SWAT back to back episodes also featured a goodbye

SWAT aired two back-to-back episodes on Friday, March 8, and in the second episode, we said goodbye to a beloved character. We had a feeling it was coming, but it was still difficult to process. 

In the first episode, titled “Spare Parts,” it was up to the team to look for a surgeon who was abducted along with her daughter. The man in question, arms dealer Vicente Muñoz, had gone after them for reasons that the team is unsure about. He had previously worked with Anna Nelson’s husband, Tony, before the latter learned about who he was working with.

The team thought this was a retaliatory kidnapping until the crew abducted an anesthesiologist from a hospital. With the help of Tan’s brother, Jacob, who works with the victim, they figure out that Muñoz has a heart condition and needs a device implanted to protect his heart. He took the two doctors in order for them to do surgery outside of the hospital.

Anna Nelson goes through with the surgery despite the fact they refuse to let her daughter go. What they didn’t know was that she was safe in police custody.

This episode focused mainly on the case, but we still got a glimpse into the lives of those in the team. Tan’s brother, Jacob, was at the scene of the first crime as a witness, but Tam discovered he was having an affair. The two brothers had to come to grips with how this impacted their own relationship considering how Jacob argued Victor had some fault in his divorce.

Then in the second episode, “End of the Road,” we caught up with Street (Alex Russo), who has been in Long Beach helping with 30-Company. He comes to Squad 20 for help with a Los Angeles cop is found dead down in Long Beach during the hunt for a fugitive motorcycle gang leader.

At first it appears the cop was dirty, having stolen evidence from the police from the evidence locker. However, Hondo is adamant that something wasn’t right and it was confirmed that the man’s niece had been threatened.

The biker gang wanted armor piercing bullets in order to pull off a huge drug heist. While investigating, the leader of 30-Company was shot and despite efforts, he died of his injuries.

With 30-Company down a leader and Street having shown leadership skills in helping one of the Long Beach officers, he decided to take the position. He had begun to bond with the crew and thought it would help them to keep going after losing their leader. It will be sad to see Street go, but the episode did hint that there might be an engagement between Street and his girlfriend, Chris! If only we could see them together.

Another arc saw Nichelle dealing with an ex-colleague, Bruce, the same one who almost cost her her job by forging her signature. He wanted her help in looking for work, but Nichelle decided not to. He ended up trashing the center and nearly threatening her. Nichelle was the bigger person, though, and told him he had a second chance to do better, deciding not to tell Hondo about what happened. Hopefully, Bruce will learn his lesson and leave Nichelle and her family alone.

The next time we see the crew, Luca will be back on-screen. Make sure to watch SWAT Fridays on CBS at 9 p.m. ET. You can catch up on the episodes the next day on Paramount+.