Hello my friends.  I would like to apologize for this being so late this week. But you see, just as I was sitting down to write, my phone rang.  It was my wonderful daughter all the way from Australia and once she and I get going on the phone, hours fly by as if they are seconds.  Before I knew it, half of Saturday was gone.  But oh, it was so worth it!  But, as much fun as it was, now it’s time to get to work.  Oh hell, who am I kidding?  Time to get to even more fun!

You know, there are times, when you think you’re going to feel a certain way about something and it doesn’t turn out the way you think.  The party you dread going to turns out to be a phenomenal night.  The great guy you meet turns out to be a dud.  But sometimes, the reality of something turns out even better than you could have anticipated.  This H50 episode is just such a case.

Reading the synopsis and seeing the promo pictures and the sneak peeks, I knew this episode was going to be a really good one.  It turned out to be the best episode of the season, so far.  So let’s get to it.  As usual, my ramblings … in no specific order.

No secondary story:  Although we were saddled, once again, with the silly “previously on”, I was thrilled that this episode concentrated on the main story.  I’m very happy the writers didn’t use up valuable time on a full secondary story which would have done nothing to serve the main focus.

There were, however, brief scenes which were not part of the main story.  I really liked these little scenes because, even though they didn’t take a great deal of time, each added a nice piece to the episode, either by providing a bit of levity to counter the overall intensity of the episode, or to further along other story lines for the future.

I loved the scene with Lou, Kono and Kamekona as Kame, once again used his friends to taste-test his newest culinary experiment.  And like the “shrimp breakfast burrito” of a few years ago, his “shrimp malasadas” didn’t fare much better.  Between Kono silently trying to swallow down the malasada without being sick to Lou’s “I’m a cop…. I know a little something about donuts”, this scene was perfect.

I have to admit though; I seriously could have done without yet another ex-NFL football player (Otis Wilson of the Chicago Bears) randomly showing up for no apparent reason.  But, watching big ‘ole Lou Grover go totally fanboy was just too funny to be bothered too much by it.

The scene also served to set up the next chapter of Kono’s story with Adam.  It seems Adam’s actions in bringing down the Halawa escapees has earned him some time off his sentence.  We knew Adam was being released in episode 7.05, now we know why it’s earlier than the original 18-months.  I’m looking forward to seeing Kono and Adam back together.  I agree with Kame, they deserve to be finally be happy.

There was also that adorable scene with Chin and Sara.  Hearing Chin fall into his “King of Siam” persona made me really sad I never got the chance to make it up the Turnpike this past summer to see DDK on Broadway.  As Easter Eggs go, this one was a jewel.

It was also totally adorable when Sara ran up to her “Uncle Jerry” and gave him some “sugar”.  This kid is just too damn cute.

But the scene also set up their story with regard to her Aunt and Uncle in Mexico and the possibility that, even though they checked out as clean, they could be involved in trafficking drugs.  I also really liked that Chin reached out to Coughlin for help mostly because I just love Ingo Rademacher.

The short scene at the end of the episode with little Sara tearfully whispering into the dark how she’s going to miss her Uncle Chin and his admission he’s going to miss her too was heartbreaking.

 Alicia:  I’m reminded of a line from the movie “Jaws”.  Hooper comments to Brodie that it makes little sense for a man who doesn’t like the water to live on an island, to which Brodie responds “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water”.  I suppose that’s the logic Alicia used because it does seem kind of silly for a person with a fear of the water to move to a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  But then again, Danny hates the water and he moved there as well.  I suppose if the motivation is strong enough, you just do what you have to do.  Danny’s motivation was, of course, Grace.  Alicia’s is a bit more complicated.

She may be afraid of water but damn, is this woman ballsy or what?  She’s like a terrier when someone tries to take its toy away.  I can see why she was so good at her job and why she needed to eventually walk away from it.  She does not let things go.  She can’t let up when working on a case, it consumes her life.  But she also can’t let go of the guilt.  The guilt over the death of her daughter at the hands of a serial killer.  So she ran to that rock in the middle of the ocean to get as far away as she could from the memories.  But this case brings it all back, even before she knows there is a connection to her dead daughter.

I said last week that I could see real mutual respect growing between Steve and Alicia and that only solidified this week.  First off, Alicia is very much like Steve.  Steve was beside himself and even a little angry when he found out Alicia was inside Dr. Gray’s house.  He specifically told her not to do anything until he’d brought the team up to speed.  But she didn’t listen, did what she felt she needed to do to make the connection between Dr. Gray and the murders.   But you know as well as I that Steve has done things very similar over the years.  Following his gut over using his head. It’s one of the things that drives Danny absolutely crazy.  At least this time he did tell the team he was on his way to the office to brief them so when, two hours went by and no Steve, they knew something was definitely wrong.

