This episode of Five-0 had a bit of a split personality and was a fun diversion from the norm as the Halloween episodes usually are. I mean….it’s a night of ghouls, ghosts and monsters…who really expects normal anyway?
Although I usually don’t like it when the team is split up this one didn’t bother me because, individually, neither story was strong enough to warrant the use of the entire team. Having Chin, Kono and Lou team up with Max on the copycat slasher case while Steve and Danny helped out Jerry worked for me. Not something I want to see too often but for this episode I was ok with it. It gave all seven cast members, plus Kamekona and Ellie a bit of screen time without making me feel as if anyone was getting shafted for time. It worked really well. Besides, it’s a bit unrealistic to think that crimes happen in Hawaii one at a time. Yes, I know…Five-0 and “unrealistic” are not mutually exclusive terms. But seriously, there could be times when two investigations may go on at the same time so it’s good to see the team able to split up and still be 100% effective.
I liked the dynamic of Chin, Kono and Lou a lot. They worked really well together and can I say again…. I adore Lou Grover. I would have never thought, when first meeting the gruff, hard-nosed, no-nonsense SWAT Commander a year ago, that he would become the person to cut the tension of a scene with a great one-liner. I am so happy they added him to the team. It was the dynamic between the actors/characters that made the story enjoyable for me…not necessarily the story itself. I never really expect too much from theme episodes and Halloween is pretty much the biggest “theme” there is. The story was good….not great which is why I said it wasn’t strong enough to carry the entire team.
I will say though that in this day and age when bullying is a very current topic in our world the fact that our killer was the son of a man who our victims had terrorized in high school was very timely. I never expected it was the son of the tormented kid nor did I expect him to not only take out the bullies but his father as well. As someone who was bullied as a kid myself, I can attest to the fact that it does not leave you, ever. If you’re lucky, you learn how to not only live with it but use it to become stronger. Unfortunately, for this father and son that didn’t happen.
While Chin, Kono and Lou were chasing our COTW, Steve and Danny were helping Jerry. Steve told Jerry to stop spying on the bookstore…to leave it alone…repeatedly. Did Jerry listen? Of course not. Does Steve ever listen once he’s convinced he’s right about something? I think that may be the underlying connection Steve feels for Jerry, subconsciously of course. Jerry is the same type of bulldog with a bone as Steve is when he knows he’s right and will not be dissuaded. Even when Steve tries to do things the right way he ends up doing things his own way anyway. When Ellie couldn’t get the warrant Steve requested, Steve went ahead without it because he believed Jerry and that was good enough for him. And after many twists and turns that took us, as well as Steve and Danny in several directions before we got to truth, it turns out Jerry was right….as Steve usually is…in the long run. I like Jerry and this story was fun but I have to say I’m glad it’s over now so the show can move on to more serious and important stories.
These cases were a bit of fun but my favorite part of this episode was at the very beginning and didn’t even last very long but I believe it’s a great stepping off point for the stories to come.
“You gonna second guess every decision you made? I did that with my old man, Danny…I did that with Freddie too. The truth is I could never have saved either of them. Don’t do that to yourself”.
The truth is it’s going to be very hard for Danny NOT to blame himself. What Steve says is true. There wasn’t anything he could have done to save his father or Freddie. Steve was half a world away from John when Hesse pulled the trigger and even if (and that’s still a big IF we really don’t have the answer to yet) Victor going after John was related to Steve’s 5 year pursuit of the brothers and ultimate capture of Anton, Steve was doing his sworn duty as a Navy SEAL. No way he could have changed that. It’s the same with Freddie. Steve and Freddie went into the mission knowing they were on their own, there was no escape or rescue if captured and a high likelihood they could die. Steve didn’t “leave Freddie behind”…he completed the mission just like Freddie would have done if their places had been reversed. There is no way Steve could have changed any of those things.
But Danny….Danny did have the opportunity to stop Matt from getting on that plane. Matt said so himself. “This ends one of two ways big brother. You either shoot me or you say goodbye”. Danny did have a choice. He could have stopped Matt. A shot in the arm or the leg. Hell, just shoot out the tires of the plane. Yes, Danny did have the opportunity to stop Matt and he didn’t. Steve can tell Danny all he wants that it’s not his fault and ultimately it isn’t because Matt made his choices on his own. But Danny is never going to forget Matt walking up those stairs essentially to his death and how he could have saved him. This is not something Danny is going to get over any time soon.
Next week we get the big event…. Five-0’s 100th episode. From the promo that was shown last night it is going to be epic. Matt’s story is over, even if the repercussions for Danny and by extension Chin, are not. Jerry’s story is over. From the looks of the promo WoFat is going to be playing some pretty heavy mind games with Steve. I think this is going to make Steve extremely vulnerable to all the emotions he works so hard to contain. I think after #100 we will finally start to see the hard armor Steve tries to wear crack. I think we will finally begin to see him deal with all those demons he tries so hard to hide from.
I have truly enjoyed these first 6 episodes and the focus being on other members of the Ohana because I think that’s needed in order for the show to be well rounded. But now I am more than ready to get back to the McGarrett family story. It looks like the big #100 will be a great epic start back on that journey. I can’t wait.
Hawaii Five-0 Kool-Aid 
Another excellent review. I agree the split between the two cases worked well in this episode, but as you said, I wouldn’t want to see that happen too much.
I also agree that Danny situation is not the same as Steve’s was. When the Matt episode aired during the first season I always wondered why Danny didn’t find some way to stop his brother leaving. Now that’s going to come back and haunt him during season five.
