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The Best Episodes of S.W.A.T. Season 3

Every episode of S.W.A.T. Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of S.W.A.T. Season 3!

Binge this in 14h 52m•Peaking at 8.4/10

A Los Angeles S.W.A.T. sergeant is assigned to lead a highly skilled unit in the community where he grew up. Torn between loyalty to the streets, where the cops are sometimes the enemy, and allegiance

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 1 - Fire in the Sky
    7.6/10(538 votes)

    #1 - Fire in the Sky

    S3:E1

    The SWAT team works with Lieutenant Piper Lynch, a senior LAPD Hollywood Division officer, when the mayor assigns her to oversee city departments joining forces to stop a serial bomber using drones as detonation devices. Also, just as Hondo settles into legal guardianship of his teen charge, Darryl, his home life becomes more complicated when his estranged father unexpectedly moves in.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Michael Jones-Morales

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  2. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 2 - Bad Faith
    7.5/10(479 votes)

    #2 - Bad Faith

    S3:E2

    Lt. Lynch pulls the SWAT team’s focus when the mayor tasks her with enacting a departmental review of the squad right as they pursue the unstable and dangerous fugitive leader of an infamous doomsday cult. Meanwhile, Luca asks the team to invest in his new passion project, a Guatemalan food truck.

    Director:Marc Roskin
    Writer:Kent Rotherham

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  3. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 3 - Funny Money
    7.6/10(476 votes)

    #3 - Funny Money

    S3:E3

    The SWAT team bumps heads with Lt. Lynch when she signs them up for an off-book undercover operation to take down a local gang printing counterfeit money, without giving them enough time to prepare for the mission. Also, tensions rise at home for Hondo as his parents’ strained relationship becomes worse.

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Alison Cross

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  4. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 4 - Immunity
    8.1/10(510 votes)

    #4 - Immunity

    S3:E4

    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

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  5. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 5 - The LBC
    7.6/10(460 votes)

    #5 - The LBC

    S3:E5

    Street reconnects with his estranged foster brother, Nate, to help a joint investigation between SWAT and the Long Beach Police Department when criminals steal a mass arsenal of LAPD assault rifles. Also, Hondo finds himself at odds with his father over the elder man’s declining health, and Luca is overwhelmed when the entire team reconsiders becoming investors in his food truck,

    Director:Lin Oeding
    Writer:Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

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  6. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 6 - Kingdom
    7.4/10(472 votes)

    #6 - Kingdom

    S3:E6

    The Harrelsons engage in a tense family reunion when Hondo’s older sister, Winnie, begrudgingly arrives in Los Angeles to see their sick father for the first time in decades. Also, the SWAT team searches for an abducted Middle Eastern human rights activist; Luca’s food truck business hits a snag; and Street worries that dating Captain Hick’s daughter, Molly, will negatively impact his career.

    Director:David Rodriguez
    Writer:Sarah Alderson

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  7. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 7 - Track
    7.4/10(476 votes)

    #7 - Track

    S3:E7

    The SWAT team searches for thieves who are on the run with a high-tech thermal lance that can cut through almost anything. To find the thieves, SWAT works to identify their target. Also, Chris confronts an imbalance in her relationship with Kira and Ty.

    Director:Batan Silva
    Writer:Robert Wittstadt

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  8. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 8 - Lion's Den
    7.8/10(480 votes)

    #8 - Lion's Den

    S3:E8

    The SWAT team engages in tense negotiations with a family that takes a local officer hostage when they’re evicted from their home due to eminent domain. Also, Hondo reflects on his personal life choices as he helps his father through a medical crisis and Chris’ relationship with Kira and Ty reaches a critical juncture.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Munis Rashid

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  9. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 9 - Sea Legs
    7.7/10(461 votes)

    #9 - Sea Legs

    S3:E9

    The SWAT team joins forces with the Los Angeles Organized Crime division to recover an officer abducted during a failed undercover operation. Also, Chris struggles with how to comfort the kidnapped officer’s parents when she is restricted from giving them certain details of the investigation.

    Director:Greg Beeman
    Writer:Craig Gore

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  10. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 10 - Monster
    7.6/10(468 votes)

    #10 - Monster

    S3:E10

    The SWAT team’s task to provide security for a warlord is threatened by assassins determined to take him out before he’s extradited by the International Criminal Court. Also, Hondo’s father, Daniel Sr., tries to make amends to his mother, Charice, Street’s foster brother, Nate, asks for his help with a corrupt boss and Deacon reluctantly explores therapy for his daughter, Lila.

