Street’s S.W.A.T. Sendoff Ends With Sweet Twist — Read Alex Russell’s Farewell Message, Grade the Episode

The following contains spoilers from the March 8 episode of CBS’ S.W.A.T.

S.W.A.T. showrunner Andrew Dettmann had promised a “proper curtain call” for Alex Russell as well as Kenny Johnson, both of whom did not return as series regulars for this final season of the CBS cop drama. And I think we can all agree that Street, for starters, got a really fitting sendoff in the second of this Friday’s night’s two episodes.

“Looking at [Season 7] being the final 13 [episodes], we wanted to give everybody their proper curtain call,” Dettmann told TVLine ahead of the season, “so the episodes that we have for [Russell and Johnson] are really focused on their characters and the evolution of their storylines.”

“I’m really excited about the episodes we have for [Street and Luca],” Dettmann added. “The idea for the final 13 was that, if this was the end for us, nobody feels like they were underserved.”

In “The End of the Road,” the fifth of S.W.A.T.’s final 13 episodes, Street was temporarily working with his former boss Bruce Jones’ team, 30-Squad down in Long Beach, when they came across evidence that a dormant biker gang leader was plotting a (violent) comeback. Worse, said biker had fortified his gang with armor-piercing bullets, stolen from evidence by a compromised LAPD officer.

Street and Jones traveled to L.A. proper to work with Hondo & Co. to deduce the biker’s grand plan, and stop him before the armor-piercing artillery could be used. Thanks to a tracking tag that the compromised LAPD officer had attached to the ammo, 20-Squad got a bead on where the bullets had been stored. But when the two squads arrived there, a brief firefight broke out, and Jones was felled.

Street kept an angry 30-Squad — including, namely a version of his old self named Carnegie — from going off the rails in the wake of their team leader being shot. And when all was said and done, 30-Squad and 20-Squad teamed up to stop the revived biker gang in its tracks, with Street himself, and by himself, taking down the Big Bad.

Arriving back at S.W.A.T., Street learned from Hicks that Jones did not survive surgery. He then took it upon himself to inform Carnegie and 30-Squad. In the episode’s penultimate scene, Street waited for Hondo by the boxing ring, to inform his mentor that he felt a need to use all that he had learned over the years to step up and lead 30-Squad. Hondo agreed, and accepted a warm hug from his Padawan.

Street hoped for an Irish goodbye, asking Hondo to tell the others he had left, but Tan caught up to him in the parking lot. The two spoke of how they started as rivals for Hondo’s attention back in the day, only to instead become best friends.

Before peeling off on his bike, Street reminded Tan that they’ll still see each other around Los Angeles — including at his and Chris’ upcoming “engagement party.” As Tan launched into a double take, Street asked, “Just don’t tell anybody — especially Chris!” Meaning, he has plans to imminently propose.

In a recent Instagram post following TVLine’s breaking of the news of his Season 7 status change, Russell shared, “I’m so very thankful for having had the opportunity to bring Jim Street to life and for having shared this incredible experience with my SWAT family – it’s been a blast. All of us at SWAT are forever grateful to each and every fan for making our amazing job possible. I know in this final season, we’ll give you the grand finish you deserve.”

What did you think of Alex Russell and Street’s S.W.A.T. sendoff?

Want scoop on S.W.A.T., or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!