Five-0 Redux: ‘Hawaii Five-0’ plays Cupid in 2 different Valentine’s Day cases

Each February, fans of “Hawaii Five-0” often hope they will get a special gift from their favorite show in the form of a Valentine’s Day episode. This week’s episode “He kauwā ke kanaka na ke aloha,” which is Hawaiian for “Man is a slave of love,” had more to do with the Five-0 team playing Cupid and helping others with their love lives, rather than working or nurturing their own.

The episode mainly focuses on the real-life struggles of two couples in love. Written by Rob Hanning and directed by Jerry Levine, the main storyline has McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny (Scott Caan) looking into the murder of a Thai diplomat by his wife, Lorena (Marika Dominczyk). She seems to be covering for her boyfriend, Ray Paulson (Houston Rhines), a doctor who has been trying to protect her from her abusive husband. A secondary storyline has Tani (Meaghan Rath, right) and Noelani (Kimee Balmilero, right) meeting a real-life Bonnie and Clyde (Cara Santana and Darnell Kirkwood) who holds the two Five-0 friends hostage during a convenience store robbery.

The episode was long on metaphors and short on the kind of love stories we really want to see — like McGarrett and Danny finally finding true love, and Tani and Junior (Beulah Koale) celebrating the start of their new relationship. Still, the episode moved quickly and had a satisfying ending for both plotlines. It also showed us that McGarrett is serious about getting back into the dating game, even if it is for nothing more than to have a pretty lady he feels comfortable enough to introduce to the Five-0 ohana. It also brought up the interesting dilemma that Adam seems to be grappling with this season — having to choose between his loyalty to Five-0 and to his original family in the Yakuza.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Five-0’s case of the week was both interesting and ironic. McGarrett and Danny always know when a suspect is lying, and when they interview Lorena — Danny knows she is lying about actually killing her husband, Prin Khomsiri, a high-ranking diplomat for the Thai consulate. Lorena tells them that she bludgeoned her husband to death the morning after he beat her so badly she had to go to the ER for treatment where her boyfriend, Dr. Paulson works.

All the evidence and the bloody hammer found in her kitchen seems to point to her guilt, Danny doesn’t buy it. He sees her as a victim of abuse and is most likely covering for the real killer, who they suspect is Paulson. While the case seems fairly easy to solve, it does go through its fair share of twists and turns, until Five-0 proves that Khomsiri did die because of love — the love someone had for one of another woman who was victimized by the diplomat, a woman he killed while driving drunk. After finding Khomsiri in Hawaii, her husband poses as a Valentine’s Day delivery driver to get revenge for his beloved on the most celebrated day of love.

The scenes between McGarrett and Danny helping to clear Lorena are the best because McGarrett fully trusts Danny’s theory and insight about abuse victims, which helps them get the truth out of Lorena. Whenever McDanno can come together to solve a case completely makes for a great Valentine’s Day surprise for any die-hard fan. Who need hearts and flowers when we can see a little playful banter, enjoy seeing their deep aloha for one another, and have a happy ending at the same time?

OUTLAW LOVE

The other case Five-0 faces is unexpected as Tani and Noelani are heading into Five-0 after spending the morning at Noelani’s surf lesson. They stop at a convenience store that is promptly held up by a young couple who Tani names “Bonnie and Clyde.” Seems as if the pair need money in order to take care of Clyde’s growing medical bills.

As a doctor, Noelani steps up to try and save Clyde, or at least help his symptoms once he collapses after she and Tani try to disarm them. This adds more action to the episode but doesn’t actually work to stop the robbery. Once Noelani medically stabilizes Clyde, Tani figures out why they have turned into outlaws and makes a deal with Bonnie.

Tani promises to help Bonne and Clyde continue to be together. Clyde can get some care he needs while he’s in jail, and Tani will help her be able to support him from the outside. While it seemed very far-fetched that Bonnie would give up so easily, Tani understood that only her love for Clyde would get her to give up the fight and make her surrender.

LOVE, ACTUALLY

So the episode ends with the ohana — and McGarrett’s Valentine’s Day date, Brooke (Katie Wee) — gathering at McGarrett’s house to watch a movie together. In the meantime, Adam is seen meeting with a stranger and passing off HPD intel. In the press release, the stranger is listed only as “Fed” and played by Hawaii actor Jess A. Cruz.

It seems as if it might be true that Adam is working for the Feds and not being honest with McGarrett about what he is doing. Some fans will be very happy to know Adam has not given up his Five-0 family over the Yakuza. It’s a little bit of proof that Adam is playing something out that he cannot tell the team about. Still, all the secrecy between Adam and McGarrett is troubling. If he doesn’t come clean soon, it could make for a very sad end to an important relationship.

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