S06.E15: Ke Koa Lokomaikaʻi (The Good Soldier)

[BW Manilowe]

While Danny's mother is questioned by the FBI, McGarrett partners with a young man with autism who may have information to help solve the murder of his only friend. Academy Award-nominee Melanie Griffith returns as Danny's mother, Clara.

Original Airdate: February 19, 2016

SOURCE: http://cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/hawaii-five-0/releases/view?id=44558

[Mittengirl]

OMG!! Criminal mastermind Gabriel Waincroft was behind the crime of the week! I did not see that coming.

And just when they think they have killed him, his body disappears! You mean he may not be dead?! I am shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

[BW Manilowe]

NOTE: Both linked articles contain vague or outright spoilers for the Abby storyline after tonight's episode--SPOILER WARNING FOR SPOILERPHOBES!

From TVGuide: Julie Benz talks about Abby betraying Chin & Five-0.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/hawaii-five-0-julie-benz-abby-fbi-chin-chibby/

And from TVLine, another interview with Julie Benz on the same subject:

http://tvline.com/2016/02/19/hawaii-five-0-season-6-julie-benz-abby-undercover-spy/

Edited February 20, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[Bobbin]

Give me a break. Deliberately taking on a carload of armed assassins with only four cops instead of a SWAT team? You have the greatest, wiliest criminal mastermind and sadistic mass murderer on the island in your sights, and instead of pulling the trigger, you engage him a fistfight? Yeah, I know, "It's personal!" And then you walk away without confirming that he's really, most sincerely dead? Chin Ho, haven't you seen enough horror movies to know that that always leads to a Jason/Michael sequel? And with Mark's murder, why would McGarrett not automatically assume that Neil might be in danger, too? Then there's the relentless pursuit to discredit the most successful crime-fighting force on the Islands. A whole episode made up of illogical, shopworn plots. Very disappointing. But always good to see Melanie Griffith, even if badly under-used.

[preeya]

GMAFB I know TV takes liberties with how much the human body can take, but this was akin to a Road Runner/Wiley Coyote cartoon.

[dwmarch]

While I always appreciate a good They Live reference, that really long fight between Chin and Gabriel was completely unnecessary. Chin had a shotgun and the element of surprise. You want Gabriel to suffer? Shoot one of his legs off and then tussle with him. Or forget the vengeance angle and just shoot him in the head. He's a mass murderer and 5-0 has executed people for less.

 

So it turns out Abby is on the side of justice and has been sent to find dirt on 5-0's creative interpretation of means and immunity. "You've just got to be there when it happens..." the FBI agent growls. Steve's high-speed waterboarding of a suspect wasn't enough?! 5-0 has a huge body count by now and I'm sure it has gone up since Abby got there. If some senior police agency wanted 5-0 shut down for crapping on civil rights they'd be shut down in a minute! No investigation necessary. It's all right there, right from the beginning. Even in this episode. The unhelpful bank manager says he wants a lawyer. 5-0 comes back with "We're going to let a gangster kill you." That's illegal as hell!

 

Danno's mom has $50k in the bank but instead of spending it on a cruise she flies to Hawaii so she can pretend her son is her husband so she can get a free cruise? That is... twisted. I can kind of see the logic in that $50k is a number she can only subtract from so why not get all the free cruises she can. But I feel like a cruise and a flight to Hawaii would cost about the same.

 

Of all the times for a Hollywood fall to not kill someone. Now Gabriel is going to be sore all over and his badass leather pants probably got all scratched up. Not only that, bank error definitely not in his favor! He's going to be mad. But speaking of people who should be mad, aren't there three major criminal gangs that should be targeting Gabriel for his attempted assassinations? Dial-A-Mook is still taking his calls? I guess they won't be after this.

