SWAT Season 3: Will Luca be able to return to the field?

"Knockout" - 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, on S.W.A.T., Wednesday, March 11 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Former professional boxer Laila Ali guest stars as herself. Bill Bellamy guest stars as Jackie Shaw, a professional boxing promoter. Pictured (L-R): Kenneth "Kenny" Johnson as Dominique Juca. Photo: Best Possible Screengrab/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"Knockout" - 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, on S.W.A.T., Wednesday, March 11 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Former professional boxer Laila Ali guest stars as herself. Bill Bellamy guest stars as Jackie Shaw, a professional boxing promoter. Pictured (L-R): Kenneth "Kenny" Johnson as Dominique Juca. Photo: Best Possible Screengrab/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Luca failed part of his test to return to the field in SWAT Season 3, Episode 16. Is this the end for him or will he make it back?

SWAT Season 3, Episode 16 has put the career of one of our own on the line, and not through a fault of his own. Luca failed part of the fitness test required to get him back in the field. Is this the end of the road?

At the very start of the episode, we were caught up to date with Luca’s situation. He failed the run part of the test, which isn’t all that surprising. He had hip surgery, so naturally, he’s going to have to get fitter to get back with his team. The problem is if he fails again, he’s off SWAT completely. He needs to give himself time to recover.

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That is something that came up. Luca wants to get straight into the test again. There’s another one in just a few days, and he’s sure he’s ready. Hicks isn’t so sure. Hicks wants to make sure Luca definitely is ready to avoid failing.

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Is this the end of the road?

Are the writers setting us up to say goodbye to Luca? I don’t think so. What I think the show is doing is making a note that not everyone just bounces back from an injury.

When we learned Luca was out with a hip injury and needed surgery, Deacon made it clear that not everyone is able to bounce back. Age has to be taken into consideration. It’s harder for someone Deacon or Luca’s age to just go back to the standard they were when they had the injury.

This storyline we have now was foreshadowed back in late 2019. It’s clear that there was a plan to tell a story about recovery. And it’s something that not many TV crime dramas will focus on.

If you look at Chicago PD, Halstead was quickly allowed back to work after being shot in the shoulder. It’s not the first time that a serious injury has led to a character just bouncing back. Heaven forbid that we have a real story about getting through the recovery process, and I appreciate SWAT for telling it.

So, no, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Luca. I don’t think he’s going to end up off the team. We’re just going to get to see the recovery process and how frustrating it can be.

In the next episode, Luca is going to want to get out in the field. He’s going to argue with Hicks about being in the field when his team—his friends—are at risk. This is a part of recovery not usually shown, but we’ll get it with Luca. After that, I think we’ll find out that he managed to pass his fitness test after all.

What do you hope to see for Luca’s recovery storyline? Are you worried that he’ll leave the team? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

SWAT airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.