Admit it, you’re starting to fall for NCIS: Hawai’i.
NCIS: Hawai’i Season 1 Episode 4 was the most well-rounded installment of the series to date, featuring the most compelling case, excellent character development, and a lot of action.
One thing I love about the show is that Hawaii feels like one of the most important characters on the show.
It’s rare for shows to go this route, but the powers that be are using the state to its full potential, and I can’t wait to see where they take us next.
Kai continues to be my favorite character because of the way he’s been developed.
If you watch NCIS: Hawai’i online, you know there were many reasons for him returning, and now that we know it was for his father, it makes it clear this father and son will be able to put the past aside.
We’ve been given little breadcrumbs along the way that Wally did not handle his wife’s death in the best way, and Kai even pointed out that he would have never left if it wasn’t for his father.
Hopefully, this story gets the flashback treatment because it’s been fascinating to watch them try to co-exist whenever they’re on the screen together.
Wally understandably has a lot of regret for his actions, but he needs his son to allow him the option to rectify it. Grief affects everyone differently, and there is no hard and fast rule on how to process the death of a loved one.
However, I believe whatever happened with his father is the primary reason he struggles to build connections.
Kai has mostly kept everyone at arm’s length, refusing to allow them to build a connection with them, making everyone still deem him the new guy on the team.
Now that he’s actually bothering to check in with his team members and allowing them to know his true feelings, well, it’s progress.
Lucy almost being killed in the line of duty was harrowing because it showed how quickly a tame situation could become heated.
Lucy is usually very open about her feelings and is one of the most unapologetic characters on TV, but seeing this startled side helped add more depth to the character.
I figured she would run straight to Kate for comfort, but Kai she sought comfort by spending some time with her team. Kate doesn’t strike me as the type of person to show emotion, in a similar vein to Kai.
She would have probably struggled to comprehend why Lucy was so startled, and from a storytelling standpoint, the creative decisions chosen for Lucy on this installment elevated her to new lengths.
It also helped that we finally got some Ernie content. Ernie has been given very little screen time, regularly popping up to crack a joke or be super serious about something.
Now that we know there’s a bond between him and Dahlia, the series must explore it. They’re a dynamic duo who are staying apart for undisclosed reasons.
But the fact of the matter is that they work well together, and if this is the shape of things to come, then I’m all for it.
The case was both emotional and high-octane. Kaleo being shot at the top of the hour left me with more questions than answers, but it was a lot of fun.
Nalani signaling Lucy for help in the house was a pulse-pounding scene because there was no way of telling what was going to happen next.
My jaw was on the floor when the goon burst through the door, trying to kill everyone in sight. These moments allow you to know the series is set in the NCIS universe.
Overall, the different direction continues to set this iteration away from its predecessors, proving that new and different stories can be told in the same universe, even if they feel totally different.
We’re bound to reach a point where we get an overarching case, but for now, the cases of the week have been improving by the episode, which is what you want from a freshman series.
Jane’s decision to stand as the villains circled her on dirtbikes was another way to show that she means business, and she made a lot of sense in her assessment of these men.
They wanted to return home, and killing a federal agent would have been a life sentence for all of them. She’s good at showing people the bigger picture, and in this instance, it saved her life.
The leader of the dirt bike gang was a piece of work, so it was inevitable he would not be leaving with his life. His motives were murky, but Jane knew she and her team had to save Kaleo and his son.
Family echoes through NCIS: Hawai’i, and maybe that’s why I’m enjoying it more than the main show at this moment in time.
What did you think of the case of the week? Are you still Team Kai?
What was your take on Dahlia?
Were you impressed with Jane’s way of saving her life?
Hit the comments.
NCIS: Hawai’i continues Mondays on CBS at 10 p.m.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.