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Thanks Wendy. Peter has already said there will be an episode coming up where Danny will have to face the consequences of what happened in Colombia. I don’t know if he meant emotional consequences or something else but which ever it is, I look forward to it because I KNOW Scotty will ROCK those scenes.
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Thanks for reviewing, Linda,
My favourite scene was the one between Danny and Steve. I liked how Danny’s was so quiet – very out of character for him. Very well acted by both of them. I was hoping for a bit more of how Matt’s death had affected Danny.
I thought it was too early for Danny to see another oil drum! I’ve seen a still shot where he looked a bit apprehensive, after all he’s got sisters too…!
There was a lot going on in this ep. I liked the twists. I watch especially for the character stuff but understand TPTB can’t go too far with that or it will descend into being a soap.
Really looking forward to next week – looks very psychological. Hope it’s written by Atplenkov.
Mary Jane/Jinnie
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Yes Jinnie…next week’s #100 IS written by Peter and directed by Larry Teng. That combination always produces a fantastic episode and I have no doubt this one will be EPIC.
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Still really enjoying this season and your reviews. Thank you for all the time and effort. Another good episode – with the Steve & Danny scene already out there as a sneak peak I was hoping for a bit more, but I can see how Steve is trying to give D space. I think that’s why they stayed away from having the whole team together – Danny needed time to easy back into work.
Also glad they didn’t dragged out Jerry’s arc. He’s quite endearing, but I’m not sure how they are going to weave him into stories as the season progresses.
This is usually a Grace episode. I understand why she wasn’t included, but I still missed Grace – Danno is going to need lots of hugs. When I saw those oil barrels -yikes!
Lastly anyone else wondering if AOL has a hard time keeping his American accent when in scenes with Ellie – seems like it would be real easy to lapse back into his native lingo.
Six more days to #100……….
Oh…..and I like Ellie.
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I missed Gracie too Carole but I understand with Danny is such a state of mind it may not have been the best episode for Gracie to make an appearance.
I really like Jerry but I’m glad his arc is over too. He is a full time cast member now so I’m sure they will find ways to weave him into stories without him being in every single episode…like they do with Max. Jerry DID decipher the code on the bottom of the Champ box so he’s kinda already involved in that story.
And I like Ellie too. She’s sassy and smart and doesn’t fall for Steve’s crap. She has his number already. I was amazed at how well Alex was able to keep is Aussie in check when talking to her for a long period of time. I suppose he’s been doing it for so long it just comes naturally to him now. But I bet he needs to concentrate just a bit more when he’s working with her.
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Great review again, Linda! For once, I don’t have much to add! I thought it was a really well balanced episode, splitting the team to investigate two different crimes. I’m glad Steve kept Danny close, easing him back into as normal a life as he’s going to get for quite a while. You are so right – Danny did have a choice in S1 and the remorse that he didn’t stop Matt from getting on that plane will go with him to his own grave.
Someone said on a different blog how amazing it was that Scott made himself look so much older and haggard. Your choice of screencaps really brings it home to me – Danny looked young and open (even though he was so conflicted) in Loa Aloha. This S5 episode showed a more destroyed, sad, and introspective man. In keeping with that note, I was not surprised Danny was alone in his office after the investigation was wrapped. It’s going to take him a while to feel normal again, and his Ohana knew to give him his space. Well done, Show!
I like Ellie a lot, too! Hope we see more of her in future episodes! As far as Alex’s accent goes, I imagine many, many takes for those scenes between Alex and Mirrah…and probably lots of laughs, too!
My slate is clear for Friday and Sat.! Can’t wait for the BIG ONE HUNDRED!!!
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At first I was disappointed that it was Ellie and not Danny on the beach with Steve at the end of the episode but I think you’re probably right. Danny still needed space and Steve probably understands better than anyone (except maybe Chin) that a person may just want to be alone with his thoughts after events like that.
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I liked that the episode had a lot of turns and twist. I also liked that Kono told the guy she could take him out, if she had to, and then Grover hit him. If any of Danny’s family show up, I hope they show a little of “Jersey” like Danny does. Woo Fat can’t beat Steve so he going try to break him with mind games, hummm…
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I haven’t a lot to add, other than to say that this is probably my favorite of the four Halloween episodes. I looked online to see if I could find out anything about the movie Jack Knife, but learned from Wendie’s Five-0 Redux that its not a real movie.
In anticipation of the 100th: a lot of what I know about the original Five-O is from what I read online, and I believe that in the pilot for that series, Wo Fat held McGarrett captive and did some mind games and sensory deprivation with him.
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That’s really interesting Ed. Peter DOES like to pay homage to the original as much as possible. I’m excited to see what he has come up with for this one too.
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Thanks Linda for your excellent review,
I loved that this episodes had split into two crimes two teams which worked well I too would not like to see it happened too often,Chin, kono & Grover worked well I glad they give the one liners to Max & grover, couldn’t really see Danny up & running at his usual self, He and Steve had their talk I think Steve wanted more but felt Danny wasn’t ready yet he’s been there and still fighting his demons ! loved how at the end Danny’s warning shout to Steve saved him at least he had saved one brother ! the look said it all.
Jerry loved the Jerry story, vindicated at last so he wasn’t crazy which we all knew great stuff,
loved Ellie catching Steve out ! she’s a clever girl liking her more and more each week.
can’t wait for next week it looks really scary ! and the twist at the end what is that I wonder ! and who’s the female in the torture room with Mcg ?
Thanks again Linda loving the ‘Kool Aid ‘
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