The essential episodes of S.W.A.T.
Watch these 15 in order and you've got S.W.A.T. — each pick states its reason.
- 01
A locally born SWAT sergeant, former Marine Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, is newly tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.
- 02
When a series of home invasions are committed by SWAT imposters in an upscale neighborhood, Hondo and the team suspect the burglarized families are all hiding something. Also, when Deacon and Luca are assigned to protect a visiting professional hockey player who is receiving death threats, his penchant for trouble becomes a complication. [also shown as S1:E6]
- 03
When a misconduct complaint filed against Hondo gets him taken off active duty, Deacon steps up to lead the team in finding a robbery crew that is hitting marijuana dispensaries. Also, when Tan notices a similarity between the current robberies and a case from his time with Hollywood LAPD, he asks for help from an informant with whom he has a complicated history.
- 04
As the SWAT team goes inside a prison riot to rescue civilian hostages, Hondo suspects the inmates have an ulterior motive behind the uprising. Also, when Deacon’s wife, Annie, stops by headquarters to celebrate Deacon’s 10th anniversary with the SWAT division, her visit takes an unexpected turn.
- 05
When the SWAT team is called in to work on their day off to end a hostage situation, they discover one of the captives is a wanted felon. When Hondo saves his sister after she's been roofied at a nightclub, he uses his day off to hunt a serial rapist.
- 06
The SWAT team faces difficult reminders of a past school shooting when they receive a warning that a copycat plans to re-enact the crime. As the team races to stop the new threat, they flash back to the day of the tense first mission.
- 07
Jessica and Chris go undercover in Mexico, alone and without back-up, to save a Mexican federal agent kidnapped by a drug-dealing gang that Jessica helped bring to justice years before. Also, Hondo’s mother, Charice, worries he’s under emotional strain when he engages in a series of small home renovation projects in her home.
- 08
Hondo reunites with an old flame, FBI Special Agent Elle Trask, when the SWAT team works with the FBI to bring in a separatist group with weapons-grade plutonium. Also, the SWAT team worries they will lose an annual law enforcement charity competition to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
- 09
Hondo and the SWAT team rally to support Street when he puts his life on the line to help his foster brother Nate break away from a drug ring.
- 10
A high-stakes domestic disturbance involving a father and his two young daughters leads the team to race against the clock to save a group of international activists.
- 11
In the aftermath of his decision to speak out in the press, Hondo retreats to a quiet town in Mexico to reassess his life and professional future, only to find himself reluctantly drawn into one local family's fight for justice.
- 12
During a trip to Bangkok to train alongside Thailand’s premiere S.W.A.T. team, Hondo and his former military buddy Joe (guest star Sean Maguire) stumble upon a wide-ranging heroin operation with ties to Los Angeles and find themselves on the run from a powerful drug kingpin.
- 13
The team heads to Mexico to escort a fugitive back to the States when things go awry and Hondo has to save an old witness tied to the case.
- 14
SWAT tackles a mission with personal ties for Hondo when they race to find a group of missing students and their bus driver, Hondo's former high school football coach. Also, Hicks has reservations regarding Hondo's new 20-Squad team addition, Devin Gamble, a cop with a family background deeply entrenched in crime.
- 15
The SWAT team undertakes its final mission when a violent crew of ex-pat Russian mercenaries holds LA hostage after planting hundreds of explosives across the city.
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