S06.E21: Ka Pono Kūʻokoʻa (The Cost of Freedom)

[BW Manilowe]

Five-0 goes on a manhunt when a deliberate chemical spill enables six dangerous inmates to escape, including Kono's husband, Adam.

Original Airdate: April 22, 2016

SOURCE: http://cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/hawaii-five-0/releases/view?id=44974

[blackwing]

I try to keep an open mind about this show, since it used to be my favourite.  But this episode description sounds terrible.  More continuation of the ridiculous "Adam in prison" storyline.  He shouldn't even have been there in the first place.  He voluntarily turned himself in even though he had a clear self-defence defence.  Now he's going to escape?  I guess the food must really be that bad if he's only now decided that he doesn't belong in prison.

 

Let me guess... all five of the other escapees are beholden to that great criminal mastermind, Gabriel Wainwright.  And of course they are going to try and kill Adam, because "when Gabriel Wainwright talks, you listen".  [/rollseyes]  

[Uke]

Hmmm When did Michael Green become an actor? (The older escapee who was drowned in the stream) 

Clearly I've got some catching up to do.

He was a criminal defense attorney.  I guess acting pays better? Or this is his post-retirement hobby?

Our offices used to be in the same building.

[threebluestars]

I remember Michelle Krusiec from Travelers, an awesome documentary-style show where 3 hosts (that varied) travelled to different world locations to experience it together, and also One World, a Saturday morning show in the Saved By The Bell vein.

 

ETA: YouTube really has everything.

 

Travelers episode from season 2 - https://youtu.be/9Rt8ujmwam0?t=4m26s

One World - https://youtu.be/PK5eJh9Qcl4t=0m3s

Edited April 23, 2016 by arieswriting

[Raja]

I remember Michelle Krusiec from Travelers, an awesome documentary-style show where 3 hosts (that varied) travelled to different world locations to experience it together, and also One World, a Saturday morning show in the Saved By The Bell vein.

ETA: YouTube really has everything.

Travelers episode from season 2 - https://youtu.be/9Rt8ujmwam0?t=4m26s

One World - https://youtu.be/PK5eJh9Qcl4t=0m3s

From one episode of Deep Space Nine, I'm more than a Trekker I'm a Niner.

[Artsda]

That was a gory and lots of killing episode. Different than the normal. I don't get why Adam is serving so much time in jail when the cops can go into hospital rooms and shoot people then walk right out. 

[dwmarch]

Now that's more like it. The story was much tighter, the action was great and we had some interesting villains. 5-0 was competent! They didn't end up chasing a bunch of false leads. The only reason it took them so long to find the prisoners was because that was how long it took to physically catch up to them.

 

I liked that Napoleon Dynamite-looking serial killer. Chews one guy's wrist off. Eats another guy's heart. About to go to town on a Yakuza goon with a pocketknife when 5-0 guns him down. This show has had some nasty characters on it but this guy is memorable.

 

Also good to see Randy Couture's DuClair again. He's a good character and I hope he isn't killed off.

 

Now with 5-0 being the special task force that they are I'm legitimately surprised they didn't take more liberty with Adam at the end there. They could have said "we have some more questions for this prisoner" and then taken him back to 5-0 HQ so he could have some snuggle time with Kono. Instead they just let him be loaded right back into the Halawa van to be hauled back to jail.

 

Jerry's investigation of the financials of the Yakuza daughter allowed 5-0 to crack the case. Give him a badge already.

 

Kono let that corrupt guard walk away last week and this week that same guard puts her husband on a bus that gets bombed. No more secrets? How about you start arresting the people that are trying to kill your husband?

 

Edit: I almost forgot, there was another Grover and Kono scene in this episode that I loved. She is obviously not loving the situation and Grover is being silly and self-depreciating to keep her in good spirits. They make a great team.

