
The 5-0’s dip a toe into “what’s in the booooxxxxx???†territory when an unfortunate turn of events places Kono and Kelly in a high-speed chase that kills the driver and leads to the discovery of a head in a box. The actual crime turns out to be an even yuckier crime of opportunity for money. Along the way, we get Greg Germann as a nice guy with no ulterior motive, Reiko Aylesworth as the one Kelly let get away and the wonderful Tzi Foon Ma (who I cannot find any credits on aside from this but he was very familiar) as the driver’s dad, Mr. Chi, with whom McGarrett bonds and makes things as right as he can under the circumstances.
(As I write this, I realize this show has already outrun Three Rivers. Boo YAH!)
We start with Kono and Kelly driving around and chatting about being cops and the commitment, yadda yadda, when the radio alerts them to a chase and Kono asks Kelly if they can pursue, and he says sure. She drives like a bat out of hell after the guy, weaving in and out of traffic before a spike chain sends the car they’re chasing ass over elbow, ejecting a box and mangling the driver. Kono opens the box and is alarmed, so pretty quickly we detour to gruesome.
As the McGarrett house, Danny arrives and walks in without a courtesy knock, which McGarrett checks him on, and they banter about that and a part for his dad’s 1974 Mercury Marquis that McGarrett ordered online that was not delivered as promised. They get called to the scene and after being briefed about the head in the box, McGarrett goes straight to the driver demanding answers and he whispers “Ming-Hua” before he dies. They ID the driver as Han Chi, and that leads them to an auto junkyard where McGarrett and Danny meet a man working on a car. They chat with him (McGarett speaks Mandarin, don’t you know) under the guise of looking for the Marquis part when a little boy runs up, and the older man, Mr. Chi, calls him “Ming-Hua.” McGarrett immediately decides Han was not a bad guy but a pawn.
They take Mr. Chi to ID Han’s body and he weeps and runs out. Then Max tells McGarrett that the autopsy on the head indicates lead and iodine so they figure gunshot and thyroid cancer patient are possibles. Kono and Kelly go to the hospital to determine the latter, and there’s some talk around Kelly maybe not wanting to be there but he says he’s fine. He paces in front of the elevator while Kono begs off to get some information and as the elevator doors open, there’s the one person he didn’t want to see—Dr. Malia Weston (Aylesworth). They awkwardly hug and chat a little and then Kelly’s focus goes straight to an engagement ring on a chain on her neck. Their conversation tells us that he gave it to her, their engagement ended, and she kept the ring because he told her to, but he’s surprised she’s wearing it. She tells him that everybody thought she ended it and that really hurt, so I’m guessing the ring on her neck screaming DUMPEE instead of DUMPER is OK?
Kono walks up and the temperature in the room drops to the basement, so there’s definitely more to THAT story. The immediately relevant plot point is that Malia can ID the head—he’s a thyroid cancer patient at the hospital. Danny and McGarrett call his house and the line is busy, so they go looking for the victim’s wife, Nicole, and find the murder scene and the place ransacked. Separately, Kelly pieces together from the damaged GPS that Han was going to see Nicole’s dad, Robert (Germann), to deliver the head. Before that, Kono interviewed the man who rented Han the car, a contractor named Spenser, but he had checked out OK.
The pieces fall together fairly quickly that Nicole faked her kidnapping and had her husband killed to pocket $5 million from her dad and run away with Spenser, who Danny shoots at the money drop with Robert. They also find the rest of Duncan in the trunk of Spenser’s car. McGarrett goes to meet Nicole at the airport in Spenser’s place, seething at what she did. He does the exposition fairy thing and then hands the arrest to Danny.
We close with McGarrett going to see Mr. Chi to tell him they caught the folks who set up Han, and he gives him papers signed by the (unseen, again!) Governor, fast-tracking U.S. citizenship for him, his wife, and Ming-Hua. Mr. Chi starts to tear up and says he has something for McGarrett, too—the part he needed for the Marquis. He tells McGarrett to call him if he needs help installing it.
Then we get a lighter conclusion back at HQ, part of an odd ongoing thread in the episode, with Danny and McGarrett watching CHiPs and fighting over who’s Estrada and who’s Wilcox. They agree they’re both Estrada. Then Kono and Kelly come in and Kelly credits the show with his biker tendencies and Kono says she’s never heard of the show (bullshit!), but pronounces Wilcox to be the cute one, so Danny and McGarrett immediately say “that’s me.â€
This was another emotional episode for McGarrett and I like that they’re giving O’Loughlin the heavier material. I was surprised that Danny was the less invested one—in a couple of spots, he’s cavalier about Duncan’s demise, calling him “Jack,” for jack in the box. Very intriguing turn there with Kelly having an ex almost-wife. We’ve heard about how much he lost being booted out of the force, but now we have an extra puzzle piece there that it also affected him at home. Yay that Daniel Dae Kim (and Grace Park) had more to do. I didn’t watch Lost so I don’t know if Aylesworth and Kim had scenes together there or not, but I liked them together here.
Programming alert—no new episode Monday but there is a new episode tomorrow (Sunday) after football!
Heather M
Related posts
Classics
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People, which US audiences still have not been able…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
Catching Up with Ted Lasso and Previewing Season 2
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] The not so dirty little secret about how I approach a new series is that I sometimes make a call based on the headspace I’m in at the time. It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up a show after the first season and then binge…
Interview: Henri Esteve on Grown-ish Season 3
An interview with Henri Esteve, who plays Javi on Freeform’s Grown-ish. He talks about his season three experience.
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…