When a cartel hit squad due to be sentenced to life in prison escape custody and seize hostages at an L.A. courthouse, Hondo and Deacon find themselves trapped inside the building, while Luca co-ordinates efforts to end the crisis.
Tropes
- The Chains of Commanding: Luca struggles with being in charge of the hostage negotiations.
- Double Tap: How Sergio Diaz dies; Hondo puts one shot in his shoulder, before Deacon fires a fatal second shot into his chest.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Diaz gives a Man Hug to his younger brother, one of his fellow escapee inmates, when it seems their plan has worked.
- Fat Bastard: Sergio Diaz, the episode's Big Bad and a burly, nasty piece of work. Mixed with Lightning Bruiser, as despite his size, he's quite fast on his feet.
- Hostage Situation: The episode's premise.
- I Choose to Stay: After getting several civilians out of the courthouse, Hondo and Deacon elect to remain inside, reasoning they can do more good on the inside.
- Improvised Weapon: Sergio Diaz, the episode's Big Bad escapes custody by killing a guard with a makeshift shiv made from a coat hanger.
- Indy Ploy: Since the hostage takers are demanding a helicopter, Luca has Chris, Street, Tan and Fowler hitch a ride on said chopper so they can sneak into the building and rendezvous with Deacon to overpower the hostage takers when they leave the building to board the helicopter.
- My Greatest Failure: Nora Fowler tells Luca that when she was an Army medic in Afghanistan, she froze in shock when her seriously injured kid brother Neil was brought in; another surgeon had to take over because she was too shaken, and Neil ended up dying on the operating table, with Nora believing if she hadn't frozen up, she could have saved him. Hicks later commends her for being so honest about a traumatic past memory and using it to inspire Luca out of his own self-doubt.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Used by Hicks about Luca and his father, saying both men were reluctant leaders who turned out to be better at it than they gave themselves credit for, much to Luca's surprise, as he'd always assumed his father had been in a leadership role at S.W.A.T. from the get-go.
- Right Man in the Wrong Place: Hondo and Deacon were present at the courthouse to give evidence for a completely unrelated case, but when Sergio Diaz and his crew start shooting up the place, they insist on doing what they can to help.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Hicks, Hondo and Fowler all commend Luca for his handling of the hostage crisis.
