LOVE this movie. As I was reading the above, something interesting occurred to me. Here Jake is about to be blasted in the face with a shotgun and it just so happens these gangbangers check his pockets and find the wallet of the 14 year old girl he saved earlier in the day. Who just so happens to be Smiley's cousin. That's a major coincidence that gets our hero out of a life and death situation. Which is something I've always been taught never to do. You can use coincidence to get your hero into trouble, not out. I stewed on it some more...and it occurred to me it's more thematic design at play here. Jake is a moral man, Alonzo not so much. Because of Jake's heroic, selfless actions throughout the day, he's able to survive imminent death. But Alonzo is corrupt to his core and as a result, isn't so lucky. KING KONG AIN'T GOT SHIT ON ME!

It's not a dramatic coincidence. It's the pay off of a plant. The girl's rescue early in the 2nd Act not only dramatizes the difference between Jake and Alonzo, it plants the reason he won't be killed by the gangbangers. His life isn't spared just because he's a good cop. Smiley realizes Jake is a good cop-- certainly not a bad cop like Alonzo. But Jake's general goodness isn't by itself a good enough reason for Smiley to spare his life. Then Jake's moral goodness becomes specific, becomes personal for Smiley. He discovers he's a good cop who saved his cousin from rape -- or worse. Even gangbangers have a code of honor. Even in the barrio, respect and loyalty to family are paramount values. It would violate Smiley's code of honor to kill the man who saved his cousin. Jake earned his stay from execution.

Spot on, pgronk. Payoff to a setup, not writers convenience they spare his life, but tied directly to Jake's earlier actions with the cousin.

I totally get that it’s a pay off of a plant. I just find it to be an awfully convenient coincidence. The girl he saves in early Act 2 just happens to be the cousin of the gangbanger paid to blow him away at the end of act 2. Like I said, coincidences are fine to get heroes into trouble, not to save them. But I feel like this is justified by the thematic premise the movie examines.