what a assignment means

Based on the true story of Navajo code talkers, this novel recounts the exploits of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo soldier in World War II. Ned's language skills prove to be invaluable as the Americans work to send secret messages to help them in their fight.

This collection of autobiographical short stories by Francisco Jiménez explores the immigrant experience in the United States.

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement..

Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply —use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove their point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and they already know everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Assignments

• by teachmint@wp

What is assignment in education? Assignment meaning is the tasks given to students by their teachers and tutors to complete in a defined time. They can also be referred to as the work given to someone as a part of learning. Assignments can be in the form of written, practical, art or fieldwork, or even online. Their purpose is to ensure that students understand the subject matter thoroughly.

Generally, students are assigned a task as a part of their homework. The allocation of assignments is not only restricted to a class or subject but this method can be applied at any stage of life. They are a great way to judge the ability and understanding of an individual towards a subject matter.

The culture of providing homework starts from kindergarten in various forms. Small children are asked to read and write what they learn in the class. Students in the higher class are given work as a part of their revision exercise and help them prepare for exams. Individuals doing honors write journals as a part of an assignment that determines their knowledge in that subject.

The structure of assignments depends upon the nature of the task and subject. They must be well-researched, including case studies or examples within a proper framework. These studies are useful for students to achieve the desired examination results. It also helps them to concentrate better on education. Knowing what is assignment in education helps teachers assess students better.

Importance of Assignments

Giving assignments to the students is a crucial part of student assessment. The importance of giving assignments to the students is discussed in detail below:

• Learning practical skills Assignments enable students to develop new skills. In order to complete the assignments, students learn new skills which help them in their academic careers. 
• Enhances time management skills Whenever assignments are allocated to the students, a time limit is set by teachers within which the assignment has to be submitted. What is assignment in education enable students to complete their tasks and learn timely submission of work. 
• Learning researching skills Students tend to do a lot of research about the questions given in the assignment. Assignment meaning is to help them develop their research skills and come in handy in their future careers. 
• Enhance the Writing Caliber Many students have a problem of not being able to put their thoughts into words. Writing assignments can help them develop writing skills and be expressive in real life as well. 

Since assignments are deadline-based, they help students take responsibility and manage time. The work assigned to students may be individual or group activities, or both, to develop teamwork in them. 

The above-mentioned information gives us a context of assignment meaning and its importance to the students. Assignments provide a basis for the student assessment and should be given timely.  

Try Teachmint, an integrated school platform for efficient school management .

Learn more about  Teachmint plans  here.

Digitize your school in minutes with Teachmint’s integrated platform

" * " indicates required fields

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Options and Derivatives
• Strategy & Education

Assignment: Definition in Finance, How It Works, and Examples

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.

What Is an Assignment?

Assignment most often refers to one of two definitions in the financial world:

• The transfer of an individual's rights or property to another person or business. This concept exists in a variety of business transactions and is often spelled out contractually.
• In trading, assignment occurs when an option contract is exercised. The owner of the contract exercises the contract and assigns the option writer to an obligation to complete the requirements of the contract.

Key Takeaways

• Assignment is a transfer of rights or property from one party to another.
• Options assignments occur when option buyers exercise their rights to a position in a security.
• Other examples of assignments can be found in wages, mortgages, and leases.

Uses For Assignments

Assignment refers to the transfer of some or all property rights and obligations associated with an asset, property, contract, or other asset of value. to another entity through a written agreement.

Assignment rights happen every day in many different situations. A payee, like a utility or a merchant, assigns the right to collect payment from a written check to a bank. A merchant can assign the funds from a line of credit to a manufacturing third party that makes a product that the merchant will eventually sell. A trademark owner can transfer, sell, or give another person interest in the trademark or logo. A homeowner who sells their house assigns the deed to the new buyer.

To be effective, an assignment must involve parties with legal capacity, consideration, consent, and legality of the object.

A wage assignment is a forced payment of an obligation by automatic withholding from an employee’s pay. Courts issue wage assignments for people late with child or spousal support, taxes, loans, or other obligations. Money is automatically subtracted from a worker's paycheck without consent if they have a history of nonpayment. For example, a person delinquent on $100 monthly loan payments has a wage assignment deducting the money from their paycheck and sent to the lender. Wage assignments are helpful in paying back long-term debts.

