The Best Episodes of S.W.A.T.
Every episode of S.W.A.T. ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of S.W.A.T.!
A locally born and bred S.W.A.T. lieutenant is torn between loyalty to the streets and duty to his fellow officers when he's tasked to run a highly-trained unit that's the last stop for solving crimes in Los Angeles.
Top Episode Ratings Summary
The best episode of "S.W.A.T." is "School", rated 8.9/10 from 881 user votes. It was directed by Billy Gierhart and written by Robert Wittstadt. "School" aired on 1/3/2019 and is rated 0.6 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Stigma".
8.9/10 881 votes#1 - School
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 1/3/2019
The SWAT team faces difficult reminders of a past school shooting when they receive a warning that a copycat plans to re-enact the crime. As the team races to stop the new threat, they flash back to the day of the tense first mission.
Director: Billy Gierhart
Writer: Robert Wittstadt
8.3/10 471 votes#2 - Stigma
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 4/8/2020
Hondo and the SWAT team race to save Buck, their former unit leader, when he goes off grid and they fear he plans to harm himself. Flashbacks reveal the search for Buck, which coincides with one of the team’s most brutal missions, as each team member receives counseling and discusses the untold mental and emotional difficulties inherent to working in SWAT.
Director: Billy Gierhart
Writer: Ryan Keleher
8.3/10 199 votes#3 - Last Call
Season 7 Episode 7 - Aired 4/5/2024
After the shocking shooting of a member of 20-Squad, Hondo and the team launch a citywide manhunt for the robbery crew responsible. Meanwhile, Deacon's plans for his future hit a snag, and Powell and Alfaro clash over a tricky issue.
Director: Michael D. Olmos
Writer: Mellori Velasquez
8.2/10 174 votes#4 - SNAFU
Season 7 Episode 10 - Aired 4/26/2024
As 20-Squad scrambles to track down a cold-blooded sniper terrorizing Los Angeles, Hondo discovers a link to his own South L.A. neighborhood that brings a personal twist to the hunt for the deadly shooter. Meanwhile, Tan finds himself questioning his leadership abilities while Powell and Alfaro compete in a classic game of SWAT tag.
Director: N/A
Writer: Charles Haddaway
8.2/10 165 votes#5 - Twenty Squad
Season 7 Episode 13 - Aired 5/17/2024
SWAT faces their deadliest adversary yet when a violent cell of extremists looks to extract vengeance by blowing up half of Los Angeles, potentially killing thousands.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 432 votes#6 - Invisible
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 4/18/2019
The abduction of Luca and Street’s neighbor sends the SWAT team in pursuit of a home invasion crew targeting domestic workers to gain entry into upscale homes. Also, the SWAT division prepares to help Mumford mark a major career milestone.
Director: John Terlesky
Writer: A.C. Allen
8.1/10 448 votes#7 - Day of Dread
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 5/2/2019
The SWAT team finds itself under internal investigation after a civilian is killed as they attempted to bring in the city’s most wanted criminal. As the mission details are revealed, the force’s internal affairs team calls Hondo’s leadership into question.
Director: Alrick Riley
Writer: Alison Cross
8.1/10 420 votes#8 - Immunity
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/2019
Deacon’s family gets caught in the crosshairs of a drug cartel when he and the SWAT team aim to bring down its leader, a former foreign rebel force leader running drugs in plain sight via a local flower market. Also, Hondo receives troubling news regarding his father, and Tan is forced to go before an internal review board due to his girlfriend’s indiscretion.
Director: Jann Turner
Writer: Michael Gemballa
8.1/10 394 votes#9 - Good Cop
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/2020
Hondo and the SWAT team rally to support Street when he puts his life on the line to help his foster brother Nate break away from a drug ring.
Director: Guy Ferland
Writer: Matthew Browne
8.1/10 331 votes#10 - Farewell
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/22/2022
When control of a university chemistry lab is seized, the team races to thwart a devastating terror attack.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 244 votes#11 - Legacy
Season 6 Episode 22 - Aired 5/19/2023
The team works with the DEA and their iron-jawed leader, Mack Boyle, to stop a ruthless cartel boss waging war on the streets of Los Angeles as he exacts revenge on those who killed his son.
Director: Billy Gierhart
Writer: Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier
8.1/10 177 votes#12 - Family Man
Season 7 Episode 8 - Aired 4/12/2024
The SWAT team faces off with a family of doomsday preppers barricaded inside their fortress of a home, and Deacon finds himself at the center of the storm. Also, Tan clashes with a reporter covering the situation and Powell grapples with meeting the child she gave up for adoption 18 years ago.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 533 votes#13 - S.O.S.
