Warning! This article contains spoilers for On Call.While highlighting how Harmon and Diaz grow as individuals during their team-up as mentor and student, respectively, On Callalso shows how the two characters evolve together as they set out to take down East Barrio and Smokey. In many ways, On Call is reminiscent of David Ayer's Jake Gyllenhaal-starring action thriller, End of Watch. Like the David Ayer movie, Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf's On Call focuses on the everyday challenges two police officers, Harmon and Diaz, face while attempting to resolve crimes and maintain peace in their neighborhood.
Although Harmon and Diaz have an overarching mission, which involves catching a man who killed a police officer, the primary appeal of their story comes from realism in their day-to-day crime-solving endeavors. Towards the final moments of On Call, Harmon and Diaz gradually face the dire consequences of catching the killer after they find themselves in the crosshairs of his gang. However, despite facing many odds, the two manage to save the day while learning a lot about themselves and each other.
Why Harmon Restarts Diaz's Probation In On Call's Ending
She Realizes He Is Not Ready For The Job
Towards the final moments of On Call, Diaz's probation period comes to an end, and he waits for Harmon to approve that he is fit for the job. Before Harmon can tell him how he performed as her student, Diaz also delivers an emotional speech about how she helped him become more of a man. His speech indicates he has grown immensely and learned a lot by having Harmon as his mentor. However, to his dismay, Harmon concludes that he must restart his probation, implying that he is not yet ready to work alone as a police officer.
To ensure that history does not repeat itself and that Diaz understands the gravity of his decisions on the field, Harmon decides to take him through another round of training.
Even though Harmon appreciates that Diaz had an incredible learning experience while being under her wing, she realizes that he made many reckless decisions throughout his time as her student. Towards the end, he even defied orders and almost died while tracking down Smokey's daughter, which was unacceptable. Diaz's former student, Officer Maria Delgado, dies in the show's opening moments, making it hard for her to wonder if her training methods were effective or if she had failed her former trainer.
To ensure that history does not repeat itself and that Diaz understands the gravity of his decisions on the field, Harmon decides to take him through another round of training. She sees immense potential in him, but after his brush with doom, she realizes that she cannot simply let him pass without understanding the dire consequences of his actions. Therefore, she ensures he repeats his probation and trains under her again.
Why Diaz Returns Harmon's "Get Out Of Jail Free" Card In On Call's Ending
Diaz Understands Harmon's Motives & Appreciates Her
Harmon gives Diaz a "Get out of jail free" card in On Call's opening moments, claiming she gives it to all her trainees. It is her way of saying that her trainees will always get a second chance if they screw up. When Harmon makes Diaz repeat his probation, he initially feels betrayed and frustrated. However, when Harmon explains that she is only doing this to ensure his safety in the future, Diaz feels grateful about having her as his mentor. He realizes that by getting a second chance from her, he has used his "Get out of jail free" card.
Harmon, Diaz, & Koyama's Plan To Take Down East Barrio & Smokey Explained
Koyama Finds A Massive Lead That Helps Them Take Down Smokey
When Sergeant Lasman learns about the conflicts inside the East Barrio gang and its impact on innocent citizens, he resorts to extreme measures. He announces a "tactical alert," which involves arresting every person who has associations with the gang. By doing this, he hopes to prevent the gang members from harming innocent citizens through their internal warfare. Harmon strongly believes that Lasman is making a huge mistake. However, she finds a ray of hope when Sergeant Koyama tells her about his new leads surrounding Smokey's new deal.
Koyama discovers that a man who works at the airport secretly moves massive quantities of drugs for Smokey. After collecting enough evidence of his crimes, Koyama and his team break into his home and threaten him to help them catch Smokey. Once the man guides them to the location of the drug trade, they watch Smokey's daughter, Leona, and another woman carry out the pickup. However, things take a violent turn when rival members of the same gang attack Leona and the woman.
Amazon Prime Video's On Call walks through a compelling and realistic police procedural while also featuring memorable performances from cast members.
The sudden burst of violence prompts the police officers to get involved in the gunfight to ensure that Smokey does not leave the location. While Koyama, Harmon, and other officers get busy taking down members of the East Barrio, Diaz runs behind Leona. He even spots Smokey, but before he can catch him, Leona fires at him and nearly kills him before Koyama shoots her dead. When the conflict finally escalates, Harmon finds Smokey sitting in a nearby restaurant. After being gravely injured during the gunfight and also losing his daughter, Smokey surrenders.
Why Harmon's Transfer To Sergeant Koyama's Team Gets Rejected
Lieutenant Bishop Prevents The Transfer
Officer Harmon loves working with Sergeant Koyama and feels hopeful about the future when Koyama informs her that she might get transferred to his team soon. However, to her disappointment, Koyama later reveals that someone from the higher-ups canceled her transfer. Harmon instantly assumes that Sergeant Lasmon pulled some strings and prevented her transfer because he believes she previously got in the way of his promotion. As revealed in the show's early moments, Lasmon's partner had shoved Harmon, which prevented Lasmon's promotion and got his partner fired.
