I figured Grace was a goner with that montage at the beginning.

But, no, she survived, surely to get shipped off to college on the mainland on Hawaii Five-0 Season 9 Episode 12.

That certainly beats Joe White's fate on Hawaii Five-0 Season 9 Episode 10. Probably just as final for Grace, though.

The episode definitely had a The Way We Were vibe to it, like we were saying goodbye to a character that wasn't coming back.

It's been a whole year since we've seen Grace, on Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 Episode 10, and that was only in Danny's fever dream while he lay dying. 

So, yeah, it was easy to fear the worst. Maybe it was the powers that be continuing to retool. After all, Scott Caan seems to be gone for a third of the episodes each season, so perhaps Danny's family life isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things.

Related: Hawaii Five-0 Season 9 Episode 11 Review: Hala i ke ala o'i'ole mai (Gone on the Road from which There Is No Returning)

We all knew there was a good reason why Grace was driving at double the speed limit. That also gave half of Five-0 something to investigate while Danny and Rachel emoted (well, as much as Danny emotes).

What we discovered is what we already knew: Grace is a standup girl, defending the picked-on against bullies. That's what came through clearest as the detectives re-created Grace's evening. She got that from Danny, even if he tried to pin that characteristic on Steve.

The accident scene quickly established Grace wasn't at fault and someone in another vehicle was involved with her going off the road.

After a couple of false starts, including that mean girl who victimized Grace's new friend, a convenient bit of surveillance unveiled the culprit, a muscle-car driving lech who was pissed off after being rejected after hitting on two underage girls and set out to scare them, only too well.

It also pinpointed his license plate and bad intent, so he was really easy to locate.

Then Uncle Steve showed him how to make someone scared during a test drive. That's got to be the first time McGarrett has driven a confession out of somebody.

Related: Watch Hawaii Five-0 Online: Season 9 Episode 11

Unless you count suspect vehicles forced off the road. Those he has plenty of.

Still, busting that punk relatively quickly left plenty of time for contemplation at the hospital.

For once, Steve and Danny weren't busting each other's chops, but instead, Steve was supporting Danny. Grace's miraculous if expected outcome in surgery cut into their moment a bit, but that was all right.

Danny and Rachel's time in the waiting room did make me wonder if there's a possibility of the two of them getting back together. It sounded like Rachel has just stayed with Stan so Grace wouldn't have to go through another divorce. But since she's heading off to college, maybe things could change now.

We also got to catch up with Tani's brother Koa, to see how he's doing since he got out of rehab back on Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 Episode 22.

Koa had been staying on the straight and narrow as a counselor at the same rehab program which he had gone through. He started looking for a recovering addict who had disappeared after recently completing the program.

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Big Sis took over the investigation after finding Koa beaten up. It's always enjoyable to watch Tani kick the crap out of some worthy macho creep, and tonight was no exception.

But Koa was the actual detective in the family when he wouldn't accept that Alana had overdosed on heroin because oxy pills were her poison of choice. So the two of them and Adam targeted a doctor running a pill mill.

Going undercover, Tani was momentarily in danger, before Adam and the other police at the end of her wire came crashing in. Then the "doctor" conveniently rolled on his employer, the same cartel that runs heroin on the islands.

It's been a couple of seasons since Five-0 has had to tangle with a Mexican cartel. Now that the rogue CIA agent storyline has been wrapped up, maybe having a showdown with a cartel will be the big storyline for the second half of the season. 

Related: Get CBS All Access via Amazon Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV

Sure, everyone does it, but it's a storyline that never leaves the news recently. So it's timely if not original.

Still, it'll be hard to beat that time Kono took out a cartel squad by herself after hiding inside a duffel bag. Good times.

To catch up on Koa's journey, watch Hawaii Five-0 online.

Were you concerned about Grace? Will Danny and Rachel reunite? How did you enjoy the Koa storyline?

Comment below.

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