Another instance can be found in a mortgage assignment. This is where a mortgage deed gives a lender interest in a mortgaged property in return for payments received. Lenders often sell mortgages to third parties, such as other lenders. A mortgage assignment document clarifies the assignment of contract and instructs the borrower in making future mortgage payments, and potentially modifies the mortgage terms.

A final example involves a lease assignment. This benefits a relocating tenant wanting to end a lease early or a landlord looking for rent payments to pay creditors. Once the new tenant signs the lease, taking over responsibility for rent payments and other obligations, the previous tenant is released from those responsibilities. In a separate lease assignment, a landlord agrees to pay a creditor through an assignment of rent due under rental property leases. The agreement is used to pay a mortgage lender if the landlord defaults on the loan or files for bankruptcy . Any rental income would then be paid directly to the lender.

Options Assignment

Options can be assigned when a buyer decides to exercise their right to buy (or sell) stock at a particular strike price . The corresponding seller of the option is not determined when a buyer opens an option trade, but only at the time that an option holder decides to exercise their right to buy stock. So an option seller with open positions is matched with the exercising buyer via automated lottery. The randomly selected seller is then assigned to fulfill the buyer's rights. This is known as an option assignment.

Once assigned, the writer (seller) of the option will have the obligation to sell (if a call option ) or buy (if a put option ) the designated number of shares of stock at the agreed-upon price (the strike price). For instance, if the writer sold calls they would be obligated to sell the stock, and the process is often referred to as having the stock called away . For puts, the buyer of the option sells stock (puts stock shares) to the writer in the form of a short-sold position.

Suppose a trader owns 100 call options on company ABC's stock with a strike price of $10 per share. The stock is now trading at $30 and ABC is due to pay a dividend shortly. As a result, the trader exercises the options early and receives 10,000 shares of ABC paid at $10. At the same time, the other side of the long call (the short call) is assigned the contract and must deliver the shares to the long.

• Terms of Service
• Editorial Policy
• Privacy Policy

Southwest Airlines Community

• Discussion Forum
• Check-In & Boarding
• Is there something up with boarding assignments??
• Subscribe to RSS Feed
• Mark Post as New
• Mark Post as Read
• Float this Post for Current User
• Printer Friendly Page

• Mark as New
• Get Direct Link
• Report Inappropriate Content
• Back to Board

5 hours ago

No related discussions

Quick links, community champions.

Sign up to get the latest deals.

Connect with us

Discussion Forum and Stories

Indicates external site which may or may not meet accessibility guidelines

© 2024 Southwest Airlines Co. All Rights Reserved. Use of the Southwest websites and our Company Information constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions . Privacy Policy Trademarks Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information

• Southwest Business logo and link
• Southwest Cargo logo and link

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of assign in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

assign verb [T] ( CHOOSE )

• Every available officer will be assigned to the investigation .
• The textbooks were assigned by the course director .
• Part of the group was assigned to clear land mines .
• Each trainee is assigned a mentor who will help them learn more about the job .
• We were assigned an interpreter for the duration of our stay .
• accommodate
• accommodate someone with something
• administration
• arm someone with something
• hand something around
• hand something back
• hand something down
• hand something in
• put something on
• re-equipment
• reassignment

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

assign verb [T] ( SEND )

• She was assigned to the Paris office .
• All the team was assigned to Poland.
• advertisement
• employment agency
• recruitment drive
• reinstatement
• relocation expenses

assign verb [T] ( COMPUTING )

• 3-D printing
• adaptive learning
• additive manufacturing
• hexadecimal
• hill climbing
• techno-solutionism
• word processing

assign verb [T] ( GIVE LEGALLY )

Phrasal verb, assign | intermediate english, assign | business english, examples of assign, translations of assign.

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

delaying tactics

actions that are intended to make something happen more slowly, in order to win an advantage

It’s not really my thing (How to say you don’t like something)

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• assign (CHOOSE)
• assign (SEND)
• assign (COMPUTING)
• assign (GIVE LEGALLY)
• Intermediate    Verb
• Business    Verb
• Translations
• All translations

To add assign to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add assign to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

‘SEAL Team’s Beau Knapp on Drew’s ‘Breakthrough Moment’: ‘You Shed Part of Your Soul to Get There’

Spoiler Alert

Don’t Miss a Thing!

