Courtesy of Belle Anderson (@surfbelle2)

Happy Tuesday friends!  It seems that every week I find myself apologizing for being so late with my review and this week is the worst ever.  I did manage to watch the episode on Friday night and live tweet a bit, but the rest of the weekend just flew by with one house sale/purchase thing after the other.  When I finally did manage to sit down, I was so exhausted from it all I couldn’t even think straight.  Then Monday rolled around and I had to go to work and in my brain addled state, came home at the end of the day to discover I left my laptop at the office.  So, here it is Tuesday and I’m just now posting this review.

I also did something I never do.  Lying in bed, exhausted but wide awake, I read all the other blogs/reviews for this episode.  I always make a point of never doing that because A) I don’t want to be influenced by what anyone else has to say about an episode and B) I don’t ever want to be accused of stealing anyone’s ideas or views.  Whenever my review and someone else’s are similar it’s always a case of “great minds think alike” or “we never agree on anything anyway so I can pretty much guess what you’re going to say without having to actually read it”.  But, this week, I did read the other reviews and I honestly don’t think there is any chance of there being conflicts because it seems pretty universal that people really liked this episode a lot.

Addendum 4/13/16:  Rereading the above paragraph I felt I needed to clarify…. I always read all the other blogs/reviews but I always do it after I write my own for the reasons I stated above.  Whether I agree with all of them or not, I enjoy reading everyone’s point of view.  I just don’t like to do it before I write my own review.  Except for this week, of course! 🙂

Things I liked:

(I guess I could just say…everything and take the rest of the day off, but…)

• The entire opening scene between Steve and Lou. Watching these guys out for a pancake breakfast, discussing the merits of coconut syrup over boysenberry and the chance to poke a bit of fun at Danny’s expense was simply wonderful.  These two are just so awesome together and I love how their relationship has grown since they first met at the beginning of Season 4. This scene was just so much fun.  I loved how Steve “paid” for breakfast with the   money he won in a bet with Lou.  Sorry Lou… I have to go with Steve on this one.  Once you lost that bet, that twenty dollars became Steve’s.  But it sure was fun to see Steve pay for the meal without having to actually take the money out of his wallet.  Priceless.

• This episode is my most favorite type of episode. One story, which everyone works together on or is involved in.  There is nothing better than having the team all involved in a central story from beginning to end and not splintered and separated into different, disconnected stories.

• And how adorable is it that Steve checks out Gracie’s Instagram?  I can totally see Steve checking out her posts in “Uncle Steve” protective mode, just as I’m sure Danny does too.  I have all kinds of visions of Danny in several versions of embarrassing situations with a troop of 13-year-old cheerleaders he wouldn’t want documented, or at least seen, by Steve and his team.  Having Grace block them all was hysterical as was Steve and Lou joking around about using the crime lab to hack her phone!  This group of gathered misfits has truly formed a large loving family who really love each other and look out for each other.  They may be the most “functional” family on TV.

• The last Grover centric episode we had was Lou’s trip back to Chicago and his confrontation with Clay Maxwell. Not a favorite episode of mine because I, like many others, thought Lou was just way too over the top in his behavior with Clay and his girlfriend.  I suppose this episode was supposed to be some bit of retribution for those acts, although, I don’t think it quite cuts it in that area.  But I found the writing quite clever in having it be Maxwell who sets the Black Philly Mafia onto Lou and his family.

•  Whether you like the fact that the story was Grover Family centered or not, there is no denying that Chi McBride absolutely brings it on the screen. No matter what he is given, from the silliest, lighthearted give and take with the team to the most dramatic of scenes, Chi just always nails it.

• Personally I think Clay is one of the best bad guys we’ve had on H50.  He is ruthless, cunning, conniving, and truly cold blooded.  He wanted revenge on Lou for what he did… I can understand that.  But he had to know sending those goons after Lou put his entire family in danger. Clay has no hesitation in the knowledge that not only would Lou die, but Renee and the kids as well.  If that doesn’t make him one of the best/worst villains we’ve had on this show, nothing does.

