“Ka makuahine a me ke keikikane” is the much talked about 150th episode of Hawaii Five-0 and I suspect your feelings about it will differ depending on why you watch Hawaii Five-0 and what you consider to be integral parts of the show. There’s no Danny and Steve bickering (no Danny at all actually) and scenes with the main supporting cast in Honolulu are limited. Instead, the writers devote this milestone episode to examining two of the most important relationships in Steve’s life.
Although we haven’t seen Doris and Catherine for a while, their connection with Steve and the lessons they have taught him make up the bulk of the episode. The actual plot remains a little thin and requires some leaps in logic (so, Catherine’s just going back to work after breaking into a black site?), but the emotional scenes are well done and provide the closure Steve, and the audience, have been yearning for.
The adventure starts off with, let’s be honest, a slightly more forgettable supporting character. Not that there’s anything wrong with Lynn, but she hasn’t even been mentioned this season. The writers have been more interested in setting up a slight attraction to Alicia Brown than showing any scenes with Steve’s actual girlfriend.
Steve’s and Lynn’s romantic dinner is interrupted by an urgent call from Catherine, who shows up on Steve’s doorstep a minute later. Steve is thrown for a loop. Not only is Catherine back in Hawaii, she has information that his mother is being held at the same CIA black site as Yao Fat.
Steve may be hurt by things his mother has done, but he would still fly halfway around the world to save her. As Steve packs his belongings, Catherine and Lynn have one awkward conversation where Lynn accidentally mentions Steve’s failed proposal. Catherine is shocked, but tries to keep things professional when she and Steve fly to Rabat, Morocco, kidnap a guard, and get the information about the black site.
Steve would drop everything to help his mother, and the team proves that they would drop everything to help him. Despite dealing with the devastation of finding out that Sarah’s aunt and uncle have been awarded custody, Chin is resolute about helping Steve. If you asked me what Hawaii Five-0 was about, I would direct you to the scene where Chin, Kono, and Lou all show up at the door in Morocco, a little confused but ready to help Steve with his mission. ‘Ohana is the message of the show and it was lovely the way the team worked together without having to be asked.
As the team breaks into the black site, the episode becomes interspersed with flashbacks of Steve and his mother on the days leading up to her assumed death. While it has been discussed before on the show, it makes more of an impact to see first-hand how much Doris loved Steve and the hurt on her face when she had to leave him. The show doesn’t 100% let Doris off the hook for what she did. When Steve breaks into her cell, he’s still mad at her and the writers allow him to have that anger. They also, however, show that Doris, as she tells Steve later, believed that she was doing everything for the right reasons. Steve has spent the past seven years carrying around the guilt of his father’s death (which we were reminded of last week in the Halloween episode). Doris has had to deal with her own guilt. Mother and son are a lot more similar than they may want to admit.
And they’re also great at giving the guards a run for their money. Guided by Chin and Catherine in the control room, the two manage to spring Yao Fat from his cell, take out their would-be interrogators, and blow open a door to a sewer system. At this point, the show cuts away. We know they got out alright. We trust them.
It gets a little confusing at this point. Doris assures Steve that as long as Yao Fat remains free and willing to spill all those secrets he knows, the government won’t touch him or anyone else on the team. It’s a little too neatly wrapped up, but the actual spycraft was never the focus of the episode.
Through the two conversations Steve has with Doris, one in her cell, and one on the tarmac, Doris and Steve seem to finally manage to reach a peace with each other. It’s nice to hear Steve call her “Ma”, even when they fight about why he didn’t bring zip-ties. Doris is now able to find some closure of her own with Yao Fat’s escape, and she offers Steve one final gift – the location of her journals.
Steve also gets a last moment with Catherine. I’m honestly not sure if this is supposed to be the end for her or not. I suspect the writers might not know either. Catherine confronts Steve about the proposal and they have a conversation they should have had a long time ago. Catherine says that she is happy where she is and wishes Steve the best. That being said, I wouldn’t count her out just yet. This doesn’t feel like the true end of a relationship.
But, it is another pause. For now. Steve ends the episode with a deeper understanding of both Catherine and his mother, and a smile on his face as he begins reading about Doris’s adventures. I think Doris, and her colorful past, could lead to a dozen more stories in the future. And she’s bound to return.
Danno Watch: The official Danny disappearance of the week is attributed to his father’s surgery. That doesn’t stop him from blabbing about Steve’s secret plans to the team, or enlisting Lou’s help at finding out who Gracie’s boyfriend is. Speaking of Gracie’s boyfriend, that plot got abruptly dropped almost immediately.
What did you think of tonight’s episode? In the past 150 episodes, what have been some of your favorite moments?