Edited April 23, 2016 by dwmarch

[MissLucas]

I lost track of the arsonist - is he still on the loose? And why the hell did Kono not arrest the corrupt guard last week?

 

I could have done without the carefully arranged slaughter-scene at the beginning complete with horrifying burn wounds and torn off limbs. This show does have a high body-count but it normally spares us the gory details. Also: worst hit-men ever. First not getting the target despite using an IED and then double-tapping the wrong guy.

 

I did like the different teams: Kono and Grover and Chin (wear a helmet dammit) and Jerry. Darla is probably still looking for her badge in the ocean.

Edited April 24, 2016 by MissLucas

[illdoc]

Is there a reason why the two guys in the striped outfits (the protective custody prisoners) were not shackled together????  It's one thing "let's put protective custody and maximum security prisoners on the same bus", but wouldn't the protective custody prisoners be put together? Then the hitman just had to kill all the striped jumpsuit prisoners (granted, it looked like only 2 on the bus) and be done!

[betsyboo]

That was a gory and lots of killing episode. Different than the normal. I don't get why Adam is serving so much time in jail when the cops can go into hospital rooms and shoot people then walk right out. 

I did NOT need to hear about every time the cannibal decided to eat!

 

Also, I recognize it's futile, but I feel compelled to point out that CLEARLY Kono would never been allowed to search for her husband. GAH. 

Edited April 23, 2016 by betsyboo

[ganesh]

That was actually good? Everyone contributed. I do like when the episode is a singular story. Those fake cops were some bad actors though. The look on the guy's face when he was getting choked was comical. 

 

Note: always stay on the good side of the arsonist.

[JessDVD]

Thanks, H5-0 for all the nightmares I'm going to have tonight about severed, chewed off limbs, and drowning in streams and I don't even know what else because we're only halfway in but the other posts here are giving me a good idea.

 

Yeah, that was pretty bad. Good story, but I could have done without all of the cannibal's stuff, kthxbye.

 

I keep having to remind myself that DuClair is actually a sick bastard who used to watch the people whose houses he set on fire, die. Because darn it all, I keep wanting to root for him. BTW to the above about what happened to him, Grover called for medical care for him when he got shot by some Yakuza I totally don't care about anyone from that group including Adam goon, and that was the last he was mentioned so I assume he got help and was sent back to Halawa.

 

Can someone remind me of the backstory of young dude whose dad apparently was one of the people who died?

Edited April 24, 2016 by JessDVD

[buckboard]

I agree with previous posters that the lingering closeups in scenes with the burn victims and the results of other violence was unnecessarily gory. It was an interesting plot to chase after the escapees, but seeing a man's face burned to a crisp didn't enhance the story for me.

[TeapotDiva]

There were several (?) SMH moments in this episode, but one that jumped out at me was Adam's prayer-bead necklace.  I immediately thought, "He's allowed to wear that in prison?!"  String and beads ~ think of all the fun things a prisoner could do with those!  Maybe he got some leeway because he was in protective custody?

[ganesh]

Can someone remind me of the backstory of young dude whose dad apparently was one of the people who died?

 

I thought he was someone they arrested a while ago and Steve wanted to give him a 'second chance.' I think he may have ratted out his dad to Five-0 actually. 

 

 

String and beads ~ think of all the fun things a prisoner could do with those!

 

I have no idea what you could possibly mean.

Edited April 24, 2016 by ganesh

[TeapotDiva]

I have no idea what you could possibly mean.

 

Well, with my macabre imagination, I was thinking choking ~ himself, or a guard or prisoner who got too close ~ either with the string (which apparently was strong enough to tie the cannibal's makeshift bandage to his leg) or with the loose beads, which also could be scattered on the floor to cause someone to fall and crack his head.  Probably I was overthinking it!  But I thought prisoners were always made to give up their belts, shoelaces, etc.