 

Gabriel's tech guy figures out that the call is coming from the Palace but still walks into 5-0 trap anyhow. I thought it would be the other way around. 5-0 sets up this elegant trap and just as they start to wonder where Gabriel is they find out that he's attacking their empty HQ instead. Doesn't he know by now that without the latest version of the Microsoft PixelSense, 5-0 is nothing? I also feel like the consequences plot would get a whole lot more meaningful if a gang raided 5-0 headquarters, stole a bunch of assault rifles and then went around doing damage with them.

 

And now that I think about it something about Abby's plotline seems familiar... A new blonde teammate, sent to report back on the misdeeds of the Governor's task force... except she can't do her job because she has fallen in love with a member of 5-0. If this was a trivia question the answer of Lori or Abby would be equally valid.

 

Not much for unusual pairings in this episode but I loved Grover telling Kono that he loves her. Now that I think about it there hasn't been much interaction between those two. I bet they'd be a fun team.

[BW Manilowe]

While I always appreciate a good They Live reference, that really long fight between Chin and Gabriel was completely unnecessary. Chin had a shotgun and the element of surprise. You want Gabriel to suffer? Shoot one of his legs off and then tussle with him. Or forget the vengeance angle and just shoot him in the head. He's a mass murderer and 5-0 has executed people for less.

So it turns out Abby is on the side of justice and has been sent to find dirt on 5-0's creative interpretation of means and immunity. "You've just got to be there when it happens..." the FBI agent growls. Steve's high-speed waterboarding of a suspect wasn't enough?! 5-0 has a huge body count by now and I'm sure it has gone up since Abby got there. If some senior police agency wanted 5-0 shut down for crapping on civil rights they'd be shut down in a minute! No investigation necessary. It's all right there, right from the beginning. Even in this episode. The unhelpful bank manager says he wants a lawyer. 5-0 comes back with "We're going to let a gangster kill you." That's illegal as hell!

Danno's mom has $50k in the bank but instead of spending it on a cruise she flies to Hawaii so she can pretend her son is her husband so she can get a free cruise? That is... twisted. I can kind of see the logic in that $50k is a number she can only subtract from so why not get all the free cruises she can. But I feel like a cruise and a flight to Hawaii would cost about the same.

Of all the times for a Hollywood fall to not kill someone. Now Gabriel is going to be sore all over and his badass leather pants probably got all scratched up. Not only that, bank error definitely not in his favor! He's going to be mad. But speaking of people who should be mad, aren't there three major criminal gangs that should be targeting Gabriel for his attempted assassinations? Dial-A-Mook is still taking his calls? I guess they won't be after this.

Gabriel's tech guy figures out that the call is coming from the Palace but still walks into 5-0 trap anyhow. I thought it would be the other way around. 5-0 sets up this elegant trap and just as they start to wonder where Gabriel is they find out that he's attacking their empty HQ instead. Doesn't he know by now that without the latest version of the Microsoft PixelSense, 5-0 is nothing? I also feel like the consequences plot would get a whole lot more meaningful if a gang raided 5-0 headquarters, stole a bunch of assault rifles and then went around doing damage with them.

And now that I think about it something about Abby's plotline seems familiar... A new blonde teammate, sent to report back on the misdeeds of the Governor's task force... except she can't do her job because she has fallen in love with a member of 5-0. If this was a trivia question the answer of Lori or Abby would be equally valid.

Not much for unusual pairings in this episode but I loved Grover telling Kono that he loves her. Now that I think about it there hasn't been much interaction between those two. I bet they'd be a fun team.

Responding to the bolded. Even if A) You hate Spoilers &/or B) You don't give a crap about the Abby storyline & see it as derivative of how the Lori storyline ended up in S2, I think it would help if you read at least 1 or both of the 2 articles I linked to in my previous post, if you haven't yet. They explain something about the guy Abby was watching Danny's questioning with, & it's not necessarily just a simple "somebody wants Five-0 shut down" story.

[Raja]

GMAFB I know TV takes liberties with how much the human body can take, but this was akin to a Road Runner/Wiley Coyote cartoon.

Agent Carter just survived the same. And she was in paled by a rebar.But then they admit to being a comic book.

