Birds of Paradise

Synopsis

Hawke pursues a human trafficker to rescue his nephew's stepmother.

Episode recap

The classic era ends here — though nobody on screen knows it. Hawke pursues a human trafficker to rescue his nephew's stepmother, a mission that braids the season's family thread through one final flight. "Birds of Paradise" closes three seasons of the original team: Hawke, Santini, Caitlin, Archangel, the hangar, the Lair, the Lady. When the series returned the following January, it would be on a different network, in a different country, with a mostly different cast — and this episode became, in retrospect, the farewell the original Airwolf never got to plan. As last flights go, it is quietly fitting: family first, always.

Transcript