[JessDVD]

I assume a prisoner being allowed a string of bead is the same brand of logic that gets us Kono doing a manhunt for her own husband (right), every guard IN Halawa being crooked (If I lived in Hawaii and watched this show, I would keep my kids veeeeeeery close to me), putting protective custody prisoners on the same bus as maximum security, nobody questioning the obviously crooked guard, the entire show, etc. Suspension of disbelief is reaching unsafe levels. :-)

 

Oh, was young dude the one who was in the car as a child and his dad murdered someone and the kid heard it? Something like that? I would google it for myself but I'm not sure if "young dude who was in the car... etc" would get me any hits.

[ganesh]

Well, with my macabre imagination, I was thinking choking ~ himself, or a guard or prisoner who got too close

 

I was actually thinking anal beads, but those other suggestions are also valid.

[betsyboo]

The kid stole Steve's (father's) classic car last season (early this season?). After learning his mom died and dad was in prison, Steve told him he wouldn't press charges if he kept his nose clean. And I think he did rat out his father as other posters mention above. The father got out of jail and tried to reconnect, but the boy started remembering. Dad went back to jail. I have no idea where he is living or if he is out of school. Maybe we're due for a heartwarming graduation. (this is all as I sort of remember it....specifics may vary!)

 

Did not miss Julie Benz at all.

Even dirty and scruffy, Adam is still hot.

[Clanstarling]

From one episode of Deep Space Nine, I'm more than a Trekker I'm a Niner.

Simply the best. 

Also, I recognize it's futile, but I feel compelled to point out that CLEARLY Kono would never been allowed to search for her husband. GAH.

First thing I said, especially since Chin was back at HQ doing the investigative end.

The actor playing the cannibal did it to the hilt - at the point where he was killing one of them, I thought I was watching a different show and that he'd woge out into some kind of beast. Since he clearly wasn't the fava beans and Chianti kind of cannibal.

Was it wrong of me to want the yakusa to just shoot Adam and get this storyline off of the show? I like the actor, but I've hated this story from the get-go.

Chin stopping the yakusa mama was weird, and not aggravating and irresponsible lack of helmet. Near as I could tell, he was doing nothing to indicate he was police at all, just forcing her to a stop by pulling his motorcycle in front of her.

And what did happen to her? Did they arrest her? She was pretty cool as a cucumber, with a decent spin on the guard's bribe - but then she boasts about taking over her father's illegal business? Is she going to be yet another player in the endless Adam's got problems story?

Edited April 24, 2016 by clanstarling

[ganesh]

His insistence all of a sudden about Adam just made me roll my eyes. I know he's supposed to be the skeptical one, but that was totally annoying.

 

Yeah, but you could argue that the entire rest of Five-0 going, "Oh, not Adam, nooooo wayyyy" was kind of naive too. In hindsight, it's kind of unprofessional of Steve to be so dismissive of Danny right off the bat. We're talking about a guy who has an actual criminal past. I can get them saying to the other cops, "hey don't shoot this guy," but not approaching the situation with some skepticism can get people killed. 

 

 

Near as I could tell, he was doing nothing to indicate he was police at all, just forcing her to a stop by pulling his motorcycle in front of her.

 

*Everyone* knows Five-0 though. Why would he need to?

[kili]

Chin stopping the yakusa mama was weird, and not aggravating and irresponsible lack of helmet. Near as I could tell, he was doing nothing to indicate he was police at all, just forcing her to a stop by pulling his motorcycle in front of her.

All I could think was how he was planning on taking her in? On the back of his motorcycle? Why wouldn't he put out a BOLO on her so she'd be stopped by a regular cop? Was he really driving around looking for her? If he knew her route, again, a regular cop could have helped in the stop.

 

He's lucky she didn't just run him over ("I thought he was trying to rob me or worse! I have two little girls in the back. How was I to know he was a cop? He's not even wearing a helmet. When he pulled in front of me, I just couldn't stop in time"). The woman has no problem blowing up a bus full of people  to kill  Kono's spouse - she should have no qualms about running over a reckless Chin. 