[dwmarch]

Responding to the bolded. Even if A) You hate Spoilers &/or B) You don't give a crap about the Abby storyline & see it as derivative of how the Lori storyline ended up in S2, I think it would help if you read at least 1 or both of the 2 articles I linked to in my previous post, if you haven't yet. They explain something about the guy Abby was watching Danny's questioning with, & it's not necessarily just a simple "somebody wants Five-0 shut down" story.

 

Thanks for the links. I didn't read those before the episode. Now that I've seen them we'll have to go into spoiler code.

God damn it, not again! 5-0 does stuff on a regular basis that would have them disbanded, condemned and thrown in jail! But the idea of this team having to face some actual accountability for their endlessly questionable actions turns out to be yet another personal vengeance quest. That IA guy who got a pen in the eye died because he was an idiot! That's not on 5-0. But as I've said many many times there's all kinds of other stuff you could legitimately get them on. Damn it.

[Brian Cronin]

Remember when they dragged a guy on a boat through the water to get him to confess? She has seen SO much illegal torture!

[heisey]

Thanks for the links. I didn't read those before the episode. Now that I've seen them we'll have to go into spoiler code.

God damn it, not again! 5-0 does stuff on a regular basis that would have them disbanded, condemned and thrown in jail! But the idea of this team having to face some actual accountability for their endlessly questionable actions turns out to be yet another personal vengeance quest. That IA guy who got a pen in the eye died because he was an idiot! That's not on 5-0. But as I've said many many times there's all kinds of other stuff you could legitimately get them on. Damn it.

 

I read the linked articles, and I'm disappointed, but not surprised. 

I was hoping for a righteous investigation which would result in 5-0 being disbanded, all its members permanently barred from working in law enforcement in any capacity, and Grover doing hard time for multiple felonies in Illinois. Instead, we're going to get someone with a personal vendetta, and a cliched story line about whether Abby will follow her heart or her head. Ugh.

Edited February 20, 2016 by heisey

[biakbiak]

I wish this show still interfered with my recordings of Hells Kitchen so I would only have to watch one shit show a week

[Raja]

Give me a break. Deliberately taking on a carload of armed assassins with only four cops instead of a SWAT team? You have the greatest, wiliest criminal mastermind and sadistic mass murderer on the island in your sights, and instead of pulling the trigger, you engage him a fistfight? Yeah, I know, "It's personal!" And then you walk away without confirming that he's really, most sincerely dead? Chin Ho, haven't you seen enough horror movies to know that that always leads to a Jason/Michael sequel? And with Mark's murder, why would McGarrett not automatically assume that Neil might be in danger, too? Then there's the relentless pursuit to discredit the most successful crime-fighting force on the Islands. A whole episode made up of illogical, shopworn plots. Very disappointing. But always good to see Melanie Griffith, even if badly under-used.

Its 5-0 if the SWAT Team was there then Gabriel would have had a helicopter gunship just like Wo Fat. What got me in a reminded of Lou Grover version one "he's not a cop" was the order to shot anything that moves. But then his sniper is sitting on her perch and doesn't just pick them off as they exit their cars.

 

So is Gabriel supposed to be a thug for some organization? If he has to worry about 94 million being grafted away in a one time con then he must have had more than enough to live the life of Riley and not getting into MMA fights and thrown off of buildings.

[blackwing]

The more this show continues to insist that Gabriel Wainwright is the second coming of Wo Fat, the less and less I am interested.

Would be nice to see more of Max, but I'm ok with the lack of Jerry Garcia. And we had another week of no repercussions for Grover.

I found myself fairly disinterested in the main storyline and the autistic guy.

It was good seeing Melanie Griffith but that timeshare plot was a bit of an eyebrow raiser. Not particularly amusing to me at all.

And oh look, a cliched storyline for San Francisco Lady. Like we've never seen a woman on TV conflicted between love and job. Le sigh.

