‘SEAL Team’: Why Alana Hayes Had to Die

SEAL Team saw the death of Alana Hayes in the latest episode of the CBS military drama, and her death was inevitable.

Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) was shocked to his core during Tuesday’s episode after his wife was involved in a car accident offscreen and did not survive the surgery to save her life.

Alana’s death, as Carter Matt first reported, comes from the news that actress Michaela McManus will be a series regular in the upcoming mid-season series, The Village.

With her new gig lined up, Alana was written off the CBS military drama opening up Boreanaz’s character to have to make better decisions when it comes to juggling his family responsibilities and work.

After the unexpected death, Jason was caught between his responsibilities with the Bravo Team and being there for his family. In a particularly dramatic scene, Jason is in the middle of giving a eulogy at Alana’s funeral when the team gets the call for a new mission.

Knowing that her father tends to pick work over family, Emma (Kerri Medders) lashes out at him in front of everyone when he has to go back to headquarters and leave his family behind.

After the team is briefed on the mission, however, Jason decides to stay behind and take care of his family, a moment of growth for the character who now must step up at home with his wife gone.

McManus will play the role of Sarah on The Village, a new NBC series which follows residents of an apartment building in Brooklyn where the “the people who reside in the building have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors.”

According to NBC’s official premise for the series: “Sarah’s a nurse and single mom raising a creative teen; Gabe’s a young law student who got a much older and unexpected roommate; Ava must secure the future of her young, U.S.-born son when ICE comes knocking; Nick’s a veteran who’s returned from war; and the heart and soul of the building, Ron and Patricia, have captivating tales all their own. These are the hopeful, heartwarming and challenging stories of life that prove family is everything—even if it’s the one you make with the people around you.”

Along with McManus, the series stars Moran Atias, Dominic Chianese, Warren Christie, Frankie Faison, Jerod Haynes, Daren Kagasoff, Lorraine Toussaint and Grace Van Dien.

SEAL Team airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. The Village premieres spring 2019 on NBC.