All Episodes Talk: S.W.A.T.

[mythoughtis]

Annie was perfectly fine with Chris being gay. It’s the polyamory that she objected to. 

I had a son try this lifestyle out after he was married, it ruined his marriage and cost me a daughter in law. My response to him when he told me he was trying it was less polite than Annie’s.    Chris has the right to make her choices, but everyone else doesn’t have to say ‘ oh how perfectly lovely of you to make that choice and please tell my small child all about it’.     Annie is not her boss, not her landlord, not her retail establishment.  Chris overstepped by discussing a sexual  relationship with a child.  That is the only reason that Annie should have offered her opinion of Chris’s lifestyle.  

Edited April 29, 2019 by mythoughtis

[mythoughtis]

5 hours ago, SweetTooth said:

Annie has no dog in this race. She isn't Annie's mother. She's her husband's coworker, and as such, her stepping way, way over the line to humiliate Chris was not at all acceptable

I’m not Catholic. My children don’t have Godparents. Having said that- Annie places a lot of weight, A lot, on the person who is charged with the spiritual training of her child should her parents die.  Annie has discovered that Chris doesn’t believe the way she does in a matter that is very important to her.  That relationship alone makes her more than the spouse of a coworker. She’s also ( or was) Chris’s friend and probably worried about her being hurt. She went about voicing it terribly wrong, but that sharp hurtful way of spilling your guts is a problem a lot of us have when we feel strongly about something. 

Everyone else has been tiptoeing around Chris even though they know she’s going to get hurt. I am actually glad to see the show stop pretending every one gets along with rainbows and puppies. 

[Danielg342]

Episode 2.21, "Day of Dread"

Oh Darryl...predictable as that story may be, I do hope he pulls through. I really beginning to like the character.

I do appreciate that they mixed Darryl's issue with the main story, causing it to be a factor in the investigation of the team and causing some uncertainty. Too many shows just rely on "will the kid make it?" as the story and since Hollywood never kills kids we know how those stories go, making the story an exercise in futility.

So, points for that, but...this was still an exercise in futility. Not a boring one, mind you, because the actors brought their A game and really made you feel the intensity and the emotions of the interrogation, but, like "will the kid make it?" stories, episodes where "the team is under investigation" also always end up the same way- something comes up that exonerates the whole team, rendering most of the posturing pointless.

...and that's what happened. A Deus Ex Machina in the form of a hidden camera installed by that creepy handyman in every apartment wound up with evidence that showed the team had nothing to do with the death of the woman.

Which could have also been found out by the autopsy report which would have likely concluded the woman died before SWAT entered the apartment and thus meant we wouldn't have an investigation...but then, there wouldn't be an episode.

*shrugs*

This episode would have worked better as the season finale- at least then you can play with a cliffhanger where you don't know what will happen to the team and its members, giving you an easy way to write out actors who have left the show, if that happens. Yeah, it still makes it a lesson in futility watching the episode after the fact but...at least "in the moment" there's some drama.

Anyway, it was still a nice effort.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Danielg342

[Netfoot]

Gotta ask:  Is that an actual bird's nest that Debbie Allen wears on her head?

[Reality police]

22 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Gotta ask:  Is that an actual bird's nest that Debbie Allen wears on her head?

You would think that they could afford her a better wig or at least cut that one. 

[BooksRule]

Were those supposed to be pot plants in that first room of the apartment they entered?  They looked like ficus (weeping fig) plants to me and I was trying to figure out where the team was (I thought they were in a common area instead of an apartment).  It just looked odd to me.

I hope Darryl pulls through, too.  There are more stories that could be told about him. 

[dotdot]

Does anyone know when the season finale is and if it's been renewed? I really enjoy the show and the characters but it seems like there isn't a huge following.

[Raja]

Well if The Closer was accurate on that account due to past deeds LAPD Force Investigation Division does work how it was portrayed here. There was even a Major Crimes episode built on the bad guys having inside knowledge that the immediate lock down and investigation occurs.

