Hawaii Five-0 Watch: Ke Kinohi

Today my Christmas break officially ended. The first day back to school also meant the beginning of the winter television season, which means it’s time for Hawaii Five-0. With the last episode signaling the end of the non-serialized format of the show (CBS figured half a season was long enough to grab in their base audience, I suppose) tonight’s episode was all about McGarrett’s hunt for his mother’s murderer. This lead to some surprising reveals, some more so than others.

For one, it turns out that McGarrett’s sister has been chilling out on the island this whole time. We haven’t seen much of her (er, any of her) because ever since McGarrett caught her snooping around his father’s toolbox (where all his investigation notes were kept) she has been trying to get to the bottom of her mother’s murder. You may remember that the big reveal in the last episode was that Steve’s mom was murdered, and didn’t die in a car crash as he had been told by his father.

So, as McGarrett’s sister has the tendency to do, she got in over her head and was kidnapped. The toolbox was also stolen and both Steve and MaryAnn’s houses were turned upside down, so to speak. This all happened within the first five minutes of the episode, and that is why I love this show. When Steve discovers that his sister has been kidnapped, he starts out on a trail that leads him to Hawaii’s local Yakuza presence.

I can’t be the only one that was not aware that there was such a thing as a local Yakuza presence anywhere in the world, but it seems that there are all sorts of sleazy gang bangers hanging out in Hawaii. McGarrett quickly traces it all back to Hiro Noshimuri, a very influential and well-respected business man; which, in Hawaii Five-0, basically means he’s a cold-blooded murderer. There’s a political balance struck by this show that is something that could only be seen on CBS. Seriously.

The latter half of the episode tracks McGarrett’s quest to connect Hiro to the murder of his mother, for the most part to no avail. However, a little bit of sharp detective work by Kono uncovers some sloppy gangstering by Hiro in the form of the finger print covered toolbox stolen from McGarrett’s house earlier in the episode. While it is discovered that Hiro’s brother is the man technically responsible for McGarrett’s mother’s murder, it matters little as he is killed in a car accident within the last minute of the show. While this little bit of ‘justice’ is played off as irony by Danno and McGarrett, I can’t help but wonder if his death is a part of a bigger and darker story.

Wo Fat and McGarrett met for the first time on the gold course that Hiro was arrested on, and while McGarrett still isn’t aware of his criminal mastermind status, you could see the distrust in his eyes as he sent Wo Fat on his way after arresting the man that McGarrett thought was his boss. My inkling is that Wo Fat had Hiro’s brother killed in order to keep McGarrett off his scent for the time being. While I can’t take Wo Fat seriously due to his woefully bad name, I have to say that he is played quite well by Mark Dacascos. I look forward to his character growth and the battles that him and Steve will most certainly share in the latter half of the season.

With MaryAnn heading back to the mainland, you can bet that when Hawaii Five-0 comes back in two weeks Steve McGarrett will be almost solely focused on the cold cases that he found inside of his father’s tool box. These will, I’m sure, connect at the end of the season in some meaningful and powerful away. Until then, enjoy the adrenaline (and cheese) stuffed thrill ride that is Hawaii Five-0, I know I will.