The latest Netflix series, Boots, centers on Cameron Cope (portrayed by Miles Heizer), a teenager concealing his identity as he enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1990s, a period when being openly gay was prohibited in the military. Throughout the inaugural season of Boots, viewers witness Cameron and his fellow recruits as they grapple with the rigorous demands—physical, mental, and emotional—of boot camp. However, a sudden and tragic event in the middle of the season forces the platoon to confront challenges far heavier than they could have anticipated.

**Spoilers for Boots, now available on Netflix**

In Episode 5, titled “Bullseye,” the series takes a devastating turn with the loss of one of its most beloved characters. Ochoa (played by Johnathan Nieves) succumbs to a fatal blend of heartbreak, fatigue, and an undisclosed heart condition. This poignant moment, according to Boots star Miles Heizer, serves as a “turning point for everybody.”

Heizer explains, “This event shifts the focus of the series for its latter half, bringing the spotlight onto interpersonal relationships rather than solely focusing on overcoming physical trials.”

Ochoa, initially introduced as Cameron’s enthusiastic but naive bunkmate, is depicted as a sweet yet not particularly sharp character. His motivation to join the Marines stems from a desire to impress his wife, Gloria. Despite his initial horror at the prospect of becoming a sniper, Ochoa’s natural talent as a marksman drives him to excel in gun training, aiming to secure the top shooter title and earn the coveted reward of a call home.

Ochoa has spent most of Boots dreaming about Gloria and boasting about their passionate honeymoon. So when a man picks up the phone and Gloria can be heard calling him, “Baby,” in the background, it immediately becomes clear that Ochoa’s great love has been cheating on him while he’s been suffering through boot camp.

Now wholly disillusioned, Ochoa breaks. When Sergeant Howitt (Nicholas Logan) makes an off-color joke about his wife getting “dicked down by a Jody,” the recruit snaps at the drill instructor. Soon, Ochoa is in Howitt’s face and Howitt, ever the Marine, erupts. Ochoa begins working out at a terrifyingly intense clip, yelling, “Is this what you want?” Cameron attempts to defend his bunkmate, pointing out that he had found him unwell in the bathroom earlier in the episode. Howitt yells at Ochoa to stop, but the kid is relentless. He keeps going until he passes out and dies.

In the next episode, we learn that Ochoa lied about his health, covering up a heart condition, to get into boot camp. We also get to see the fallout of Ochoa’s death, from food fights to team bonding. Boots star Liam Oh thought there was one line in Episode 6 that really summed it all up.

“[One] character has a line about, ‘You know, it doesn’t necessarily always happen this early, but this type of loss is inevitable for the path that you’ve chosen, and some of you will will carry a lot of weight in your packs, and some of you will carry none,’” Oh said, paraphrasing.

“It’s unfortunate that this happened within the first couple of weeks of your experience as a marine,” Oh said, “but ultimately it’s something that you have to move through and remember him and move on and kind of carry his memory with you.”

The platoon continues to hold on to Ochoa’s memory throughout the rest of the season, culminating with the deceased recruit’s hat being carried through the USMC boot camp’s final challenge, the crucible.

“The last half [of the season], we get to sit on the bunks and have human conversations and interactions,” Heizer said. “I think that [Ochoa’s death] serves as this thing where everyone realizes how serious this is and starts to come together.”

“I think it shifted the dynamic on set because the story sort of starts to change and all of our characters start to change,” Heizer said. “So yeah, it definitely is a big turning point.”