What is wrong is that in the very special episode format FID hasn't rolled out and go through the review  every time SWAT fired a bullet or used physical force.

[Danielg342]

On 5/3/2019 at 12:56 PM, dotdot said:

Does anyone know when the season finale is and if it's been renewed? I really enjoy the show and the characters but it seems like there isn't a huge following.

The season finale will be on May 16, the 23rd episode titled "Kangaroo". It will also likely be then that we will learn the fate of the show for S3, because CBS' upfront is the day before. Predictors believe it will get a third season, but last year it was renewed early and this year it is not, so who knows, unfortunately.

20 hours ago, Raja said:

Well if The Closer was accurate on that account due to past deeds LAPD Force Investigation Division does work how it was portrayed here. There was even a Major Crimes episode built on the bad guys having inside knowledge that the immediate lock down and investigation occurs.

What is wrong is that in the very special episode format FID hasn't rolled out and go through the review  every time SWAT fired a bullet or used physical force.

In Ontario, the police are automatically investigated after they draw their guns, so there is precedent.

I suppose one could "hand wave" that the day after each case the SWAT team goes through a routine review to make sure things were done right (which could include Special Investigations), but then the team wouldn't react the way they did in this episode.

[BravoAddict72]

I have to go back to last week's episode for a minute. I offically do not like Annie anymore. I was raised Catholic. However, we have always taught our son from a very early age that love is love. Every family is different, and as long as everyone involved respect each other and no one is being forced that we are not to judge.  He has always known there is nothing wrong with being gay or bi. Yes, Chris may be setting herself up to get hurt but no one is forcing her to be in this relationship. It was not up to Annie to judge. Plus, in an earlier season (I don't remember which one) Chris was talking to a cousin or niece at a family bbg. She was around the same age as Annie's daughter, and she asked Chris about her girlfriend. Chris told her that sometimes she loves boys and sometimes she loves girls. Her family didn't have a problem with it so maybe Chris is just comfortable telling kids the truth since that's how it is in her family. Maybe Annie could have used it as a teaching moment. Not all Catholics are judgemental like that and I hate when they protray them like that.

[Raja]

However for a show, someone needed to be the voice of the other side. Otherwise there is no drama. 

[dotdot]

On 5/4/2019 at 8:06 PM, Danielg342 said:

The season finale will be on May 16, the 23rd episode titled "Kangaroo". It will also likely be then that we will learn the fate of the show for S3, because CBS' upfront is the day before. Predictors believe it will get a third season, but last year it was renewed early and this year it is not, so who knows, unfortunately.

In Ontario, the police are automatically investigated after they draw their guns, so there is precedent.

I suppose one could "hand wave" that the day after each case the SWAT team goes through a routine review to make sure things were done right (which could include Special Investigations), but then the team wouldn't react the way they did in this episode.

Thanks so much for the info on the finale date and next season! Fingers crossed that it gets renewed!

[Raja]

Renewed, season 3

[Danielg342]

@Raja, you beat me to it! Great news, though. I assume it's a full season pickup, so that will take us to 67 episodes by the end of S3, meaning we'll likely get a S4 too (since TV studios rarely cancel shows that get close to stripped syndication).

Meaning, Shemar Moore has a hit of his own. Well deserved too. It's one of the better written shows on TV, especially when it comes to the characters. I don't think a police procedural has seen this kind of character depth in quite a long time, if ever.

On to this week's review:

Episode 2.22, "Trigger Creep"

This is not the season finale. That's next week, 2.23 "Kangaroo".

Anyway...felt this week was rather disjointed, with Hondo off investigating Darryl getting shot (yay! He made it! Except for him losing quite a bit of his leg) and the rest of the team chasing after a lone gunman with a hit list. Both cases were fun, but going back and forth between the cases was jarring and neither case was developed enough.

