Courtesy of Belle Anderson @SurfBelle2a
Oh, I so hate the idea that this wonderful season of Five-0 is coming to an end. This episode was a great set up for what looks like a wonderful 2-hour finale night next Friday. It gave us a wonderful twist and a great stepping stone to understand what is coming next. But before I get into that, let’s talk about the B-side of this episode first.
My feelings about Gerald Hirsch in this episode are torn. On the one hand, I find his rehabilitation of himself interesting and I like seeing another familiar face every once and awhile at a crime scene. I like that he chose to do something productive with his life and I like his interactions with the team.
I liked having Hirsch find the “safe room” and his being injured by the thief as he made his escape was a nice little touch at the beginning of the episode to tie into the crime of the week. I also enjoyed his interactions with Kono. Kono’s facial expression when that curtain was pulled aside at the hospital was priceless.
It was totally understandable why Kono would not look favorably on having to baby-sit Hirsch for his own safety. Hirsch has never hidden his enormous crush on Kono, not from the first moment they met, and considering the age of this man, that in and of itself is a bit weird. Having a painting of her hanging over his bed, as if she’s watching over him as he sleeps is, admittedly, really creepy.
But Kono can see beyond those things. She can see something else because she is a woman of intelligence and compassion. She does not like the way Hirsch acts toward her in the least but she also realizes he is a sad, lonely man who is simply clinging to an innocuous fantasy that really does no real harm. She deals with him in a mature, insightful fashion without needing to hop on a soapbox of indignation and act like she has a stick up her ass. The way she deals with Hirsch shows her good heart and shows she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
Guest star Elliott Gould was wonderful as Hirsch Sr. and the fact that he’s as big a flirt (for want of a better word) as his son made understanding Gerald a little easier. I loved how he told Kono that he knew exactly what his son had done with his life and how he asked Kono to look out for him. I was touched, like Kono was, when Gerald told her how he was just now beginning to build a relationship with his father after the death of his mother. I really liked how they bonded over their parents and the hardship involved in caring for an aging parent.
Courtesy of Belle Anderson @SurfBelle2
The final scene between them reminded me so much of the scene back in Season 1 when Kono was attempting to teach Danny how to surf. Hirsch’s complaints about the water and the sharks and the jelly fish and the sting rays….reminded me so much of Danny’s rants back then. It was a fun little scene.
Now this is where I’m torn. I really did enjoy all of these scenes and I’m glad they were part of the episode but, at the same time, I kind of wish they weren’t. I’m not sure if I can make this sound like it makes sense. The rest of this episode was really good and I would have loved for more time to be devoted to it. That’s the part of me that wishes we would have cut away from Hirsch once he provided the composite of his attacker and the team knew he was safe. But I loved seeing compassionate Kono and her scenes with Hirsch and his dad at the end. But, once it was known he was safe, the rest of the story really didn’t serve any purpose other than those feel good moments. So yeah…. completely torn!
And it’s not just a matter of the time taken away from the main story, but here’s another instance where the B-side story took a member of the team away. Kono was apart from the team for almost half of the episode and that’s the kind of split episode I like the least.
I do understand though. 25-episodes a year of high octane, action packed, full team stories would wreak havoc on the cast, especially Alex. If this were a cable show, with 13 or 15 episodes per year, it would be easier for each and every episode to be exactly the way we’d love it. Full team, full one-case story, perfect. But with 25-episodes to fill, we need the secondary stories and we need the secondary characters to fill out those stories. It makes a 25-episode season more well-rounded and more enjoyable and I’m sure the main actors are thankful for more manageable days and the rest these secondary stories afford them. And, I’d really hate it if we only had 15 episodes a year. More powerful episodes or not, that is simply not enough Five-0 to keep me happy. I’ll take it just the way it is, thank you very much.
This week’s crime of the week, as many do, started off looking like one thing and ended up being something else. What started off being a robbery gone bad turns out to be a murder of the worst sort. A vendetta that takes the life of an innocent woman and leaves her young daughter motherless. A continuation of the vendetta which almost cost Adam his life a couple of weeks ago. A vendetta orchestrated by our newest villain… Michelle Shioma.
I think I can really like this new villain. First off, how awesome is it that our new baddie is a woman? And what a woman. She is simply….. ICE! I don’t think it’s ever been mentioned and, of course, I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that Goro Shioma didn’t have sons and he raised his daughter as he would a son to be the heir apparent. She said before that her father hadn’t been running the day to day operations for quite some time so she is not new at this game at all. This ice queen is going to be a formidable opponent.
Courtesy of Belle Anderson @SurfBelle2
This woman is ruthless and heartless and she is out to kill Gabriel and anyone else who gets in her way. She had a city bus full of prisoners blown up without blinking a finely mascaraed eye, killing and mutilating several in an effort to kill Adam just because he had a meeting with Gabriel. She had Vanessa Diaz murdered in her own home because she was Gabriel’s wife. And she may present herself as a well-to-do soccer mom but she has no hesitation in kidnapping little Sarah to draw out her father. Yes, ruthless and heartless.
