SWAT delivered an intense and powerful episode that shone a light on the horrors of white supremacy. It ended in a devastating way.
The episode itself involved coordinated hate attacks. White supremacists attacked minority business owners, with the intention of starting a race war.
When you have a SWAT team that is mostly non-white, you know there’s going to be a showdown. And there was certainly a brilliant showdown, up until the very end. Tan was injured, but he’d survive. It was someone else who wouldn’t make it to the end.
Throughout the episode, we got a chance to see Chris and Ericka’s friendship blossom. The two are more than just colleagues, and I couldn’t help but praise the show for giving us this supportive female friendship on TV. And then the show threw us a curveball.
Who didn’t make it to the end of SWAT Season 4, Episode 8?
As Ericka looked at Tan’s injured leg, she stumbled back. It initially looked like she was just a little squeamish about the blood, but then we found out it was a lot worse.
Ericka told Chris that she thought she was hit too, and then just collapsed. The shot was to the chest, and it wasn’t one that she would survive.
The rule of deaths on TV is that they need to mean something to someone. They either need to be something big that the character killed off has been working up to or the death has a knock-on effect on another character. In this case, it’s all about Chris.
Chris and Ericka’s friendship is more than just the fact that they’re both the only females on SWAT (at least, from what we’ve seen). They are roomies. They have a lot in common. Most importantly, they are supportive of each other. From day one, they’ve had each other’s backs.
Losing Ericka is going to be like losing a sister.
Chris is currently already struggling with her life. She’s not moved forward in any part of her life, but Ericka offered her the support she needed. Will she now force her way forward to honor Ericka or is Chris going to take a step back?
What did you think of Ericka’s death on SWAT? What do you think it means for Chris? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
SWAT airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS. Catch up the following day on CBS All Access.