This week’s Five-0 surprised me from the very start and kept me on my toes throughout with twists and turns galore. Well, it IS Five-0 after all. Never anything straight forward, that’s what makes it so much fun. Sarah Byrd wrote a great story filled with twists and turns and multiple story arcs that kept me entertained and guessing throughout the entire episode. Bikini clad thieves turned unintentional murderers, grieving wife turned ex-con out to break into a security firm’s system. Thinking the fake wife was working with the bikini girls only to find out she wasn’t. Kono undercover without much…..um….“cover”. Danny dealing with Reyes. Jerry being…. Jerry.

Right off the bat I was taken off guard. The only times I have ever heard the words “previously on Hawaii Five-0” was at the beginning of season premiere episodes, never in the middle of a season so it took me back for a second wondering what was going on. But it was a brilliant way to have more of Danny in this episode. This was the first episode filmed for the new season but it was also when Scott was in LA welcoming the birth of his new baby girl so he wasn’t available to film a great deal. Using the “previously” and the Season 1 flashback’s was a great way to not only help refresh everyone’s memory on the storyline but also adding screen time for Danny without adding filming time for Scott. It also helps any new viewers know a little bit more about who Matt is and how he left the island all those years ago. The best of both worlds.

     

     

I have said this before. Personally I don’t give a damn about Matt Williams. BUT I am loving this storyline so far. I loved how the first person Danny ran to after his altercation with Reyes was Steve. Steve trying and succeeding in talking Danny down for the moment when it seemed Danny was about to implode with anger and worry. Danny’s willingness to accept Steve’s advice on how to handle Reyes shows the trust he has in Steve’s judgment in this matter. I’m also loving how, so far, Season 5 has become the year of BAMF Danny. First that great gun clip swap in the premiere and now this. Going after a guy like Reyes with his fists may not be the smartest move but this is Danny’s family we’re talking about here. This is not out of character for Danny as I’ve seen some people say. This is the man who manhandled a city official in Season 1 when he had Rachel and Grace carjacked. This is the man who shot his ex-partner in the leg to find out where a kidnapped Grace was in Season 2. And this little altercation served a valuable purpose. Danny is now convinced that Reyes is not bluffing.

   

I am also really enjoying Danny being the great detective we have always known he is. He’s putting all the pieces together such as figuring out where Matt buried that bag of money. Although I’m not exactly sure how Matt accomplished that with the FBI on his tail nor how Danny was lucky enough to hit the exact spot where the bag was buried after only a few tries. But find it he did. Of course, I don’t for one moment think there is 18.5 million dollars in that bag. It looks way too small to hold that much cash and going by the promo for next week’s episode, Danny is in the process of trying to get his hands on more money. I suspect that Steve was right. Matt took money to help him stay off the radar but he didn’t take it all. He left some behind. But Reyes isn’t interested in getting SOME of his money back….he wants it all. Like I said, I really don’t care much about what happens to Matt but I am really enjoying this and I can’t wait to see the great scenes to come. I know Scott will act the hell out of them all and I’m really looking forward to that.

  

The crime of the week was a really good one because it ended up being two separate crimes. As usual with this show, I didn’t see that coming. Poor Nathan Wagner. Goes on vacation, takes a nice little tour of Waikiki and gets held up, not once but twice on the same bus before he’s shot dead. The fact that the thieves were surfer girls was the perfect opportunity to get Kono undercover on the beach. I know several guys who are eternally grateful to Sarah Byrd and the wardrobe department for this episode. I’d really love to know where Steve came up with that little red bit of dental floss they wanted Kono to wear. I think those guys I know would have preferred if Steve would have won that $5 bet! Of course, the suit she chose to wear was no disappointment either!

  

But great body aside (and this woman just had a baby not too long ago?!?!? Damn!) watching Kono surf again was a huge treat. That surfer girl take down was bad ass. We are so used to car chases this surf chase was a fun change of pace as was Kono going solo in the Blue Room. I love it when they let Kono do these interrogations. She is one tough cookie. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of that room with her!

