Hawaii Five-O Recap & Review--Where McG Plays Daddy

Well, this week we get some background into the people who help Five-O---but it doesn't end well for them.

We start out with the "previously on H50" and the history of a hacker named Toast (which was helpful, since he hasn't appeared in very many episodes.)

Then we switch over to a shooting range where JuniortheShootingAce is showing off his skillz. McG shows up to check on his boy and the coach tells him that Ace is the best raw talent he's had as a recruit and reminds him of McG. (Why does the show always do that? Everyone they want the audience to love, they always say that they're just like McG) Ace comes over and McG invites him out to lunch at the shrimp truck.

McG meets Grover in a store and he's looking to buy a used restaurant oven. Danny is out of town, so McG is going to buy it before he gets back. Apparently Danny wants all new things for the restaurant because they come with a warranty. They discuss the ramifications of making such a purchase without Danny, but luckily a phone call from Toast shuts that convo down. Sadly, though, all they hear is Toast getting beat up and then gunshots ring out. (That has to bring back terrible memories for McG since his father died over the phone with him listening to the gunshots. He doesn't talk about that though, or show any signs. Sometimes I wish the show would let Alex act out those sorts of little memories, because I think he'd do a great job with it.)

With the previouslies in our head of all the eps Toast has been in, it's sad to see his beaten and dead body with a stoic McG next to it. He throws out some scenarios with Grover about what could have happened since Toast was a CI, and the beatdown was obviously personal. Jerry calls to say that someone hacked into their system (again? Wow, their security is terrible) but it was a sophisticated attack. If Toast's murder was connected to being a CI, that would explain how they got the information. But, since Toast was their main hacker, and he's dead, they need someone else who's just as good. Apparently the government doesn't have anyone who can do this job and be a lawful citizen, so they go to the prison to talk to Aaron Wright who hacked into their system two weeks ago when he helped a crazed criminal escape. Wright has conditions for his help---like being transferred, and while he's helping he goes to a hotel, spa treatments, room service, the works. McG agrees.

They walk into the hotel room and Tani is there dressed in a vest, tight pants, and not very sensible shoes. Wright asks why the masseuse is wearing Kevlar and says she looks familiar. Tani mentions she saved him when he was tied up and covered in gasoline, crying and begging for his life. (She doesn't mention how he then watched her get beat up and thrown around like a rag doll, but whatever.) She claims she saved his life, but really, it was McG showing up before both of them were killed that saved Wright's life. (And you might recall that we were also told in the scene right after that one, that Tani was the female version of McG. Surprise! Both Junior AND Tani are little McGs! Who's your daddy?) McG handcuffs him to the work table and they give him an ice bucket to pee in before telling him to get to work. Ouch.

Jerry is trying to figure out who might have had a vendetta against Toast, but coming up empty. McG is on the balcony looking at the view when he gets a text from Danny that he heard about Toast and he's coming home. McG says that he's come a long way since he's now calling Hawaii home. Tani calls McG in to look at the computer screen. Yep, Wright figured out that their CI list was compromised so all their CIs could be on a hit list. Dun, dun, dun. He does find a digital fingerprint of a hacker named Mogera inside the files. Wright met him once, he's a hacker legend, apparently and he's blind. (Which is cool, actually.)

Junior is waiting for McG at the shrimp truck and no one has seen Kamekona. Uh oh. McG socks that info away, and is all solicitous, checking on Junior, asking about how much sleep he's getting, that it's okay if everything isn't okay and coming home is tricky. He wants to help him through the process. (Awww) He does lie and tell Junior that it's important to graduate from the police academy. But Junior isn't a dummy and asks if that's always the way it works, (ha! Tani even cheated on her exams before they kicked her out and she got an invite to Five-O. Poor Junior) but McG says that's the way he thinks it should work. (Except in Tani's case, I guess.) Junior doesn't have a phone, so McG is a good dad and says he'll get him one. They're interrupted when Jerry calls to update McG on all their CIs. Everyone is accounted for. Whew! Kamekona is just checking on Flippa's truck so McG is going to head up there.

When McG gets to Flippa's truck, though, it's nearly engulfed in flames and he rushes in to save Nahele moments before the propane tank explodes. Nahele tells Steve that two men in black SUVs (criminals are so unoriginal. I wonder if criminal organizations get a discount for a bulk order of black SUVs), they torched the truck and took Kamekona.

Kame's cell has been disabled and a helo is on its way (to do what? Look for him in the air?) and they have a long list of people that Kamekona burned as a CI, so anybody could have taken him. Grover brought in the blind hacker Magera (whose real name is Harley? Grover kept calling him that, so I'm assuming it is) for questioning in the Blue Room of Doom. He's not talking, though, and Grover is frustrated and gets very close to his face to threaten him, talking directly into his ear, etc. which was strange. The guy's blind not deaf.

Anyway, Kamekona is tied to a chair and getting beaten pretty badly. He tells them they have the wrong guy, he doesn't even know them, but then the guy he does know walks in---Kang. He knows Kame works for Five-O, but Kame denies that and says they just come around the truck a lot. (They've never hidden their relationship or their conversations, so I imagine a lot of people would suspect him of working with Five-O. It seems pretty obvious, but okay) Kang just wants his half a million dollars back that Kame stole from him, but Kame finally admits he spent it, but won't tell him what he spent it on.

