#H50 Review: 5.15 – E ‘Imi pono – Searching for the Truth

Well, they’ve done it again. I know I say this, probably every week, but I have no idea how on earth the writers on this show manage to come up with, not just new stories every week, but stories so unique to what I expect from Five-0 that they really take me off guard.  An African war lord in hiding in Oahu is NOT something I ever expected I’d see.

Oh, this story had all the things that make Five-0….Five-0 to me. Gun fights, car chases, explosions along with Ohana and bromance….but there were also moments in this episode so powerful I was literally holding my breath. So let’s get to it:

Journalist/Documentarian Julius Brennan: What a fascinating man he must have been. Have you even been asked if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? This is the type of man I’d love to sit down with. A man dedicated to his field. A man willing to go the extra mile for his work but more importantly, for the people affected by the injustice he sees in the world. A man who’s been to the places other people like to pretend don’t exist. As Steve said…. “driven, commented but crazy”.

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When we first see him “crazy” seemed appropriate. He’s so paranoid and frightened that even fireworks in Chinatown have him hitting the dirt like its incoming enemy fire. At first I really thought he was just a paranoid nut job but when he really was attacked and murdered I realized his fear was justified especially when the disembodied voice knew him by name.

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The fact that he suffered from Hypergraphia (a real condition… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergraphia ) brought on when he was severely injured while covering the genocide in the Congo not only opened up a greater understanding of the man himself, but proved a valuable asset in finding the truth. And, of course, as the title of this episode states, it’s all about searching for the truth.

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Congo Warlord Roko Makoni: This is the type of man nightmares are made of. A man so ruthless “even the devil is afraid of him”. A man who was once “most wanted warlord in the world”. Last year when I saw the movie “Captain Phillips” Barkhad Abdi scared me to death. He managed to do the same here. I have no idea, of course, but I bet in real life he’s the sweetest man but, ohhhhh does he play evil well. Kidnapping is too tame a word for what Roko did. He stole those children, stole them from their families when he didn’t outright kill them, branded them with the mark of “soldier” for his army, and used them to commit atrocities throughout his country. The fact he was able to avoid dying in a CIA sponsored raid and escape to Hawaii is really frightening to contemplate happening in real life.

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Patrice Thomas: Patrice and his younger brother Wesley provided the two powerful scenes which literally had me holding my breath. Using documentary footage to show the horror those boys lived through in the Congo and to show the depth of Brennan’s commitment to the story was genius. So much better than exposition could ever be. The scene at the end when Wesley says goodbye to his brother at the ME’s office had me in tears. It was extremely well written and the acting of both those young men was superb.

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CIA agent Ben Hamilton: What a creep. First he comes off as a concerned friend to Brennan, worried that he was headed for a breakdown when it turns out he basically is the cause of the entire mess. If he hadn’t facilitated Roko’s escape from the Congo none of this would have happened. I really wanted Kono and Lou to take him down in a hail of gunfire but he took the coward’s way out.

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“Bulletproof” coffee! Ewwwwwwww Yuck! No….just…..NO!

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Hey…isn’t this the same bomb squad guy who disarmed the first car bomb in the Episode 3.06 – In a Time Past? In the 9/11 episode he was from the Army bomb squad though.  As a matter of fact….it looks like they used the exact same piece of film for both episodes.

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Screen shot from 5.15                            Screen shot from 3.06

LOVED how it was Kono again they went to for the kill shot against Roko.  I really loved how she didn’t take the shot to the head, deeming it too easy on him after all the horrible things he had done.  As always, Kono is bad ass with that sniper rifle able to hit him in just the right spot to give Steve an edge without actually killing Roko!

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Jerry and Dr. Shaw…… It’s hard not to feel bad for Dr. Shaw. New to the island and alone on Valentine’s Day. It’s easy to understand why she’d subscribe to the belief that Valentine’s Day as a commercial invention just to increase the sale of candy, flowers and greeting cards. Jerry, on the other hand, also alone for the holiday, manages to see it differently. He sees it as an opportunity to use the day to connect with those who are important, to tell them how we really feel about them. Yeah, it might be commercial but what’s the harm if it manages to give you the opportunity to say “I love you” to someone? It was so cute how they gravitated to each other and ended up not alone on Valentine’s Day after all.

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Danny and his Customer Service Confessional was adorable. I love the idea of him scratching his head, trying to figure out what “Birthday cake..puppy dog..thumbs up” means! LOL But Danny makes a valid point. In this day and age anyone “with thumbs” can communicate with someone. When we were kids, we actually had to walk up to a person and talk to them. From a father’s perspective, worried about what weirdo could have access to your child, I can totally see his point. But thinking back and remembering what it was like to be a 12 year old girl… seeing my first crush across the room and desperately wanting to talk to him ….. oh man …. it would have been sooooooo much easier to NOT have to actually look Johnnie in the eye to talk to him! LOL

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The subplot of Danny trying to deal with the boy who’s interested Gracie was fantastic. Those of us who have been watching this show from the beginning have been longing for the day when Grace would be old enough to be interested in boys. Knowing the overly protective father Danny is it was something we couldn’t wait to see. I was not disappointed. I like the fact that the writers made it an accident that Danny was seeing all of Gracie’s texts instead of writing it like he was deliberately spying on her. But, like pineapple on pizza….romance and Gracie don’t belong in the same airspace.