Still, this show continues to shine with the characters, from Hondo having to deal with Leroy's gang to Jim and Fresno Tina (wonderfully played by Carlie Casey), Deacon spilling his guts out (then trying to play it cool with Tan and pass it off as "just work")...even the Detective and delivery guy Jorge were pretty interesting today.

Lastly- but not least- was Luca and the dyslexic child...Luca really put on a show with his impassioned speech. Tan was right, hard to say "no" to a face...and how could you say "no" to Luca? Looks like he may also have a date too considering how tightly the mother held his hand.

On to the next one...and likely 44 more (assuming S3 and S4 are both 22 episodes).

[zoey1996]

This episode could have served as season finale - some loose ends were tidied up.  Glad there's one more though.

I don't remember meeting Luka's friends, the dyslexic girl and her mother, but enjoyed their interactions.  Also good for Luka, going to bat to help her.

Will we see Street's mom in the next episode?  Creepy that Mom gave keys to that con woman.

And yay for Darryl's story, but awful that he was shot doing the right thing.

[Danielg342]

4 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I don't remember meeting Luka's friends, the dyslexic girl and her mother, but enjoyed their interactions.  Also good for Luka, going to bat to help her.

It was in Season 1, Episode 18, "Patrol". Luca and Deacon hosted a tour of SWAT facilities for troubled kids, and one of them was the dyslexic girl.

[mojoween]

I didn’t remember the dyslexic girl either!  But looks like Street might need to stay at his mom’s instead of going back to Luka’s, heh.

Chris.  You and Street were awkward, but fuck’s sake.  You have gone way too far the other way and are now downright rude to him.  That’s got to affect their team chemistry.

Also, and I never thought I would say this, but Street is better than that couple she is shacking up with, even if Chris and Street stay friends and only friends.

The wife of the shooter I think played a junkie on 9-1-1 too.  She needs to be careful or she’ll get typecast!

[Danielg342]

Episode 2.23, "Kangaroo"

We get our old friends the Emancipators and, I gotta say, the show really dropped the ball.

I thought the Emancipators could have been interesting adversaries, but the show never did more with them except to serve up another threat that SWAT had to control. Criminals who fight for the poor should be a gold mine of material to draw from, especially when creating different angles to the story (for one, how about copycats inspired by the Emancipators?), but the show drew on none of that.

Instead, it was your rudimentary SWAT episode. Threat, chase, capture. Rinse, repeat.

I did like the award ceremony at the end with Deacon thanking his friends. That would be a great moment in of itself...

Spoiler

...but coupled with The Big Bang Theory's send-off where Sheldon also thanked his friends at the Nobel Prize gala and it made for a touching theme throughout the night.

Oh, and poor Street and his mother...though Street did the right thing. Also looks like maybe he will score with Hicks' daughter...not that Chris looked too pleased about that.

On to Season 3!

[TigerLynx]

I'm mean.  I wanted the Emancipators to kill all the politicians.  Also, they actually had some good points about how unfairly tax payer money gets spent by the government.

[UNOSEZ]

13 minutes ago, TigerLynx said:

I'm mean.  I wanted the Emancipators to kill all the politicians.  Also, they actually had some good points about how unfairly tax payer money gets spent by the government.

I would liked them to poke holes in all the politicians lies... Make it more grey... 

[Sweet Tooth]

On 5/16/2019 at 8:33 PM, Danielg342 said:

(for one, how about copycats inspired by the Emancipators?

I think that's what the guy's end speech was going for. That there are still a bunch of believers out there. Whether they follow through or not remains to be seen.

On 5/13/2019 at 8:12 PM, mojoween said:

Chris.  You and Street were awkward, but fuck’s sake.  You have gone way too far the other way and are now downright rude to him.  That’s got to affect their team chemistry.

To say I was annoyed by this is putting it mildly. They had such an easy friendship/chemistry they could have gone back to, but instead Chris has chosen to make it awkward as hell.