Tani is pacing around the hotel room and whining to Wright that it's taking too long. (I kid you not. She is actually saying "how much longer" like a child in the car.) Wright says he's working on it. Then she starts texting her AWOL brother and ignoring the dangerous criminal behind her. Wright tries to engage her in a convo about brothers, but when Wright compares his brother to hers, Tani freaks. She says Wright's brother Ian was a piece of crap and a psycho and her brother isn't like that. She then tells him to shut his hole. (I'm having a hard time relating to her. This scene was particularly unprofessional and bratty. She's on an elite task force, for crying out loud. Act like it. Oy.)

Back to the case. Ballistics has come back and Toast's murder weapon was tied to another crime. A guy named Marks had a brother-in-law that was killed in a prison riot and he blamed Toast. Grover puts a BOLO out on him, but guess what? Wright knows where he is. BrattyTani is still asking him how much longer while she's looking at her phone when the hotel room door bursts open and Marks and two other guys come in guns at the ready. They shoot Tani in the Kevlar and break Wright out. (They want to shoot Tani, but Wright stops them) But seriously, didn't anyone remember how dangerous Wright was? Who leaves a known criminal like him with unrestricted access to a computer and the barest minimum of supervision and they don't think he might reach out to his friends and tell them where he is?

BrattyTani is telling the EMT that she's fine and goes on the balcony to pout. Jerry connected the sedan that Marks drove to the hotel with to the one from Toast's murder. The guys start spitballing on what if Wright took the CI list when he hacked Five-O's system last week, and set up this elaborate con to break out of prison. (Yeah. Maybe they should have thought about him possibly organizing an escape attempt a bit sooner) But he had Toast killed so they'd have to come to him. The guy's a genius. (Ya think?) The blind hacker is the only one who can give them a lead.

They go back to the Blue Room of Doom and question the hacker, but he's pretty quiet. But when they offer him protection and say he could be charged with accessory to murder, he caves. Wright contacted him over the dark net and blackmailed him that he'd turn over proof of his hack of government sites if he didn't do what he said. Harley has some hacking abilities and they bring him to the Talking Table to find Wright. His specialized keyboard materializes and the team watches some colorful wavy lines, computer code, and tunes going on the screen as he tries to get into Wright's files. Thankfully it works and they figure out that it's Joey Kang who took Kamekona.

A bloodied Kamekona is with Kang and his goons. He wants the money really bad, but Kame just keeps saying he spent it. Kang repeats that he's going to die, but Kamekona says he was a lost kid trying to make it out of tent city and went to prison. He should have died there, but didn't. Ever since he got out he's tried to live his life right and give back to the kids so they can make it. He never took one single day for granted and he's not afraid to die. They take him for a last ride before they kill him.

McG has gone to Kang's dad's garage and is pouring gasoline everywhere. He wants the dad to tell them where his son is or they're going to light up his place because he protects his family. (Sniff) The dad give in and calls his son just before Joey Kang takes Kamekona into some trees to kill him. (Good thing Kame was walking slowly!) Joey pulls the gun out, but then in a big anti-climactic scene, puts it away. (Who knew criminals listened to their dad when they said don't kill anyone!) They don't show what the dad said, but Joey tells Kame it's his lucky day. (It was a weird ending, I can't explain it!)

McG pulls up to the downtown Oahu mission and Junior is there. McG tracked his phone, but like any teenager, Junior lost it. He does say he should have taken better care of it (which I've heard from my own teenager, haha!) McG did the same thing I did, and lets out a breath before telling him they're going home. Junior gets to live with McG until he graduates the academy.

Everyone is remembering Toast at the Tropics bar and Jerry is even singing a tribute. (Toast gets a little montage, too) Kamekona is there celebrating surviving and he also tells Flippa he'll be back working for him. McG gives Kame a forehead touch and aloha before he introduces Junior to everyone. Grover updates McG that Wright and Marks are in the wind, but Kang was caught. (Well, one out of three isn't terrible I guess.)

McG goes to Tani's house to check on her. He tells her it wasn't her fault, it was his for taking Wright out of prison, that that was a bad judgment call and we all learn from mistakes. She tells him that maybe she's not right for the job, (I agree. Make her go back to the Academy and figure herself out) She does admit that she was distracted with texting her brother, etc., and took her eye off the ball. McG asks if she could have taken out three guys with a flashbang and automatic weapons? And she says maybe. (Hmmm...)  In the end, McG tells her that if she wasn't right, they wouldn't be having this conversation. (Well, at least Eddie was in that scene and happy to be there. He's the best new character on the show in my opinion.)

The final scene is days later when a healed Kamekona is at a kid's center where young boys are playing basketball. The coach says he hasn't seen Kame around for a while and he should come around more often, he's always welcome. Kame smiles and as he leaves we get a close-up of a little plaque says that the community gym was donated by anonymous in 2010. I guess we know how he spent the money.

I loved the ending and how hard Kamekona has worked to help others and benefit from his mistakes. Best part of the show. McG having to be a father-type figure to his new recruits was expected, but sometimes I wish he didn't have to be the caretaker of the group so much and he had someone on his level that took care of him, as well. Hopefully we'll see more of that as the season goes on.

Did you watch? What did you think?