S.W.A.T. is out for blood when word reaches them that the Imperial Dukes have returned with plans to carry out a major terrorist attack in Los Angeles. Hondo and Leroy butt heads over the best way to deal with street punks hassling their business venture for protection money, while Deacon finds evidence of institutional racism within the L.A.P.D.
Tropes
- Better Living Through Evil: Played for laughs. With all of S.W.A.T. trying to get Nora Fowler on their team for the annual relay competition, she basically tells them to offer what they can and she'll take the best one.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Officer Lee Durham, much to Deacon's shock.
- Bullying a Dragon: The street punks hassling businesses in the area where Leroy and Darryl plan to open up their garage for protection money quickly back down when Leroy makes them aware of his old gang connections.
- Deadly Gas: The Imperial Dukes' plan is to release methyl isocyanate in a public place.
- Dirty Cop: Deacon gets invited to an after-work drink with Durham and a couple of cops Deacon knew on his patrol days, where he's less than pleased to hear them casually bandying about racist language.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Imperial Dukes' target for the Reckoning is an L.A. college renaming one of its buildings because the original name belonged to a man with white supremacist beliefs.
- Domestic Abuse: The first information S.W.A.T. gets about an impending terrorist attack is because the wife of one of the Imperial Dukes ends up in hospital from his latest assault, and Luca convinces her to spill the beans to get back at her abusive husband.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Tan and Luca use this to get information out of a reluctant witness. Tan is the bad cop, Luca the good.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: One of the Imperial Dukes gets a faceful of poison during a shoot-out with S.W.A.T.
- It's Personal: After Erika's death, everyone in S.W.A.T., particularly Chris, are out to bust the Imperial Dukes.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Leroy defends using his old gang connections to run off the street punks hassling their business by pointing out how is Hondo threatening to sic the L.A.P.D. on them any different.
- Title Drop: The Reckoning is the name the Imperial Dukes give their planned terrorist attack.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Deacon is less than pleased when Durham and his cohorts disparage Hondo and insist leadership of 20 Squad should have been his after Buck left.