For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our seal team newsletter :.

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for  SEAL Team Season 7 Episode 5 “A Perfect Storm.”]

Put a team of SEALs in an abandoned restaurant without air conditioning for days, a storm raging outside, and tensions already high before all that, and it’s the perfect pressure cooker of a situation. Such is the case in the latest episode of  SEAL Team , which results in Bravo’s newest member, Drew Franklin ( Beau Knapp ), revealing why he’s been keeping himself at a distance from the rest of the team.

It turns out that Drew was part of Echo—he wasn’t with the rest of his team when they were killed in Jalalabad. But even after opening up, he’s not ready for anything to change or to be anything but professional, he stresses. The episode then ends with Jason ( David Boreanaz ) surprising the team by revealing they’ll have to continue without him—he’s heading back to be with his son, who needs reconstructive surgery after a hockey injury.

Below, Knapp talks about Drew’s vulnerability, filming that key scene, and what’s coming up.

Drew finally opens up to Bravo, but it’s in the middle of this pressure cooker situation. Talk about filming that scene.

Beau Knapp: That episode was very special. Jessica Paré directed, and she was incredible. She was very intimate, everyone knowing each other. And it was funny, we were trapped in that room for five days straight. You’d go into that room just to film and they set it up to where it would drive you crazy to be in there. And there’s all these intense things, everyone going after each other and everything, so there was some real emotion happening in that room.

Michael Moriatis / Paramount+

It was definitely a moment for Drew that I was nervous to—not nervous, but I was heavily anticipating this moment for Drew in the series because I do think it’s that breakthrough moment for him, or at least for the audience to understand who he is, why he is the way he is, and he’s not just a complete asshole and that they all have something in common. While we were filming, we did a few takes, everyone was very fluid, and then that real stuff comes down when you just kind of shed part of your soul to get there. And it was beautiful because for four episodes, my character Drew would just go head-to-head with everybody, and it was so refreshing to just kind of be vulnerable and open up for a change. I know that he’s wanted to—I think that’s why he pushes back so much, even if he is making progress with the team, is that he feels a connection starting to be made. He feels like a team member and he doesn’t want that because he doesn’t want to get hurt again, and he puts so much responsibility on himself for what happened with Echo that to experience anything like that again or to open up like that again to a team is very hard.

What do you think it would’ve taken for him to open up without this situation? Would he ever have just sitting around?

Maybe if we had 22 episodes and he’d be able to kind of take some more time with it. But I think it happened at the perfect time and no, I don’t think—I think he was so stubborn, had so much guilt and shame and insecurity, and I mean it all comes out through cockiness and he has his guard up all the time, but I felt like Drew saw that this team was falling apart that he actually cares about deep down inside. I think it was a way for him to bring everybody together again or to show that we’ve made some progress here and that we need each other. And like Clay said, that everybody needs a team. I think he just finally understands that.

And it’s funny because it was such an emotional moment that Drew, obviously he’ll go back to his ways of being an asshole or cockiness, but there’ll always be that moment where you see him as a human being. Hopefully, that just gives him the opportunity to open up more and to really be on a team and to really build that trust with everybody and be open to living again and open to trusting and fighting the good fight.

Will the dynamic with the rest of Bravo change or because he’s going to go back to how he’s been, not really?

I can’t give away too much, but I think it’s like we spoke about before where if he feels himself getting closer to anybody or vulnerable or any sort of connection, it triggers him to go, I need to destroy everything. I need to push. I need to burn every house down every bridge. Because building connections and building that trust and caring for these people just sets up the opportunity to be hurt again, to lose people again, and I don’t think that Drew thinks that he can handle that loss again. I think it’s questionable where he doesn’t know if he could suffer through that again. And so yeah, I think it’s a time where he definitely opens up and he shows his true colors and that he’s the same as Jason and Sonny [ A.J. Buckley ] and all these people. He’s scared but he’s strong-willed and brave and all these things, but I think that’s going to go through the season where the more he connects, the more he’s got to equally push back, and then hopefully, he figures it out by the end and everyone’s friends.

Does hearing about Jason offering up his trident for the team change what Drew thinks of him? Because Drew has been very vocal about that, especially for a new member of the team.