... Lasmon assures her that even if they do not see eye-to-eye, they are both noble police officers determined to serve justice
Although most officers believe Harmon filed an official complaint against Lasmon's partner, she tells Diaz she never did it. Assuming that Lasmon, too, wants revenge for the incident, Harmon confronts him for stopping her transfer. However, Lasmon assures her that even if they do not see eye-to-eye, they are both noble police officers determined to serve justice. With this, Harmon realizes that Lieutenant Bishop might have been responsible.
On Call's Cast & Characters
Actor
Role
Troian Bellisario
Tracy Harmon
Brandon Larracuente
Alex Diaz
Eriq La Salle
Sergeant Lasman
Lori Loughlin
Lieutenant Bishop
Rich Ting
Sergeant Tyson Koyama
Mac Brandt
Officer Barlowe
Lobo Sebastian
Smokey
Robert Bailey Jr.
Officer Holt
Annabella Didion
Leona
Ian Down
Maniac
When she asks Bishop why she canceled her transfer, Bishop reveals that she resorted to illegal methods to find Maniac's whereabouts. In an early scene from the series, Harmon had trusted Bishop by telling her how she found Delgado's killer's whereabouts. Unfortunately, for her, Bishop breaks her trust by weaponizing her mistake to terminate her promotion.
How Harmon & Diaz's Mission Gets Diaz's Brother In Trouble
Diaz's Brother Becomes An Easy Target
Harmon does a background check on Diaz's family before he becomes her student and learns that her brother is in prison for armed robbery. When she tells Diaz she knows about his brother, Diaz claims his brother ended up being at the wrong place at the wrong time, which got him into trouble. After Diaz and Harmon find Maniac's whereabouts, stop his human trafficking mission, and arrest him for murdering Delgado, many prisoners from the East Barrio gang turn against Diaz's brother and put a hit on him to seek revenge.
On Call is Dick Wolf's first series to follow a half-hour episode format.
Diaz's brother refuses to take police protection because he realizes it would put an even bigger target on his back. Therefore, Harmon decides to pull some strings and transfer him to a facility where no one from the East Barrio gang has been incarcerated. This ensures his safety and keeps him away from Maniac's men.
Why Harmon Changes Her Mind About Helping Her Sister
Harmon Realizes Only She Can Look Out For Her
When Diaz first asks Harmon about her sister, Harmon tells him that she retired from her duty after getting injured during a car chase. However, in the Amazon Prime Video detective series' episode 5, she reveals the truth about her sister by telling him how she got hooked on painkillers after the injury, which led to her experimenting with other drugs. As her addiction spiraled, she lost everything and started living on the streets. Despite previously giving up on her sister, Harmon is reminded of her responsibility towards her when she rescues a young boy's sister who overdosed at a party.
On Call has a total of eight episodes.
She realizes that even though she helped save the young boy's sister, she has not been looking out for her own sibling. Therefore, she arrives at the park where her sister usually hangs out and arrests her, hoping that staying in prison will help her get clean. However, Diaz comes up with a better solution and takes her to a safehouse that helps many like her rehabilitate.
How On Call Season 1's Ending Sets Up Season 2
Sergeant Lasman's Actions Could Lead To Chaos In Season 2
On Call ends on a conclusive note, where Harmon catches Delgado's killer and even manages to take down Smokey. However, the closing scene, where Diaz's probation restarts, marks the inception of a new journey for the central police duo. If On Call season 2 sees the light of the day, Diaz and Harmon could team up again and solve another series of crimes in their neighborhood. While they are at it, Harmon could teach Diaz new lessons about working as a police officer and, at the same time, learn something from him as well.
On Call's executive producer, Tim Walsh, is hopeful that the show will get a season 2 (via TV Insider).
Given how Harmon foresees that Lasman's "tactical alert" will have long-term consequences, season 2 could highlight how, even after Smokey's death, the rivalry and political powerplay in East Barrio continues. This would put immense pressure on Harmon and the entire Long Beach police department to bring an end to the gang's conflicts before innocent citizens are impacted. Although Harmon and Diaz will find themselves in even more dangerous situations in On Call season 2, it will give them the chance to grow both as individuals and as police officers.
On Call follows veteran training officer Traci Harmon and rookie Alex Diaz as they navigate the aftermath of a fellow officer's death and the complex politics of modern policing in Long Beach. The series highlights the challenges and dynamics within the department and on the city's streets.
Release Date
January 9, 2025
Cast
Troian Bellisario
, Brandon Larracuente
, Lori Loughlin
, Eriq La Salle
, Mathew Trent Hunnicutt
, Rich Ting
, Rich Ceraulo Ko
, Mac Brandt
, Rafael Cabrera
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon.
English (US) ·