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“Ma Ke Kahakai” means “At the Shore” and for the Hawaiian people, the shore is where life begins. The ocean is our savior, as it feeds us, flavors our food, and embodies the essence of our way of life. So it is interesting that tonight’s episode brings us to the shore of our Five-0 foursome’s core beliefs. The strength of Steve and Danno’s relationship, the rationale behind Chin Ho’s fall, and the family ties that bind both he and Kono, as well as Steve to the memory of his father. All four are “at the shore” and all must decide if they will sink or swim—or ask one another for a lifeline. And like all friends who believe in each other—they all reach out for each other and find a helping hand.
And a helping hand is what Steve needs right from the beginning. Thanks to a rogue rock, Steve is almost incapacitated early in the episode, and Danno is left a bit helpless with nothing more than a signal-less smart phone and “graffiti on rocks”—that’s a petroglyph to most people, Danno—to help him. Super Seal Steve does another fantastic MacGyver job on his ugly broken arm, as Danno climbs to the summit to get a boost from modern technology and get an army evac to help his injured Aquaman. All is solved once the chopper gets there with Chin Ho watching worriedly, and Steve throws Danno a little pidgin “thanks, brah” as Danno mimes an impromptu sign language “I heart you” to his injured buddy.
Steve thankfully did not use his time waiting for Danno to rescue him by sitting around and whining about his busted arm. He, of course, breaks into “Steve the Science Guy” and gets his CSI mind working on the dead body he and Danno found before he encountered the naughty stray rock. Yes, a dead body I said. I know, who goes hiking in our beautiful green mountains and finds a dead man dressed in work clothes and a bullet hole full of fish scales? Only McG would stumble onto a mystery in the middle of paradise. But I suppose that is the entire crux of the show, yes?
So the Five-0 Team stood at the shore, and held out their hands for help. And they got help, from each other, and for each other, but in the end, as the shore is sometimes smooth and sometimes rough, so are the waves of truth that our team must face.
wow wendie you even made me tear up a little. this was arguably the best charachter driven episode to date. steve came out as a real human talking about the trips he made with his dad and how importaint and wonderful his father was to him. that wether anyone wants to admit it or not strikes home to alot of father/son relationships. he seemed to come out of charachter alot and it was amazing. like when he came back to the office as kono greeted him i saw alex not steve. with that shi* eatin grin on his face you just knew alex wanted to make a wise crack at her. and the i heart you gesture im willing to bet wasnt written but added by scott- it was perfect!!!
kono’s emotions were understandable considering that shes a rookie and dealing with emotions concerning her idol and mentor chin. her world is very black and white where chin, with many more years under his belt knows its sometimes gray. ” you arent sopposed to lie” seems like a straight forward statement but mixing family loyalty, your oath to uphold the law and raw emotion makes for a difficult path to follow. chin did what we would all think we would do to protect his family at great expense to his career and marriage. kono will come to realize this as she gets older. kono telling the family about the death is long overdue. one of the biggest hurdles as a cop. the pairing of danny and chin worked well and it was nice to see chin taking a leadership role. having said that the chemistry between danny and kono in past episodes was very natural and exciting to watch. noone will ever match the team of mcg and danny they just play off each other so naturally its like sometimes like theyre not even acting as evidenced last nite. my boy taylor wily always always delivers on que and makes me laugh out loud ! he is a treasure! never have i fallen so in love with tv show . when im watching it doesnt feel like entertainment becasue it feels like family like your rite there. what a great job from everyone.
ps– although im not a big fan of twitter it was fun to twit with DDK and to see all the remarks from ‘Peter the tease’ last nite-although i had to play the episode back to really enjoy it and pick up all of the details- was a little distracting – i think next time ill skip the twit and just enjoy my show!
Oh I love the twit and would enjoy doing it again and again – but I definitely would go back to the show and focus on the show alone as well. There is always something we miss, a name a word or a clue!!! But a fun evening it was. I would prefer the tweets to be on a different night so that we can ask relevant questions not be lost along the way but it was fun watching everyone else’s comments and tweets and it was interesting to have Peter Lenkov watching us all….hah he wanted to make sure that we don’t all get into trouble….but we love him all the more for participating. He knows us all so well now. Its fun!!
i like peters tweets although i tease him about the spoilers. it drives me nutty that they dont rt but i guess i dont have a million followers either. besides im not the one who drove him off facebook val.. lol just kiddin sweety we know it was lisa–lol. hes really a cool guy. i always look forward to his and mike s and jorci and ddk tweeting it really is cool to read their stuff and see the cool pics!
Peter Lenkov? He’s the worse tweet of all. He must be getting lessons from DDK because he’s now tweeting like a pro. Hee hee!! He also wrote the final script. Oh we are so going to suffer and go nuts all summer long waiting for Season 2.
Wow! Joey, I always knew you had it in ya! You took all the wind out of my sails – nothing left for me to add!
Poetry in motion Joey – really great review!! Good job!!
Great review and analysis, Wendy — and definitely a great episode. Once again, the plot points don’t always take you where you’re expecting – there’s enough uncertainty to keep you engaged and guessing..