This show is looking more and more like it has run its course. Sad, because it was once at the very top of my must-see "event" television. Now I find myself washing dishes or browsing the Internet or even reading a book when it is on. I'll still watch out of loyalty and the fact that I like Steve, Kono and Chin, but I wish this show was as good as it used to be.

[ByaNose]

The fact that Chin & Gabriel are both alive is pretty hysterical. Of course, that no one saw or heard Gabriel fall or jump from the SUV to the ground is ridiculous. Gabriel is a great character but enough is enough. Now, it's becoming like a cartoon or daytime soap (The Phoenix Rises Again) and, is SO OTT! I wasn't too shocked about the Julie Benz character being shady but I didn't quite pinpoint that she was a mole. It was great seeing Ingo Rademacher. It's too bad the lighting guy was off that day. I mean, let's give the actor a little lighting. He probably spent 12 hours doing that 1 minute scene and you couldn't even see him.

[Trey]

 

I wasn't too shocked about the Julie Benz character being shady but I didn't quite pinpoint that she was a mole.

I have never trusted Julie Benz since she was Darla on BtVS and Angel. 

 

I could not believe that Chin and Steve didn't run down first thing to see if Gabriel was dead or alive.  I can give Chin some leeway since he was just in a very big fight but Steve should have gone, or at least shouted down to someone to get Gabriel handcuffed.

[Artsda]

That was a fantastic fight scene with Gabriel and Chin. Both actors did so well. I was kind of sad when I thought Gabriel was dead because he's a good character to watch. So I was kind of happy he disappeared even though it was unrealistic. How he gets up from that and just disappears in the time it took Chin to go downstairs? Gabriel's smarter and stronger than 5-0.

 

Wasn't Ingo Rademacher who was in the secret glass room with Abby the character from the school bus hijacking? But now he's some top FBI guy? He is supposed to be a new different character or that same character? Because didn't that character go to jail? So are we supposed to forget Ingo played that other character? 

[Mittengirl]

Thank you for indentifying Ingo. The guy in the shadow looked familiar, but it was such a brief glimpse.

Seriously though, did Five-0 learn nothing from the Munchkins? You always check to make sure someone is not just merely dead but really most sincerely dead -before- you commence the celebration.

And I can't believe that Steve or Chin didn't lean out the window and give Gabriel a parting gift right betwixt the eyes. Or Kono; wasn't she across the street/alley/driveway looking right at the black SUV?

The whole FBI story - maybe the show is going to end like Seinfeld, with all the characters sitting in a cell, facing jail time.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Mittengirl

[fishcakes]

At about hour fifteen of the Chin/Gabriel fight, I was thinking they both must be dead already and it was just their ghosts that were still fighting. I'm glad Gabriel isn't dead though because I enjoy his Elvis hair and 1980s Eddie Murphy outfits.

 

The bank robbery plot was a tad overcomplicated. Seems like if the assistant bank manager wanted to get the account numbers for the laundered money from the manager's office, she could have simply waited until he'd gone home for the day and then let her brother into the bank by, say, opening the door. No need to get Raymond and Charlie Babbitt involved just so you can spend a week tunneling through a wall. Use your key! That's what it's for!

[KLovestoShop]

I just don't get how someone can have the living crap beat out of him, be thrown out a plate glass window and down three flights, land  on a huge, and hard, SUV and walk away.  This is not Hawaii 5-0, it's Fantasy Island.

[threebluestars]

Ingo Rademacher not sounding Aussie threw me for a loop more than the reveal of Abby did lol.

[betsyboo]

 

Not much for unusual pairings in this episode but I loved Grover telling Kono that he loves her. Now that I think about it there hasn't been much interaction between those two. I bet they'd be a fun team.

"GIRL! I love you!" This was literally the only believable part of the entire episode.

 

Nice to see Jax. He hasn't aged a day in 25 years.

[sabretooth]

So I'm not losing my mind! I completely missed the opening credits and thought by appearance that it was Ingo Rademacher, but the voice threw me. I loved me some Jasper Jacks back in the day. 

[wanderingstar]

Good gravy, Gabriel Waincroft is like Rasputin!

