When last we left off with S.W.A.T. Exiles, Hondo (Shemar Moore) realized he had a mole on his team. His focus turned to figuring out who was stabbing him in the back. But that’s not an easy job. This week’s episode, “Get Clear,” is about trying to do just that. But this being S.W.A.T., they have to do it in the highest stakes way possible. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
A rough operation
We begin by being dropped into the middle of an operation. Hondo and Cassidy (Zyra Gorecki) are coming upon the hostiles. He gives an order and takes a shot. A woman is killed, but her gun can’t be found in the aftermath. Cassidy takes it rough, too. And soon enough, we flash-forward to the review board.
All of the team is called to testify, but it’s Hondo who is in the hot seat. The Deputy Chief (James Le Gros) seems to be on his side, but Commander Pike (Lenora Crichlow) is on the panel. And she doesn’t seem overly friendly. In fact, she quickly pushes Hondo about whether his feelings about his team—and his hunt for a mole—have clouded his judgement. He assures them it didn’t and goes over the events.
There was an anonymous 9-1-1 call that sent them to the scene of what looked like a robbery. When the team came to make entry, they were met by an ICE officer, who all too curtly told them to beat it. But something about it didn’t sit right with Hondo. He kept the team on scene when the owner (Amanda Brooks) arrived. He used her to gain entry and quickly determined they weren’t ICE officers but rather robbers in disguise.
Hondo took over the operation command from Malik (Adain Bradley) and began an aggressive pursuit. One-by-one, his teammates share their version of events. While most are seemingly in agreement with Hondo’s tactics, none of it paints his leadership in the most favorable light. That leaves Commander Pike pushing hard against him, and Hondo possibly backed into a corner.
Team revelations
A pair of revelations make things even worse. First, Ethan (Freddy Miyares) admits that some footage wasn’t recovered. He tells the board it couldn’t be recovered. But he admits to the team he lied. The camera is still in Hondo’s office, and the footage can be salvaged. That perks up Malik, who has other things on his mind, too.
Malik has a heart-to-heart with Cassidy, who is struggling with what she saw—or rather didn’t see. Cassidy didn’t see a gun, but she can’t be sure it wasn’t there. Still, Malik pressures her to tell the truth of what she didn’t see without context. As conflicted as she is, Cassidy does just that.
Meanwhile, Malik retrieves the camera and passes it to his source (Caitlin McGee), who turns out to be the Mayor’s Chief of Staff. She gets the footage to the review board. Now, at least, it’s clear who is trying to find dirt. The question is still why. But this particular dirt doesn’t help.
The footage is developed, and the deputy chief offers Hondo a deal. He declines, fairly confident of what he did. So, the review board watches the footage, which shows the owner grabbing a gun and pointing it toward a hostage when Hondo fires a shot to take her down. The gun hits the ground, and it’s picked up again by another thief, which is why it couldn’t be found in the aftermath. The video clears Hondo and makes Cassidy feel even worse.
The real point
But getting cleared was just a happy byproduct. Hondo was confident in his actions, but he used the review board to flush out the truth. Seeing the footage retrieved and handed over told him that the mole was still working and was a part of his team. Turns out, Hondo was using Ethan to do a sting.
The other part of that was planting a camera in Hondo’s office to catch the person in action. He reviews the footage and sees Malik. Ethan sees it, too. Hondo is pleased it’s out in the open, and even more pleased he has a teammate to rely on in Ethan.
We often see him going to the well time and again. The review board allows an action story to be told from many points of view. And it works well here, parceling out the information. It also serves the overall arc well as a chance to flush out Malik and put the focus on what’s really happening. I’m curious to see where we go from here.
S.W.A.T. Exiles airs Fridays on Starz. Check back next week as we recap all the action of the season right here.
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