 

I know we’re supposed to get an episode about Kono and how she got into surfing and I thought this was going to be the one. I’m happy it wasn’t. This episode was a great one for Kono and now I know we’ll be getting another one where we learn more about her mom and why Kono began surfing. More Kono is always great!

The twist of having the fake wife be the true bad guy was fun. When she broke into the house with the 2 remaining thieves and shot Wagner’s killer it was really hard to be sympathetic. Five-0 wasn’t either. Oh well….karma’s a bitch, ain’t it.

 

I hope I’m not in the minority but I am really enjoying Jerry on the show. I like the relationship he’s building with the team and his almost “hero worship” of Steve. His “Captain America” nickname from last week is telling. Jerry really looks up to Steve . That’s why Jerry was so hurt when Steve shot down his theory about the counterfeiters at the book store. Jerry’s face was pure “8 year old” when Steve didn’t believe him. The fact that he went ahead with his plan and brought Kamekona into it too shows how determined Jerry is to follow through with what he believes. The sit down between Jerry and Kame, the discussion about their pasts, Kame’s successful attempt to start a new life and Jerry’s determination not to end up like his dad… I just loved getting to know both these guys better. Although I’m not convinced putting a listening device in the spine of the book was such a bright idea.

   

I’m also really liking Dr. Shaw. She got to fly solo and really impressed the hell out of the guys. She was very pleased with herself too, as she had every right to be, especially when she knew right off the bat they were leery of her being on her own for the first time especially after Steve’s “all right kid, you’re up” . She’s going to be a great addition to the show. There is a murder every week but Max isn’t always in every episode. It’s nice to know that when Max can’t be there, Mindy can. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in future episodes. It was also wonderful to see our old friends Mamo and Charlie Fong.  I really wish they’d add them more often, especially Charlie.  Every time anyone ever mentions the lab I want to see Charlie.  He truly is a rock star and a good friend.

   

The writing for this episode was really top notch.  I loved Kono’s voice over as the girls are taken to Halawa.  It was excellent and it showed us a bit of how Kono herself feels about surfing. It tells a lot that while she hates what these girls did to sustain the lifestyle, she can understand why they would want to spend their lives surfing.

“For them, life as they knew it was simple. Waking up everyday, with a desire to catch a wave better than the day before. The adrenaline that you feel paddling out, knowing that at any time you could get the ride of your life. And then… there’s the rush of walking on water. Only gods can do that. Everything they did was to preserve that life. To surf is to get up every day with the desire to battle something greater than yourself. And those girls, just wanted to ride that wave as long as they could. And now their endless summer is over.”

There were some really funny lines in this episode. I LOVE writing like this, where there is humor mixed in with the drama. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with this show from the very start. Here are some of my favorites from this week:

“Three women, early 20’s. A red head, a brunette and a blond. They were all wearing bikinis, backpacks, sunglasses and hats.”
“Oh good…..that really narrows it down”

“Where’s the brains”
“What are you talking about?”
“Williams. He’s the brains….you’re the brawn”
“OK, what does that make you?”
“Me? Come on man….I’m the pretty face”

“The only other alternative is Grover in a Speedo”
“A couple of years ago I could have pulled it off, but…..you know!”

“I’m here for a favor”   “You ARE Five-0!”

Finally, I really want to thank Sarah Byrd for taking the time to live tweet with us on Twitter during the broadcast. Like Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt last week, and Peter Lenkov during the premiere, it’s a blast to be able to connect during episodes. These are busy people and the fact they give up their free time to chat with us shows their appreciation to the loyalty of the fans of this show. Makes us feel like we’re more important than just numbers on some ratings sheet somewhere. It’s a nice feeling.

So, another really great episode of Five-0 is under our belts and I can’t wait to see what is coming up next. Next week’s promo promises another great one. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch it on Friday night but I will watch it as soon as I possibly can. My review will definitely be a couple of days late but I’ll do my best to post it by the beginning of the week. Aloha!