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/2018
Hondo and Lina go undercover to infiltrate and take back a cruise ship that’s under siege by drug smugglers who will execute passengers if they detect police on board. Street enters the SWAT Training Academy and finds the competition fiercer than he expected.
Director: Larry Teng
Writer: Andrew Dettmann
8.0/10 471 votes#14 - 1000 Joules
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/2018
The SWAT team sets out to recover dozens of DNA evidence kits stolen from an LAPD crime lab and bring in the crew responsible, after a close friend of Hicks is harmed during the theft. Financial strain at home makes it difficult for Deacon to focus on his role as leader of the SWAT division’s annual holiday toy drive.
Director: David Rodriguez
Writer: Craig Gore
8.0/10 371 votes#15 - Diablo
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 5/20/2020
The SWAT team searches for a group of drug smugglers who crash a plane in a Los Angeles suburb and scatter, after a joint mission with the DEA to stop the shipment goes awry. Also, Hondo tries to make amends with Nichelle, Luca experiences anxiety about his return to the field, and Deacon hesitates when asked to speak to a group of recruits about mental health.
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Writer: Robert Wittstadt, Munis Rashid
8.0/10 355 votes#16 - Lockdown
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 5/12/2021
When four escaped prisoners take control of a courthouse with Hondo and Deacon inside but unarmed, the two race to save the lives of innocent civilians while trying to avoid detection themselves. Street visits his mother in the hospital and faces a pivotal decision.
Director: Maja Vrvilo
Writer: Robert Wittstadt
8.0/10 366 votes#17 - Survive
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 1/2/2022
When Deacon enlists Chris’ help on an off-duty private security detail, they struggle to survive when they’re attacked by a drug cartel looking to kidnap their wealthy VIP client, on the new day and time.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 298 votes#18 - Incoming
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 5/1/2022
When a plane carrying Street and the dangerous prisoner he's transporting is hijacked, the team races to save the innocent passengers onboard -- and one of their own; Hondo takes a big step in his relationship with Nichelle.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 201 votes#19 - End of the Road
Season 7 Episode 5 - Aired 3/8/2024
While training with Long Beach SWAT, Street discovers a biker club has stolen a cache of armor-piercing bullets and brings 20-Squad into the hunt for the gang before they can pull off a daring and deadly heist. As Hondo struggles with changes at work, Nichelle finds herself at odds with her former colleague Bruce.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 166 votes#20 - Whispers
Season 7 Episode 11 - Aired 5/3/2024
Tan finds himself on a one-man mission to save his new love interest and her journalist co-workers when mercenaries take over a black-tie correspondents' dinner. After the group escapes, it's up to SWAT to track down the well-trained gunmen.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 434 votes#21 - Kangaroo
Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 5/16/2019
The SWAT team goes in pursuit again of the militant group The Emancipators, when the criminals hold a live stream kangaroo court to publicly execute city politicians. Also, Hondo fights to lift Darryl’s spirits; Deacon feels unworthy as he prepares to receive one of the LAPD’s highest honors; and Street catches a break in the search for his missing parolee mother.
Director: Billy Gierhart
Writer: Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Michael Gemballa
7.9/10 399 votes#22 - Bad Cop
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 1/15/2020
Street is caught between his duty to SWAT and his commitment to his foster brother, Nate when Nate is ensnared in a criminal enterprise that could ruin them both. Also, the SWAT team goes after a ruthless crew that uses deadly force while stealing from card casinos, and Buck approaches Deacon to partner on a private security opportunity.
Director: Ben Hernandez Bray
Writer: Andrew Dettmann
7.9/10 268 votes#23 - Zodiac
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 5/15/2022
When a home invasion turns deadly, the team embarks on a race to track down priceless antique artifacts before any more lives are lost; Leroy enlists Hondo's help after an overdose hits close to home.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 797 votes#24 - Seizure
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 1/11/2018
As the SWAT team goes inside a prison riot to rescue civilian hostages, Hondo suspects the inmates have an ulterior motive behind the uprising. Also, when Deacon’s wife, Annie, stops by headquarters to celebrate Deacon’s 10th anniversary with the SWAT division, her visit takes an unexpected turn.
Director: Larry Teng
Writer: Aaron Rahsaan Thomas
7.8/10 491 votes#25 - Inheritance
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/2018
The SWAT team hunts for a band of criminals re-enacting the crimes of the infamous Symbionese Liberation Army. Seeking expertise on the original crime spree in the 1970s, Luca and his father review the files of Luca’s late grandfather who worked for SWAT during the era of the original crimes. Hondo experiences discrimination from a fellow officer during a SWAT training seminar for local law enforcement in Arizona.
Director: Romeo Tirone
Writer: Kent Rotherham