[Dancingjaneway]

So I've pretty much stopped watching this show actively. I follow what goes on in the eps on twitter. To be honest I haven't seriously(all the way through) watched the show since I think season 3. They really ruined this show and made it a joke. Gabriel doesn't die after that fall??? In what universe? Danny is annoying and Steve has just become this meat-head who loves to shoot and score with the ladies. I hope that this is the last season and that Abby takes Steve down a peg or three. I love Kono and Chin so I don't want to see anything bad happen to them. Danny can go back to Jersey with his issues and Grover can  go work for a security department or something. 

[kili]

Is Danny's brother confirmed dead? I know there was supposed to be a body in the oil drum, but was it confirmed? Or was it just some random rotting corpse in there?

All this nattering about his brother made me think that he's still alive. If they want to start hauling H50 officers in for interrogations, surely starting with Danny's Mom is kind of odd. Why continue to question Danny after his Mom leaves? There is no evidence that he knew his brother gave his Mom money. 

 

Gabrielle surviving that fall is ridiculous. I suppose he just hopped off the SVU and in two days, he'll be in perfect health and menacing people again.

[JessDVD]

I am rather impressed at the actor's portrayal of Neil as a man with autism. I have a good friend who has a child with autism, he's about 14, and Neil's mannerisms were pretty similar to the kid I know. 

 

Gabriel: I have no words, other than THE HELL?!

[ganesh]

This show is bsc, but the whole building shoot out and fight was exciting and well done. I don't know if DDK was doing the fighting, but it was cool.

 

"Crossed the line before." You mean, last week, or the week before that? Or the week before that? The Five-0 charter basically says, "cross the line."

 

I actually thought the crime of the week wasn't bad either. 

 

 

The unhelpful bank manager says he wants a lawyer. 5-0 comes back with "We're going to let a gangster kill you."

 

While this is funny, what's really funny is that this isn't even the fifth or seventh time they've pulled something like that. 

 

Why continue to question Danny after his Mom leaves? There is no evidence that he knew his brother gave his Mom money.

 

Well, as Danny figured out at the end, they were roping his mother in to get to Five-0.

[Kel Varnsen]

Next time Gabriel shows up I want him to be in an electric wheel chair talking by using a computer like Stephen Hawking.

[BW Manilowe]

That was a fantastic fight scene with Gabriel and Chin. Both actors did so well. I was kind of sad when I thought Gabriel was dead because he's a good character to watch. So I was kind of happy he disappeared even though it was unrealistic. How he gets up from that and just disappears in the time it took Chin to go downstairs? Gabriel's smarter and stronger than 5-0.

Wasn't Ingo Rademacher who was in the secret glass room with Abby the character from the school bus hijacking? But now he's some top FBI guy? He is supposed to be a new different character or that same character? Because didn't that character go to jail? So are we supposed to forget Ingo played that other character?

Yes, Ingo also played the father of 1 of the private school kids whose bus was kidnapped en route to a field trip in S2 & almost buried in a big pile of cement.

Ingo's previous character never actually went to jail, although property he owned was used to store the bad guys' drugs. Yes, we're probably supposed to forget Ingo played that guy, because this is a different character (but related to another character we've met in at least 1 previous ep). But the thing is, there have also been other (granted, lesser known) actors who've played more than 1 character, in different eps, in the show; it's not like you can't do that. It's just Ingo's probably the most noticeable/the actor with the biggest name who's played more than 1 character, in different eps, on the show (By the way, in M*A*S*H, Harry Morgan played a General visiting the 4077th who seriously needed a psych eval, then was later cast as Colonel Potter, head of the unit after the original CO, Colonel Blake, was discharged home & killed when his plane was shot down trying to leave the country--so actors can play/have played different roles in different eps of the same show; it's just usually lesser named actors who do so--at least in the case of H50).

Edited February 21, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[BW Manilowe]

Is Danny's brother confirmed dead? I know there was supposed to be a body in the oil drum, but was it confirmed? Or was it just some random rotting corpse in there?

