Credit: @maxthieriot
Why did Max Thieriot leave Seal Team? His departure shocked fans everywhere, and now everyone wants to know why Clay is gone. He left the team, he’s not coming back, and he’s leaving a significant hole in a place where there should not be one. We first met Clay in 2017 when the show first aired. Bravo Team, or Seal Team Six as they are often called, is a group of men and women who work together in the most dangerous places and situations in the world. They cannot talk about their missions. They cannot tell their families where they are going and how long they’ll be gone.
Most of their missions are done by the dark of night. They sneak in, they do what needs doing, and it is very much off the books. Their job is to keep the world – America, specifically – safe from the most dangerous criminals alive. They kill people. They lose team members, and they sacrifice more than anyone else. These men and women do it because they are the best of the best and are family to one another.
Who is He, and Why Did Max Thieriot Leave Seal Team?
Before we get into that, let’s talk about the character Max Thieriot plays. He’s Special Warfare Operator Second Class Clay Spenser. He’s the new guy on the team at the show’s beginning. He is young, he’s the second in his family to take on the role of a Navy Seal, and he is cocky. He and his boss, Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Jason Hayes, butt heads. They do this a lot. Hayes questions whether Clay is ready for this job and if he can be trusted. You see, these team members keep one another alive regularly. They have to be someone you can trust. Working with someone you don’t like, respect, or trust can cost someone their life.
Clay has some issues to deal with throughout the show. He’s in a serious relationship that doesn’t work out, he is badly injured and unable to work for some time, and he’s constantly frustrated at something. However, his character always comes back stronger than before, and he’s a fan favorite. Everyone loves Clay.
Credit: @maxthieriot
How did Max Thieriot Say Goodbye?
***SPOILER ALERT for anyone who has not watched.
Clay Spenser is killed. He doesn’t leave the team or chooses to go anywhere. He’s killed, and his character’s death was hard. He did indeed have to step down from his role on the team when he lost a leg following a battle in Mali. He cannot remain part of the team without both working legs, and we knew he might leave. However, we did not think he would depart the show by dying. We thought he might move on with his wife and new son or something. We thought he’d leave with an open door ready for him to return should he take on an office job or something like that.
This is not the case. Clay Spenser is dead. He went out in the middle of the night to save a friend who was going to do something bad. It was a case of mistaken identity when a security guard happened upon Clay and his friend. Clay had just taken his friend’s gun from him and talked him down from killing himself, killing Clay, or robbing a store. When the guard came around the corner and saw Clay holding the gun and apprehending Ben, he shot him dead. It was heartbreaking.
Why Did Max Thieriot Leave Seal Team?
At the end of the day, Thieriot has a new job. He was cast as the main character on a new show on CBS called Fire Country. Shooting both shows is not possible for Thieriot, and he was killed off so he could go on to star in his new show. The man in charge of the Seal Team was apparent when he said he could not predict when and if Max could shoot on their schedule. He cannot go into season seven – the show is in its sixth season – not knowing when he can shoot with one of his main characters.
Credit: @maxthieriot
So, he killed him. He had no other options. Sure, he could have sent Clay off with his wife and new baby and let us say a happy goodbye. Alas, he did not. Clay is dead, the feelings are very overwhelming, and Thieriot is now playing a prisoner working as a firefighter, hoping to get out.
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