SEAL Team is back with a four-episode arc before it moves over to its new home on Paramount+.

SEAL Team Season 5 Episode 1 was all about setting up the conflicts for SEAL Team Season 5, as well as revealing the significant strides our favorite characters have made in their lives in the three months since the end of SEAL Team Season 4.

We'll start with Jason because it seems like the years of taking down the bad guys is beginning to catch up with him.

The Jason we know and love was very present throughout "Trust, But Verify: Part 1," but there were also hints that the headache was a sign of something much worse, and quite frankly, Clay should have been more vocal about it.

Yes, Clay wants to be that doting friend and make sure his friend and mentor is safe, but what if, god forbid, something goes awry in the line of fire and Jason's condition reveals itself in deadly fashion?

These characters have all been in troubling situations in the past, and part of the beauty of this show is that it tackles the hurdles these characters face with astounding realism.

Jason would not be impressed at Clay calling him out to their superiors and saying he believes there's an issue because Jason would be on desk duty until he was tested, which is not what Jason would like.

Unfortunately, we'll reach the point of no return for Jason and the ramifications for whatever happens could have a stratospheric effect on the rest of his career. More concerning is how it will affect the people who failed to disclose it.

Clay picked up on Jason forgetting something early into the premiere, so it was hard to watch Jason head off on this mission with the team.

Clay being happily married was a giant stride, and now the trick will be in how he and Stella navigate this new layer of their relationship, especially with his downtime being cut down to go off on a mission to North Korea.

Stella has been understanding until now, and she's also well aware of Jason's ailment, so we can probably expect Clay to continue confiding his problems with his friend to her.

Ray's PTSD is another excellent storyline because many shows and movies gloss over this, but SEAL Team is here to give us a well-rounded portrayal of someone who is genuinely suffering.

It's hard not to be concerned for Ray because he really should have explained to his bosses that he was still struggling.

Yes, he would lose the ability to go out in the field until he was in a better state of mind, but keeping it away from his team members means he could also be the reason for a big bust-up on the mission.

Jason wanted his friend to remain on the team, but it was a terrible decision to tell him to keep his battle quiet.

Bottling things up only works for so long. There's always a tipping point, and I don't have that much hope that this first mission will be a success.

Neil Brown Jr. truly kills it every single episode, but this different side of Ray is welcome because it gives the actor something new to work with while providing a decent representation of PTSD on the small screen.

Sonny as a father was impressive. He's always been a tough nut to crack, but now that he has a child, his view on life has changed in a way I didn't think possible.

The show really managed to find compelling ways to switch things up for these characters, and this new direction for Sonny is welcome.

His speech about wanting three things of life, one of them being Davis, hit me right in the feels, and it only got worse when Davis said there was no future for them.

Did anyone else immediately wonder how he would react after being told he was deployed two weeks early?

It was going to hit him like a ton of bricks. His priorities had changed, and perhaps we might see him change his view on working with Bravo Team.

He'll understandably be worried about whether he'll return home after heading into such treacherous conditions, and that might be the driving force for his arc throughout the first part of the season.

The mission was harrowing because it felt like the calm before the storm, and their exposure in this base could be detrimental to them all escaping.

The cliffhanger ending was pulse-pounding. This being a four-episode arc, there was always going to be some big twist to send the story in a different direction.

Something tells me Jason's no shooting unless you have to schtick will change quickly because with Kwan captured and their being in the base probably about to be exposed, there's going to be a search operation for them.

The tricky aspect here is that there's no sending more people to help them. This is all down to Bravo team, and if they fail, they probably won't make it back to the U.S.

As a season premiere, this episode was very effective. The stakes are higher than ever, and the characters are being pushed to many extremes.

What are your thoughts on Jason and Ray's predicament?

How will they be able to continue as a part of the team?

Did you expect Kwan to be captured so soon?

What's your take on Sonny's new direction in life?

Hit the comments.

Remember, you can watch SEAL Team online right here via TV Fanatic.

Catch new episodes Sundays at 10 p.m. on CBS.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.