[Hawaii Five-0] "Ha'i'ole" Reaction Post

[eumelia]

Oh.
My.
God.

Okay so let me tell you what I did in order to watch this episode as soon as possible. I woke up at the crack of dawn and found a torrent and then went back to sleep for another hour while it downloaded.

I can't believe I've managed to watch an episode that was shown last night in the States this morning, before noon! So exciting.

Okay, so I feel like I should watch the ep all over again, just so I don't miss anything, but this is my first reaction, no critical thought, nothing beyond gut reaction.

I gasped when I saw Wo Fat at the governer's funeral (also, hurray for making this "a week later", no need for more psychological trauma due to prison), I gasped when Victor stabbed Steve (even though I saw it coming), I gasped when Wo Fat's men kidnapped Kono.

I definitely gasped at the end when I saw Jenna! Jenna, why are you evil now?! But kudos on making evil look cute and gay, I guess.

I laughed at Chin's pickpocketing abilities, badass, baby, badass. I laughed out loud at "Kermit", because Max, you are so going to be the target of everything Danny has to say about anything ever.
I laughed at "Screwdriver? I left it with my hammer" and crash! We can always rely on Danny when it comes to excessive force on inanimate objects.
I laughed at Danny's inelegant landing on that ship, when just before Steve leapt like a gazelle from a moving speed boat onto the ship - so in character and so characteristic. I approve.

I'm kind of sick of Kono being a badass damsel, yeah she's not helpless and such, and she's a HBIC, but can we stop with the screwy gender dynamics all the time?

Steve loves Danny so much, my heart actually clenched. Because fuck those longing gazes through the separation glass (Steve's smile was the most tender thing I had ever seen, Jesus) and through the rear view mirror, that... that...

You know, if lived in a different time, in which the plausible deniability of homoeroticism and homosexuality weren't in built by the fact that straightness was implicit and queerness only exists through explicit portrayal, Danny and Steve's relationship would have been the most epic romance a cop drama had ever seen.

So while the love is most certainly explicit, it's only "slash goggles" that see it for what it is, yeah huh. This show is toeing a line, I can't wait to see where they're going to take it.

I'm glad Rachel is coming back to Hawaii'i along with Grace, I hope we get to see more of her, I love Rachel!

Back to my incoherent joy at this show.

Joe White and Kono, do I smell a May/December romance? I think it would be cool, but it may just have been mutual appreciation for guns.

I love, absolutely love, the understanding Steve had regarding Chin's position and the fact that Chin was loyal to a bloody fault to the Five-0. It went down just as I though it would.

There was a huge amount of information packed into this première, but we all know the most important bit was seeing Steve shirtless, scruffy and doing push ups, right?

Right.

I miss Danny's tie.

A more critical analysis of character interaction and development, plot (maybe) and Slash later this week after a rewatch.

Comments

[maab_connor]

There was a huge amount of information packed into this première, but we all know the most important bit was seeing Steve shirtless, scruffy and doing push ups, right?


i was literally on the phone with my bestie and squeed so i think only my dog heard me, "shirtless pushups!" and she just said "i'm gonna let you go"

she watched this morning (she works nights) and IMed me here at work "OMGSHIRTLESSPUSHUPS!!!! SCORE!!!"

[eumelia]

That was a great introduction to this season's Steve. Very auspicious, is what I say :)

[darth_stitch]

....Danny and Steve's relationship would have been the most epic romance a cop drama had ever seen.

OMG it SO is. So, so much.

I'm still holding out for a better explanation as to why Rachel flaked out like that. I don't mind being spoiled so.... there was no implication that she was being blackmailed or anything? She just up and had this affair with Danny and tried to drag him back to Jersey because she was being all flaky?

Not that it exonerates Danny... but I was actually getting to like Rachel too. So this is a bit of a let down.

[eumelia]

The more I think about Rachel, the more pissed off I become, seriously, show, why do this?!

[darth_stitch]

I'll be honest. I was totally prepared to hate Rachel from the get-go. Because, I'm biased towards Danny and the initial set up was: "This is a woman who flaked out on being a cop's wife so she picks a rich new husband, hustles herself and the kid off to Hawaii and is doing everything possible to prevent the child's loving father from seeing his daughter."

And we meet Rachel and we find out that she's a bit more than just an Evil Beeyotch From Hell and though I don't agree with what she did, I can understand it. And I liked her. I get that she wanted to keep Grace safe, if in a bit misguided way. And I actually do understand the story arc that led to the affair, as stupid and as misguided as it was. Stan wasn't the safe haven she thought he would be. She could never take Grace away from her father, because Danny will fight for Grace, if not for her.

I'm now interested on how Grace is going to take this. Kids are resilient creatures but surely, after this, Grace herself may start pressuring Mommy for more time with her Dad?

[ajnabieh]

...I am actually totally satisfied if Kono basically gets to exert lethal force once or twice per episode. Yes, it's cliche at this point, but it's just SO GREAT. SO INCREDIBLY GREAT.

But kudos on making evil look cute and gay, I guess.

+1000000. I was also very surprised, but I can see it being awesome.

So, my primary fandom is X-Files, and I am wondering whether there's a profitable comparison to be made between the way the Mulder/Scully ship ran just below the surface, and how Steve/Danny is running just below it. I mean, obviously about six bazillion things are different--but there's something about how it is totally fucking clear that these two people are in love, and all possible extratextual gestures are there, but the actual text continues to pretend otherwise.

[eumelia]

I am all for Kono being kick ass and taking names (literally!), but I am always concerned when I see this kind of gender specific pattern, it can backfire all too easily.

I cannot wait to see where they take Jenna, good or evil, I'll love her forever!

I'm fleshing out a meta review on the ep and I'm going to touch on the way this show behaves with regards to the love between Danny and Steve and queer representation in general, because as far as I can tell, there are not queer people in that verse. But Jenna had a fiance with a gender that was never disclosed (she herself is coded as gay, imho) and in this ep Max has a roommate he knows the size of - this is not typical guy roommate knowledge, you could argue that Maz himself is unusual, you know, in that queer way ;P