There must be some payoff to this, and after seeing Chris glance jealously at Street flirting with Hicks' daughter, and that she's now going to be based in L.A., I have a feeling this is why Chris is acting so aggressive and that we're going to be in for even more weirdness, so that should be fun. 

[Raja]

"I won, you shot an unarmed black man" That might have played back when the original SLA was around but after Oklahoma City and the Jihad with suicide vest you are just another terrorist and we are left to wonder why Hondo didn't take a head shot.

[Danielg342]

On 5/17/2019 at 2:51 PM, TigerLynx said:

I'm mean.  I wanted the Emancipators to kill all the politicians.  Also, they actually had some good points about how unfairly tax payer money gets spent by the government.

I do appreciate that the show didn't just have the politicians each shot one by one with the last one being saved at the last minute. I thought they'd go that route, especially after introducing the controller's daughter.

On 5/17/2019 at 3:05 PM, UNOSEZ said:

I would liked them to poke holes in all the politicians lies... Make it more grey... 

I would have liked them to roll out a civilian at their trials to put a face to the claims. Having an angry mother complain to the condemned politician, "your budget cuts meant I couldn't afford daycare" makes it that much more real.

[Sweet Tooth]

Only "killing the bad people" and making that okay, would be a dangerous slope.

There needed to be more gray area, and  showing that killing the people who make the bad policies is the way to get things done, is probably not the message the show wanted to send.

As @Danielg342 said, it would have been nice to have "civilians" at this "trial." And maybe to have the politicians be forced to listen to how their legislation affects individuals, so maybe they would go back and think about what they do a little bit more.

The people holding guns to their heads saw themselves as heroes, but killing these politicians would have produced a brand-new crop even more hellbent on making even more stringent policies.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Sweet Tooth

[TigerLynx]

People have been telling the politicians what a lousy job they are doing.  The politicians don't listen.  They go where the money is so they can fund their reelection campaigns.

I would have liked to see more of, "Why do people keep voting these idiots back into office, you cut funding for schools, but approved money for roads, but the roads are still in horrible shape, where did the money actually go, etc."

The only characters I care about are Hondo, Deacon, and Chris.  If this show wants to do a very special we kill a member of SWAT episode, I nominate Street.

[Sweet Tooth]

3 hours ago, TigerLynx said:

People have been telling the politicians what a lousy job they are doing.  The politicians don't listen.  They go where the money is so they can fund their reelection campaigns.

Perhaps then it would have been more effective to put them in the same living conditions they put their constituents in. Like, make them feel the results of their choices.

Making the politicians the victims...martyrs...doesn't do much for The Emancipators' mission. They stop being the good guys when they put hoods over these peoples' heads and hang them.

[TigerLynx]

2 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

Perhaps then it would have been more effective to put them in the same living conditions they put their constituents in. Like, make them feel the results of their choices.

Making the politicians the victims...martyrs...doesn't do much for The Emancipators' mission. They stop being the good guys when they put hoods over these peoples' heads and hang them.

What the Emancipators did is the kind of thing that gets peoples' attention.  There are a lot of people who won't see the politicians as victims or martyrs.

[AnnA]

On May 25, 2019 at 11:41 AM, TigerLynx said:

People have been telling the politicians what a lousy job they are doing.  The politicians don't listen.  They go where the money is so they can fund their reelection campaigns.

I would have liked to see more of, "Why do people keep voting these idiots back into office, you cut funding for schools, but approved money for roads, but the roads are still in horrible shape, where did the money actually go, etc."

The only characters I care about are Hondo, Deacon, and Chris.  If this show wants to do a very special we kill a member of SWAT episode, I nominate Street.

Oh no! ..............Not Street!  

[Danielg342]

On 5/25/2019 at 5:48 PM, TigerLynx said:

What the Emancipators did is the kind of thing that gets peoples' attention.  There are a lot of people who won't see the politicians as victims or martyrs.

