Is Jay Harrington Leaving 'S.W.A.T.' Before the Finale? (Exclusive Sneak Peek)
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Will another member of 20-Squad bite the dust on this Friday’s episode of S.W.A.T.? So far, in the seventh and final season of the series, two team members have moved on.
Alex Russell, who plays Jim Street, was the first to leave when Long Beach Police Department’s Barry Jones (Brian Letscher), the head of the 30-Company S.W.A.T. team, was killed during an apprehension and Street was asked to replace him.
Then, Kenny Johnson, who plays Dominique Lucca, was forced into retirement after getting shot while trying to stop a jewelry store burglary while off duty. He took three bullets and lived to tell the tale, but one of the bullets caused him permanent nerve damage in his dominant arm and he would never again be able to carry a weapon. It was office work or retirement and Lucca opted for retirement.
Related: Kenny Johnson on How He’s Being Written Out of S.W.A.T.
Tonight, on the “Family Man” episode, the SWAT team faces off with a family of doomsday preppers barricaded inside their fortress of a home, and Deacon (Jay Harrington) finds himself at the center of the storm. Then Hondo (Shemar Moore) and Deacon have a confrontation when Hondo learns from his wife Nichelle (Rochelle Aytes) that Deacon is planning to retire.
It goes like this:
“Hey Deac,” Hondo says. “I know this isn’t the best time but something has been bugging me all morning. Annie [Bre Blair] told Nichelle that you’re retiring. So, it wasn't a misunderstanding? You’re leaving SWAT?”
Deacon was caught unawares. It was a conversation that he and Annie had had because now that she’s working fulltime, she needs Deacon to help more with childcare and his job on SWAT gets in the way of that, and he had promised her that it was her time. He could retire from S.W.A.T. and just run the security firm where he moonlights.
“It’s complicated,” Deacon says. “It’s something that Annie and I talked about before Luca got shot.”
Related: Shemar Moore Says in His Heart, Despite Being Canceled, He's Ready for More Seasons of S.W.A.T.
Hondo pushes, “So, this is something you’ve been thinking about for a while?”
Deacon admits it. “Yeah. I know this is all bad timing, but I wanted to honor my promise to Annie, but then with the uncertainty of Luca’s recovery, I put off saying something.”
“Deacon, we are family,” Hondo points out.
“I didn’t want to burden you with losing another team member,” Deacon says. “God, I hate thinking I’ve created another problem you have to solve.”
“Are you staying?” Hondo asks again.
Deacon gives Hondo a pained look but doesn’t answer.
“Then it’s something I’ve still got to deal with,” Hondo says.
But by the end of the episode, Deacon does give Hondo his official notice. First, he apologizes to Hondo explaining that he didn’t want him to hear from anyone else that he was retiring.
"That’s not what had me thrown,” Hondo answers. “You were on this team when I joined. I don’t know what 20-Squad looks like without you on it.”
But Deacon, having made up his mind, says “S.W.A.T. has been the priority in my life for a long time. It’s time to make a change.”
So saying, Deacon gives Hondo a couple of weeks to help make the transition, but having already lost Luca and Street, is S.W.A.T. even S.W.A.T. if one more team member leaves?
This storyline was written before S.W.A.T. was picked up for its eighth season. It may be too late for Deacon to reverse his decision as a result, but it seems so simple that he and Annie should just hire a nanny!
S.W.A.T. airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, next day on Paramount+