    Director:Guy Ferland
    Writer:A.C. Allen

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  11. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 11 - Bad Cop
    7.9/10(482 votes)

    #11 - Bad Cop

    S3:E11

    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

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  12. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 12 - Good Cop
    8.1/10(482 votes)

    #12 - Good Cop

    S3:E12

    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 Thomas Brown

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  13. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 13 - Ekitai Rashku
    7.5/10(514 votes)

    #13 - Ekitai Rashku

    S3:E13

    Hondo, Deacon, Tan and Commander Hicks engage in a manhunt across Tokyo when they escort an extradited fugitive to Japan, where he escapes local custody. Back in Los Angeles, the rest of SWAT search for any contacts the criminal cultivated while hiding out in Los Angeles, and Street isolates himself from the team as he deals with family issues.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Craig Gore

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  14. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 14 - Animus
    7.5/10(460 votes)

    #14 - Animus

    S3:E14

    The SWAT team searches for a link between the seemingly unconnected victims of a lone gunman targeting women. Also, Luca assists with a homicide investigation in his neighborhood; Lieutenant Lynch pushes Chris to do a news interview; and Hondo reaches a juncture in his relationship with Nichelle.

    Director:Hanelle M. Culpepper
    Writers:Michael Jones-Morales, Sarah Alderson

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  15. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 15 - Knockout
    7.8/10(430 votes)

    #15 - Knockout

    S3:E15

    Deacon’s second job working private security at a high-profile boxing match places the SWAT team in the middle of a kidnapping case when a prize fighter’s wife is abducted. Also, Hondo’s young charge, Darryl, becomes frustrated with his lack of paternal rights regarding his infant son, and Tan prepares to introduce his critical mother to his girlfriend, Bonnie.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writers:Kent Rotherham, A.C. Allen

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  16. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 16 - Gunpowder Treason
    7.6/10(435 votes)

    #16 - Gunpowder Treason

    S3:E16

    The SWAT team’s search for an abducted teen leads them to a member of the Witness Protection Program and a decades-old political extremist group. Also, Hondo and his girlfriend disagree over a guest speaker at her community center; Luca worries he’s not physically ready to return to the field; and Commander Hicks reconnects with his estranged son.

    Director:Paul F. Bernard
    Writer:Amelia Sims

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  17. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 17 - Hotel L.A.
    7.8/10(431 votes)

    #17 - Hotel L.A.

    S3:E17

    The SWAT team must protect a hotel full of civilians after a joint task force mission with the LAPD Gang Division goes wrong, and the city’s most dangerous gang leaders scatter across the building to find an escape. Also, Luca’s efforts to coordinate the team’s mission are complicated when his brother, Terry, a freelance stringer reporter, crosses police lines to shoot footage.

    Director:Laura Belsey
    Writer:Alison Cross

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  18. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 18 - Stigma
    8.4/10(569 votes)

    #18 - Stigma

    S3:E18

    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

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  19. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 19 - Vice
    7.6/10(419 votes)

    #19 - Vice

    S3:E19

    The SWAT team searches for an escaped convict who plans to kill Tan and every member of law enforcement who helped put him in prison years ago. Also, Chris comes face to face with internal corruption when she arrests a young man who is given a free pass due to his powerful father, and a surprise visit by Hondo’s sister, Winnie, puts pressure on his relationship with Nichelle.

    Director:Oz Scott
    Writers:Michael Gemballa, Matthew Thomas Brown

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  20. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 20 - Wild Ones
    7.7/10(424 votes)

    #20 - Wild Ones

    S3:E20

    The SWAT team pursues a couple reminiscent of Bonnie and Clyde, when the duo goes on the run and on the hunt for a set of rare chest pieces worth millions. Also, Hondo and Darryl are surprised when Darryl’s ex-girlfriend visits with his young son, and Luca confronts his fear of failing his requalification to return to the field as he helps Kelly, his mentee.

    Director:Cherie Dvorak
    Writer:Andrew Dettmann

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  21. S.W.A.T. Season 3 Episode 21 - Diablo
    8.0/10(448 votes)

    #21 - Diablo

    S3:E21

    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
    Writers:Robert Wittstadt, Munis Rashid

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"Fire in the Sky" is the best rated episode of "S.W.A.T." season 3. It scored 7.6/10 based on 538 votes. Directed by Billy Gierhart and written by Michael Jones-Morales, it aired on 10/2/2019. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Bad Faith".