My track is more about creating a scenario where the episode actually makes the viewer ask the question- "who really are the bad guys?" They did this very well with the dynamic between Hondo and his dad, and even Hondo and Leroy, Darryl's father. Both Hondo Sr. and Leroy distrust institutions because they believe that it won't serve minority interests, while Hondo Jr. believes that law and order is necessary for justice and thus he has to work to make sure minorities get proper justice.

Simply put, they're not perspectives that are wrong- they're just different. Hondo Sr. lived through an era where racism was not just legal but encouraged (as he was likely a young adult when the Civil Rights Act passed in 1965), while Leroy is in jail, believing "the system" wronged him. Hondo Jr., meanwhile, grew up with a mother who was always positive and during a time where there are hints that actual progress can be made with race relations.

Now, we can sit here and poke holes in both sides' arguments, but that's not the point- the point is that the show has done a wonderful job portraying two balanced perspectives on justice that force the viewer to at least look at both sides and see that there are no easy answers.

This is what the Emancipators could have- and should have- done. Whereas the struggles between Hondo Jr./Sr./Leroy deal mainly with the institutionalized oppression of the black community of Los Angeles, the Emancipators had a chance to highlight the institutionalized oppression of the entire lower class, especially those who are working but can't make ends meet.

Their entire track was arguing that politicians often make decisions that severely impact the lower classes because the politicians don't understand how their decisions can really affect people. To the Emancipators, a politician sees a closed daycare as just another daycare- not a closure that now forces a mother to have to drive a longer distance, one that perhaps is too long that the gas money alone means they can no longer afford daycare.

It's the human element that was missing from the Emancipators' story, which is something that could have truly brought it to life.

To me, I envisioned a story where there are people going out on to the streets madly declaring their love for the Emancipators- the poor would definitely see them as heroes, not as villains, which would have complicated the investigation immensely. There would be people doing their best to make sure SWAT failed, and that alone could have provided some intriguing complications for the team to work through.

Failing that, even if we had just learned that Cinque has his parents thrown in jail because of some wonky law (for example, a very technical reading of the "Three Strikes Rule" that real life California has come under scrutiny for), that would have been enough. Villains- like heroes- should have a reason for doing what they are doing other than "they're evil". It makes the story real and more dynamic, and you want to care about the villain as much as you care about the hero.

Otherwise, why view the struggle?

[TigerLynx]

People taking hostages and killing them to make a point happens all the time.  It's not surprising SWAT would have to deal with something like that.

[Sweet Tooth]

On 5/26/2019 at 8:57 PM, Danielg342 said:

To me, I envisioned a story where there are people going out on to the streets madly declaring their love for the Emancipators- the poor would definitely see them as heroes, not as villains, which would have complicated the investigation immensely. There would be people doing their best to make sure SWAT failed, and that alone could have provided some intriguing complications for the team to work through.

This is what I was talking about. By just kidnapping these politicians and killing them, without humanizing themselves, they made the Emancipators the blatant bad guys. 

It would have been way more interesting to humanize everyone. Make it a gray area. Maybe have the Emancipators do a Robin Hood thing where they stole from these politicians and gave to the poor, etc.

I believe with El Chapo, and others like him, there was rioting in the streets, because they poured money into these impoverished communities. 

What good would killing all those people do? Nothing. It wouldn't teach the next person who took that politician's place a lesson, except that they should make stricter laws to hurt the very people The Emancipators were claiming to want to protect.

[williamsasquatch]

Hello. I am new to this board, I would like to comment

on the episodes of season 2.

I feel that there are two outstanding episodes,

1. episode 11  " School "

2. episode 21  " Day Of Dread"

I am looking forward to season # 3 , premiering on 10/03/2019

I wonder how stephanie sigman's character Jessica is going to

play out due to her rl preganancy.

[transitfan]

SWAT will be airing on Wednesdays this season.  The Seaon premiere will be on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 10:00 PM on CBS.

[Kiddvideo]

I watch for the eye porn. Beautiful people, tight clothes.