It was heartbreaking to hear little Sarah tell Chin that she was named after her aunt Malia. The look on Chin’s face showed that even though he’s done his best to move on he won’t ever get over losing his first, greatest love. There isn’t any way Chin, or the entire team for that matter, wouldn’t protect that child no matter who she was but having her be family solidified it even more. It’s almost like a small piece of Malia has been given back to Chin to cherish and protect. I love this development.
I haven’t had the chance to read any other blogs today (you know I really don’t like to do that anyway) so I don’t know for sure, but I’m willing to bet I’m not going to be the first to laugh at the amazing recuperative powers the Five-0 team seem to possess. Two through-and-through gun shots, one in the shoulder and one in the abdomen and yet, Chin is able to haul himself out of a hospital bed and join the team for the pivotal take down.
Let’s not talk about the fact that he even got up at all. Because, even before he could get up, he needed to disconnect himself from all the beeping and chirping machines at the hospital. Machines, I know for a fact, are monitored at the closest nurse’s station. So, he pulls off all the leads causing the machines to “flat line” and no one even notices? Of course they didn’t because then he wouldn’t have been able to be part of the triple threat of snipers to take down the jerks who snatched Sarah.
Casting did a fantastic job on the actress playing little Sarah. She did a wonderful job in every scene. The chemistry between she and Daniel Dae Kim was obvious and I had no problem believing them as family. A fact I hope we see a lot more of. She even looks a little like Malia which, I’m sure, rips Chin’s heart out even more.
I can’t help but wonder what is coming up next. The promos and spoilers say that Five-0 will be under siege when Shimoa sends her henchmen after Gabriel and they try to protect him. Why would Five-0 ever protect Gabriel? I’m thinking Gabriel holds the key to bringing down Shioma and Five-0 needs him. But, from the pictures I’ve seen of the episode so far, Gabriel definitely looks the worse for wear and I wonder if he will even survive. I wonder, if Gabriel does die, if his last words will be to Chin…. “please take care of Sarah”.
I will be very sad if next week proves to be the end of Gabriel. I really love to hate that guy. I have high hope for Michelle Shioma as a new baddie but I hate the idea of losing Gabriel. I think it would be awesome to have these two at war, each trying to be the biggest baddie, and Five-0 in the middle trying to bring them both down and not knowing which way to turn next. Only time will tell how this will all play out. And that time, unfortunately, is very short. Just one more short week.
Damn… I hate the sound of that!
Have a nice week my friends. Aloha. Malama Pono
All screen caps are mine unless otherwise noted.
Hawaii Five-0 Kool-Aid 
I loved this episode too, Linda. And, yes, our new villainess is awesome. I hope she carries into season 7. I would love to see more of the 50 team in battle with her. I love how she is so calm and cool about everything. Nothing seems to rattle her. I loved Kono’s expressions dealing with Hirsch. They were priceless. My favorite part was when he told Kono she was a good egg. It seemed like at that moment there was a real friendship blooming between them. Chin scenes with the little girl were very heartwarming. His expression when she told him her middle name was Malia said it all. The actors and actresses on Hawaii 50 act with their eyes. They are the best. And my favorite part of the episode was Steve and Danny seem to be back on again. Once last night at the crime scene Steve even called Danny “Buddy”. Once again they were working like a well oiled machine. There wasn’t any of the usual banter between them but that’s okay. They can’t do that every week. It’s enough for me just to see them together on screen. Every scene they do together totally rocks because their chemistry is so great. It just shines through. I guess the scene that I thought was kind of pointless was Jerry and Abby eating ice cream together and then Chin’s conversation with Jerry. Wow. Jerry doesn’t pay rent. I like it better when Jerry actually serves a purpose. Those are the scenes that I think take away from the crime drama that is taking place. Jerry is great when he is helping with a case. But some of the other stuff is just filling space. But like you say, Linda, the main cast can’t work 24 hours a day and this does help to fill some of the time. It just that I would love 2 hours of 50 every week. I love every scene and I love every character but there are just some I would like to see more of. But lets not burn them out. Let’s keep them all happy and healthy so they will be around for years to come.
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I have to agree about Steve and Danny and how happy I was with their interaction in this episode. No, they didn’t have a Whatevergument this week but that’s ok because it wouldn’t have fit in anywhere. I love their banter, as long as it’s not bicker and if it isn’t shoved into an episode willy-nilly because of some notion that every episode must have it.
I loved Steve asking Danny’s opinion on what he thought happened, Danny giving him good, solid ideas and Steve telling Lou that Danny was right about not picking up Michelle again. It felt like it used to be before, for whatever reason, the writer’s started giving Danny less to do.
I thought Danny was awesome in this episode….more like the Danny of old and I loved it. But then, I love Danny…period!
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Thanks for your review. Liked this episode, the chemistry between the team members, the developments with Gabriel’s daughter & Michelle, who wants her revenge. Looking forward for more H5O, for now and in the future (it’s going to be a long summer after next friday). And still many stories to continue. Mahalo.