Something I really enjoy about the show’s character-development storylines is that they’re never irrelevant or throwaway — they pretty much always build on details we’ve been given before and lead towards later developments. Steve and Danno’s conversation on that ridge, before the fateful visit to the petroglyphs — for all their wisecracking and banter, this is pretty important stuff to Steve. He’s sharing the experience with Danny, and in doing so, sharing something of Pa McG. Then on the tail end of this, the whole fall down the rock-face, the frantic run up and down the mountain, the hauling Steve back up the cliff? These two? Read Kipling’s “Thousandth Man” — seems to me that’s what they’ve each found. Alex and Scott hit it out of the park.
Daniel and Grace were seriously impressive in their Auntie Mele storyline, too — reminded me again why I enjoyed his work with Jin on LOST and her work with Sharon / Boomer / Athena on BSG. Give them emotionally freighted material and they hit three-point shots with it..
Finally, I really love that family continues to be a core aspect of the show — the importance of family, both the one we’re born into and the ones we make for ourselves. I don’t know who needed to find a new family, a home, more out of the Awesome Foursome, but I think they’ve done pretty well for themselves with the 5-0 Ohana.
you rock braddah bert! good review
The plot points – oh yeah how many times have I blindly followed the direction they are pointing and how many times have I said to myself …oooh I didn’t see that coming!! Dang those writers, and their curve balls….it gets me everytime…so much fun!!! Great Review Bert!!
Wendie!!!
Another AWESOME redux today… I thought the “I (heart) you” thing from Danno was a little over the top… but I did like the emotion shown by Kono and Chin… very, VERY believeable… In terms of character development, I think Chin is stealing the show… his character seems very complex, and I’m liking it. It’s nicely paired off with the rookie spunkiness of his little cousin Kono… the continuing bromance between Steve and Danno is great, but we’ve been subjected to it since the start of the series… I’m interested to see what Hiro Noshimuri has been doing lately, along w/ how much Wo Fat and Gov. Jameson have been hangin’ out… perhaps all will be told in the coming weeks. Thanks again for a great job Wendie! :o) (lessthanthree)
Neil
I think the “I (heart) you” was an improv from Scott Caan that he threw in to play around with Alex O’Loughlin and they kept it in. Either way, it blew up tweets and made a lot of people swoon.
Oh Wendie you took the words right out of my mouth. I even felt blurry eyed reading your blog and only people who have come to love the show and all its characters as much as you do can appreciate the love pouring from so many of us who have been loyal followers since this adventure all began.
This show is all about family and friendship and loyalty as well as honor and its all called into question throughout the season. What we see from the start is a group of strangers who came together by a twist of fate and luck because now we really understand what living in paradise truly means to us, and we see this week after week!!! The writing for this episode was superb and well thought frought with well meaning dialogues and depth. What I love so much about this show is not just the beauty of the island but the people in it, the heart and soul of the people who have been working on this show for the past year and a half – they made Hawaii even more beautiful and more special than any of us could imagine.
Thanks to your wonderful blog Wendie and attention to detail, we learn far more about the culture of each story that is just soo educational and fascinating and undercover officer 808 has done the very same thing. We love you guys sooo much for the heart you bring to the show. Hard to believe that a show like this can bring so many hearts together and win so many friends but here we have it on a tv cop show with stories, ample loads of them full of big well written hearts!! Alex, Scott, Daniel and Grace were brilliant and have been wonderful throughout the season!!
Even at the heart of the matter our friendship is contagious because our fine executive producer, Peter Lenkov found a way to find us as we found him and the other executives and we share our love and joy with them each and every day reminding them how much we love and appreciate them and that friendship extends on the social network – we are a family of friends that are growing largely in numbers and who wouldn’t love to be part of this?
Wendie you are right -there are many questions that are unanswered surrounding the champ box…betcha everything we need to know was in that that little red box of mystery that needs a lot more unravelling with time and seasons ahead but with time we will learn the truth and our favorite characters will reach out and we’ll be there with huge hearts and loyal support because they know we’ll be there for them every week.
I always remember another Hawaii based movie Lilo and Stitch: “‘Ohana” means “family.” H50 is family.
Reminds me of this: http://www.honolulupulse.com/movies-tv/ohana-means-family
i just know they are going to have us reeling all summer long. i miss them already
nicely done … couldn’t agree more !
Just looking at Scott makes anyone want to fall down and have those guys come to your rescue, we can only dream, can’t we? ;0)
Another great Redux Wendy! You bring such a wonderful perspective to the show we all love. From the moment Steve’s cell phone rang in that Humvee this show has had one central theme. Family. Steve listening as his father is killed and all the resulting family issues. Danny with Grace and Rachel and Matt. Chin and Kono and the ongoing story of the dynamics of their family and Chin’s disgrace within the family.
Even the crime of the week has usally involved family. Hesse trying to blackmail Steve to save his brother. Sang Min helped the team because said he could protect his family from being deported. How many parents have we seen being forced to do something under duress because their kids have been taken or threatened. The mad bomber was targeting his enemies kids…it just goes on and on. Family is always central in Five-0.
