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The Worst Episodes of S.W.A.T.

Every episode of S.W.A.T. ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of S.W.A.T.!

Worst episode
S4E1 3 Seventeen Year Olds (1)
6.51,010 votes
Best episode
S2E11 School
8.91,143 votes
Top season
Season 8
7.8avg
Binge time
4d 18h
163 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
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Seasons8

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 1 - 3 Seventeen Year Olds (1)
    6.5/10(1010 votes)

    S4:E1

    Hondo, his father Daniel Sr. and his teen charge Darryl confront the history of racial tension in Los Angeles between law enforcement and the Black community, through flashbacks to the city in 1992 following the Rodney King verdict. Also, the SWAT team pursues El Diablo’s scattered drug cartel hiding in the city and a Jihadist group detonating bombs in coordinated attacks,

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

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  2. S.W.A.T. Season 2 Episode 16 - Pride
    6.7/10(735 votes)

    S2:E16

    The SWAT team struggles to maintain peace on the eve of a Los Angeles LGBTQ pride festival after a hate crime sparks citywide anger that ignites further violence. As Chris grows anxious for her fellow LGBTQ community members calling for retribution, the festival reunites Commander Hicks with JP, his estranged gay son. Also, Street worries his mother will be sent back to prison after she fails to check in with her probation officer, and Deacon gets unexpected medical news regarding his newborn daughter.

    Director:Nina Lopez-Corrado
    Writer:Matthew Thomas Brown

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  3. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 5 - Fracture
    6.7/10(568 votes)

    S4:E5

    Hondo is conflicted when the mayor asks him to be the public face of a new outreach campaign meant to improve the LAPD's stature within the Black community. Also, the team's search for a lone bomber reminds Tan of a difficult chapter in his childhood, and Chris pushes herself even further to surpass Street and Tan in a SWAT leadership competition.

    Director:Oz Scott
    Writer:Munis Rashid

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  4. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 4 - Memento Mori
    6.8/10(572 votes)

    S4:E4

    The SWAT team searches for a rogue member of an extremist group planning to attack the memorial service of a famous musician who was outspoken about police brutality. Also, tension mounts between Hondo and Leroy, Darryl's father, when Leroy is released from prison early.

    Director:Douglas Aarniokoski
    Writer:VJ Boyd

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  5. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 3 - Pamilya
    7.1/10(1089 votes)

    S1:E3

    Newcomer Jim Street jeopardizes his spot on Hondo's team when he agrees to do a favor for his incarcerated mother that endangers his SWAT career. Also, the SWAT team searches for the ruthless mastermind behind a drug trafficking ring that forces immigrants to be mules. [also shown as S1:E4]

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Sam Humphrey

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  6. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 3 - The Black Hand Man
    7.1/10(535 votes)

    S4:E3

    Hondo is conflicted when Leroy, his incarcerated childhood friend and Darryl's father, asks him to speak on his behalf at a parole hearing. Also, SWAT helps the FBI track down a mob informant on the run from the crime family he is meant to testify against, and the team dynamic becomes complicated when Street and Tan sign up for a leadership competition Chris has been training months for.

    Director:Douglas Aarniokoski
    Writers:Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Matthew Thomas Brown

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  7. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 11 - Atonement
    7.1/10(498 votes)

    S6:E11

    The team participates in a joint task force with the FBI when a car bombing has ties to a terrorist group planning an attack in Los Angeles; a tragedy from Deacon’s past gives insight into the origins of his faith.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. S.W.A.T. Season 5 Episode 11 - Old School Cool
    7.1/10(449 votes)

    S5:E11

    Hondo and the team race to locate the hacker responsible for accessing LAPD's computers and revealing the identities of undercover officers; Street is forced to reckon with past misdeeds.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 12 - Addicted
    7.1/10(435 votes)

    S6:E12

    The SWAT team races to stop a gunman targeting rehab centers and those he considers responsible for his brother’s death. Also, Deacon is caught off guard when his wife, Annie, makes a parenting decision that has unexpected consequences for their daughter.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 2 - Cuchillo
    7.2/10(1252 votes)

    S1:E2

    Hondo and the SWAT team spread out across Los Angeles in pursuit of four escaped convicts, including a violent criminal Jessica helped bring to justice, before department rival Mumford and his team beat them to the collars. Also, Hondo’s new role as team leader is called into question when Street displays a flagrant disregard for SWAT protocol.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Craig Gore

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  11. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 7 - Homecoming
    7.2/10(918 votes)

    S1:E7

    When Hondo’s imprisoned childhood friend asks him to protect his son from gang violence, the favor brings SWAT into contact with a new local crime outfit. Also, when Luca’s grandfather, a SWAT legend, passes away, he struggles with his grief and a painful family secret.