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How could anyone not love the opening scene between Steve and Danny as they discuss the “little thug” who’s texting Gracie.  It was bromance at it’s very best. Danny losing his mind over the kid and Steve being the voice of reason.  Even when they disagree, when it comes to Gracie, these two are totally in sync.

“I do trust her….it’s this little thug I don’t trust”
“Ok…Let’s take him out”
“Now you’re talking!”

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I also liked the fact that even when Danny realized Gracie had lied to him he didn’t completely freak out. He gave Gracie space to work things out on her own and she did. Danny and Rachel always said the one thing they did right was raise a great kid and Gracie proved them right. Yes she lied but she realized her mistake and felt genuine remorse over it. The fact that she voluntarily told Danny about it shows the good heart and conscience she has. And Danny telling Gracie that he knew all along was great. She has always known that she has his ultimate love, now she knows she also has his full trust too.

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And I know I’m not the only one who just LOVES the chemistry between Scott and Teilor. You just KNOW these last shots were the two of them goofing off for fun. They are fantastic together.

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I adored the entire Valentine’s Day BBQ. I know there are critics who feel the mandatory episode ending “Ohana moments” are silly but I just love them. The Ohana, the bromance, the chemistry between all the characters on this show is what sets it apart from all the other crime procedurals out there. It’s what makes Five-0 special. I hope they never stop doing them.

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All in all, this was another great episode in a season full of great episodes.

NOTE: Because the onDemand on my new Verizon Fios service seems to think it’s ok to upload Friday’s Five-0 FOUR days after it’s shown and also because today, for some God only knows reason, iTunes seems to be taking FOREVER to upload my pre-purchased Five-0…. I had to re-watch the episode on CBS.com. Therefore, all screen caps are taken from there. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

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27 thoughts on “#H50 Review: 5.15 – E ‘Imi pono – Searching for the Truth”

  1. Excellent review for an excellent episode. Loved the scene between Steve and Danny. It’s the best chemistry on TV today.
    Roko exuded evil and when he said to Steve they would meet again I wonder if this will happen.
    Loved the Valentine ending. It was a nice change. There was more Scott and Teilor in that scene than Danno and Grace

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    • I just LOVE how the bad guys always try to intimidate Steve with the threat that they will “meet again” someday. Steve always seems almost excited at the prospect of taking them down again! He’s so bad ass! ♥

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  2. rhondagemini says:

    Love your review,Linda! I agree with all of your points!Love the banter between Steve & Danny about Gracie-this time Steve was the voice of reason.The COTW was instense and the kidnapping situation had me on the edge of my seat! The ending proves that the H50 team isn’t just a law enforcement unit,they are truly Ohana and there for one another!

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    • Yeah…Steve was the voice of reason, this time! But only because Danny was freaking out over silly stuff, innocent (though incessant) texting and ice cream. But did you see Steve’s face when Danny told him Gracie had lied to him? It dropped like a stone. Steve may be easy going and reasonable when the stakes are low but if Gracie ever were in real trouble she’d have her crazy over protective father AND her Ninja Super SEAL uncle BOTH bearing down on the “little thug”. No question about that!

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  3. Gitte Larsen says:

    Hi Linda, I totally agree with you. It was another great episode and I was so happy to see Danno back. I just love the scenes with him and Steve and it was a great ending.

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  4. Diane says:

    Hi Linda,

    I wish I had a little more computer savy, I love all the screen shots you put on this blog. I too always enjoy the ohana moments. Love the BBQ in Grover’s back yard, with the heart shaped cheese. Jerry showing some game. Always my favorite is Scott and Teilor together, Uncle Steve being the voice of reason and showing Danny he’s going over the top. The Crime of the week was a good one also. They left it up in the air for the villian to come back. He did a great job, saw him in Captain Phillips, he is a good actor. Another new one next week. See you all then.

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    • Hi Diane. Screen shots really aren’t that hard. I don’t know if there is an easier way but the way I do it (usually on iTunes but this time right on CBS.com):

      – Pause the playback on the moment you want to capture.
      – Simultaneously press the “FN” key and the “Print Screen” key. This takes the screen shot.
      – Then I open the program “Paint” and paste the screen shot there. Once it’s on the screen in the “Paint” program, I can crop it the way I want it and then save it as a .jpeg photo file.

      There is also the “snipping tool” which is located in Programs/Accessories. I use that sometimes too but mostly just do what I said above.

      You can do this just to save screen shots on your computer as pictures you want to save and can share your screen shots on Facebook or Twitter or, like me, in a blog.

      I hope that was understandable. I love finding perfect moments in episodes to save to my computer. Hope you can too. Thanks for reading babe!

