Episode Title: 'Ha'i'ole'
Writer: Peter M. Lenkov & Paul Zbyszewski
Director: Steve Boyum
Previously on:
After discovering the governor's involvement in the murder of her assistant and 5-0 informant, Laura Hills, McGarrett broke into her mansion in order to obtain a confession. However, he was tasered by Wo Fat, who then shot the governor and framed McGarrett for the murder. McGarrett was imprisoned and 5-0 was disbanded, with Kono under suspension for her involvement in the theft of the money from the forfeiture locker. Meanwhile, Danny made plans to return to New Jersey with his ex-wife Rachel, who he believed was pregnant with his child.
Story:
At Governor Jameson's memorial service, Chin Ho (Daniel Dae Kim) spots Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos) among the attendees. Meanwhile, Danny (Scott Caan) visits McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) in jail, bringing along the man who trained him, Lt. Commander Joe White (Terry O'Quinn), now on board to help McGarrett clear his name and capture Wo Fat. Outside the service, Chin Ho confronts Wo Fat, vowing to put him behind bars for the murder of the governor.
Out in the prison yard, Victor Hesse (James Marsters) attacks McGarrett with a shank, stabbing him in the midsection. Back at the former Five-0 HQ, Danny introduces White to Chin Ho. Danny sends White to Jenna Kaye (Larisa Oleynik) to take a look at the team's intel on Wo Fat. He then gets a call about Hesse's attack on McGarrett. In his cell, Hesse tells Chin Ho and Danny that Wo Fat ordered him to kill McGarrett. Knowing the gangster would eventually have him killed in prison, as well, Hesse stabbed McGarrett to give him the chance to escape and get to Wo Fat first.
Chin Ho gives a wallet he swiped belonging to one of Wo Fat's henchmen to Kono (Grace Park), who's still on suspension. While she tracks down the thug, Danny and Chin Ho go off in search of McGarrett. After evading the police, a wounded McGarrett breaks into Dr. Bergman's apartment. Bergman (Masi Oka) treats his wounds and Danny and Chin Ho arrive soon after. Danny takes McGarrett to meet Makoto, an old friend of his father's with information on his investigation. On the car ride over, Danny tells McGarrett that Rachel is moving back in with Stan, after learning the baby she's pregnant with is his, not Danny's.
At Makoto's, Danny learns that it was he who asked Steve McGarrett to investigate the governor's relationship with Wo Fat. While tracking Wo Fat's crony, Kono is attacked and taken hostage on his boat. McGarrett and the team head to the locker where his father hid the evidence implicating the governor, according to Makoto. After taking a look at the footage his father obtained, Danny and Chin Ho head to the governor's office to see if the hidden camera is still installed. After finding the camera, the team discovers footage of Wo Fat stunning McGarrett and shooting the governor.
Meanwhile, police swarm Kamekono's shop where White and McGarrett are hiding out. McGarrett surrenders himself just as Danny and Chin Ho arrive with the footage clearing McGarrett's name. The Lt. Governor has McGarrett released and Five-0 reinstated. Kono escapes her captors and calls Chin Ho with Wo Fat's location. The team races to the pier, where they hop a speed boat to catch Wo Fat. White and Kono catch the buyer who just purchased dirty bomb materials from Wo Fat. McGarrett leaps onto the boat but Wo Fat is nowhere to be found.
Danny and McGarret question Wo Fat's henchman but he won't talk. Danny decides to release him to bait Wo Fat. Back at the prison, Victor Hesse is murdered by a guard revealed to be Wo Fat. He leaves and gets into a car driven by Jenna.
Breakdown:
I can't believe I'm saying this but "H50" is one of the returning shows this fall that I was most excited for and 'Ha'i'ole' (meaning "unbreakable") set off season two in high style. All the elements that comprise a great episode of 5-0 were there: McGarrett in Navy Seal ninja mode, Danno running off at the mouth, Grace Park in a bikini, Masi Oka dweebing out as Max Bergman, James Marsters with a wicked brogue, Kamekona serving up shave ice and welcome new edition, John Locke aka Lt. Joe White aka Terry O'Quinn back on the island where he belongs. You couldn't ask for a better season premiere from this surprisingly solid reboot.
Best Danny one-liner this week? "Zip it, Kermit," directed at a mumbling Dr. Bergman in an amphibious green button up. And McGarrett's escape from a moving ambulance as Victor Hesse explained his plot to help his old nemesis escape was the perfect reintroduction to H50's resident badass.
As for this season's newcomers, Terry O'Quinn is a good fit for the even-tempered, cool-headed Lt. Commander White. And while I think I'm not alone in dreading the upgrade of Masi Oka's nebbish Dr. Max Bergman to series regular, I actually enjoyed his time on screen in this episode, playing off the wise-cracking Danny and straight man, Chin Ho.
And while this season two opener started out rather dark, it ended like so many hours last season, with the team gathered together, rehashing the days prison breaks, wisecracks, car trunk escapes, high-speed boat pursuits and the usual shoot out. Having the team back together again kinda gave me the warm and fuzzies.
With Wo Fat still on the loose, and the intriguing reveal of Jenna Kaye's relationship with our big bad, there's enough development on H50's serialized end to keep me interested in this procedural, so long as there's a regular payoff with the bigger picture. What's reassuring about this excellent season two premiere is that "Hawaii Five-0" knows what it does best and Lenkov, Orci, Kurtzman and company played to its strong points here: ass kickin', wise crackin' and of course some island eye candy.
Crave Online Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