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Great episode! Loved the scenes with Hirsch & Kono,but I agree with you that once they knew he was safe,the focus should have been on Sarah. Chin’s stomach had to have been tied in knots when he heard her say her middle name. No doubt,she was the reason for the strength he had to get out of that hospital bed and join the team for the rescue! Does seem odd that no one at the nurses’ station noticed the flat line signal,but even if they had, I don’t think they could have stopped Chin from leaving!
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Totally agree with everything you said. My thought is that Gabriel will live, but be after Chin as he will have Gabriel’s daughter to keep safe from her Dad. More fur flying. Shioma is the new WoFat. We haven’t had any Joe or Mom this year, so we must have something with them next year. After seeing the promos it looks like Abby is taken hostage next week, I’m wondering if she will be killed to get her out of the show since she is in a new series in the Fall that will leave Chin to solidfy his relationship with little Sarah. Gerard was a hoot, her face seeing that picture above the bed then hearing his gaff over having more in the closet. Her comment about naked pics was good. The hospital scene, yup, the nurses should have rushed in at the first sign of those being taken off. I even made mention of that to my husband. Through and through shots, where he got it in the shoulder would have had that bullet behind his shoulder blade. hmm. Scenes with Steve were good and we got some good screen time with him. Steve has Naheli (sp?) to look out for, Chin has Sarah, Danny has his kids…nice wrap up this year. Next Friday is going to be a sad day for us fans waiting months for the new season. No new pics of Alex out there, so he must be taking his hiatus this year undercover. Would love to see his beard…
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I liked the episode. But I kept thinking that something was missing. The scenes with Hirsch was funny and I do want his apartment/condo, it has a washer and dryer. I thinking too, that everyone now has children/ foster child to look after except Kono. Hmmm..
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Great review, Linda!
This was, indeed, a vey well written and produced episode. I agree with all your points and I’ll refrain from regurgitating them again. Loved Kono, Gerard and Mr. Hirsch’s scenes. I bet Scott enjoyed having Elliot Gould on set, even if they had no scenes together – mini Oceans reunion! Hirsch’s slimy character that we first met last season, was nicely fleshed out and improved upon this week. I like the guy a lot (and I think he’s younger than we think, he’s simply hair challenged!)
Having known for weeks (thank you spoilers!) that Sara was Chin’s niece by way of Malia, I wasn’t as surprised/shocked as some viewers (including my husband!), but I was amazed at how protective Chin instantly was of the child as soon as he found out who she was! BTW – who didn’t wonder about his miraculous healing powers and the apparent incompetency of the nursing staff! Thankfully this is fiction, or there would be quite a shortage of staff at this hospital after all the nurses were fired!
Lastly, I have a little theory about the next episode. Many of us have been quite perplexed about the reason why Five-0 is going out of their way to keep Gabriel alive in the Chinatown shootout. Sure, ethically they have to attempt to bring him to justice alive, but realistically, I wouldn’t think they would care either way!
Now, though, there is little Sara. She’s lost her mother, her grandparents are deceased, her namesake Aunt Malia is dead. Chin, even though he must hate Gabriel with a passion, would not want little Sara to lose the last member of her immediate family, too, even if keeping him alive means spending the rest of his life in prison. Sara is now part of his Ohana, and he will do everything in his power to keep her out of harm’s way – either emotional or physical harm. Of course, the rest of his Ohana will support him, too.
So, the Five-0 team will attempt to keep Gabriel alive next week. Of course Michelle Shioma now wants all of them dead for getting in her way of revenge, so nobody is really going to be safe! We’ll be waiting with baited breath for next Friday’s 2-hour finale and then, the long, hard dry spell will commence. Thankfully filming will start in July, so new set pictures will start coming in in just 2 months! That’ll be our salvation!
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Great review Linda. I liked this episode, especially as it sets up the first hour of next weeks show. That little girl was so cute. I thought the Jerry bit were not necessary, but I did love Kono and Hirsch. Steve calling Danny buddy had me smiling, I loved that Danny got to give his opinion for once.
Looking forward to the two-hour finale.
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Great review, Linda. I, too, enjoyed this episode and liked the connection with the case of the week to Chin and Sara. There wasn’t the tension between Steve and Danny that has been apparent in the last couple of episodes, so I felt better about that, too. And, like Wendy, hearing him call Danny buddy was music to my ears. Looking so forward to this week’s episodes. Then I’ll just have to sleep for two months until the pics start coming for next season!
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Great review, Linda. I liked the connection between the case of the week and Chin and Sara. The Kono and Hirsch scenes were hysterical. Kono’s facial expressions said it all! There wasn’t the tension between Steve and Danny as has been apparent in the last several episodes, so I was happy about that. Plus hearing Steve call Danny buddy warmed my heart, too. Shioma? She made me shiver. Cool, calm and deadly. What a great addition to the baddies. She is going to be formidable. So looking forward to the season finale, Two episodes! Yippee! And then I get to sleep for two months until the pics for the new season start coming out. 🙂
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