I liked that we got to see Alicia’s back story with regard to the death of her daughter.  We all knew there was some tragic event that was making her, originally, so dead set against coming out of retirement.  We all also knew it was going to have something to do with the young woman in the photo on her shelf.  I admit, though, I was surprised it was her daughter.  I didn’t think Alicia looked old enough to have a daughter that age.  I was figuring she was her younger sister or something.  But having it be her daughter, and having a wonderful daughter of my own, her story really struck a chord with me.  There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect, defend or avenge my child either. And I could totally see me cutting myself off from everything if the unthinkable happened especially if I felt it was my fault.

Dr. Gray:  I loved the way Elisabeth Rohm played Dr. Gray.  I have to admit, she was totally freaking me out because she was just so….. detached.  Stabbing two people in the back as if it was nothing more than swatting a fly, not to mention trying to tenderize Steve’s head with a meat mallet, meticulously washing the knife and wiping down the counters like the normal ending of any normal day spent in the kitchen, she was, for me anyway, chilling.  Yes, that’s a good word because I literally got the chills when she pulled up a chair and sat there, legs elegantly crossed, calmly conversing with Alicia as she sits bleeding and weak on the floor.

I am thrilled that the story arc didn’t end with this episode and that Dr. Gray is “in the wind” on the mainland, in Beverly Hills, looking as though she’s taking up a new murdering course of action.  Blind dates with guys who have a fascination with Jack the Ripper, like that isn’t at all creepy or anything!  I can’t wait to see what’s coming next with this story arc.

If Dr. Gray is, and it looks like she is, our new big baddie, I am extremely happy with the fact that it’s a woman and even more so that it looks like we’ll have a psychological thriller to follow.  Don’t get me wrong, I adore the shoot ‘em up, car chase, Iron Man stories, the more the better.  But I’m looking forward to this one being, hopefully, a bit more cerebral, one where everyone from Steve and the team to the rest of us stretch our brains and our deductive reasoning skills to come to the final denouement.  I’m sure it will all end in gun fire and bloodshed like we’re used to and love. 😉

One thing I don’t understand about Dr. Gray is why blow up Steve’s truck?  Was it just to be malicious?  Because, honestly, it doesn’t make sense.  I mean, other than it was a nice fun kaboom in an episode with no gunfire, up to that point anyway, what was the purpose?  They hadn’t used it to transport Steve or Alicia so there was no evidence to destroy.  Finding the charred remains out in the middle of nowhere waves a huge flag.  Why not just park it somewhere unobtrusive?  But I guess the real question is….. why can’t the guys just be guys and want a new car every once in a while?  Why do they always have to trade up via explosion?  RIP Blue Silverado.  Say hi to the Silver Bullet for us.

The Chess Piece Killer:  There is another thing I don’t understand about Dr. Gray and all the killings.  Seriously, help me out here guys because I really feel like I’m missing something.  She used serial killers, her pawns, to murder for her then she killed the killers, right?  Steve asked her how she got those men to kill for her, speculated that she found out about them from Detective Lau, and for her silence, used them to murder for her.  Ok…. that part I understand but what murders are we talking about here?

The one serial killer, Anthony Lee Hein, was knocking off tourists and gouging their eyes out.  David Larson, the second serial killer, had the bodies of 8 locals in his basement.  Are we supposed to believe Dr. Gray had a vendetta and put out a hit on random tourists and locals? If so, why?  Or did these victims fall prey to the particular MO of these serial killer’s while, at the same time, Dr. Gray had them also kill someone else?  And if so, who else?  Is it possible there are more victims out there Five-0 doesn’t know about yet?

And who killed the serial killers?  Did Dr. Gray do it herself or, more than likely, did the Wittens take care of them all? Is that why they were the King and the Queen and not pawns like the others?

And what about the Wittens?  We know, because they said so, they had a particular vendetta against Alicia because she had put Donald away.  So, knowing their connection to Alicia, did Dr. Gray bring them in late in the game, just to take care of her and Steve or were they part of the game all along, killing the serial killers for her?  If they were part of Dr. Gray’s scheme from the very beginning, how did Dr. Gray know Alicia would be involved at all since Steve and Danny reached out to her after the other serial killers were already dead? Could the fact that the Wittens and Alicia all ended up in the same place at the same time be mere coincidence?  What does Chin like to say about coincidences?

Or, could there even be someone else pulling the strings.  Remember back in the premiere Hein was sending recordings to someone via email and Larson took very graphic photos of the people he murdered, possibly to also share with the email person.  Was that Dr. Gray?

So many questions.  There is so much more to this story and this arc than we can possibly know at this point.  I’m thrilled this is our new arc because there is so much there to explore and discover.  Dr. Gray looks to be a formidable adversary and I’m willing to bet there is a ton more soiling her dainty hands.

