Things We Learned About Hawaii From Hawaii Five-0, Episode 20, “Ma Ke Kahakai” | Hawaii Five-0 UNDERCOVER

Getting better with each episode

I was surprised the other day when I heard a nationally syndicated entertainment reporter say that he thought the writing for Hawaii Five-0 was getting worse. I’m not sure if he’s watching the same program as the rest of us, but the Elwood Reid written episode “Ma Ke Kahakai” had it all…action, humor, emotion, and all the good stuff that goes along with it.

There were a couple of edge of the seat moments, and I’m sure a lot of people gasped when McG took a fall down the cliff, and also when Danny and Chin took a flying leap off the pier onto the boat pulling away. The bantering was toned down but fit the scenes perfectly: “Eat another doughnut!”.

An underlying theme is the role of fathers in the show. McG opened to Danny about John being a great father. Compare that to victim Jack Leung (Joji Yoshida) who wanted to provide a better life for his son and grandson by taking on a second job, and resisting the temptation to make easy money running drugs. This is a far contrast from the elder Rutherford who’s misguided love for his son drives him to murder himself.

But I think the episode struck a perfect balance of advancing the story line with the procedural aspect of the episode. Their aunt in failing health, Chin and Kono go to an impromptu family reunion. There Kono finally finds out that her sick aunt might have something to do with the money disappearing from the evidence room and Chin’s dismissal from the HPD. In the corner of her eye she sees Chin in a heated confrontation with her uncle about money. As they drive back to HQ, Kono pulls over and finally confronts Chin about the money. While the scene completely revolves around Chin, Grace Park totally made the scene happen. Grace had a lot of range to work with in that scene, and hands down, this in my opinion was the strongest scene in the series so far. It captures the cousins wrestling with another moral dilemma…does one choose family over duty…or duty over family? Chin believes in loyalty to family which is why he took the fall for his uncle, to save his aunty from the pain and humiliation. Kono chooses duty, and insists that Chin comes clean after their aunty passes. I would imagine that they would be on the same page, and that the two of them would protect their family first. But in “Kai E’e”, Kono tells Chin that taking responsibility for the missing $10 million was “the right thing to do”. Little nuances like this show Kono to be the moral compass of the group, reflecting her idealistic youth, fresh from the police academy. What would you choose? The end was especially bittersweet, with the friends joking at the Tropic’s bar, but Chin and Kono finding out their aunty has passed away. Ultimately, Kono laid it down to Chin to come clean after their aunt passes…will he do so? And how does his fiancée Malia fit into this?

Lost, Hawaii Five-0 and location

Steve and Danny are not Sawyer and Jack. They are not running from the Others, or a Smoke Monster. But they’re hiking through beautiful Ka’a’awa Valley, home of Kualoa Ranch, which also served as Oceanic 815 survivor’s golf course and frequent stomping ground. I’ve talked about how gorgeous the show makes Hawaii look, and the cinematography hasn’t been this great since “Palekaiko” with both episodes framing our Five-0 heroes within the immensity of Hawaii’s outdoors. If you haven’t booked a flight here yet, you really ought to. CBS.com is currently featuring a websiode series called “Hawaii Undiscovered” which tracks Hawaiian adventures featured in the series.

Hawaiian music

The episode showcased two local groups, “Ho’onu’a” and “Hapa”. Ho’onu’a’s “Feel Good Island Music” played in the background when Kamekona picked up McG at the hospital. Hapa got some airtime at the end of the episode, playing their popular song “Olinda Road”. Go check out these local groups, and I’m hoping we hear a lot more Hawaiian music in upcoming episodes.

Hiking with Steve, (not) brought to you by Mastercard

Roll of duct tape…$4.99

50 feet of rope…$99

Extra tight butt harness…$49.99

Slim fit Combat Cargo Capri Hiking Pants from Old Navy…$9.99

Red checkered picnic blanket (not shown on camera)…$9.99

Getting bro love? …Priceless

Photos: CBS, vidcaps from CBS and Sewn Natural.

And now, Things We Learned About Hawaii From Hawaii Five-0, Episode 20, “Ma Ke Kahakai”

1) “Ki’i pohaku” (“images in stone”, or petroglyphs), are rock images carved into stone by the ancient Hawaiians during the pre-Western contact times. They were not a written language, but pictographs of daily life. The petroglyphs shown in last night’s episode I believe was a mock up, but it showed a turtle (“honu”), warriors, and an image which has been interpreted as a mother birthing a child (below the turtle).

2) Chin says to the drug dealer, “The dealer comes after you, chops you into little poke and feeds you to the sand sharks.” Poke (pronounced poh-keh) is cubed raw fish (tuna, “ahi” in Hawaiian) that can be served in a variety of ways. Don’t let the fact that it’s raw detract you…it’s ono [delicious]! At Foodland supermarket, they prepare and season it in a variety of different ways, they’ll let you sample anything they have.

And on another culinary note, Chin asks Kono if she wants go for a loco moco at Ono Laulau. While I don’t think there’s an Ono Laulau restaurant, I can tell you that a loco moco is the most epic of breakfast meals…two scoops of rice topped with a hamburger patty, an egg, and gravy all over everything. It truly is the breakfast of Hawaiian champions.

3) We have no professional teams, hence McG has never been to a professional baseball game. That being said, we have a God given right to cheer for any team that happens to be popular at the time. There’s a period when everyone was a Dallas Comboy fan, everyone was a Chicago Bulls fan…you get the idea.

Did you notice…?

I loved Chef Morimoto…he played it perfectly. Regarding Danny holding the fish: “Yes. Good size.”

“Ma Ke Kahakai” means “shore”.

Renee Nobriga (Sandrine the waitress) was Miss Hawaii 2010.