Mai Ka Wa Kahiko: Out of the Past

This week in Hawaii Five-0, we got to see Danny Williams - police officer and protective father take center stage - as a dirty cop he help send to jail turned up on the island in "Mai Ka Wa Kahiko".

I enjoyed the break from Shelburne, Joe White and Wo Fat. It was especially nice to get a glimpse into Danny’s past. Unless you count him being a complete moron at Halloween, which I choose to forget, this was our first real Danny episode of the season.

Opening the case with him knowing the US Marshall that was killed gave some great foreshadowing of where things were going. Once things got down to "Officer McGuire" (Rick Peterson) picking up Grace I knew Danny was in trouble. Then again, I don’t think I have ever seen Peter Greene (Peterson) in a role where he’s not a bad guy, a mobster or both.

He was a great choice to portray a dirty copy out for revenge. I had no problem believing that Danny would do anything he said to keep Grace safe. There were two things I did have a problem with when it came to Peterson, however.

First, how he got off the plane. Even allowing that he could get to the landing gear area from inside the plane, shouldn’t there have been a ton of emergency crews and police around the plane when it taxied to a stop? Maybe I’m just being picky, he’s not the first bad guy (or good guy) to get off a plane by escaping from the landing gear, and I’m sure he won’t be the last. 

The second thing that really bugged me was when Rick was able to disable the GPS unit by the spare tire. Subwoofers are put in the trunk, not GPS units; those are put up under the dash or in the engine compartment so they can’t be disable or removed easily. Even assuming that for some reason the Hawaiian police department did put their GPS unit in the trunk, it would not be attached to the spare tire. Come on, really??? 

Moving past the minor annoyances, did anyone else wonder if Stan was really going to die? I never thought Danny would do it, but I thought Rick might take a shot from the car at him to try and frame Danny. While I’m glad that Stan will survive, the voicemail that Kono played really makes me wonder if there might yet be a future for Rachel and Danny.

Finally, I saved what is surely going to be the most controversial issue for TV Fanatic readers until the end: Lori and Steve’s failed attempt to run up the mountain. 

What do you all think? Is this the beginning of a romance? Or was this just a way to explain an injury that Lauren German might have sustained? Next week is Valentine’s Day, maybe this was as set up for that installment. Might candy hearts and flowers be in the air?

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.