SuperSEAL:  I really liked the entire scene of Steve and Alicia in the blowhole.  It reminded me of how terrified Lynn was when she and Steve were under fire on their “first date” on that little island.  Steve was able to calm Lynn down with some SEAL breathing techniques and, while not using the exact same techniques here, was still able to calm Alicia down enough to formulate a plan.  But Alicia was clearly terrified and when Steve swam away to try to find a way out, it was easy to see she would have a really hard time staying calm enough to ride out the wave filling the cave.  Well, to be honest, if I knew I’d be getting mouth to mouth from Steve McGarrett, I might have stayed under water a bit too long myself.  🙂

Too bad the Wittens didn’t know that Steve is not only totally in his element in the water but possesses a true blue never fail attitude.  They shouldn’t have assumed they’d taken care of business by tossing them in that blowhole in the first place.

But did they?  I mean, Steve and Alicia had been in that hole for a while and the Wittens were still up on the cliff side as if waiting for them to get out or something so they could, what?  Shoot them on sight if they did?  Well, it didn’t matter anyway.  Sticking around was the stupidest thing they could have done short of underestimating Steve.  Chin and Kono soon made short work of the two of them.

The knife wounds:  Of course we’re going to have to discuss this. I’m sure every other blogger, reviewer and fan is scratching their heads with a collective “what the hell?”.  This is the only thing about this episode I had any serious issue with, as I am sure everyone else does as well.  Not only are Steve and Alicia stabbed in the back, the writers and the director go to great lengths to show just how huge that blade is and just how far it was embedded in their backs. Even Steve’s scream (God what an awful sound that was!) as Dr. Gray pulled it out emphasized just how deep that blade was.  If you’re going to go through all the trouble to establish these things, you can’t just turn around and pretend like it didn’t happen.

Steve and Alicia were clearly in a bad way at the house and didn’t look too much better in the van on the way to the blowhole.  I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say the fear and adrenalin of the situation helped perk them both up while they were in the water but once they were out?  Come on.  Chin was walking behind Steve and I kept waiting for Chin, as he was placing his hand on Steve’s back to say “Oh man… Steve…. Kono, call a bus, now!”  Or at least when they were asked if they were ok, Steve could have said something like “We’re fine Chin, but I think maybe we need to have (small glance over his shoulder) these looked at”.  It’s the only flaw I can find in this episode.

Danny:  Ok, maybe not the only flaw.  I always hate it when Danny isn’t in an episode.  And I totally believe this episode would have been even better if Danny had been speeding along in the Camaro while at the same time Chin and Kono were in the Mustang, all frantically searching for Steve.  I believe the episode would have been better with Danny losing his mind over Steve being taken, yet again, and the worry about what could be happening to him.  I always think every episode is better when Danny is in it.

But just because I think it would have been better, that doesn’t mean I think this episode suffered from him not being there.  Danny would have elevated it from an Awesome to a Truly Awesome, if he was there.  No, the flaw isn’t the fact that Danny wasn’t there but the lame excuse given for why he wasn’t there.  Just one tiny throwaway line that Danny hadn’t spoken to Steve since he “left for Jersey”.

I love our writers but, come on guys.  Come up with something a little more inventive.  If this season is going to be like last season, there are four more episodes that will be Danny-less, including the hugely important 150^th episode.  Please, for the love of God, come up with a better reason than Jersey or a cheerleading competition.  Or even, if Danny must go to Jersey, say he went back because his testimony was needed in court on an old open case back in Newark, or something.  It’s still “Jersey” but at least it doesn’t make it look like Danny just randomly decided to take off in the middle of a high profile case.  Please!

Steve and Alicia:  I saw the official H50 Twitter account found it necessary on Friday night to ask “Do you ship Brown and McG?”.  I really wish the official account wouldn’t poke that bear.  The last thing this volatile fandom needs is another shipper war.  Like I said before, I see a true mutual respect between these two.  I also remember Peter saying that these two are moving toward a good friendship because Alicia has an understanding of Steve unlike most others.  Now that we’ve seen her story a bit more, I can understand that.

If we’re to believe that Steve is still going through a reflective phase where he’s questioning in his mind the role of his job in his life and what it may or may not have cost him, it’s logical Alicia would understand that.  She, after all, still blames herself, her work and the fact she brought her daughter into that same work, for her daughters death.  Alicia and Steve have much in common besides just being driven, reckless and stubborn.  But a love interest?  I doubt it.  Relationships that start under extreme circumstances rarely survive. It’s best they don’t even start.

I really loved this episode.  I felt it was the best episode of the season, in a season I feel has so far been fantastic.  I can’t wait to see where this is all leading but then, I think I say that every week, don’t I? LOL

Have a wonderful week my friends.  Aloha. Malama Pono

All screen caps are mine unless otherwise noted.