Well. that took far too long.

The team's search for Ray finally reached its conclusion on SEAL Team Season 4 Episode 6.

Four episodes after it started.

Make that four episodes spread over nine weeks. But that's just the new normal in this Covid-infected season. There's plenty of time to rewatch episodes for nuance.

And the sad thing was that Ray ended up doing much of the heavy lifting in his own rescue. Fortunately, Bravo did show up because Ray was in no shape to escape by himself.

As Jason noted throughout, Ray would make every effort to escape while Bravo was attempting to locate him.

On SEAL Team Season 4 Episode 5, he attempted to cut his bindings with the piece of metal he broke off the vent. 

In this episode, he started a fight and got beaten to secure a cell phone, which played a major role in his rescue.

But first came the heartwarming farewell video he recorded ... just in case.

Of course, it would have been hard for Ray to flee too far when he was stuck on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean.

How realistic was it that Davis was able to pick out exactly the right vessel in the midst of some bustling shipping lanes?

Well, she targeted a ship that was behaving most erratically, so that made sense unless it would have been a boat smuggling drugs or weapons or something.

It was effective to ramp up the tension by having the ship head to port right when a tense Bravo, led by an agitated Jason, was all pumped up for a maritime assault.

And it would have been so much simpler to take out the handful of terrorists in the boat's contained space rather than battling a larger group inside the war zone that is Syria.

Lots more bang for the buck this way, though.

It didn't help the mission that Bravo's key members were beating themselves up over not having been able to rescue Ray yet.

It was simple to understand Sonny feeling guilty before of the harsh words he'd had for Ray about the new, not improved Bravo circling the drain.

Sonny did finally realize that Bravo's failures rested with those that remained, not those that left. But Sonny has always been a slow learner.

He came through for Ray when it counted, carrying him to safety while still engaging the enemy.

In the end, on the ride home, a philosophical Ray was able to make Sonny feel better about himself, even after just coming out of drug-induced sleep.

It was harder to understand why Jason was blaming himself for Ray's capture.

Perhaps he felt that his breaking up the band had indirectly led to Ray's perilous situation.

But that would be revisionist history. Ray was carving his own new path since his ascending to Bravo's top didn't seem to be in the cards. 

He thought becoming a warrant officer would give him a better work/family balance, unlike anyone else on Bravo.

Ultimately that will be true while he's recuperating from his injuries. But that likely wasn't what he had in mind.

It was fascinating that there was so much chaos in Syria that a group of American special operators undertaking a rescue mission didn't even cause a ripple, politically speaking. 

That didn't mean that Blackburn and the brass above him wouldn't require Jason's airtight plan.

But if an exhausted Ray hadn't been thinking on his feet, he would never have gotten rescued.

The cell phone turned out to be a lifesaver.

First, it essentially gave Bravo hope to hear his voice.

Then Ray dropped it to mark his position so that Bravo would know where to attack.

Unfortunately, sending out those bread crumbs resulting in Ray giving up his big secret as the terrorist leader pieced together that Ray was American military of some sort since he could free his hands from the zip ties.

That resulted in his absorbing more punishment as Bravo got into position, as the leader pushed for him to read a propaganda statement.

The rescue featured a perfectly Ray climax as he pulled off the stocks and used them to asphyxiate his guard. Then he took the guard's shoes for good measure better to equip himself for the rush to the exfil site.

As Thirty Mike pointed out, Ray is down but never out.

After the rescue's adrenaline rush, the plane ride home was an enjoyable counterpart as everyone waxed philosophically about what they had just come through.

Lindell was right to restore Clay to Bravo. While the letter about Ambassador Marsden breached protocol, it was quickly yesterday's news.

And it's great that Clay wised up enough to try to rekindle things with Stella. She always challenged him in a good way, unlike Rebecca.

Jason hasn't gone on his last mission with Bravo. He's just been really reluctant to realize that. 

The downside is that Ray, the series' most well-developed character, promises to be sidelined for some time. But then, with two weeks of reruns upcoming, who knows how much time will have passed when SEAL Team finally returns with new episodes?

To follow Ray's travails, watch SEAL Team online.

Anyone surprised that Bravo rescued Ray?

How long will he be out?

When will Jason come back?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.