Oh man, I should have seen it coming.
Bad guys were defeated, dirty nuke missile was taken care of by flyboys and flygirls, Harriet was trying to pick out furniture for the new house and worrying aloud about Bud.
Bud…Oh, dear.
With only a minute or two left in the show, he was trying to get a little kid out of a minefield and wound up with his right leg blown off from the knee down. What a horrific ender to the season.
Yeah, that was pretty harsh. I was wondering if maybe they were going to get rid of a character. But since he isn’t dead, will he not be on as much? Or will they have him insist on staying in the Navy?
The bad guys being defeated, the dirty nuke being taken care of… Seemed too pat to me.
I think Bud will stay on as a character. He stayed on even while on the ship and thousands of miles away from home. I'm betting there will be all kinds of trauma on the homefront as well as at work. I have very little military knowledge, but would they try to discharge him on medical grounds? Could he fight it?
I was really expecting more of a cliffhanger with all the nuke-and-terrorist stuff, like last year when Harm looked like he was about to drown at sea.Yeah, I was expecting the ship to be hit.
I’ve heard there were military personnel who were allowed to stay in after losing limbs, but I don’t know how common it is. Tom Clancy had a character in The Hunt for Red October who was a submarine captain who lost a leg to a drunk driver. He left the Navy, but got a job working on submarines. I can see it going either way.
Bud can “suck it up” and say, “The Navy is my life! If I can’t stay in, then the mine should have killed me.” (Of course the Navy isn’t his entire life – he has Harriet and AJ, a new house and a new mortgage – but you know what I mean.) Or he can leave the Navy and become a more minor character, like – what his name? The Marine? Or Tricia Yearwood’s character. Or Mic Brumby.
That was definitely a harsh ending… very unlike JAG. I was surprised.
Typically, you’re found not fit for duty and medically discharged. I know someone who has a small problem with motion sickness and she’s being kicked out against her will. But this being Hollywood, I’m sure they’ll find some way to keep Bud in.
I’m never a fan of warmongering, but I have to admit that I found the season-ending storyline compelling. Really liked the fact that the show wasn’t afraid of the truth…quite a few issues that were addressed, and overall a very telling picture of what life in Afghanistan is really like.
This wins the prize for my favorite exchange (doing this from memory, so I’m paraphrasing a bit) -
Gunny: They’re producing opium?
Camp leader: Who am I to tell them not to make the highest possible profit?
Gunny: You wouldn’t think like that if your son was addicted.
Camp leader: My son would never do drugs. He likes having fingers.
As for the season finale…eh, it was functional, but toward the end it got really anticlimactic. (I was almost hoping that that the nuke would actually go off in the middle of the ocean.) Seeing Commander Tuner’s reads on that Russian captain was pretty fun, and I’m glad to see the new guy kick some strategic butt for a change (sorry, but all Harm all the time gets old). Nice irony on the carelessly unshielded warhead; it wasn’t decadent Western civilization or whatever that did Kabir in, but his own foolishness. Still, I expected a little more from the air scenes. I mean, there’s an incredibly dangerous weapon on their tail, an entire shipload of crewmen may be in jeopardy…let’s have a little CONFLICT, people! Something better than a little jawing between the flight commander and headstrong Harm.
Still, it was worth it to see the conclusion. Now THAT’S a cliffhanger.
Career-wise, I don’t think it’d affect him very much. He’s primarily a lawyer, and he’s had a pretty distinguished career so far, so I can see him simply moving back to the courtroom for good. But how this’ll affect his marriage, his relationships, his state of mind, everything…
Reminds me of the Cuba Gooding, Robert DeNiro movie, Men of Honor.
And I’m sure I will get over it soon, as will my equally traumatized JAG/etc. pen pal who emailed to tell me how upset she was. But I’m afraid my 75-year-old mom will be scarred for the rest of the summer hiatus.
Kicked out for motion sickness?? Far be it from me to second guess the Navy, but....couldn't she just pop a Dramamine or chew some ginger root before she flies, sails, or whatever it is?Well, I guess I was misleading there. To me it’s a small problem. To her, it’s big. She can’t ride a ship or fly without throwing up. I’m guessing pills won’t cure it, so six years later, she’s being forced out. Personally, I’m convinced it’s all in her head. Anyway, she was placed on limited duty many years ago, and so hasn’t been able to get a warfare qual (flyer, floater, intel, supply, cryptology). This, combined with her limdu status and medical problem, is forcing her out. She’s a good officer and you’d think the Navy would want to keep her in this day and age.
It’s a shame. I don’t even know this person and I feel bad for her. Much worse than I felt for fictional Bud a few days ago.
We’ll know his status in a few months.