Five-0 is closing in on another new team member.

But I want Eddie the Dog to join up. 

Eddie was the star of Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 Episode 2.

Let's face it, he already emotes more than Grover. The last scene at his handler's grave site was heartwrenching.

The Labrador (?) was an Afghanistan veteran now working for the DEA. His handler Paul got killed in an ambush, and McGarrett was the one to discover the injured animal in one of the shipping containers.

Then McGarrett, a self-proclaimed cat person, largely adopted him, even if Eddie eventually is supposed to go back to the DEA. I always saw McGarrett as a dog person, all growl and action, but I digress.

Eddie has been through enough. Let's get him re-assigned to Five-0. He could be trained to sniff out other threats, such as explosives.

The task force is also on its way to gaining another member.

Junior Reigns was a determined former SEAL who spent the episode buttering up McGarrett, visiting him at his home, then washing his truck.

At first, McGarrett gave him a "sorry, no room" answer. Then, after finding out that Kono wasn't coming back anytime soon, McGarrett had second thoughts. I suspect Junior reminded him of a younger version of, well, himself.

I was surprised that McGarrett told Junior that he would have to attend the police academy before he could come onto the task force.

I shouldn't have been, since all the other members have some sort of police training, except for Jerry. That probably explains why it took so long for Jerry to get his badge. Besides, Jerry is more of a behind-the-scenes specialist, not really a field agent, which Junior will be.

My question would be how long is Junior's academy training going to take. TV often compresses time, so is it one or two months before he's brought on, or longer?

Bealah Koale, a New Zealander of Samoan descent, certainly gives the show more Asian presence, which was diminished with the departures of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. He looks like he belongs on this series.

The other new recruit, Tani, seemed to be working out well. However, to pick nits, how does a woman kicked out of the police academy qualify for Five-0? Is this like Chin's situation, with someone being abused by the system? I'm guessing so.

Anyway, Tani is fun. She took over Kono's role as task force sharpshooter, taking out four of the drug crew from the getaway truck. Plus she's like young Rambo McGarrett, before he got beaten up through the years.

She and Danny have bonded nicely, As frightening as it is, Danny has become a mentor to a younger agent. Where Kono had Chin, now Tani has Danny.

It will be interesting to see what she can do in more subtle situations. As the least exposed member of the task force, she would have to be the obvious choice for any undercover situation.

I wonder for how many episodes we're going to be reminded that Chin and Kono are off doing new things now. I'm also curious how Adam, who was going to join Kono stateside in this episode, is eventually going to be added to Five-0. I'm sure there's some kind of plan.

The case itself was a little transparent, even by Five-0 standards. Of course, the indulgent but snooty restaurateur was the drug kingpin, smuggling in cocaine inside bottles of wines for his restaurant. Equally apparent was the aging DEA agent as his inside man.

It was a case built of happenstance and coincidence, with a little sleuthing thrown in.

Eddie collected some DNA from the shooter, who was Jesse Berman, who Tani had just happened to see leave the port driving a big old truck. The truck yielded the wine, which led to Roger Niles and eventually the drug-processing plant, Jerry's contribution to the episode.

It accommodated a car crash/shootout and another firefight at the end. Mission accomplished.

It wasn't exactly full of twists and turns. Just the roads were.

Let's face it: the goal of this episode was to introduce Eddie and Junior, probably in that order.

A highlight was the cargument over, off all things, Jersey tap water. Does Danny really believe that all those chemicals are the secret ingredient in pizza dough? I can see co-owning the restaurant is going to allow for all sorts of debate between McGarrett and Danny.

Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 Episode 3 will feature the return of British agent Harry Langford, postponed from this week. That clash of cultures promises to be fun. And they've found a convenient way to explain Junior's absence.

To catch up on the new look, watch Hawaii Five-0 online.

What did you think of Eddie and Junior? Who would you like to see on Five-0 more? Do you feel Tani is working out? Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.