance his schedule. 

Showrunner Spencer Hudnut explained to TVLine that it became apparent keeping Thieriot on both programs wasn't feasible, especially since "Fire Country" requires him to shoot in Vancouver. "It wasn't until maybe even a month after 'Fire Country' got picked up [to series] that it became clear that Max was leaving," he said.

Things between Thieriot and the "SEAL Team" crew still appear positive, so don't be shocked if Clay shows up as a ghost or in a flashback during Season 7. But the rest — including the team's ultimate fate — remains unwritten.