S03.E21: Diablo

[thewhiteowl]

The team searches for a group of drug smugglers who crash a plane and scatter.

[Danielg342]

That's a wrap. See you in January (the show has been held to midseason by CBS).

I felt like this episode went like a lot of episodes this season- it was middling, it was derivative, formulaic, rudimentary...average.

Watchable still, but it doesn't grip me like it used to. When you get the feeling you can write these episodes in your sleep, it may be time to mix things up a little and go a little against the grain.

I'm not sure what they could do differently. It's easy to see where they've went wrong- the cases are almost always about dealing with some Latino cartel (as was the case tonight) or "gangbangers", the stories are always told at a fast pace to feign a sense of urgency, and, outside of Street's story in "Bad Cop"/"Good Cop", the characters' own stories don't have the depth or exploration that they used to have, since the show thinks having their stories being told in snippets in each episode is enough.

Which was fine when the show was starting out and establishing itself- but, by the end of S3, the show and its characters should already be "established", so it's not enough to simply rely on formulas to get the job done.

S.W.A.T. is at the point where it should be trying new things and exploring its characters a little deeper than it used to. The novelty has worn off.

The good news is, they've got some time to think about it. Hopefully, when the show comes back, they'll realize how they can punch things up a little and go with it, because that's how this show will get back on track.

[Sweet Tooth]

Interesting fact: As I'm thinking how novel it is that a plane landed on a suburban street instead of an island or the woods, there was a news break that showed a plane had gone down in a park in suburbia.

I can't believe how much Lynch is growing on me. I love how she's not an angry, pounding on the table, demanding answers kind of boss. She zeroes in on the interviewee's weakness, hits them where it hurts, gets them to give up the goods, and carries on with her day, all without raising her blood pressure.

I also loved the subtle look of relief on Hicks's face when he found out Chris and Street were okay while he continued taking care of business.

They seem to be screaming toward a Street/Chris endgame. You know when two people are in a highly emotional situation together, that something happens. The way he looked at her walking away...I don't know...

I can't decide if Nichelle overreacted. I mean, she could have checked in with him instead of running away.  He messed up and admitted it. I guess we'll have to wait a while to find out.

Poor Hondo. The sins of the father. Doomed to effing up his relationships.

And this story line isn't over yet, so I was waiting for the other shoe to drop when Hondo got into his car.

All in all, an action-packed episode that had small character moments that also appear open-ended.

Oh, and P.S. I started to get hives when in the previouslies, they showed the drunk driving thing again. I'd been praising them for bringing it to a quick end, and I thought, "OH, NO! They're bringing it back!" But it was just to give a little history on it, because it was referenced in this episode. Phew!

 

[transitfan]

Was this the planned finale, or was there one more episode that they couldn't film due to COVID?  I'm thinking about the cartel leaders last words before he was dispatched.  Something to the effect of "when the city is in flames, remember, I tried to stop it". It was mentioned briefly afterwards and then not again.  I wonder if some bad event was supposed to happen which the cartel leader for whatever reason wanted to prevent, which is why he took the risky trip to the US.  Maybe if there was supposed to be another episode, it would have been addressed later.  Or if not, maybe something for next season.

 

 

[Raja]

22 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

Interesting fact: As I'm thinking how novel it is that a plane landed on a suburban street instead of an island or the woods, there was a news break that showed a plane had gone down in a park in suburbia.

Not suburban, right in the middle of LA basin and identified as South LA. We just happen to have a nice looking hood. but then reading the board before seeing the episode I remembered the movie with the landing strip on the bridge over the LA river/storm drain.

There was too much S.W.A.T. only stuff going on and no officers calling for help when everyone should have jumped in and not waited on on of the few. Chris once again takes a beating but keeps on but with Luca's shot I still wonder why with two extra characters from the original still no long shooter and the McCabe name.

[Danielg342]

2 hours ago, transitfan said:

Was this the planned finale, or was there one more episode that they couldn't film due to COVID?

There was one more episode they couldn't film because of COVID-19. The original finale was supposed to air on April 29, the 25th anniversary of the LA riots, of which Hondo would have a personal connection to.

The writers do plan on making that episode, but it won't be the premiere next season. They may hold that one to next April.

Ironically, S.W.A.T. was intended to give way to The Amazing Race which would air over the summer...but the production shutdown halted that show too. Because of that, next season Race will air in the fall, pushing S.W.A.T. to midseason.

[Sweet Tooth]

6 hours ago, Raja said:

Not suburban, right in the middle of LA basin and identified as South LA. We just happen to have a nice looking hood. but then reading the board before seeing the episode I remembered the movie with the landing strip on the bridge over the LA river/storm drain.

All I meant was that it was a quiet street with houses and cars. Usually they give planes a wide berth...like the woods or an island or...a bridge. But here the wings were clipping cars just going down a tree-lined street.

Also, I know it's South L.A., but there was a stunning lack of people coming out to find out what the heck was going on. Certainly it would have been on all the news stations.