And now Five-0 itself, the four of them, have become a family. Steve, alone in the world with his parents dead and his sister in LA. Danny, alone in a strange land. Chin, alone because his family has disowned him for what they think he has done. And Kono, not quite as alone but feeling trapped between the family she loves and the cousin she loves and respects. These four lost souls, through circumstances and events have found each other and have fused into a new family, with all the love, affection and loyalty of any blood family. It is beautiful to see. It is beautifully written and beautifully acted.
U rock my friend! Joey (:
Love it Linda, absolutely love it!!
Linda – Kono is just as alone – remember she had her surfing family, until she wiped out her career with the blown knee! She looked up to …. whatever his name was… the Coral Prince boss, as a father figure, and she watched him be killed in front of her. So, she’s had losses to deal with, too, and 5-0 is becoming a new family for her, too!
Great job Wendie and kind of cool that you have seen some of the filming of the show. Keep up the good work.
Fantastic episode last night!!! There was fabulous work done by all. Both the storylines were riveting and Daniel Dae Kim was entertaining on twitter last night. I applaud everyone involved.
Awsome, awsome, awsome. Both the show and your blog. I love reading it the next day. There is just too much to say about last night’s episode. All four actors were just fantastic. The family that has devoloped in this show makes it unique among “cop” shows. The closeness makes me dread the cliffhanger finale which we have been hearing rumors about lately. It may be the one show I don’t watch until the new season starts. LOL Anywho, keep up the great work on your blogs. I learn so much about Hawaii and its people. Thank you.
I don’t understand how you can learn about Hawaii and it’s people from a show that does not portray any significant Hawaiian characters that I can see. The one role for a Hawaiian man was turned into a beautiful Chinese woman. I like the fact that local people are employed in the television business, but I am kind of concerned that this is the Hawaii that people are accepting as what Hawaii is about. This Hawaii has no Hawaiians, and whatever Hawaiians they do have are skinny and beautiful. Hawaii is beautiful, Television is sexy, there is a difference.
I think Tulloch was saying that they learned about Hawaii and it’s people from my writing and my perspective as a local and a Hawaiian. And do you mean to say that Hawaiians are NOT skinny and beautiful? Interesting. I agree however that television is meant to be sexy and there is a difference, but to say that you cannot learn about Hawaii from the show is a bit myopic. Thanks for your comment:)
I agree that last night’s vistas was absolutely breathtaking—looks better on television then in real life. Love your blog! McG handles the long chopsticks like a pro–wonder how long it took him to learn how to grab a bullet with them? My favorite is the Waiola Shaved Ice Guy–he’s a natural!! Yes, you can see the natural bond between the actors; the “ohana” spirit and the fat guy seems brings them all together.
LOL- funny that you “read” the scene at the end as Steve and Danno trying to out-flirt each other with the waitress, to get her attention. Others have had another interpretation of the scene. I for one read it as Danno feeling bad that Steve wouldn’t let him sign his cast- sort of like a little brother’s “its not fair”. gotta love this show!
saw that scene on you tube they really like each other all of them. its really cool to see that!
You knocked it out of the ball park with the last paragraph Wen 🙂
I don’t usually like tear janking scenes per se, however, I appreciate that Hawaii 5-0 hasn’t ended up totally as one continuous car cashing, bullets flying, gun toting schlack I feared it might end up. I loved that Chef Morimoto got to showcase his lousy singing for comedy relief and that he should stick to his day job though his acting wasn’t bad. Hapa!! Can we have more of them please? And the scenery! Gosh, this show knows how to deliver the eye candy in heaps! Keep it up and you’ll never lack for appreciation.
Wendie, because I’m always a day late and a dollar short, I can’t add anything new to any of the comments here, but want you to know this was an awesome review! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, clutching my tissue with that last paragraph! When you translate the episode title into English for mainlanders, we can get a much better understanding of the true meaning of the episode. I live right alongside the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations, and their native language is so beautiful and so much more meaningful in regard to life, the land, family, etc., but so utterly foreign to non-natives that the beauty of it is completely lost. Is this fast-paced, instant gratification life we lead robbing us of the more beautiful ways of life? I think so. Thanks again, Wendie…
Such a phenomenal show. Love watching all of them & Hawaii always has beautiful scenery as always. So proud to have an AWSOME show. Chehuuuuuuu for Hawaii No Ka Oi.
Wendie,
Another great review on your part with the true bonus of your insights to the local culture. I think the team has really gelled as a team that works well together, and we have a sense that they actually like each other (both onset and off).
How many more new episodes are left for this season. I also have a concern that it has not officially been renewed for next year. This type of quality storytelling should be rewarded by both the viewers and the network.
Paul D, Concord Twp, OH
Aloha all!
Just wanted to let everyone know that the podcast Wendie and I did last Friday by Skype, is up finally at http://alohavermont.com (also on iTunes at ‘Hawaii In Vermont.)”
We chatted about many things while reviewing last week’s episode, “”Ma Ke Kahakai” and it was so much fun! Please let us know if you like it, here and at our respective Facebook pages and blogs! Mahalo, everyone!
Dana In Vermont
@Websouffle
http://alohavermont.com
facebook.com/alohavermont