‘Hawaii Five-O’ Recap: ‘Mai Ka Wa Kahiko’

What’s with the staccato airings of the last couple of Season 2 episodes? Last night’s episode “Mai Ka Wa Kahiko” was just the fourth new episode in the last nine weeks. But it was worth the wait, as the 5-0 gang produced another solid episode with a well-written story.

Veteran film actor Peter Greene guest starred as a dirty cop seeking revenge on Danno, who was the key witness in sending him to prison for 10 years. After kidnapping Danno’s daughter, Grace, it’s a mix of “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” and “Ransom” as Danno is forced to go to extreme means to get his daughter back.

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

The Good

• Love it when the producers do their homework and include a little knowledge of the Hawaiian lands. This time, there was a brief blurb about the famous Koko Crater (not Koko Head) Railway and its 1,048 grueling steps.
• Another appearance from Charlie Fong (Brian Yang). I like that he’s replaced Masi Oka (who?) as the Asian brainiac on the show. But please, make a move on Kono already! It’s pretty obvious she’s into you, as she’s the only one on the team who makes visits to you. What else do you need? A sign from the heavens?
• Who does the research for the show for creating the fake Hawaiian names? Excellent job this week! There was a Wala`au Wale Phone Company and a Nuali Cable. Doing a quick Internet search, it appears that “wala`au wale” means talking or chattering. I couldn’t find what “nuali” meant; perhaps I jotted the spelling down wrong? In any case, very well done.

The Bad

• McGarrett calling the paramedics for Weston’s sprained ankle. Come on, walk it off! You’re gonna call an ambulance just for that? I have a friend who had her knee gorged by a loose piece of rebar at Koko Crater railway and she was able to walk to her car and drive herself to the emergency room, bloody and all. I thought cops were tough.
• Tennis coach telling Grace it’s okay to go with the fake cop. Have you not seen “Pulp Fiction?” That guy is Zed! You don’t leave him alone with young children!
• Didn’t really like the way Scott Caan played his character so helpless and whiny. I wished he had shown more anger than fear.

The Weird

• I wonder how many times Weston and McGarrett had to climb up and down the Koko Crater stairs to get the aerial shots just right?
• I think the 5-0 team has searched just about every house in Kahala by now.
• “You lay one finger on her, you’re dead.” – Danno to the kidnapper. Haven’t we all heard this a million times by now? There has to be a more creative way to threaten the guy who steals your child. And “If you touch one hair on her head…” doesn’t count either. What about “I will force feed you a frozen brick of butter so that when it melts, you will drown?”