All this nattering about his brother made me think that he's still alive. If they want to start hauling H50 officers in for interrogations, surely starting with Danny's Mom is kind of odd. Why continue to question Danny after his Mom leaves? There is no evidence that he knew his brother gave his Mom money.

Gabrielle surviving that fall is ridiculous. I suppose he just hopped off the SVU and in two days, he'll be in perfect health and menacing people again.

Unless I'm confusing things with fanfic (yes, I read it; please don't judge), I'm pretty sure it was confirmed in the actual show Matt's remains were in the oil drum.

The Williamses did bury him; either Steve called Danny or vice-versa from New Jersey when Danny was there for the funeral, in 1 of the eps Scott had off after McDanno went to Colombia with the random for Matt, Reyes told them he was dead & stuffed in the oil drum he showed them, & Danny put 1 between Reyes' eyes & killed him so Reyes couldn't threaten anyone else in his family, like Grace (whose schedule he already knew way too much about from the minute he met Danny). I really don't think they'd just take some criminal's word that their loved one was in the oil drum before going to that expense. Besides, they'd want to bury him in something more proper than an oil drum so they'd have to transfer his remains to a casket & Max could probably do a DNA test then, if the remains weren't horribly decomposed.

Waincroft's first name is GABRIEL. Gabrielle is the feminine form of the name.

[BW Manilowe]

This show is bsc, but the whole building shoot out and fight was exciting and well done. I don't know if DDK was doing the fighting, but it was cool.

"Crossed the line before." You mean, last week, or the week before that? Or the week before that? The Five-0 charter basically says, "cross the line."

I actually thought the crime of the week wasn't bad either.

While this is funny, what's really funny is that this isn't even the fifth or seventh time they've pulled something like that.

Well, as Danny figured out at the end, they were roping his mother in to get to Five-0.

DDK wasn't doing the fighting--at least he wasn't doing a lot of it. He posted pics to his Instagram, which I think also ended up on his Twitter, of the Stunt Coordinator (& periodic ep director), Jeff Cadiente, & DDK's actual stunt double, Danny T. Kim (seriously... DDK & his double actually have the same first & last names), working on that fight sequence during filming, before the ep aired.

[Raja]

 

All this nattering about his brother made me think that he's still alive. If they want to start hauling H50 officers in for interrogations, surely starting with Danny's Mom is kind of odd. Why continue to question Danny after his Mom leaves? There is no evidence that he knew his brother gave his Mom money. 

 

Gabrielle surviving that fall is ridiculous. I suppose he just hopped off the SVU and in two days, he'll be in perfect health and menacing people again.

It is what is going on with J.Lo on Shades of Blue, they threaten to  pull Mama Williams down unless Danno cooperates to get McGarett, and probably Chin Ho. If it ends like The Shield they will get off the lightest while Kono and Grover will do hard time or die

[BW Manilowe]

It is what is going on with J.Lo on Shades of Blue, they threaten to pull Mama Williams down unless Danno cooperates to get McGarett, and probably Chin Ho. If it ends like The Shield they will get off the lightest while Kono and Grover will do hard time or die

They also did the same thing on H50 in S2, when they brought in Tom Sizemore's character--the guy who started out as IA & became Chief of Detectives by the time he was killed off at the end of the season.

To get Kono to go undercover on his op to get his dirty former partner, Frank Delano, & his dirty friends, Sizemore's character threatened Kono with taking Five-0 down if she didn't help him (we found this out when McG found out what she was up to, at the end of that story arc); if she helped him, they stayed safe. She had already been suspended from HPD because they found out she had something to do with money being stolen from the asset forfeiture locker (which Five-0 borrowed to keep Victor Hesse from detonating a collar bomb on Chin's neck--Steve took the money & Kono was lookout); this was used as her cover to infiltrate Delano's gang.

