Hawaii Five O has been hit or miss for me throughout Season Six (2015/2016). Friday night's episode, Kanaka Hahai (The Hunter), brought back the magic. In fact, the episode featured three story lines for the ensemble cast.
Kanaka Hahai opens with Danno taking his children, Grace and Charlie, to the North Shore for Huli Huli chicken from a road side stand. Grace grumbles that Danno made her leave her cell phone in his car. He asks her to embrace the opportunity to spend time with family. Grace responds that she can't without taking a selfie and posting to Instagram. As they leave the park, Danno realizes his beloved car has been stolen (the running joke is Steve always drives his car). He leads his children to the bus stop for a ride back to Waikiki. When Da Bus (link) pulls up, the driver is Mamo Kahike, a recurring character who knew Steve and Mary as children. Mamo is portrayed by Al Harrington, a Samoan actor who starred as Ben on the original Hawaii Five O series (Ben replaced Kono on the team).
As they ride along, Danno spots his car pulling out of a gas station. He orders the passengers to the back of the bus and directs Mamo to trail the car, but not so close. Mamo follows the car into the pineapple fields to Danno's chagrin. Danno orders the passengers off the bus, gets behind the wheel, and chases down the thieves. Hawaii Five O returns to its trademark thrills, humor, and cultural references which won fans in the first season.
Meanwhile, two Asians was ashore in Makaha, leading Steve to investigate a "ghost" ship. In reality, The Ghost Fleet is a documentary of the human trafficking in the fishing industry. I commend the producers of Hawaii Five O for addressing a real problem in Southeast Asia.
Finally, Abby confesses to the H50 team that the FBI recruited her investigate them for corruption. She quits the sting and Steve invites her to join H50. Chin Ho is pleased that she will be staying on the island. I am happy to see Chin Ho smile after the grief he has experienced at the hands of the writers.
The episode closes with Kamekona Tupuola - former convict turned confidential informant - serving his shrimp plate to the gang from his food truck in Waikiki. He reminds Danno that Huli Huli chicken only leads to trouble and nothing beats his garlic shrimp. As the screen fades to Diamond Head, I am reminded that the biggest star of Hawaii Five O is the gorgeous backdrop.
CBS announced last week that it renewed Hawaii Five O for its seventh season in 2016/2017.
I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about chicken versus shrimp - what would you choose?
2. Comments are open through Saturday, April 9, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 10.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
Learn more about Hawaii Five O at cbs.com.
