Chin Ho Kelly
By Mike Gordon
Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) was working as a security guard when he met Steve McGarrett in the very first episode. They immediately realized they had several connections: Both were star quarterbacks at Kukui High School, and McGarrett’s father was Chin’s mentor when he joined the Honolulu police force.
Chin explained to McGarrett that he was dismissed from the force after being accused of stealing $200,000 from the police department’s asset forfeiture locker. Steve didn’t care and enlisted Chin for “Five-0.”
The stolen money, though, was really taken by Chin’s Uncle Keako (Sab Shimono), a police officer whose wife, Auntie Mele (Elizabeth Sung), needed an expensive but lifesaving kidney transplant. Chin knew this and took the rap for his uncle. After Auntie Mele died, Chin’s uncle confessed to the crime. Chin tried to keep the lie intact, but the police brass didn’t believe him and reinstated him in the season one finale.
For the new season, Kim wants the show’s creators to build on the solid foundation created last season — and give his character a bit more action. (Wink, wink.)
Chin did have an awkward meet-up last season with his ex-fiancee Malia, a doctor played by Reiko Aylesworth, who is due to return in the new season. Tune in to see whether that relationship will be rekindled despite the bad blood between Kono and Malia.
“I think what I would like to see this season is more of an exploration of Chin’s love life and for Chin to get involved in some more physical action,” Kim said. “He’s more cerebral than some of the other players on the show, and I would like to see him mix it up a little.”
Relationships with more depth not only will enhance the story arc, but will attract new viewers, Kim said.
“I think if we can make the character stories more complex, intertwine the procedural element with the personal stories, then I think we will be able to draw in a viewer we didn’t have in the first season and keep the ones that were loyal to us from the start entertained,” he said.
The new actors recruited to the cast have injected energy into the show, but how that will play with fans remains to be seen, Kim said.
“It’s a good question and one to which the answer won’t come forth until the episodes air, I think,” Kim said. “If we do it improperly, then it will seem like our brand is becoming diluted. But if we do it well, I think it enhances us.”
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser; scans are in the gallery
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