    Director:John F. Showalter
    Writer:Alison Cross

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  12. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 13 - Fences
    7.2/10(700 votes)

    S1:E13

    Hondo and Jessica’s secret relationship comes to a crossroads when Michael Plank, the president of the police commission, discovers their affair. Also, when Hondo and the team assist with the federal investigation to bring in an undocumented fugitive, they find themselves at the center of a citywide immigration debate.

    Director:Alex Graves
    Writer:Sam Humphrey

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  13. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 8 - Crusade
    7.2/10(577 votes)

    S4:E8

    SWAT searches for a group of extremists carrying out coordinated attacks against local businesses. Also, Deacon and his wife, Annie, find themselves at odds when Annie wants to enroll their daughter, Lila, in private school.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Sarah Alderson

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  14. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 4 - Maniak
    7.2/10(500 votes)

    S6:E4

    When a convicted killer makes a prison break, the team works to protect the people on his hit list; Hondo unexpectedly crosses paths with an old flame.

    Director:Cherie Gierhart
    Writer:Kent Rotherham

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  15. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 15 - Local Heroes
    7.2/10(498 votes)

    S4:E15

    The team tries to track down a media-savvy crew of bank robbers who consider themselves a band of modern-day Robin Hoods, funneling stolen cash back into their struggling neighborhood, before the mission turns deadly. Also, Hondo and Deacon clash over how to deal with a group of cops' racist views.

    Director:Jann Turner
    Writer:Matthew Thomas Brown

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  16. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 5 - Unraveling
    7.2/10(487 votes)

    S6:E5

    When the team stops the flash-mob robbery of a department store, they fear the crime was designed to distract from something more sinister – murder. Also, Hondo enlists Street to connect with Powell after she ignores orders in the field.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 8 - Guacaine
    7.2/10(472 votes)

    S6:E8

    When violence erupts at a popular food truck festival, the team must contend with a deadly cartel determined to recover a large lost drug shipment at any cost.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 19 - Bunkies
    7.2/10(325 votes)

    S6:E19

    The team races to uncover the identities of kidnappers holding a prison guard's family hostage; Tan is faced with a difficult personal decision.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot
    7.3/10(1697 votes)

    S1:E1

    A locally born SWAT sergeant, former Marine Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, is newly tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.

    Director:Justin Lin
    Writers:Shawn Ryan, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

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  20. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 12 - Contamination
    7.3/10(769 votes)

    S1:E12

    Hondo and the SWAT team join forces with the FBI on a manhunt to find members of a militia group planning a domestic terror attack by weaponizing cyanide. Also, as Jessica’s new police initiatives with Michael Plank, president of the police commission, move forward, she braces herself for the negative impact the plans could have on her relationships within the department.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Robert Wittstadt

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  21. S.W.A.T. Season 5 Episode 1 - Vagabundo
    7.3/10(723 votes)

    S5:E1

    In the aftermath of his decision to speak out in the press, Hondo retreats to a quiet town in Mexico to reassess his life and professional future, only to find himself reluctantly drawn into one local family's fight for justice.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. S.W.A.T. Season 2 Episode 6 - Never Again
    7.3/10(652 votes)

    S2:E6

    The SWAT team tries to determine the next diamond dealer to be robbed by a group of highly organized thieves executing heists across downtown Los Angeles. When Hondo is emotionally affected by a suspect’s death during the case, he seeks comfort from his mother. Street worries that his SWAT training academy instructor has a personal vendetta against him. Chris contemplates an unorthodox relationship offer from the new woman she’s dating.

    Director:Marc Roskin
    Writer:Craig Gore

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  23. S.W.A.T. Season 2 Episode 8 - The Tiffany Experience
    7.3/10(628 votes)

    S2:E8

    The SWAT team races to find a stalker pursuing a social media star, after the online celebrity's dangerous admirer turns a fan event into a shootout that endangers Jessica.

    Director:Guy Ferland
    Writer:VJ Boyd

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  24. S.W.A.T. Season 6 Episode 1 - Thai Hard
    7.3/10(596 votes)

    S6:E1

    During a trip to Bangkok to train alongside Thailand’s premiere S.W.A.T. team, Hondo and his former military buddy Joe (guest star Sean Maguire) stumble upon a wide-ranging heroin operation with ties to Los Angeles and find themselves on the run from a powerful drug kingpin.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Sarah Alderson

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  25. S.W.A.T. Season 4 Episode 2 - Stakeout (2)
    7.3/10(574 votes)

    S4:E2

    The SWAT team acts as a domestic surveillance unit for the CIA to confirm whether an international crime lord has resurfaced in Los Angeles after being off-grid for years. Also, Tan’s mother, Chan Fei, is a victim of racial discrimination, and Hondo encounters his ex-girlfriend Nichelle, for the first time since their breakup.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Kent Rotherham

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Worst Episodes Summary

"3 Seventeen Year Olds (1)" is the worst rated episode of S.W.A.T.. It scored 6.5/10 from 1,010 votes. Directed by Billy Gierhart and written by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, it aired on November 11, 2020. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Pride".

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