S.W.A.T.: How did Luca’s story end as Kenny Johnson exits?

The seventh and final season of S.W.A.T. has delivered plenty of dramatic moments, including a shocking murder attempt in the premiere.

More recently, Kenny Johnson’s Officer Dominique Luca’s fate was left up in the air after he was gunned down in one of the series’ most harrowing scenes to date.

CBS aired plenty of promos that made us think we’d be tuning in to say goodbye to him as he succumbs to injuries, but the show took things in a different direction.

Initially, we learned that he survived the attempt on his life, but following a multi-week time jump, Johnson’s final arc on the show kicked into high gear.

Luca was desperate to recuperate and return to work, but one phone call changed everything.

His doctor reached out to say that the bullet in his shoulder had caused irreversible nerve damage, meaning that his career had been brought to a premature conclusion.

Luca didn’t consider desk duty

While desk duty was possible, Luca conceded that the best way forward for him was to retire.

And so began Johnson’s final hour with the hit drama series. It was emotional, shocking, and, most importantly, satisfying.

Saying goodbye to any beloved character isn’t easy, but there were some concerns when it emerged that Johnson was demoted to a recurring player for the final season.

Now that his final arc has played out, it made sense to do it before the series finale because concluding all of these storylines will be difficult.

The good news is that we’re getting an ending. The show’s future was up in the air a year ago until CBS canceled it after six seasons.

Thanks to fan demand, the network changed course and picked up a truncated final season to air this year.

Could S.W.A.T. return for Season 8?

Shemar Moore, who has headlined the show since its 2017 premiere, recently hinted that there’s a chance S.W.A.T. could return if the numbers are strong.

Many canceled CBS shows have returned, including Criminal Minds, which got a successful reboot in 2022.

The reboot’s second season is set to premiere later this year, and Moore isn’t ruling out a return down the line because he was on that show many years ago.

As for S.W.A.T., the series is now wrapping up all of the storylines, but we expect some to be left open-ended in the event that the show gets a last-minute pickup elsewhere.

S.W.A.T. airs Fridays at 9/8c on CBS. Episodes are available to stream on Paramount+.