The overall theme of Hawaii Five-0 Season 4 Episode 12 was this: 

There's a time to run and a time to face the consequences of our actions. 

In fact, several of the characters had to face up to their past in order to move forward in their futures. Danno felt an acute loss for the time when his daughter was a baby and did not want to face the truth that she is growing up. 

Lou had to face the fact that a longtime friend was not the person he thought he was and had to accept his friend for who he really was -- as well as confront a few internal ghosts of his own.

Watch Hawaii Five-0 Season 4 Episode 12 Online

And Lou's friend, Jack Anderson, had to finally stop running from that awful crime he had committed years ago that cost a woman her life and admit who he really was and to pay for his actions.

On the happy-endings side, Kono finally found Adam, who had been in hiding fearing for his life, and let him know that it was over and that he was free to return home. 

Their tear-filled reunion was brief, but only a prelude to the warm welcome he received when she brought him back, and there were hugs from everyone. They were all only too happy to close the chapter on that part of their lives.

Another new beginning that shows promise was Danno meeting Amber Vitale. Their moment at the gas station proved fortuitous as Danno was close by when she was inadvertently shot by a kid playing with a rifle on his father's fishing boat. 

Bookending Danno and Amber's meet-cute was how she awoke at the hospital to find him sitting there and they finally introduce themselves.  Sometimes there is such a thing as love at first sight and there was certainly an instant connection and attraction between Danno and Amber. Even Steve noticed and good-naturedly ribbed Danno about it.

A second strong theme of this episode was the importance of connections in everyone's lives. The people we share our lives with not only make up our teammates and friends, but also our family. The familial love was strongly felt here.

One fun example was when both Steve and Lou passed the phone back and forth while talking with Danno in an effort to lend their support and advice as Danno worried that his daughter was growing up too fast. Steve may have had the more soothing advice and Lou the more tough-love advice, but just knowing that both cared enough to offer their advice made Danno feel less alone while being in a fatherly freak-out zone.

One priceless moment was when Danno complained, "It's like her innocence is floating up into space or something" and the best advice Lou could offer was, "Father time is not your friend.

It was felt again as Steve tried to get Lou to talk about why Lou moved from Chicago. There is clearly some heavy guilt and angst weighing on Lou from whatever send him fleeing from the mainland to their tropical paradise. Lou's pain was acutely felt as he told Jack, "You don't think I know what living with regret is like. Everyday I look in the mirror and think to myself: What if I did this? What if I did that?  So welcome to the club, my friend." 

People move to Hawaii for two reasons: 

1. To escape from their problems.
2. To reinvent themselves.

Lou obviously did that, as did Jack. It was also hinted at in the first conversation between Danno and Amber. He has only been on the island for four years and she had just recently moved there -- both to start again. To have a fresh start.He wanted to be close to his daughter and build up a relationship with her; and for Amber, her reasons for needing to escape and reinvent have not yet been revealed. 

But she felt that instant connection with Danno as a fellow escapee, and appreciated his open acceptance and candor without prying into her motives for moving to the island.

Even Chin had a moment where we could see he had faced a loss in the past in his own life and how he had chosen to move on. When the husband of the dead women asked, "Have you ever had someone you love stolen from you?" Chin responded that he had. 

But certainly he was not letting that weigh on him and hold him back from moving on in his life. It is just unfortunate that the husband had not chosen to move on too. Instead, he let his anger fester within him. He even admitted, "Hate corrodes the container it's carried in." 

It sounds poetic, but in reality, it is sad that he threw away his life to allow that hatred to grow to a point that he tracked down and tried to kill the man who killed his wife. It cost him years of his life, and now will cost him even more. 

He chose a life of without love, hope and forgiveness and now will pay for that decision by going to prison for attempted murder.  He could have just as easily picked up the phone and told the police where Jack was; instead, he chose to enact his revenge.  But there is a dire price to be paid for vengeance.

In the end, we saw how choosing the better path was more rewarding. For Chin, he was happy and moving on and he was rewarded by the safe return of Kono and Adam. For Danno, he chooses to be there for his daughter even as she grows up quickly before his eyes so he cannot miss one more second of her life. For Lou, he is learning to not push people away and accept their warm welcome into their lives -- even if he feels he does not deserve it. 

And Jack, after facing up to his crimes, may get to return to his family one day too, or at least set a good example for his own children.

As for Steve, well, he knows the value of the friendship and family around him. He may have a few secrets still tucked inside, but he embraces the love and strives to be a better man. He lends his strength to those around him and they all strengthen each other. 

As the episode closed, the final words were: "It's good to be home." And what a wonderful, warm, loving, accepting home they have created for one another. It is something we all would love to be a part of, which is why we are thankful for an all new episode next week. It is a chance to be a part of their family one week at a time. 'Til then...

What do you think Amber is keeping secret?