We’ve seen a lot happen in season 1 of SWAT Exiles. Hondo (Shemar Moore) is struggling to keep everyone together and on the right path. Now that Malik (Adain Bradley) has been outed as the mole, the hope is to get back on track. But there are more problems with team dynamics in this week’s episode, “Hate Crime.” Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
A blast from the past
As we open, Jude (Ronen Rubinstein) is meeting with a woman (Gabrielle Haugh) at a diner. Turns out she knows him by another name—Bobby—and it’s clear she is connected to his undercover work. She needs to see him because she’s pregnant. That leaves Jude stunned and trying to figure out what to do, but he doesn’t have time to dwell. Soon, some others arrive.
They’re led by Shane (Jackie Kay), his old buddy when he was under cover. And Shane has been looking for Bobby. He is coming out of hiding and trying to pull another job. Jude has some misgivings. But he decides to go along for the ride. He doesn’t feel like he has a choice.
They break in, and soon a guard comes on them. Shane is about to kill the guard, so Jude steps in. He offers to give the man a beating and proceeds to just that. His mask is pulled, catching Jude on camera. He knows he’s going to have some explaining to do.
A new mission
Ethan (Freddy Miyares) is having trouble coming to grips with Malik and his deceit. Hondo, Ethan, and Malik are the only ones who know the truth. And Malik again offers to resign, but Hondo pushes him to stick it out and get at who is coming for them. Malik agrees, but there is still tension. Still, with a new mission, they don’t have time to dwell.
Hondo gets pulled into the Commander’s (Laura Critchlow) office. Turns out the FBI (D.B. Woodside) is there, and he needs Jude to go under cover again. Hondo objects, but it’s already been agreed. So, Hondo demands that S.W.A.T. be there to back him up. The FBI isn’t pleased, but they agree. So, Jude is forced to go under cover again.
During the briefing, the whole team sees the video in the store. Juda, ashamed, heads to the back to prepare. Turns out his undercover work was with a White Supremist gang. That doesn’t sit well with Malik, Ethan, Cassidy (Zyra Gorecki), or Sammy (Lucy Barrett). Sammy is particularly bothered, especially since she and Jude have been having an affair.
While Jude, as Bobby, goes to connect with the gang, the S.W.A.T. searches Shane’s house. There, they find a lot of troubling paraphernalia, photos, and more. It leaves the team struggling with who Jude really is. Hondo can see there is a loss of trust.
That only gets deeper when Jude comes for a check in. Hondo watches as he spars with the team over his alter-ego and how far he had to go. Hondo suggests to Commander Pike that Jude will need to be pulled from the team when the mission is over. It seems they are at a tipping point. But there is a mission to be accomplished.
Hondo tries to go to Shane’s father, Ray (Glenn Morshower), who is in prison. Hondo gets a lead, but also discovers that Jude’s cover is blown. But it’s too late to get Jude a message, as he’s already on the latest mission. So, it’s up to his S.W.A.T. team to come and have his back. Jude manages to trip an alarm for the S.W.A.T. team before he’s flushed out by Shane.
Just as it looks like Jude might be taken out, S.W.A.T. arrives and puts down the hate group. Jude is safe, but his teammates still look at him differently. That’s especially true of Sammy, who can’t reconcile being a proud Black woman who had an affair with someone who played such a deeply racist character as Jude did with Bobby. Their relationship in all its forms seems broken.
As the episode ends, Jude turns up to talk to Hondo. He knows he’s lost trust with the team, and he’s ashamed of what he’s had to do for his undercover post. He suggests he needs to leave. But Hondo has changed his mind. He tells Jude to stick it out and find a way to move forward.
This new series is doing a nice job of trying to get to know the team in a different way. This week we learn a lot more about Jude. Much of what he had to do undercover is ugly, and it certainly has created a wedge with his teammates. But I’m going to be curious to see how he can overcome it going forward.
SWAT Exiles airs Fridays on Starz.
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