There have been plenty of challenges for the reformed team in SWAT Exiles season 1. Hondo (Shemar Moore) is trying to get to know his new team and get them to perform, but the revelations have been a lot. Malik (Adain Bradley) broke faith by turning traitor. And Jude (Ronen Rubinstein) lost trust when the team learned about his undercover role. This week, Hondo tries to keep it all together as they face a new challenge in the episode, “The Project.” Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
Jude offered to resign, but Hondo told him the team would get past it. But it’s clear as we start that no one is yet past it. That’s particularly true of Sam (Lucy Barrett) and her new BFF Cassidy (Zyra Gorecki). He feels like he’s being iced out, and no matter how hard he tries, the frost isn’t yet thawing.
Meanwhile, Ethan (Freddy Miyares) is struggling with Malik. He took the reveal harder than Hondo, and having to work together on an undercover mission has them all distracted. It gets worse when Malik realizes he’s been transferred from S.W.A.T. That’s when Hondo has to step in.
Hondo approaches Commander Pike (Lenora Crichlow), who says she transferred Malik because he’s the mole. She also wonders if Hondo either couldn’t piece it together or was keeping the information from her. So, he comes clean about what he learned and why he’s keeping Malik on the team. Commander Pike agrees and reverses the transfer. That sets Malik on the mission of trying to get more information.
That proves more difficult than expected. Miranda Seitmeier (Caitlin McGee) isn’t taking Malik’s calls. So, the team devises a plan for a meetup. But when he tracks her down, Miranda still isn’t that interested in continuing their professional relationship. All that leaves Hondo looking for another option.
A new case
But there isn’t much time to dwell. The team is handed a new case, and it comes straight from the Mayor (Jerry O’Connell). One of the mayor’s friends had his son overdose thanks to a strong new drug that’s on the street. It’s up to the S.W.A.T. team to track it down and get it stopped. That also proves to be a challenge.
The team tracks down the source of the drugs. It is being dealt out of a local restaurant, and when the team makes entry, the suspect disappears. But it turns out he’s part of a larger organization run by a prominent philanthropist (Joivan Wade) who is using his programs to help the community as a way to mask his drug operation.
Since he’s a neighborhood benefactor, he has some protection. But his criminal activities force the team to intervene. As they make entry, they run into some challenges. That includes a sniper (Tim Griffin) taking a shot at Hondo. That turns out to be part of something much larger. But in the process, Ethan is injured, and the team has to rally to save him.
Still, S.W.A.T. gets it done. They lock in on their target and bring him in. He threatens that it will mean rough things for the neighborhood. Then the team races to the hospital, where the frost between Sam and Jude begins to thaw as they put Ethan first. He’s OK, but it’s clear he still has some trauma to work through.
A new wrinkle
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Hondo and Commander Pike get a call. It’s from Miranda. Pike has undertaken to help the cause by slipping a bug into Miranda’s things. That told them that she is part of a larger conspiracy. Now, she’s calling because she wants out.
Things have gotten out of control. Miranda didn’t sign up to be part of a plot that includes hiring an assassin. She has slipped out of her office, and she needs help and protection. She drops a pin, and Hondo, Pike, and Malik race to meet her. But by the time they arrive, something has happened. Her car is destroyed, and Miranda is dead. That leaves them searching for a lead into the larger conspiracy yet again.
I like the blend of cases and personal stories. The twists regarding the mole and how it might tie back to something larger are interesting. We’re in the stretch run of the first season, so it makes sense that the action is heating up. The question is how it ties back to the mayor. You don’t cast Jerry O’Connell for a couple of scenes in one episode, so I know we’re going to see more before the season is done.
SWAT Exiles drops Fridays on Starz.
Add us as a preferred source on Google