Monday, November 20, 2017

Hawaii Five-0 - Kau ka 'ōnohi ali'i i luna


A cop, a police cadet, and a former head of the Yakuza walk into a bank. "Kau ka 'ōnohi ali'i i luna" offers some unusual pairings as circumstances put Junior (Beulah Koale) and the recently-returned Adam Noshimuri (Ian Anthony Dale) as McGarrett's (Alex O'Loughlin) back-up after the police cadet notices something suspicious at a local bank. Heading into the bank during a robbery in progress, the threesome are too late to catch the robbers, who blow their way out through the vault, but as McGarrett follows underground the pair provide support topside.

There's an insane lack of communication between Five-0 in this episode. McGarrett having limited access under the tunnels would make sense (if it didn't magically appear just when he needed it). Jerry (Jorge Garcia) sends Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Grover (Chi McBride) to the bank (despite both the criminals and McGarrett being long gone) and makes no effort into getting them closer to the actual chase in which McGarrett shoots down a bank robber dressed as a cop, mistakenly believing he's killed an officer in the line of duty (which, again, simple logic - like say a fingerprint identification - would have proved the truth long before the "twist").

While entertaining at times, "Kau ka 'ōnohi ali'i i luna" is a pretty dumb episode. Even the B-story of Tani helping her idiotic brother avoid getting picked up in a drug raid (and Grover covering for her) is problematic. Adam's return, without his wife, feels a bit like the show is sticking it to its missing stars for walking away in an attempt to turn fan anger back on the actors. Either way, it's an odd choice for Adam to return and suddenly be a cop (I think he's even wearing a badge in one scene!), especially as it doesn't seem like the show has a place for him going forward.

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