Everyone’s favorite Hawaiian law enforcement team is back for its milestone tenth season. This show is the reimagined version of the original Hawaii Five-0, which ran from 1968 to 1980, and so far, its reintroduction has done exceedingly well. Still, it’s hard to keep up the hype for a show that’s been on for a decade, especially with all the shows, old and new, that premiere each year. But if the Season 10 premiere ‘Ua ‘eha Ka ‘ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe’ is anything to go by, we’re still in for some serious island fun this season.
Bromance is still in the air for Steve (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danno (Scott Caan), complete with their famous bickering and bantering. In this instance, Danno’s constant comments regarding Steve’s dating skills gets him cut off from both Steve and his date: no calls, no texts, nothing. If you know Danny, you know how well he can take this.
As one of the driving forces of the show, the chemistry between Steve and Danno is still running strong and hasn’t been corrupted in any way to change its flow. While their argument in this particular episode was a little ridiculous (Danny was a tad too invasive), it’s still in good nature and it remains a quirky yet adorable element to the show’s content.
Plus, on top of Steve’s dating skills, Danny makes fun of Steve’s age (notably when he mentions Steve could’ve made a perilous jump ten years before). It’s true: our Hawaiian heroes are aging. In some cases, this makes their famous “carguments” sound more like snippets from “Grumpy Old Men.” Steve, who has many of the stunts in the show, may struggle with the effects of aging and the subsequent limit of his physical capabilities this season, which could inspire interesting “carguments” and other such disagreements between Steve and Danno throughout this season.
The element of the buddy-cop relationship between Steve and Danno has transpired into something akin of a Riggs and Murtaugh kind of relationship, in which one another’s families become their own and they share every personal detail of their lives with the other. Nothing is off limits, which sometimes creates a boundary problem but is otherwise cherished by the two men.
The show’s longevity is due to the relationship between Steve and Danny as well as its action, its sense of “Ohana” (family), its Hawaiian location and its intriguing storylines. The part that may be getting old is the constant tragedy and misfortune in the characters’ lives. Everyone deserves a little happiness, don’t they? However, in true police procedural dramas, this is a given component – it it comes with the package.
In the meantime, we were left with a cliffhanger regarding the fallout from the shooting in the Season 9 finale. As it turns out, Jerry (Jorge Garcia) was shot, but flash-forward two weeks later and he’s going to make it. Throughout ‘Ua ‘eha Ka ‘ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe’ it’s expected that once he makes a full recovery he’ll come back to work, but the audience is left with a surprise twist when Jerry announces he’s stepping back to write a novel instead.
Overall, it’s kind of disappointing how relatively little time was spent on Jerry, considering the drama that surrounded the shooting. Plus, more time should have been spent to give us more of an insight as to how and why Jerry decided to step back from Five-0. As it is, the show is simply writing him out.
When you have a show that’s been on as long as Five-0 has, it’s more likely than not that casting will change and members will come and go. Considering how long Jerry’s been around and his significance on the show, we would’ve expected a little more by way of honorable exits.
Still, Jerry’s presence was left open-ended: it’s very possible that he’ll be back in future episodes. Take for instance Farrah Fawcett from “Charlie’s Angels”, Shelley Long on “Cheers” or more recently Jim Beaver on “Supernatural”. Each of their characters returned in later seasons (notably Beaver’s character, who was killed off). Perhaps therein lies the reason for the brief goodbye of a beloved character. Goodbye for the moment, but not forever.
With Jerry’s departure, Quinn Liu (Katrina Law) seems to be a new addition to the Five-0 team. She’ll be sticking around to help with a case, but it could very well become permanent. Season 10 will no doubt be uncovering her past and giving her obstacles to work through (as per usual in the police procedural drama genre).
In any case, what stuck out the most about this newcomer was the fact that she seems to resemble a young Steve McGarrett in personality. She likes to drive fast. She’s tough and has a military background. She gets injured but insists it’s a graze and wants to continue with the case. All things Steve is known for.
It seems the show is trying too hard to give Steve a mini-me. Quinn is not exactly like him, but it may be a little close for comfort. While it could be compelling to see Steve meet his match (and try to keep up with her in some instances, referring to his age limiting his abilities), it also seems like a touch-much.
The entire cast as it is has a little too much in common and have already fallen into portions of stereotypical backgrounds that come with characters on police procedurals. Family dysfunction, past hurts, and haphazard careers that include insubordination (Quinn and Tani have this in common) have already been done, but we’re willing to see if Quinn will bring anything new to the table.
Speaking of Quinn’s resemblance to Steve, ‘Ua ‘eha Ka ‘ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe’ as an episode itself has a strong resemblance to past seasons: specifically Season 1, generating nostalgia within those of us that have been watching (or catching up) since the beginning. Take, for instance, Quinn’s initial meeting with Steve and Danny, with gguns drawn, arguments about who is going to lower their weapon first, etc. It echoes Steve’s and Danny’s first meeting in Season 1 inside the garage where the two engaged in a standoff of sorts. Even Danny remarked in this episode that he was feeling a sense of déjà vu in this instance.
Not to mention the return of the infamous “Champ” box, which Steve discovered in the very first episode that contained all the evidence his recently murdered father had on Steve’s mother’s supposed murder. At the end of ‘Ua ‘eha Ka ‘ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe’, an unknown someone is placing a bomb inside, which will surely lead to another pain-filled storyline for Steve this season. Still, we’re interested, and we appreciated the throwback.
For those wondering, yes, it’s still worth it to hang on to this series a decade later. It’s still got all the action: ‘Ua ‘eha Ka ‘ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe’ featured every Monster Jam fan’s dream of a monster truck running over cars in an epic getaway scene. Rest assured, you can still count on unusual tactics when it comes to car chases, fighting sequences and bad-guy operations.
Today’s police procedural is updated using various methods. In this case, the reimagined Five-0 incorporates current trends, including music and technology, in their episodes. Furthermore, the show incorporates island life, giving Five-0 a more unique setting by integrating local culture and language (most notably in each episode’s title, which is in Hawaiian, and which is also translated to English). Hawaii Five-0 occasionally pays homage to throwback episodes of its predecessor as well, further adding to its intrigue.
There’s a lot of nostalgia for seasons past here. A look back to Season 1 is most significant thus far, referring to its humble beginnings with echoes of Steve and Danny’s first standoff meeting when the two meet Quinn to the reappearance of the infamous “Champ” box that was Steve’s biggest mystery, and angst, in the first season. A new inclusion to the cast, who seems to have Five-0 potential in a military background and an obvious resemblance to Steve’s personality, will likely introduce a new dynamic yet manage to stay in sync with the rest of the team. Furthermore, we can look forward to more Tani and Junior will-they or won’t-they moments to keep fans engrossed.
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