By the way, Mark Deklin, who plays/played Rachel's 2nd husband/Grace's stepfather/Charlie's alleged father, Stan Edwards, on H50 also has (had?) a recurring role in Shades of Blue. I don't watch it, so I don't know his character name there or if he's still in the show/has been killed off or written out as it's airing right now.

Edited February 21, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[jhlipton]

I found myself fairly disinterested in the main storyline and the autistic guy.

 

Elementary did two episodes with an autistic woman (who may be one of the shows Irregular Regulars) and I thought she did as well or better than Neil (but then Elementary does everything better than 5-0...)

[MissLucas]

Well, the episode had Mozzie in it - that's something. When they showed Gabriel lying on the car I was all 'c'mon - a quick double tap just to be on the safe side' - and when neither Chin (who knows a thing or two about taking out an arch-enemy for good) nor Steve would oblige I knew what was coming.

 

Show's running out of ideas.

[ChelseaNH]

I know the show was designed as an "event" series that would have everyone talking about it the next day, but I don't think they were hoping for people to be saying, "How stupid was that?"  But if they didn't manage to kill off Gabriel after all that, it's not going to happen until the finale.  It's just a question of how often they'll dangle the prospect in front of us before then.

 

Typical Steve, promising to get Neil to work on time and then just blowing him off afterward.

[blackwing]

I know the show was designed as an "event" series that would have everyone talking about it the next day, but I don't think they were hoping for people to be saying, "How stupid was that?"  But if they didn't manage to kill off Gabriel after all that, it's not going to happen until the finale.  It's just a question of how often they'll dangle the prospect in front of us before then.

This show has been going down the tubes for quite some time now.  I'm not sure exactly why they decided to kill off Wo Fat.  I am not a fan at all of Mark DaCaca, but he at least played a good villain.  I'm not sure if he wanted to do other things or if the show creators decided that the character had run his course.

 

The reason why this show has gone downhill so quickly is obvious to me:  Gabriel Wainwright.

 

1)  The character is terrible.  He was a two-bit low-level thug who really couldn't do much right.  He was introduced as Malia's loser brother.  Now all of a sudden after the death of Wo Fat we are led to believe that he has somehow become the biggest and baddest name in crime.  "When Gabriel tells you to do something, you do it."  Uhhhh..... not the Gabriel that we were introduced to several seasons ago.

 

2)  The actor is terrible.  I don't care for his "look".  I echo the sentiment upthread that he has one look:  "menacing glare".  Much the same way Tom Cruise constantly falls back on his tired "I smell a fart" look, this actor seems like he can only do "menacing glare".

 

I get the need for a new villain after Wo Fat bit it.  But the show would have been much better off creating a new character, instead of expecting us to believe that one brief stint in Halawa suddenly transformed Gabriel into the baddest mofo on the island.  It's just not believable, and if anyone else is like me, their eyes roll back into their head so far the moment Gabriel appears on screen.

[jzygayle]

And just when they think they have killed him, his body disappears! You mean he may not be dead?! I am shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

 

Yeah, my reaction to that fall was, "if this doesn't kill him, nothing will; we will never see the end of him."  Because of COURSE his pelvis wasn't shattered in that fall....

[MissLucas]

I don't see why they even need a recurring villain. Wo Fat was a nod to canon but in my experience most procedurals tend to over-do recurring villain arcs pushing them far into involuntary ridiculous territory.

 

This show works best when it's not taking itself too seriously and uses big drama sparingly.

Edited February 23, 2016 by MissLucas

[Raja]

I don't see why they even need a recurring villain. Wo Fat was a nod to canon but in my experience most procedurals tend to over-do recurring villain arcs pushing them far into involuntary ridiculous territory.

 

This show works best when it's not taking itself too seriously and uses big drama sparingly.