 

The buses of Hawaii aren't getting much love lately. Shot up a few weeks ago and blown up this week. There sure were a lot of limbs lying around that crime scene and not a lot of limbless victims. The cannibal should have just stayed and dined.

 

The guy chewed the hand off of a fresh corpse? Did he take a shower after that and floss his teeth? Sure, his jumper was a little squiffy, but his face looked a little too clean. And then he eats another guy and he gets a few drops of blood on his pants. At least he had an axe that time so he could dine more daintily.

 

Hannibal the Cannibal tells the gang that his chain gang buddy fell in a stream and knocked himself dead. Then, the other guys suggest that somebody go back to the stream and get some water. Why didn't the guy wonder where the dead prisoner was since he died at the stream? Why were they all hanging around the fire? Why not all go to the stream and all get a drink of water? Weren't they all thirsty after running through the jungle? Drink now and fill up for later. There was no reason to send just one guy to the stream.

[MissLucas]

Hannibal the Cannibal tells the gang that his chain gang buddy fell in a stream and knocked himself dead. Then, the other guys suggest that somebody go back to the stream and get some water. Why didn't the guy wonder where the dead prisoner was since he died at the stream?

I seriously wondered if they were going to pull 'And Then There Were None' with the cannibal taking out one after the other member of the most naive chain gang that ever escaped.

[Clanstarling]

All I could think was how he was planning on taking her in? On the back of his motorcycle? Why wouldn't he put out a BOLO on her so she'd be stopped by a regular cop? Was he really driving around looking for her? If he knew her route, again, a regular cop could have helped in the stop.

 

He's lucky she didn't just run him over ("I thought he was trying to rob me or worse! I have two little girls in the back. How was I to know he was a cop? He's not even wearing a helmet. When he pulled in front of me, I just couldn't stop in time"). The woman has no problem blowing up a bus full of people  to kill  Kono's spouse - she should have no qualms about running over a reckless Chin.

I never even wondered how he got her back! Your scenario of how she could have run him down and gotten away with it is spot on.

[BW Manilowe]

Thanks, H5-0 for all the nightmares I'm going to have tonight about severed, chewed off limbs, and drowning in streams and I don't even know what else because we're only halfway in but the other posts here are giving me a good idea.

Yeah, that was pretty bad. Good story, but I could have done without all of the cannibal's stuff, kthxbye.

I keep having to remind myself that DuClair is actually a sick bastard who used to watch the people whose houses he set on fire, die. Because darn it all, I keep wanting to root for him. BTW to the above about what happened to him, Grover called for medical care for him when he got shot by some Yakuza I totally don't care about anyone from that group including Adam goon, and that was the last he was mentioned so I assume he got help and was sent back to Halawa.

Can someone remind me of the backstory of young dude whose dad apparently was one of the people who died?

That's Nahele. As Betsyboo said, either last season or the season before, he stole--& stripped--the Mercury Marquis car (which was the original McGarrett's car in the original H5O) which had belonged (in this version of the show) to Steve's dad before his death. Steve caught Nahele & showed him an unsigned crime report relating to what Nahele did with/to the car. He told Nahele he'd keep the unsigned report in his desk, & not file it with HPD, as long as Nahele adhered to certain conditions, such as helping Steve put the Marquis back together, staying in school, getting a job (I think he works at Kamekona's shrimp truck), & staying out of trouble--all of which he's apparently done. Then, last season (or maybe early this season), Nahele's criminal father was released from Halawa Correctional Facility & he regained custody of Nahele, whose mom is apparently dead. Nahele didn't want anything to do with his father & he told Steve (offscreen) that he had been in a car, reading a comic book, when he was a kid & he heard/saw his dad shoot & kill someone. He also apparently told Steve where this happened & he & Five-0 found the buried remains there. That got Nahele's dad sent back to Halawa, leading up to his dad's death in this ep.

