‘Hawaii Five-O’ Recap: ‘Popilikia’

Have you ever tanked a few assignments at work, then turned in a halfway decent performance on the next task, making you seem at least somewhat competent? That’s what Monday’s episode of “Hawaii Five-0” felt like. After a few very disappointing episodes, “Popilikia” actually felt pretty good in comparison, even though it was merely adequate if I really think about it.

It was a typical procedural episode with yet another storyline about rich white people killing each other off in Hawaii, but something about it just felt right. Despite the return of McGarrett’s mother, the episode was decently written and I found it borderline entertaining.

Here’s this week’s look at The Good, The Bad and The Weird.

The Good

• Dim sum! Dim sum on Saturday mornings used to be a weekly ritual for my father and I. I miss those outings. I should make a dim sum date with him again soon.
• That was a pretty cool beheading, and I never saw it coming. It had a kind of “Final Destination” vibe to it, but it was a fun way to see someone die, in a Hollywood way of course. I’m not a morbid person. Seriously, I’m not.
• Not exactly a “good” thing for me, but I’m sure female viewers appreciated yet another shirtless McGarrett scene.
• Liliha Bakery coco puffs get another plug on the show. Now the bakery will have more footage they can show on their store monitors, other than the Danno and Chin Ho scene from Season 1. Damn, now I want one. Too bad they’re closed Mondays.
• “I really really wanted Al to spend the rest of his life in jail. He almost got me trampled to death while a bunch of 1%’ers drank champagne and cheered.” – Danno. Best line of Season 3.
• “Book him Danno” – McG. Never gets old.

The Bad

• Bai Ling playing a Chinatown psychic. Including Cynthia Watros from last week’s episode, it looks like “Hawaii Five-0” is recycling all the bad actors from “Lost.” Who’s next? Nikki and Paulo? Shudder at the thought.
• And really? She’s playing a psychic named Esmerelda? Can we please be a little less cliched? If this keeps up, I’m sure we’ll soon see a gangster named Vinny, a stripper named Candy and a butler named Jeeves.
• I really do hope they conclude the story arc of McG’s mom soon. She couldn’t be any more annoying, and her “I can take care of myself” act is getting very old.
• Drinking alcohol is not allowed in public parks, but I guess if you’re 5-0, hey, no worries, bottom’s up!

The Weird

• “How’s your girth?” – Girl to horse. Sorry, but the adolescent in me had to chuckle. If you follow her on Twitter, Nonstop’s Melissa Chang probably came to mind too. She’s always talking about girth.
• Max may have thought that breaking his cane on it was a cool way to reveal the garroting wire, but all I could think was, “How’s he gonna walk back to his car now?”
• Is it just me, or is the 5-0 interrogation room getting more intensely blue every week?

There won’t be a new episode next week, but “Hawaii Five-0” returns for a Halloween episode in two weeks. Maybe the 5-0 team can figure out why the seven bridges in Manoa turn into only 6 on the way back.