Alex O’Loughlin is absolutely right; he does play the anti hero really well.
Steve McGarrett’s unorthodox, unpredictable and sometimes hair-raising approach is one of the many facets that make him so appealing. Until now, the unflappable leader of the “benevolent dictatorship” that is Hawaii Five-0 has managed to escape retribution, so watching him unravel, one Wo-Fat-induced revelation at a time, gives me serious goose bumps.
McGarrett is by no means a bad person, because (to borrow a quote from his portrayer), “none of us are just purely benevolent or malevolent.”
There are many layers to this man, and on Monday night it was clear that Super SEAL can also be painfully human.
In the 44-minute long adrenaline rush during which the season finale held us captive, we get some well-deserved closure, but the real answers won’t be revealed until season two. Our curiosity is most certainly piqued and we are left with a barrage of questions:.
- How will the writers get the team out of their current predicament?
- How can the unit regroup and regain their credibility?
- Who phoned when McGarrett held the Governor at gunpoint and is it significant?
- Is the recording of the Governor’s confession really lost?
- Is Chin saving his own skin or is he putting the team first? Remember: “[Five-0] is my home now”, “I’m not going to stand around here and do nothing” and the look he shot Danny across the roof of the HPD cruiser. [Spoiler via Peter Lenkov on Twitter: He would never betray true friends. He must have a plan.... STAY TUNED.]
- And why is Rachel in such a rush to get out of Hawaii? How can she be so sure she’s pregnant with Danny’s child?
Peter Lenkov and his talented team most certainly crafted a worthy ending to an engrossing first season. But don’t you just hate the words “To Be Continued…”?
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Either way, with McGarrett and Kono locked up, it’s up to Danny and Chin (who was pretty cold when he arrested McG) and I guess, Kaye, if she sticks around, to clear their names. Which means season two should hit the ground running. If it holds up to the standards of the first season, “Hawaii Five-0″ just might be the best procedural on CBS.
What does that mean for next season? I have no clue. I mean seriously, my mind is reeling right now and I hardly know where to begin to speculate on how this will all turn out. Of course it’ll all come right eventually but how that will happen is completely beyond me at the moment. I guess all I have to say at this point is that my prediction last week has come true and yes, this is definitely gonna be one long summer hiatus.
Tonight, Hawaii Five-0 showed how great it could be. With an emotional, character driven plot, plenty of action, a cliffhanger ending, and better than average directing, Five-0 was a cut above the rest in the finale of the first season – and it left the audience wanting more. Because the show tries to make every episode its’ own entity, the story arc of the entire show is thrown under the bus; therefore, many of the plot twists and emotional gotchas had to be explained in length in this episode.
“Oia’i'o,” the season finale of Hawaii Five-O, left a lot of things hanging.
The fate of Kono and McGarrett is really up in the air, for example. Also, Chin has made another tough personal decision; and, of course, Danno is going to have to make some major choices in the near future.
Overall, there were a lot of thrilling and unexpected moments, but there were some things that were slightly predictable.
For the most part, “Oia’io” was a pretty slick, well-produced ending to a season that was much the same thing – slick, and well produced. The episode succeeds by creating the illusion that the status quo has somehow been upended and that things will never be the same. Even though we all know better, its fun to be taken in by the simple premise of the cliffhanger – which is really nothing more than an hour-long-segue into season 2.
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Do recall that Alex was not at all happy with his character for much of the season. THe plot he adn viewers wanted to follow-the toolbox plot-was held back and the show was forced into being a straight up procedural-exactly what Alex didn’t want. He has also decried the fact that the producers, directors, and writers want McGarrett to be so stoic most of the time it has been very difficult to flesh him out and make him a 3-D character. His acting has been restrained all too much because they wouldn’t allow him to bring to the show that which he does best-bringing depth of character and emotion to the characters he portrays. It was in those moments this season when he WAS allowed to be emotional, which is what I loved about the finale, that he really soared. The Powers That Be need to rethink their attitude toward McGarrett and allow Alex to make him more human that they usually do. THAT would make for a whole lotta great entertainment!
His mug shot is so sexy it’s criminal. Oh, wait!!!
They think he IS a criminal. Chin and Danny have lots of work to do. Go get him, boys!!!! And kick some serious butt while you’re doing it. There are probably a few baddies in prison who are happy Steve is there.
There is no question Chin gave in and went to be reinstated solely to help his teammates and especially McGarrett-it was right there in the script! I’ve already seena fanfic using the premise that Chin was betraying the team and there is absolutely no evidence for that at all. Chin’s dialogue earlier when he was first offered his badge back and his dialogue at the moment he rushed to accept his badge back were crystal clear on that point. I can’t understand why anyone could possibly think otherwise, except for Danny who, had he not been out of touch due to his sudden reinvolvement with the ex-wife, would have known what was going on and not had to give Chin the scrunchy face of displeasure. The whole thing with Rachael was too sudden and not handled well; was that the only way they could think of to have Danny not be on hand with Steve and Chin when things went South?
I also question whether the governor was always intended to be a bad guy. Although she was close to the Yakuza earlier in the year, I wonder if the decision to make her a bad guy was made because the actress got another gig. Either way, it made for some great drama with Steve realizing he had likely been betrayed by her, breaking into the governor’s mansion (you KNEW he was going to do that) and then going back to confront her. I
Alex was great and I can’t wait to see how he gets out of this one. Will he get out of jail legally? Or will he manage to break out and clear his name?
I have to agree, Rachel was in a hurry to get out of town and I’m certain that Chin Ho wanted to
be on the inside to keep an eye on things.
Also, I would certainly hope that the Emmy nominating committee has taken note of Alex’s great
acting all season. Thanks Mizz for all you do.
Thank you Mizz. Awesome and so exciting show and twisted cliff hangers for Hawaii Five-0 season one finale. Good luck and best wishes to Alex, cast and crew on Hawaii Five-0 season two for the 2011. 2012.