[HurricaneVal]

For the record, favorite show, I like humorous openers like Steve and Danny engaging in a car chase in that ridiculous Mario Kart thing much more than long, loving closeups of severed and burned limbs.   You are not Criminal Minds.  Just sayin'...

 

Though...I have to say, that actor they booked to play the cannibal serial killer really threw himself into his work, and his storyline was worthy of a CM episode, that's for sure.

 

I, too, have to remind myself that DuClair is a bad guy.  A really, really sick bastard of a bad guy the same way the cannibal with the horse teeth and crazy eyes is a bad guy.  DuClair just keeps his crazy on the inside, and has a bizarre personal code of ethics--which makes him a very complex and interesting character.  He was well used in this episode, and well cast because that actor does quite well with that layered guy.  Far better than, say, Sang Min would have been.  Now, I loves me some Sang Min, but he'd bring the comic relief to this episode, and it needed something more like gravitas which DuClair brings to the party.

 

The Kono/Lou dynamic was great too.  Those two together are awesome.  Actually, Chi McBride has great chemistry with anyone in the cast, but I imagine that it is too difficult to frame shots when he and Scott Caan are doing a scene together.  Chi is a giant and Scott is rather diminutive. 

 

This show does bring the silly and the action--often together--and the preposterous "suspend your disbelief" story lines, but whoever does the casting is brilliant and there are always quiet moments with the characters where the actors get to shine.  On Friday's episode, the moment that stood out for me was when McGarrett had to prepare himself to tell Nahele his father had died.  Alex O'Laughlin put a lot of Steve McGarrett backstory and empathy for Nahele into that sorrowful, yet determined look he had on his face as he was waiting for Nahele to get to his office.  AOL does "quiet moments" quite well.

Edited April 25, 2016 by HurricaneVal

[blackwing]

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than most episodes this season, and it's because it had similar qualities to the Grover in the jungle episode.  Tight cohesive plot.  No stupid or silly B or C plots.  After the utter ridiculousness of the elephant and Robocop episode, this one seemed more like a classic H 5-O episode.  A little bit of ridiculousness, I find that I can accept.

 

However, it was completely inconceivable that Kono would be allowed to participate in the manhunt.  This was such an obvious conflict of interest.  If she was going to be involved, she should have stayed at the basecamp and coordinated efforts and fielded calls.  Absolutely no way she should have gone on the hunt armed with a gun.  What if she saw Adam in the distance, and a cop was going to shoot him?  Would she have shot the cop or distracted him?

 

I am glad that Kono's unrealistic decision not to arrest Gabriel Wainwright's crooked prison guard led to this situation.  That was utterly stupid of her.  It would have been so easy if she had taken him in for questioning the other week.  Gabriel Wainwright is a known fugitive, and this guard was paid off by him to advance his criminal agenda.  I do find it puzzling thought that Adam was shackled to the arsonist.  Adam is a minimum security prisoner.  Even if Wainwright's Guard was the one to put those particular prisoners on that bus, surely he wouldn't have been solely responsible for the transfer.  There would have been other guards involved to shepherd them onto the bus.  Surely at least one of them would have objected to the shackling of Adam to the arsonist.  Unless the show is suggesting that an entire cadre of guards has been corrupted by Gabriel Wainwright.

 

Danny was part of the team but worthless. They made him the guy who wonders if the good guy is really a bad guy. His insistence all of a sudden about Adam just made me roll my eyes. I know he's supposed to be the skeptical one, but that was totally annoying. 

I agree that Danny was worthless, and I've decided that if we have to tolerate Danny, I think I prefer it best if his role is very much minimalised.  For the same reason, I was happy with the absence of San Francisco Police Lady.  Two episodes in a row with not even a mention of her.  I hope she is gone for good.

