Hawaii Five-O on Oct 25

This one opens with a surf contest at Pipeline on the North Shore although the waves are not very high and the surf is not tubular. Kono is surfing with her mentor, the CEO of a successful surf business, who gets shot on the waves. So, for Kono, this murder is personal.

This story goes into some true Hawaiian themes. There's conflict between local (native Hawaiians) and haoles (whites). McGarrett needs the trust of a Hawaiian leader but has to work to gain it. Even though he was born and grew up in the Islands, he's a haole and the subject of suspicion. Danno is a fish out of water and clueless about how to handle the conflict. Native Hawaiians might be one of the most economically disadvantaged minorities in the U.S. There is still a lot of resentment over the haoles overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and U.S. annexation.

There is conflict between people who want to commercialize the islands (not all of them are haoles) and those who want to preserve the natural beauty and life style. Some folks are living in a tent city at Kawela Bay, one of the most isolated and beautiful spots on Oahu near Turtle Bay Resort. Some developers are trying to drive the squatters out. The camp is makeshift and populated by people who cannot afford the high cost of a home in Hawaii. As one of the members points out, there are businessmen and professionals with jobs living there. There are a lot of beach people in Hawaii living in semi-permanent camps. In some places the authorities turn a blind eye and allow them to stay longer than allowed. The irony is that the camps are often trash laden and as destructive of the local beauty as any developer could do.

Kono meets an old flame in the camp and things get hot between them until he becomes the prime suspect.

There is a third conflict between the "pure" surfers and the people who want to commercialize the sport.

Danno doesn't want his daughter to surf, but Kono waxes philosophical about it. Maybe that will be a subject of a future episode.

Locations. Most of this takes place on the North Shore near Pipeline and Waiamea Bay. Some of it takes place on Pupukea, the mountain that dominates the North Shore. We have a brand new HD TV and the scenery is gorgeous. The final scene is a memorial service by surfers who form a circle with their boards out on Waiamea Bay, not far from Pipeline, to say goodbye to the man who was killed. The bay is glassy calm where only a few days before the waves were large enough for a surf contest.

By the way, the original Five-O headquarters was in Iolani Palace. This one is set in the Judiciary Building, which is recognizable by the statue of Kamehameha in front.

Kono watch. Surfing scenes at the beginning and end give Kono opportunities to wear bikinis. She does a spin kick that drops a guy off a motorcycle.

This episode was more like a straight mystery with no over-the-top high tech spies or international terrorists/criminals. My favorite so far.