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      • Just a little clarification to your instructions Linda. A desktop computer with a full-size keyboard doesn’t have a “Function” (FN) key and you won’t need to use it – just use “Print Screen” by itself. Stopping the video a exactly the right spot can be tricky especially if there’s a lot of movement in the video. If you didn’t stop it at exactly the right spot, rewind and try again.

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  5. Maggs says:

    Kudos Linda another fine review of another outstanding episode I too enjoy the Ohana moments thanks for taking the time to review and share your thoughts on our favorite show xx

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  6. Mary Jane says:

    Thanks Linda,
    Great review.
    I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The COTW was really interesting and exciting. It was good to see Danny again and having great banter with Steve; I loved the ‘Let’s take him out’ ‘Now you’re talking’ lines.
    Fantastic guest actors. Also I think Teilor Grubbs is maturing into a great little actress.

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    • Yeah..I recognized him right away too. But it wasn’t until I compared the screen shot from this episode to one I made back in Season 3 that I realized they used the exact same shot. I sure hope they paid the guy again! ROFL

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  8. A lot of good little moments in this one:
    The smug smile that Steve had when Chin told Danny that he’d heard that grass-fed butter in your coffee boosts energy and enhances brain function;
    The discussion between Danny and Lou that raising a teenager is like grilling hamburgers;
    The look of horror on Kono’s face (and Chin’s and Jerry’s and Lou’s too) while the video was telling of Makoni’s atrocities (this tells us why she made the decision to shoot to put him down, but not to kill);
    And of course the interaction between Danny and Grace at the end. I’m glad that they are both maturing.

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    • “The look of horror”….what a perfect description Ed. It perfectly describes my feeling as I watched it, why it left me holding my breath. I was riveted as I watched and I swear it felt like I was watching some real CNN documentary and not my favorite cop show.

      And it always amazes me how this show is able to go from such depth and horror to those fun, happy Ohana moments so effortlessly. It’s something not many other shows are able to do and one of the reasons this show is so special to me…to all of us!

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  9. debras57 says:

    Linda, love your takes on the show. I thought this was had heart to it, sorry for the pun. The love between the characters and the cheese shapes made it the perfect Valentine’s show. By the way I tried the butter in the coffee today and it’s pretty good. Guess it is a real thing for energy and the brain, big in the Paleo aspect. Bromance was there in the opening and the carguments. It never fails to make us smile.

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  10. Wendy says:

    A really great episode, and as usual a fantastic review. I thought the COTW was scary, and Roko Makoni truly evil. I wondered where Kono and Chin were when Steve went to the taxi. Should have known Steve had Kono up high with a sniper rifle, she’s so good at that. Loved the scene where Lou tells Steve to be careful and Danny says, “Hey that’s not in his vocabulary, he doesn’t know that one.” I actually laughed out loud.

    The bromance in this episode was great, no nasty swipes or comments. I really loved the scene in Steve’s kitchen, the “Let’s take him out.” “Okay, now you’re talking.” part even made my husband laugh. The whole Grace side story was so sweet. She is sure growing up and Danny is trying to allow her too, with Steve’s helpful comments. This season keeps getting better and better.

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    • One of the things I really LOVE about having Lou as part of the team is that it’s almost like having Season 1 Danny back again. After 4+ years Danny has gotten used to the crazy things Steve does. Oh…he still doesn’t like it and he still rants and throws his hands up in exasperation but he’s gotten used to it. Lou, on the other hand, hasn’t been around long enough to not know immediately that Steve is going to dive in head first and damn the consequences. He still gets that shocked look, still gives that little “are you kidding me” and “please be careful”. Danny just KNOWS what Steve is going to do and holds his breath until he knows Steve is safe again. Grover is still in the “disbelief” mode! LOL

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  12. I liked Friday’s episode. That man looked evil and he looked like he hadn’t eat in long time. I liked the ending and I wish Scott and Teilor(?) could show that kind of emotions when they are Danny and Gracie. I notice that the tourist had on their seat belts, and we lost Bob Simon in taxi crashed, when he didn’t have on his seat belt. Do you wear a seat belt in taxi cab? I’ve never been in a taxi, so I don’t know. Anyway, it was a very good episode. So that boy wasn’t Tommy, hmmm…I wonder what he thought of all that. LOL!!!

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  13. Patty Brown says:

    Linda,
    I have been reading your blog since I discovered it several months ago and I always enjoy your comments! This is the first time I have commented on any blog and I am not very technical on computers. I am a huge fan of Hawaii Five O and of Alex. Other blogs have become very negative lately so your reviews are a breath of fresh air! Thank you for continuing to review my favorite show. I enjoy the show every week, especially Alex. I could watch him read the dictionary for 45 minutes!

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    • Hi Patty! Welcome aboard! I’m glad you found us here. If you’ve been reading my blog from the beginning you’ll know that the entire reason I started this blog was because a friend of mine thought there were others out there who’d enjoy reading a blog written “on the positive side” of the wave. We were tired of always reading about all the things that are “wrong” with the show. Is it perfect? Of course not. But I find there are so many more good things and I choose to concentrate on those. I’m glad you enjoy riding the wave on the positive side as well.

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