Even as a nod to canon Wo Fat was overused. In the original I guess the saw their error and benched him until the series finale. I certainly wasn't expecting him to be expended in the 100th episode of the reboot.  They should at least provide a reason for Gabriel to hang around to torment Chin  instead of living the life of leisure with his billions like they did for Wo Fat and his Steve fixtation

[BW Manilowe]

Even as a nod to canon Wo Fat was overused. In the original I guess the saw their error and benched him until the series finale. I certainly wasn't expecting him to be expended in the 100th episode of the reboot. They should at least provide a reason for Gabriel to hang around to torment Chin instead of living the life of leisure with his billions like they did for Wo Fat and his Steve fixtation

Well, at some point (I think when he started messing with Chin this time around), Gabriel did tell Chin he held him responsible for Malia's (Chin's wife/Gabriel's sister) death. So I suppose that has something to do with Gabriel's "motivation". And I suppose Kono's possibly, at least partially, being messed with because she's Chin's cousin, & maybe also because of her participation in the undercover op that brought "dirty cop" Frank Delano onto Five-0's radar & caused Malia's death & her kidnapping & almost death, because Delano wanted revenge because he had to pay for his sins with prison time, while "fellow 'dirty' cops" Chin & Kono got off without punishment. And you'll notice Gabriel hasn't--yet--messed with Danny, Steve, or Grover.

[webruce]

Chin's fight with Gabriel was great. Flipping him out the window on to that truck. But Steve should have fired a couple rounds out the window into him. As we findout later somehow he slithers away. Or PD comes over to check him out.

Danny's Mom was nice to see. But the feds questioning about his brother is interesting. Will it open up about Danny shooting that guy in Mexico? The Feds know 5-0 have used alot of leway on the use of their powers.

Neil Palea was a good character. The actor has played some strange people and here it was nice he wasn't a baddie. He played off Steve well.

Thought Gerard Hirsch was cute, especially flirting with Kono. Liked the actor on White Collar.

[Vermicious Knid]

Always confirm the kill!

 

Gabriel hitting the car just made me laugh, because they did the exact same thing on the Agent Carter season 1 finale. Except it was a plane, not an SUV. Of course by the time they got down to check the body she was gone. And Dottie has more cool in her little finger than Gabriel's entire body.

 

This really needs to be the last season. They ran out of stories ages ago, and recycling shopworn plots for the fortieth time doesn't cut it.

[BW Manilowe]

Chin's fight with Gabriel was great. Flipping him out the window on to that truck. But Steve should have fired a couple rounds out the window into him. As we findout later somehow he slithers away. Or PD comes over to check him out.

Danny's Mom was nice to see. But the feds questioning about his brother is interesting. Will it open up about Danny shooting that guy in Mexico? The Feds know 5-0 have used alot of leway on the use of their powers.

Neil Palea was a good character. The actor has played some strange people and here it was nice he wasn't a baddie. He played off Steve well.

Thought Gerard Hirsch was cute, especially flirting with Kono. Liked the actor on White Collar.

Danny shot Reyes in Colombia, not Mexico. We hopefully should see what the questioning was about this week (but I already know, thanks to those 2 "episode post-mortem" interviews with Julie Benz, aka Abby who fell for Chin, which I posted links to towards the beginning of the thread), but I'm pretty sure it won't have to do, specifically, with what Danny did to Reyes.

[Brian Cronin]

It all comes back to their foolish decision to kill Wo Fat. I agree that Wo Fat was ALSO too cartoonish, but at least it was just ONE cartoonish villain and not a second guy, who is basically Wo Fat-lite - and an established low level villain, to boot! They clearly regret killing off Wo Fat when they did - and they only did it then because people didn't expect it. Ugh, what a stupid reason to ruin your own show. 

[jhlipton]

I don't see why they even need a recurring villain. Wo Fat was a nod to canon but in my experience most procedurals tend to over-do recurring villain arcs pushing them far into involuntary ridiculous territory.

 

Once again, Elementary and Brooklyn 99 lead the way.  Both have recurring villains (Moriarty and The Pontiac Bandit) respectively, The Pontiac Bandit has been on one show per season.  Moriarty has been mentioned in about 5 episodes, but hasn't been on any since being arrested.  Both are great villains that I look sorward to seeing.