In season four of “Hawaii Five-0” when actor Chi McBride joined the cast as recurring cast member, Capt. Lou Grover, many fans were on the fence about the future of the larger than life SWAT team leader. Five seasons later, Lou is not only an integral part of the Five-0 task force, but he and his family — wife Renee (Michelle Hurd), son Will (Chosen Jacobs), and daughter Samantha (Paige Hurd) — are an important part of the Five-0 ohana.

This season, new members of the Grover family joined the ohana — Lou’s parents, Miss Ella (Gladys Knight) and Percy Sr. (Louis Gossett Jr.), along with his older brother, Percy Lee Jr. (Clifton Powell). While Miss Ella and Percy Sr. came for Thanksgiving to visit Lou, Renee and Will, big brother Percy stayed on to take a job baking his signature pastries at Kamekona’s (Taylor Wily) ohana style Italian restaurant.

Over the last few seasons, Grover has valiantly battled with his past issues such as suicide and depression. He and his family have been threatened numerous times because of his connection to Five-0, and after he put his murderous ex-partner Clay Maxwell (Mykelti Williamson) in prison. Still, Grover always seems to be in a good mood, and his genuine smile is always infectious. He is also a strong leader and often schools the “kids,” Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Junior (Beulah Koale) when it comes to matters of police work and investigating a case.

BEST FRIEND, BEST FATHER, BEST MAN

Grover is a strong member of Five-0 not just because of his years of experience as a police officer, but because he is always willing to back up the team with a big gun or a helping hand. While one punch from him would put anyone down, it’s his hilarious one-liners that really kill us. Grover is the king of the perfect punchline, with or without his fists.

Besides his witty comebacks and jocular jabs, Grover is also quick and sure with his weapon. As the former captain of the HPD SWAT team, he has similar skills to Navy SEAL McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin), and the team often relies on him when they have to break down a door or two. Skills aside, Grover is also there to back them up, making sure the team is covered and supported outside of Five-0 headquarters. This season, Grover paid particular interest in helping Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) as he began to mend after breaking up with his wife, former Five-0 team member, Kono.

It is his friendship with McGarrett and his connection to Danny (Scott Caan) that fans seem to appreciate the most. Soon after he and McGarrett stopped competing with each other and became friends, they realized they both carried demons and scars from past cases. Talking with each other over beers seemed to help them both. And he and Danny shared a similar concern for the welfare and safety of their children. As the two fathers on the team, when their kids are threatened or endangered both men become deadly fighters willing to die in order to save their own children. It is a bond they share as parents and one that McGarrett seems to understand the best about both of his teammates.

BROTHERLY LOVE

After Percy arrived in the Thanksgiving episode, “Lele pu na manu like” (“Birds of a feather”), incidentally written by McBride himself, fans saw their deep sibling rivalry. Lou and his older brother have shared this all of their lives, but after what Lou has gone through since he moved his family away from Chicago and made Hawaii home, his relationship with his brother seems to have definitely improved. In the episode, when Percy tells Lou he is so proud of all he has accomplished, and Lou tells his big brother that he was the reason he became a cop — because he wanted to protect people as Percy did for him while they were growing up — it was a story fans did not know about from Grover’s past.

Later in the season of the episode “Hewa ka lima” (“The hand is at fault”), Lou’s conflict with his older brother seems to have been smoothed over. Percy makes his kouign-amann at Kamekona’s restaurant and his pastries are so good, Kamekona calls them the “toast of the restaurant.” Cousin Flippa (Shawn Mokuahi Garnett) is looking for another business to run and he sells Percy’s goods to area businesses who in turn sell them as “old family recipes” rather than give credit to Percy. Percy asks Lou to find out how a few local bakeries have gotten got their hands on his signature baked goods. When they figure out it is Flippa and confront him, he apologizes and tells Percy he was going to ask him to go into business together. Lou tells Flippa “Grover brothers in for half” to sell Percy’s pastries, confirming his belief in his brother’s talents.

Hopefully, this will mean we’ll get to see more of the Grovers in season 10. Between their fierce love for each other, as well as their joyful humor and snappy comebacks, they are a treat for fans and casual viewers alike. They also give us a positive glimpse into a loving and close-knit family.

Wendie Burbridge writes the “Five-0 Redux” and “Magnum Reloaded” blogs for staradvertiser.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.