•  H50 has always been, from the very beginning, about family. Lost family, found family, melding broken toys into family and the Grover family is the epitome of what makes a wonderful family.  And while Lou is the provider, and the protector, the rock of this family is Renee.

• I absolutely adore Renee Grover.  While Lou was frantically yet strongly trying to maneuver his family to safety and the kids were freaking out in fear and indignation over having to run away, it was Renee who pulled them all together, the one who reminded them what it means to be a family and to stick together.  She may have been beyond terrified for her husband, her children and herself but when she needed to draw on her strength to do what she had to do to protect her children, she didn’t even hesitate.  She is every bit as strong and fierce as her husband and I for one would never want to come face to face with this mother lion protecting her cubs.

•  The actors who played Samantha and Will were awesome. They perfectly played the part of teenagers being torn from their home, not for the first time it turns out, being pulled away from their schools and their friends.  Their reactions were dead on accurate.  And when they were under attack, being chased through the jungle, the fear they portrayed was extremely realistic.  My heart broke for them when Lou left them behind to go after Zagar once and for all.

• Even without reading all the other blogs this week, I was sure I wasn’t the only one who knew Agent Zagar was a bad guy from the very start. And those two guys from the “Honolulu office” looked more like street thug gorillas than agents.  But it was great to see Mark Valley and Chi on screen together again.  I’m just really happy Lou didn’t shoot him.  We’ve honestly had enough of that already.

• And speaking of not shooting someone, I was thrilled the writers chose to have Zagar subdue the HPD officer instead of killing him. Again, we’ve had plenty of HPD officers going down in hails of bullets already and I’m sure we’re gonna get more before we know it.  I’m glad it didn’t happen in this case.

•  I loved how Steve’s spidey sense kicked in the moment he saw Lou having that heated discussion with Zagar and how, even after the FBI told him and the team to stay out of it, that was the last thing they were going to do. There is nothing like Steve when he is in protective SEAL mode and there is nothing that puts him in that mode more than when one of his Ohana is in trouble or threatened.  I have loved Steve this entire season, the easier going and fun loving guy he’s been. But I won’t deny that I loved having SuperSEAL back in force in this episode.

(Thank you to whoever got this screen grab. I saw it a couple of days ago, loved it and saved it but forgot to take note of who made it.  If you recognize it as your own, please let me know and I will amend this page to include your contribution.  If the person who grabbed this awesome shot is not a reader of mine, thank you for this picture, whoever you are)

• I also adored that they teamed up Steve and Kono for the take down of the Mafia guys. I have loved the team of Steve and Kono since Season 1.  Back then, the hardened Navy SEAL taking the rookie under his wing and teaching her how to be the cop she was destined to be.  Now, 6+ years later a full-fledged equal by his side.

• Steve flirting with the lady behind the cash register at the Wailana Coffee House was positively adorable. I loved how she told him he was all talk and no action. LOL I can just imagine Steve doing that every time he’s had breakfast there over the past six years!

What I didn’t care for:

•  Well, this episode was pretty much perfect except for one thing. Danny wasn’t there, again.  Thank goodness this should be the last episode of this season where Danny is gone.  I always miss him when he’s not there and him being part of the investigation and the ultimate takedown as well as being a sounding board to Steve’s worried SEAL, is the only thing that could have made this episode even better.

Well, there you go.  Better late than never, I guess.  I’m sorry to say, next week is probably not going to be any better.  It’s my annual Beatlefest weekend and I’ll be away from Thursday to Sunday and probably won’t even get to see the episode until Sunday.  Like this week, I’ll do my best to get my homework down in a timely matter…. and probably fail. LOL

Obviously, I had no time to re-watch the episode so I had no time to do my own screencaps.  All screencaps are courtesy of CBS unless otherwise noted.

Have a wonderful week my friends.  Aloha. Mala Pono.