“He Kohu Puahiohio I Ka Ho’olele I Ka Lepo I Luna” was a bit slower in pace than usual, but I found no fault with that. Given the action-packed episodes we’ve had lately, it’s nice to take a step back and watch Five-0 handle simpler cases. Not to mention an old friend, former MI6 agent Harry Langford (Chris Vance), swooped in for a fun cameo.
I have to say I enjoyed the two main storylines this week. One featured the pursuit of a killer that was following the murders portrayed in an unpublished manuscript from last century and Harry Langford’s dilemma in which the actor he hired to portray him, Gabe (Jack Cutmore-Scott), for public appearances was kidnapped. Both were entertaining in their own way. Neither were overly complex or too in-depth, but sometimes it’s nice to see a police procedural, especially one that can be intense like Hawaii Five-0, show off its sense of humor and exhibit more of its light-hearted side.
One of the most significant aspects of the episode was finally witnessing Tani and Junior get together. After so much angst and delay between the two, Tani picked Junior up following his return and the two had a romantic rendezvous in Tani’s car, with the sun, beach and ocean in their view. Junior admits that he’s been dreaming about the moment of them being together on the beach since his departure, so it’s always nice to see aspirations come true. Their performances from then on were harmonious chemistry. The two have obviously reached a new level of happiness. Watching them interlace pinkie fingers while they watched the fireworks together was nothing short of adorable.
With this development finally on the horizon, I look forward to seeing what their official shift in relationship status will mean for the overall dynamic of the Five-0 team. I was surprised no one said anything regarding their behavior in this episode, but perhaps it’s something reserved for later. That, and Tani and Junior ended up separating from the rest of the team to help Harry while the others tracked down the literary killer, so likely they weren’t around long enough to observe the changes between the new couple. The thing is, sometimes these office romances tend to go down in flames, but Tani and Junior seem promising. Perhaps they could be the next Booth and Brennan from “Bones.” In terms of relationship status in the workplace, anyway.
Harry’s inclusion in the episode complemented everything else going on very well – we learn he’s recently published a best-selling novel, which has granted him a handsome payment from the publishing company that Steve and Danny appear to be jealous of. Nonetheless, clearly he means a lot to Steve and Danny, and it’s always nice to see a familiar face on the show, considering many recognizable faces have been killed on-screen over the years.
Then again, after Harry makes a payment to save Gabe’s life, he expects the money to be retrieved by a former flame in the Cayman Islands. When she takes the money for herself, obviously irked by Harry’s past behavior, all Harry can utter is a simple “Oh, dear.” It’s both hilarious and impressive that Harry took the loss so well. Though, given Harry’s nature, he’ll find a way to make the money back. Steve did offer him a spot on the Five-0 task force, but it seems that’s a little more fast-paced than what Harry has in mind.
Harry’s a brilliant man and a talented former agent, but even his own plans backfire on him sometimes. That was the other aspect of humor that was quite entertaining. It seems he must still have some cash elsewhere, given he rented a luxurious hotel suite in Oahu afterwards. Harry wouldn’t have given the 10 million away so easily if he didn’t have a back-up plan, or like he says, perhaps he just retains his taste for the “finer things in life”, regardless of what his bank account reads.
In addition to watching Tani and Junior get together, I also loved the moment that Harry relays to Junior to drive his rented Audi “like you stole it.” Despite becoming an author, Harry hasn’t lost his aptitude for action, adventure, or his skills acquired while in MI6. It’s like the old Harry making an appearance alongside the new bestselling-author Harry in a manner of speaking.
As a bookworm myself, I was intrigued by the killer’s choice in following the murders of a previously unpublished novel written by a famous fictional author named Maureen Townsend (Nicole Steinwedell), whom we briefly see in a flashback dated February 21, 1920. The author is long-gone, but her legacy runs strong thanks to a modern-day expert named Suzanne Ridge (Suzanne Cryer).
