First Thoughts on The Brave

It’s fall television premiere time! This is my favorite time of year. I love watching all the new series and finding new shows to watch. Last night The Brave premiered on NBC.  I had not heard of The Brave before looking at Monday nights lineup so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But when I read the little blurb about the show I knew I wanted to watch.

I come from a military family. My grandfather, uncles, stepdad, cousins, and brother in law have all served our country in some shape or form. Some are or have been in elite roles with top-secret missions so the thought of watching a show based on our elite undercover military personnel intrigued me.

Here’s the official show synopsis from NBC –

This fresh, heart-pounding journey into the complex world of America’s elite undercover military heroes follows Captain Adam Dalton (Mike Vogel) and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists as they carry out each mission on the ground. His team is armed with incredible sniper Sgt. Jasmine “Jaz” Khan (Natacha Karam), CPO Ezekiel “Preach” Carter (Demetrius Grosse), combat medic Sgt. Joseph “McG” McGuire (Noah Mills) and intelligence officer Agent Amir Al-Raisani (Hadi Tabbal). This team works hand-in-hand with D.I.A. Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts including veterans Cultural Specialist Noah Morgenthau (Tate Ellington) and Mission Coordinator Hannah Archer (Sofia Pernas), as they wield the world’s most advanced surveillance technology from headquarters in D.C. All members of this elite squad, both in D.C. and across the world, have one thing in common: their resilience and commitment to freedom is unmatched by any other. Often facing insurmountable challenges, the team works tirelessly to get the job done and to prevail in even the most complex situations. Week after week, the team uses that determination along with their unbreakable bond to save the lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

DO NOT READ FURTHER – SPOILERS BELOW – DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS

The premiere episode has me hooked! Captain Adam Dalton (Mike Vogel) is phenomenal. He has the sex appeal and charm while being a rugged stand-up man that fights for those who cannot fight. He finds a way to do the right thing while following orders, he’s quick on his feet, resourceful and has assembled a remarkable team to assist him on his missions.

Sgt. Jasmine “Jaz” Kahn (Natacha Karam) is one tough woman! She’s a sniper, she’s strong, resilient and just as tough and badass as her male teammates. I really felt Jaz stole the show more than once with her badass attitude and presence.

D.I.A. Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) was cast extremely well. Heche plays the part of an emotionally wounded, resilient director that is determined to get back to work and keep moving forward. There’s a story here that we did not find much out about yet but I’m sure we will. From what was alluded to in the premiere is Campbell lost a family member that was very close to her. She had taken some time off and is now back. I’m sure her storyline will unfold over the season and we’ll learn how the tragedy happened and the effect it had on her.

In the premiere episode, we met Dalton and his team as they took on a mission to rescue an American doctor that had been kidnapped by terrorist. Dalton and his team go into dangerous territory to recover the doctor and while doing so find out the terrorist leader that the US thought they had terminated was still alive. The terrorist wanted the American doctor to operate on their leader, that’s why they took her. Deputy Director Campbell knew she had to change the mission the second she found out that the terrorist leader was still alive.

Dalton and his team did not want to leave the American doctor behind, they felt she needed to be saved but also knew that they had to follow orders and terminate the terrorist leader. We watched as Dalton and his team navigated their way through a hospital filled with terrorist while they executed their plan. Rescue the American doctor and terminate the terrorist leader. Could they do it without getting caught? Because if they were caught everyone was dead.

It was intense! I found myself sitting there on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how Dalton and his team were going to get the doctor out of there without getting caught. And how were they going to kill the terrorist leader? But they did it and I didn’t even see it coming. Through the use of technology and stealthy resourcefulness, Dalton and his team were able to get the American doctor to safety and terminate the terrorist leader without harming the hospital.

At the end of the first episode, I thought it was going to end all happy. The bad guy had been terminated, the American doctor was reunited with her family and the team was playing on the beach with a bunch of children. It was a beautifully sunny day and it all looked wonderful. Then a speeding truck came barreling through the desert towards the team and kids playing on the beach. Everyone started running and screaming but Dalton and his team were trying to get everyone to safety while accessing the situation.

I will definitely be tunning in next week to find out what happens! Who is in the truck? Was there anyone? Was Dalton’s team the target? I have so many questions! But I’ll have to wait till next week to get them answered.

The Brave can be seen on NBC on Monday nights at 9 pm CST. 

Due to the intense storylines and graphic nature, I would not recommend this show to our younger readers. I waited until Peyton had gone to bed to watch. So I would say to set your DVR and not watch this one with the kiddos. 

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