 

That's Nahele. As Betsyboo said, either last season or the season before, he stole--& stripped--the Mercury Marquis car (which was the original McGarrett's car in the original H5O) which had belonged (in this version of the show) to Steve's dad before his death. Steve caught Nahele & showed him an unsigned crime report relating to what Nahele did with/to the car. He told Nahele he'd keep the unsigned report in his desk, & not file it with HPD, as long as Nahele adhered to certain conditions, such as helping Steve put the Marquis back together, staying in school, getting a job (I think he works at Kamekona's shrimp truck), & staying out of trouble--all of which he's apparently done. Then, last season (or maybe early this season), Nahele's criminal father was released from Halawa Correctional Facility & he regained custody of Nahele, whose mom is apparently dead. Nahele didn't want anything to do with his father & he told Steve (offscreen) that he had been in a car, reading a comic book, when he was a kid & he heard/saw his dad shoot & kill someone. He also apparently told Steve where this happened & he & Five-0 found the buried remains there. That got Nahele's dad sent back to Halawa, leading up to his dad's death in this ep.

Call me cold, but I couldn't care less about Nahele or his dad.  His dad was a convicted murderer, and I'm not sorry at all that they killed him off.  I guess now am I supposed to feel sorry for this teen whose dad is now dead?   Nahele effectively didn't have a father.  The choices the father made took that away from him.  I know the news that Nahele's father was among the dead was supposed to be this poignant "poor Nahele" moment, but it left me empty. 

[Brian Cronin]

This really was surprisingly well-written, especially for this season. 

[Jobiska]

On 4/23/2016 at 4:05 AM, dwmarch said:

Edit: I almost forgot, there was another Grover and Kono scene in this episode that I loved. She is obviously not loving the situation and Grover is being silly and self-depreciating to keep her in good spirits. They make a great team.

They did have great rapport, but I had to laugh at Grover yet again using the tactic of, when he's in the jungle and knows there are bad guys concealed out there in all directions and probably heading his way, to banter about trivial matters (golf this time) for what seems like hours.  Well, it worked in the one with his family so I guess he thought he could try it again.

On 4/24/2016 at 7:41 AM, betsyboo said:

Even dirty and scruffy, Adam is still hot.

I am very stubborn about my characters, and for a long time I didn't like the Kono/Adam storyline at all, partly because I am probably the only Charlie Fong/Kono shipper on the planet, partly because it seems so overwrought and fraught and stuff.  But darned if I am not being won over purely by the actor of Adam (Ian Anthony Dale, right?  I've never seen him in anything else).  We know he can look dapper, and now when we've seen a couple of episodes of him rampaging scruffily around in the woods (the one where he killed the two guys and this one), I am persuaded that he should be the next James Bond.  I'd watch.

[BW Manilowe]

8 hours ago, Jobiska said:

They did have great rapport, but I had to laugh at Grover yet again using the tactic of, when he's in the jungle and knows there are bad guys concealed out there in all directions and probably heading his way, to banter about trivial matters (golf this time) for what seems like hours.  Well, it worked in the one with his family so I guess he thought he could try it again.

I am very stubborn about my characters, and for a long time I didn't like the Kono/Adam storyline at all, partly because I am probably the only Charlie Fong/Kono shipper on the planet, partly because it seems so overwrought and fraught and stuff.  But darned if I am not being won over purely by the actor of Adam (Ian Anthony Dale, right?  I've never seen him in anything else).  We know he can look dapper, and now when we've seen a couple of episodes of him rampaging scruffily around in the woods (the one where he killed the two guys and this one), I am persuaded that he should be the next James Bond.  I'd watch.

Yes, Ian Anthony Dale plays Kono's husband Adam. Before this, he was in a short-lived show on (I think) NBC, called The Event. And right now he's also in TNT's show Murder in the First, which is at least probably partially why Adam's in prison (to cover for his absences to shoot the other show).

I thought Fong & Kono would end up together too. Then they put Adam & Kono together out of left field. It was surprising, but I like them together.