It wasn’t hard to figure out the identity of the culprits behind the murders. It’s not one of Five-0’s most complex cases, but it was a creative, albeit simple, one. All those murders as part of a publicity stunt? Granted, writers will do just about anything for press and success, but Suzanne and her assistant took things to extremes, killing innocent people and even staging an attack on Suzanne herself. Not to mention they tried framing it all on an innocent fan that paid for his love Maureen Townsend books with his life.The boat tied to Suzanne’s ankle was a nice touch, I might add, given its reference to one of the murders in the unpublished manuscript.
Suzanne Cryer’s performance was both interesting and mind-boggling. She played her character convincingly. Her character Suzanne is clearly obsessed with Maureen Townsend and crime, even pleased that she herself is initially a prime murder suspect, which befuddles Danny and Steve. Most people would be concerned, after all.
I appreciated seeing more of Steve’s and Danny’s bromance moments. Lately it seems they’re playing catch-up, given Danny’s absences or lack of appearances in other episodes the past few seasons. Danny doesn’t believe Steve has the patience to read a book, so they bicker about that, but even funnier, they fear they’ve broken Harry when their friend stares off into the distance having an entirely different conversation. Turns out he was talking to someone through an earpiece, but it’s still funny.
Considering Adam’s had a big ongoing storyline over having a double-life as a member of Five-0 and working undercover for the Yakuza, it was surprising to see him pushed aside somewhat this episode. Adam’s given his own storyline, separate from the team. Either that’s an indication of things to come, or the other storylines took too much time to focus on Adam.
In a way, it’s a nice break from the Adam drama. In others, it’s like Adam was pushed aside. I’m not sure how to interpret that, but the fact is, Adam gradually seems to be phasing out given his lifestyle choices, so it’s a good indicator of what’s to come.
Steve has a meaningful talk with him about how they’ve had tension lately, but bottom line, Steve knows Adam did what he did for good reasons and that he trusts him. The show has been providing plenty of drama between the characters for some time, which is a shift from the typical police procedural given the more personal nature of workplace relationships. I find it hard to believe that Steve trusts Adam, but there’s likely a good reason why he said that.
Perhaps Steve wants to trust him. Yet, it could also be Steve’s way of getting Adam to think he’s been entirely forgiven and that Steve is no longer suspicious, when that’s what Steve wants Adam to think so Steve can continue secretly investigating him. Whenever Steve has been crossed before, it’s usually not so easy to earn his trust back. I think it’s a ploy of some kind to get Adam to open up, or to at least give Adam room to mess up so Steve can catch him in the act.
Adam obeys Steve’s request to look into what happened to Endo, Siobhan’s former boyfriend that kidnapped her in “He Waha Kou O Ka He’e”, after Adam traded him for Siobhan. Adam starts looking at Kenji, who airily states that he put Endo, as well as Adam’s contact that we saw warning him in last week’s episode, on a plane to Japan.
Adam obviously investigates deeper, hacking into a camera out in the woods where he witnesses Kenji executing both men. Adam’s happy to finally have something on him, but he may not get to enjoy that victory for long given the masked men heading towards him. We won’t see the encounter, or at least the outcome of that encounter, until next week. It’d be frustrating to see that evidence disappear, as it would wrap up that storyline before it went on for too long.
In the flashback in which we see Maureen Townsend on February 21, 1920, it offered a look at what happened to her unpublished manuscript, but it also held a meaningful message spoken by Maureen herself, “sometimes you have to know when to let things die.” Of course she was referring to her character Deirdre Naismith, but I think it could be applied to Five-0.
The Five-0 characters often struggle with letting go of things. It looks like in the upcoming future they may have to make a choice regarding Adam. If Adam continues betraying them, they’ll have to let him go. Not leaving him to die, but perhaps letting their friendships or any bond they had with him die because he’s no longer the person he once was, which is the saddest truth of all.
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