S.W.A.T. Season 8 Ending Explained: What “20-Squad Stays Liquid” Really Means

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for S.W.A.T. season 8, episodes 21 and 22.The two-hour S.W.A.T. series finale brought two impactful and tense cases for 20-Squad to solve, with one of them putting lives directly on the line. Meanwhile, decisions needed to be made in terms of career and finances, while the series had to find a way to bring closure when it’s clear there was more to the story. While 20-Squad saved the day to close out S.W.A.T. season 8, it’s clear that lives go on and work still needs to happen.

There were some major moments for various characters throughout the two episodes, bringing a little bit of closure considering there is no S.W.A.T. season 9. Gamble (Annie Ilonzeh) needed to deal with her two families, while Deacon (Jay Harrington) and Tan (David Lim) had some big decisions to make for their futures. On top of that, news came out about a S.W.A.T. spinoff starring Shemar Moore, and it leads to a lot of questions about what to expect in the future.

Gamble Struggles To Be A Good Sister And A Good Cop In S.W.A.T. Season 8, Episode 21

Gamble Makes A Questionable Choice

Annie Ilonzeh as Devin Gamble in SWAT wearing black top

In the S.W.A.T. series finale, Gamble turns to her brother for a tip. It turns out that a car thief from Hondo (Shemar Moore) and Deacon’s past was still alive, despite being believed to be dead for 10 years. As Gamble’s brother is in the car business, he may have heard of something. He lies to her, saying that he has nothing to do with it, but she finds one of the high-end stolen cars in his backyard. The newest member of 20-Squad has a big decision to make, as she realizes she will need to arrest her brother.

As much as she’d tried to keep her two families separated, that wasn’t going to be possible, so she’d put in for a transfer to Oakland.

S.W.A.T. Targeted In The Series Finale Explained

HQ Becomes The Main Target In The S.W.A.T. Series Finale

In S.W.A.T. season 8, episode 22, 20-Squad learned that a group of Russian mobsters had planted explosive devices all around Los Angeles overnight in an attempt to break one of their guys, Dmitri Rykov, out of prison. Hondo quickly realized that it wasn’t a prison break at all, however. Finding out that Rykov was going to be traded for a U.S. prisoner in Russia, Hondo surmised that he had some valuable information that put the Russian mob at risk.

Exclusive: S.W.A.T. star Annie Ilonzeh, who plays Devin Gamble, gives a hopeful update about the future of the freshly canceled CBS procedural.

How Deacon’s Unexpected Wealth Impacts Hondo’s Team

Deacon Buys A Meaningful Gift For Himself And Others

Deacon (Jay Harrington) looking worried in SWAT.

During the beginning of the S.W.A.T. season 8 and series ending, the team learned that Deacon had donated $50,000 to a charity. Deacon’s signing bonus for the mall security job was sizable enough to pay off the mortgage, fill up the children’s college funds, and donate to worthy causes. Of course, 20-Squad wanted Deacon to use some of the money on himself, but that’s not the type of guy that he is.

He chose to buy Rolex watches for all members of the team, with each one engraved with “20-Squad, Stay Liquid.”

He eventually did find a way to make a purchase worthy of his aims, and it wasn’t just for him. He chose to buy Rolex watches for all members of the team, with each one engraved with “20-Squad, Stay Liquid.” My only complaint is that there wasn’t a mention of watches for Luca, Chris, and Street, who are still beloved members of the team, but it was still a nice moment

Tan Gets A New Job Offer (But He Doesn’t Initially Want It)

Tan’s Task Force Is Shut Down

David Lim as Tan looking intensely while in his gear in S.W.A.T.

Unfortunately for Tan, his task force was shut down in the series finale, but not because he was doing a bad job. Hicks explained to Tan that the criminal his squad was after had been caught, meaning there was no longer a need for the task force after all. These routine traffic stops are always going to put task forces to shame, it would appear.

CBS may have canceled S.W.A.T., but there are ways to keep the franchise going. Victor Tan is the best character to lead a spinoff series.

How S.W.A.T. Season 8 Finale Sets Up Season 9 & Hondo’s Spinoff

It’s Not The End of S.W.A.T.

After the release of the S.W.A.T. series finale, news broke that there would be a surprise S.W.A.T. spinoff starring Shemar Moore. In the spinoff, Moore will reprise his role of Hondo as he comes out of forced retirement to lead the next generation of officers. The S.W.A.T. finale certainly set some of this up, showing that Hondo remains focused on bringing new team members up through the ranks and supporting their growth. The downside is that Hondo wasn’t forced into retirement in the finale, so that would need to be explained at the start of the spinoff.

S.W.A.T. may have just delivered the last Miko-centric episode ever. While it was fun, one change could have offered the best character development.

At the same time, the finale set up a potential S.W.A.T. season 9, by making it clear that there is still work to be done. This series finale didn’t completely close off all arcs, with nobody leaving the team or ending up severely injured. We get to see Miko, Powell, Gamble, Tan, Deacon, and then Hondo leave HQ to work on another case, allowing for any of them to come back in their own spinoff in some way or for the S.W.A.T. to be revived in the near future.