It’s a facade to an extent. It’s that his armor is cockiness, his armor is arrogance, and that he doesn’t need anybody to get by, that he knows what he’s doing. And I think underneath it all, he will always respect Jason, Bravo 1. He’s definitely walking that line and pushing buttons and trying to see where it leads because it’s to get attention, to kind of see where you stand with the team, and it is just disrespecting authority—he’s against authority in every way. But yeah, I think hearing he offered up his trident, I think he takes it like, that’s probably the most courageous thing somebody can do for his team besides just the ultimate sacrifice of dying.

But then again, Drew will take it and use it as ammunition to be like, nobody wants to be on this team. Nobody wants to fight anymore. Ray [ Neil Brown Jr. ] doesn’t want to go down range anymore. Am I the only one that just wants to fight? But truthfully, it’s the opposite. He probably wishes he could be as courageous as that or as, I don’t know, loving. He wants that connection again, wants a team again. He had a family, he wants it again, but losing everything is just so hard. But deep down, it’s like that’s the ultimate thing. It’s just finding those brothers again, that family again.

Then the episode ends with Jason leaving to go take care of his son after all that tension. How is Bravo in Episode 6 when Jason’s not there? 

Yeah. Six is an interesting episode because David directed it. So he had a few scenes with his son and everything. DB will get the best out of us because he knows us because he has worked with us. He sees our strengths, our flaws, how we work, and he’s able to, not manipulate, but get us to a place where we shine.

But yeah, not having B1 there is really complicated because you’re like, who’s in charge? Is Ray in charge? It’s almost like a free-for-all. It is such an action-packed episode, and so we stay busy with— when we’re sitting around a table, at the cages or whatever, we could talk and be personal and talk s**t and all that, but when it comes down to it, when we’re in a fight, all that stuff’s forgotten. What they talk about is, can we trust Drew? Can I trust Sonny to have my back when the bullets start flying? All this stuff. But yeah, I think [Episode] 6 is probably a time where we all come together the most, besides closer towards the end. It’s like after [Episode] 5, we went through it and now we’re in all this situation. And in 5, Drew’s like, let’s just be professional, let’s never talk about this moment again. I don’t want to f**king hear it from you guys. Nothing. This never happened. So there’s a respect between everybody after that. It’s like going through something together. And even if it’s unspoken afterward, we all know. There was truth told, secrets told, and yeah, I think they’re definitely closer than ever.

David Boreanaz Explains Jason's Actions, Teases 'SEAL Team' Ending

Then there’s the matter of Drew’s family and that podcast that came up earlier in the season. What’s coming up there?

Drew’s family is just the worst. He comes from a very privileged background, but a very unloving childhood. He lost his mother really young. She was probably the only person that he loved. And it all is just how Drew was made. It’s just another thing where he went out looking for a family. But yeah, podcast with her, I think things will definitely heat up with those two, but anything can happen. Drew is always trying to destroy a good thing. So we’ll see.

What can you preview about Bravo’s last mission on the show?

It’s epic. Speaking with the showrunner Spencer Hudnut, we went to Colombia to shoot, and he told me, “I’ve been dreaming of this moment since we started this thing, of just being in that jungle and just the fights”—and I can’t really say much. I just know that what we did in Colombia is really special and I really think the audience is in for a wild, wild ride.

I know a lot of people, or at least some are like, this season is unlike any other season to where we’re not at war. We’re not fighting really overseas. I mean, we’re doing this fentanyl stuff and everything, but we’re not in Afghanistan or wherever they were. It’s a season of really finding out who these men are underneath, who these men are back home, which I know they’ve touched on in the past, but they’re coming to this, Bravo’s last ride, and we’re seeing what, over the seven years, which I’ve been a huge fan of, the battles have done to them in good and bad ways. But yeah, I think people are like, when are we kicking doors, when are we blowing s**t up? And there’s been a lot of that still, but I think they’re in for a real treat by the end of this.

What can you tease about how the series ends in general and for Drew?

I think that anything could happen to Drew. He figures out a lot of stuff and we just don’t know if Drew will make it out clean, if he’s ready, if he’s able, if the loss, if the wars, if everything is just too much for him, and the pain of just even personal relationships and everything.

SEAL Team , Sundays, Paramount+

SEAL Team where to stream

Benefits to Registering & Following

(It's free!)