S03.E09: Sea Legs

[thewhiteowl]

The team searches for an officer who was abducted during a failed undercover operation.

[Danielg342]

"What I would give for five minutes with Vargas in a back alley."
"I only need four."

That was great and so was Deacon's heartfelt speech about Luca and the reality of life- "once you hit 35, it's hard to bounce back".

I'm 37, so I know all about that.

(By the way, Luca wasn't in this episode...but the actor who plays him tweeted a few days ago that he's back filming so Luca will eventually be back on the show)

(Piper Lynch also wasn't in this episode...wonder what happened to her. Not that I miss her, really)

Other than that...well, it's your basic S.W.A.T. episode. There was a bit of a twist with some new gadgets- and a father taking things into his own hands- but other than that, it was just a rudimentary walk in the S.W.A.T. park.

For this go around, it was an episode about saving the damsel in distress...while saving many other damsels in distress. They bang on a few doors, things blow up, loved ones cry and plead for the team to find their daughter, the team says "we can't make any guarantees" only to find a way to actually make that guarantee but not before finding the Big Bad at the last minute and getting into a giant gun battle.

Rinse...repeat.

I mean, the show tries to mix it up a little, but the formula is still the same- open with a target and watch as the team almost literally races to find that target, with things getting blown up and the action moving quickly to feign a sense of urgency.

I'd congratulate the writers for finding their groove, but the problem is this groove got old pretty quickly. Mindless action is great for a few hours or the first season or when the series needs a "breather"...but the show has been mindless and aimless too much this season.

It's like someone in the writers' room thought, "this show needs to get back to the basics" when I'd argue that no, it doesn't.

What it does need is a larger narrative, something to spice up the show to give the episodes more meaning...and I'm not talking about Hondo's dad or Piper Lynch or the throuple.

No...I'm talking about doing something "outside of the box", like last season's trip to Mexico or having a more serialized story where the team needs half a season to catch the Big Bad (like the Korean drug lord story, only longer).

I think we're past the point where we can simply rely on things blowing up. In Seasons 1 and 2, you don't stray too far from the formula.

By Season 3, it's time to give that formula a shakeup. This show needs it badly.

[Sweet Tooth]

OMG. Hondo's slow-mo, swaggering hero walk. with the helicopter taking off in the background, followed by the GROUP slo-mo, swaggery hero walk at the end.

*Chef's kiss.*

I hope Bulgarian guy comes back.I liked him.