'SEAL Team': AJ Buckley reveals there was a 'coming out' for Sonny in the finale after losing on clay

The SEAL Team tore into our hearts with "Damage Assessment," but no one was more devastated by the death of Clay (Max Thieriot) than Sonny (A.J. Buckley, who not only gave the episode's best performance but also is one of his best performances in the series).

Bravo is in a good mood, feeling like they're one step closer to going home, when Jason (David Boreanaz) receives word that Clay is dead. Of course Sonny wanted to go home immediately. In fact, Bravo was ready to back down after losing a brother – only they couldn't. They were the only team that could handle a time-sensitive operation.

Buckley covers Sonny's handling of Clay's death, including the big moment coming up in the finale and more.

Talk about finding out about Clay's death.

AJ Buckley: The first time I heard about it in real life, Max told me. We have a feeling something is about to happen, we just don't know how it will happen. But it sucks in so many ways because Max and I are such good friends. We've become super close friends over the five years we've worked together, our kids are a few months apart and our wives are very close. It's a hard pill to swallow because when you go to work with your best friend and then they're not there anymore, it's horrible.

I feel really bad for [showrunner] Spencer [Hudnut] because having to figure out a way in the world to do this with Clay, there's no easy way to do [it]. And knowing that fans will react the way they want, Spencer must overcome a difficult situation. But I think he did a great job, overcoming that difficulty, and for us as actors and the rest of the cast, because Max was a presence on set so there's a lot of real emotion there. , will definitely lose that guy.We see Sonny get angry, we see him break down, and we see him go through quite a few stages of grief. And then Bravo must focus on the task at hand. So where would you put Sonny in terms of his grief at the end of the episode? Has he achieved acceptance? Does he have time?

No, I didn't think he would until — and you'll know which scene in District 10 I'm talking about — there was a scene in District 10 that was actually probably one of the most difficult scenes I've ever shot, But I'm really proud of it. Spencer and Chris Chulack are really great at discussing the journey that Sonny will take in the next two episodes and how to plot the emotional details so that we get Sonny's ups and downs and stay true to him. mission where he can't go back and deal with that and stay focused and aware of his brothers he's fighting.

And then in 10, whatever happens in 10 – you'll understand when you see it – has the kind of release that he needs. It was definitely difficult, but like I said, Spencer and Chris Chulack were amazing in opening up the door to me just to ask all these questions, my concerns, this and that, because this is the first time we've really lost someone in the core group and we just wanted to honor that story as best we could.

It's even worse for Sonny because he doesn't have the full picture of what happened. He's blaming himself and maybe getting answers could help ease that burden in some way, right?

I think about everything when you're away from home and there's all these other things going on… we talked about how you come up with these situations and Sonny's guilt about not being there, and then where he criticized Davis [Toni Trucks] for her decisions. But in the end, he has to find a way to let Clay's death rest in peace and accept it, then adapt, get over it, and continue to honor Clay and take care of his child and all that. on one's own.

Speaking of bashing Davis, the Sonny-Davis relationship is so tense this season. How does he feel about her now?

He was mad at her, but when you experience some kind of death or loss, your mind is trying to make sense of it and you lash out at the people you love because there's no guidance on how to deal with it. death. People do things in different ways, and I think Sonny has a volatile personality that feels like he might lash out at Davis. I'm sure at some point he'll have to tuck his tail between his legs and hug it with Davis.