SWAT came back after a couple of weeks off with answers about Dominique Luca. How did the series write him out?
Caution: This post contains major spoilers from SWAT Season 7, Episode 7
We knew the Friday, April 5 episode was going to be the last for Kenny Johnson. With the way the previous episode ended, we just didn’t know if it would be through death or being medically forced out of the series.
The previous episode ended with Luca being shot in the street by three assailants robbing a jewelry store. We picked up at the start of the new episode with Luca in surgery. Hondo and the team gathered to wait for news of whether he would make it through or not, but things didn’t sound great. By the time the paramedics got there, Luca had lost so much blood that they couldn’t find a pulse.
Luca wasn’t killed off in SWAT’s final season
The good news is that SWAT didn’t go the route of killing Luca off. I’m sure there would have been outrage from fans considering he is one of the favorites and he has only been in a couple of episodes of the final season.
Luca pulled through surgery, and there was hope that he would make a full recovery to return to action. This was where we eventually got the bad news. The nerve damage in Luca’s shoulder was so severe that he wouldn’t make a full recovery.
Hicks offered Luca a choice. He could retire, or he could end up supervising. His experience as a SWAT member would be invaluable to others.
In the end, Luca chose to retire. He couldn’t sit behind a desk and hear of everyone else out in the field. He has no idea what he’ll do now, but he couldn’t bare being in the LAPD and not driving Black Betty.
Luca’s retirement parade was a fitting exit
We don’t like to see our favorites medically taken out of their dream job, but this was a fitting moment for Luca. His whole life has been about SWAT, and we got a chance to see him question everything. What will he do now?
This is something Tan also wondered. Luca has devoted everything to SWAT. What angered Tan was that they all know that being on the job is dangerous and one call could be their last, but they don’t expect it in their civilian day.
The entire storyline makes it clear that any day could be their last. Something that Hondo shared was that the birth of his daughter Vivian changed his whole view on the world. This moment doesn’t have to be the end of Luca’s life or dreams. He just has to figure out what else he wants to do. It’s a lesson that we can all learn from.
There was a beautiful moment in the parade as Hicks shared the three generations of Lucas that have been in SWAT. This isn’t just the end of Luca’s career, but the end of an era. And that’s how we feel about the series. In a way, this storyline for Luca is a way for all of us to start coming to terms that the show is ending.
One thing I will say is that I love when shows get to go out on a high. As much as I would have loved to see another season of this one, SWAT is definitely ending on a high.
SWAT airs on Fridays at 8/7c on CBS.