Hawaii Five-0 (S07E09) “’Elua lā ma Nowemapa” (Two Days in November)

Aloooha fellow Five 0 fans 🙂

Another weekend and another very enjoyable episode of our favourite show. I always find fascinating when fiction meets history and I have been wondering how our writers would deal with such an important topic as a Presidential assassination remaining faithful to reality but introducing it in the fictional world of the show.

I thought they did it brilliantly and the many twists and turns in the plot kept my attention going. I love when I can say “Yeah, I didn’t see that coming” at the end of an episode.

I also love when one of the main cast characters gets to steal the spotlight and have a full episode in which they shine and are primarily involved. Of course though only with the help of the rest of the Ohana they can succeed and make sure that justice is served.

This time it was Jerry’s turn to be at the centre of the action. I have always liked Jerry, he is great at providing some much needed comedy relief but he is also able to convey drama and to deal with serious issues and dangerous situations. Thumbs up to Jorge Garcia for his portrayal of Jerry, always sympathetic and sincere. It has been great to see the character of Jerry evolving and  developing over the different seasons. Going from a recluse, paranoid and afraid of the “outside world” kid to a determined, outgoing, ready for action man. Of course he is still very peculiar and some of his theories are “campate per aria” as we say in Italy but he has proven many times to be a very important asset for the team.

In 7.09 we see Jerry meeting one of his on line conspiracy theory fellows, Susie Freeling, a school teacher that, as Jerry explains, didn’t mind to get her hands dirty in order to prove her ideas. To the best of Jerry’s knowledge at the beginning of the episode Susie is in town to retrieve evidence that would expose the people behind the J.F.K. assassination from 1963. I loved Jerry and Susie’s first encounter, I could sympathise with the initial awkwardness, as I have in the past met friends that I had previously only talked to via letter or later on in life on line, it is always good to put a face to a name and in many cases the connection that people feel when they are “at a safe distance” proves to be strong and real when they finally meet in person. It seemed to be the case for Jerry and Susie. Unfortunately their happy reunion didn’t last long as Susie was shot dead while walking nearby Honolulu Zoo (I always love to see in the show familiar places that I visited when in Hawaii).

Luckily desperate and shell shocked Jerry wasn’t alone for too long until the team arrived to support him and to investigate the murder of the young woman. We see Chin Ho and Lou already present at the scene, ready to welcome McGarrett who arrives with his new-ish truck, finally dissipating our doubts on its colour, the truck is ice silver!

Chin tells a worried Steve that he hasn’t had much luck in talking to Jerry, once again the Big Kahuna is able to get through Jerry’s barriers and find out his theory about who killed his friend.

There are quite a few touching Ohana moments in 7.09, and one of them was the conversation between Chin Ho and Jerry after the murder. Despite not agreeing with Jerry’s theories, neither the one about the Presidential assassination nor the one about tap water, Chin always respects his friend and is there for him when he needs it.

Ohana is not only about getting along and being there for each other though, as we all know family is also about working together even when misunderstandings and clashes seem to get in the way of communication. That’s what happens in the amusing office scene between Danno and Lou. As much as they bonded in the previous episode and behaved like civilised grown ups about their kids dating each other, in 7.09 the first small consequences of the event appear and Danny and Grover end up arguing about which one of the kids is a distraction for the other and which one is more popular among the opposite gender. Luckily, an amused Commander McGarrett reminds them that they have a case to solve. To be continued….AS Grover says to Danno.

Despite of Steve’s concerns about his well-being Jerry joins the other to solve not only Susie’s murder but also to continue her investigation into J.F.K.’s. Opposite to Jerry everybody else seems perplexed and dubious of the fact that the closest members of the President’s administration would conspire against his life, possibly because he was perceived not to be strong enough in the fight against Communism. The President favoured diplomacy over force and his advisors were suspected of being planning his murder when in Hawaii under the pretence of holding a conference about the Vietnam war.

Another thing that I like very much when it happens in the show are the flash backs to another era. This time we are transported in numerous occasions to 1963. The colour, the outfits, the realism of the historic vibe are always very believable. We see a 60ies Honolulu at the very beginning of the episode, with an F.B.I. agent using this nowadays considered strange machine called a phone booth.

We return to the past again later on, when Jerry and Chin Ho interview George Sellers, the then young boy who delivered (and secretly read) a encrypted telegram to Mr. Rusk. Once again we visit the 60ies, and Camp Smith in the present, in search of incriminating video footage , and finally again when Mr. Drake, a former F.B.I. collaborator explains to Steve and Danno that there is an audio cassette that would reveal what the politicians talked about when listening to Don Ho and being entertained by singer turned spy Kamele Hale. This final flash back scene was really well done, and I also enjoyed spotting my twitter friend and “extra” actress Joan in the process.

Almost all the members of our Five 0 Ohana (we are still missing Duke but hopefully we’ll see Dennis back soon) were involved in the episode, included Max at the crime scene, providing vital clues on where the shot that killed Susie came from and the type of gun (M40 U.S. military snipers issue) and Eric in the forensic laboratory, being harassed by the F.B.I. agents that seize all the evidence.

Steve and Danno have a few encounters with the F.B.I. agent themselves, at first dealt with with maturity and professionality by Steve, as a surpised Danno points out, even though with no intention of respecting the “stand down” order and then with a bit less restraints when Steve finds out that the agency was just a spectator of Susie’s murder and did nothing to prevent it, even if they could have.

Eventually, thanks to the retrieval of the secret audio cassette from Jerry and the interrogation from Steve of the F.B.I. agent we find out the truth about what happened.

The Presidential advisors weren’t conspiring to assassinate their leader, but instead Fidel Castro. Susie wasn’t killed because she had gotten too close to the truth about J.F.K.’s murder but because she was going to expose the misdeeds of a Chemical Company.

Another couple of touching moments follow the final revelations. First we have Jerry wondering if it was a good or a bad thing that Susie died thinking mistakenly that her theory about the J.F.K. murder was correct. He is reassured by Kono that his friend died knowing that her fellow would finish what she started.

Finally, we have the Commander once again showing his support and friendship to Jerry. When Jerry sadly reveals that Susie was the only person he could talk to freely without the fear of being judged Steve assures him that if he feels like sharing coffee is on him. Steve might not agree with Jerry’s conspiracy theories but he would never consider him crazy, that’s what real friendship is about and nobody embodies its values in a stronger and more sincere way than Steve McGarrett.

A very enjoyable episode which made us wonder, laugh and even tear up a little now and again.

No new episode next week, or the following one, so until next time I wish you a very good weekend and a couple of wonderful weeks ahead.

As always Mahalo for reading,

Manu

Pictures courtesy of Belle, Moni, Lisa, Sonni and Hawaii Five 0 on twitter