Five-0 Redux: Sudden tragedy, hidden trauma strike a hard blow to the ‘Hawaii Five-0’ team

The latest season of “Hawaii Five-0” seems to be a year of devastating heartbreak and loss. While these emotions are often played out between the characters and in the storylines of the show — there was a different feel to this week’s episode, “I ho‘olulu, ho‘ohulei ‘ia e ka makani” which is Hawaiian for “There was a lull, and then the wind began to blow about.” The episode was a hard one to watch as Danny (Scott Caan) and McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) have to deal with sudden traumas that create devastating situations for both of them.

The title of the episode, which is a traditional ʻōlelo noʻeau or Hawaiian proverb and poetical saying, literally means, “there was a promise of peace and quiet, and then the disturbance was renewed.” Based on a story by Peter M. Lenkov and teleplay by Paul Grellong, the title seems to reference the idea that McGarret’s dog Eddie, a former combat detection dog, has been doing fine until something triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder. This throws a concerned McGarrett for a loop and the Five-0 team investigating what in Eddie’s past could have caused his anxiety and fear.

Likewise, on Danny’s day off he meets the girl of his dreams (Kate Siegel), only to be involved in a life-threatening car accident where he struggles to save her life. Directed by Peter Weller, the episode is deceptive as it seems lighthearted, which tries to mask its darker elements. Caan delivers a particularly strong performance this week, which is not surprising. Whenever he is given the chance to flex his acting muscles he always delivers, and in this episode, he does not disappoint. The only thing that was disappointing was the outcome of the storyline.

FIVE-0 STEPS UP FOR EDDIE

If there is anything more heartbreaking to watch, it has to be seeing a dog suffer. The episode starts with McGarrett trying to save the disoriented dog while he dodges through oncoming traffic. After McGarrett saves him from being hit by a car, he calls Dr. Emma Okino (Presilah Nunez), a veterinarian who McGarrett asked out after she once treated Eddie.

McGarrett tells Emma that the normally relaxed and easy-going dog has been “skittish and jumpy and on high alert all the time.” Emma tells McGarrett that Eddie is showing signs of PTSD.

The scene between Emma and McGarrett was rather grown-up as McGarrett thanks her for helping him with Eddie, but he also confesses to her why he didn’t call her back after their date. He tells her that he always has “a problem balancing the job with my life, and historically, my personal life always gets the short end of the stick.” Their date happened before McGarrett’s mother, Doris, was killed, which could also explain why he never called Emma back.

Once McGarrett understands what’s happening with Eddie, he enlists the rest of the FIve-0 team to help figure out what triggered Eddie’s reaction and PTSD symptoms. Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Quinn (Katrina Law) find out that Eddie’s first handler, a Marine who was killed in Afghanistan, died surrounded by a small purple-flowered plant. They realize that McGarrett’s botanist neighbor has a few pots of it growing in her yard which is most likely how Eddie’s PTSD was triggered.

DANNY’S BAD LUCK

While McGarrett and Five-0 deal with trying to take care of Eddie, they are unaware that their friend Danny is dealing with an even bigger trauma. Danny has taken a few days off, seemingly to deal with the fact that he and Rachel, his ex-wife and mother of his children, are better off as friends. He’s in “a mood” and sits at The Chart House in Waikiki nursing a club soda. There, he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman and after a lot of charming banter, they surprisingly share a very passionate interlude together in the women’s restroom.

While they both confess to never have acted that way before with anyone — the scene seemed very unlike Danny. But they seem to really like each other, and Danny offers to drive her home. He has deduced that she is new in town, and in the car ride to Haleiwa where she is staying with a friend, she guesses he is from New Jersey and she admits she’s from Massapequa, New York. It is really the only information we gain about the dark-haired beauty as she never gets to a chance to tell Danny her name.

As they continue getting to know each other on the drive, a young man in a car coming in the opposite direction is too busy texting to see them and Danny has to swerve to avoid him. Their car flips over down the embankment and the mystery woman (who is named Leslie in the credits) is badly hurt. Danny tries to stop her bleeding and find cell service to get help. She asks him if he’s always this unlucky and Danny tells her, “I was in that bar, wasn’t I?”

Danny does his best to keep her awake and stop her bleeding. When he finally gets to call for help, he tells her help is coming and gives her his name. Yet as we hear the sirens coming toward them, he asks for her name — and she looks off into the distance and dies.

The scene is heart-wrenching — and Danny’s reaction to her slipping away is so incredibly hard to watch. It’s an ending that no one thought was coming. What makes it even harder, is that Danny is all alone, with no one around to lean on. And it seems as if this trauma may be one that Danny — even with the help of his team — may feel for a very long time.

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