It's been amazing how one old watch can change a person's outlook.

That was certainly the case for the former black-ops team of Magnum, T.C., and Rick on Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 4.

That trio's perspective shifted after the medical examiner determined on Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 3 that Capt. Greene was likely tortured before he died.

That was when the out-of-whack date on Greene's watch, which had been bugging Magnum since he came into possession of it, took on a new meaning for Thomas.

The month and date on the watch were the same as when the then four-man team went on a mission and successfully eliminated Hadid, a high-value target, in Afghanistan.

 Magnum put together what limited information he had and determined that a group connected to Hadid had abducted Greene in the hope of discovering who the members of the black ops squad were.

The remaining trio was hopeful that Greene hadn't given up their identities, but how certain could they be about that?

T.C. was the most proactive among the threesome, adding security measures at Island Hoppers. He was so concerned that he left behind a sleeping Mahina in bed to do so. Silly man.

She didn't buy his lame excuse about having to work on a project on one of firefighter Mahina's rare days off. Seeing him acting skittish, she confronted him at La Mariana, and he admitted what he was facing to her. Her response was to help him install his enhanced security. 

Indeed, new father Rick was equally concerned with the unknown party stalking them, especially since he was watching Joy all day long so that Suzy could have a much-needed baby-free day.

But that wasn't Rick's only worry, as his wild-child younger sister Ruthie was coming to Oahu to meet Joy.

To hear Rick tell it to Kumu, Ruthie was like the younger version of bad boy Rick. She would often get in trouble, with Rick getting blamed for what she did more often than not.

Rick had changed during the period life had separated them. Yet he unfairly expected that she would be the same old Ruthie.

Rick thought that Ruthie was coming to visit because she wanted something. That couldn't have been further from the truth, as she came to tell him she was getting married to a woman named Jennie.

Rick learned that he was the last person in his family to learn that Ruthie was gay. She had even told older sister Tammy, who "is the worst," according to Rick.

Rick had the nerve to be upset by this revelation since he and Ruthie had always had a close, special relationship.

But as Kumu wisely pointed out, Ruthie had to adapt after the older brother she saw as a father figure disappeared from her life as he was first serving, then later dealing with the consequences of being in the military.

Ultimately, the two siblings reminisced about the good old days and overcame this hiccup in their relationship. She even asked him to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

Unlike Mahina, Juliet was there when Thomas offered his theory about the team being hunted. So she has had longer to process and worry about Magnum's situation.

But this early in this new stage of their relationship, she doesn't want to come off as the clingy girlfriend. She attempted to maintain her "keep calm and carry on" persona as much as possible.

For the most part, she succeeded, except when she offered to search the murdered CFO's home so that people would surround Thomas while he questioned the employees. He rightly declined her suggestion.

Even before the case started, Magnum made a positive move in trying to identify their pursuers. But he went to the Katsumoto well one too many times.

While suspended, Gordie can't just waltz in and grab an active homicide file for Thomas. Magnum can't blame him for saying no this one time, especially with his upcoming hearing.

Still, in the end, he decided his friendship with Magnum was more important than his job. So he surprised Thomas with the file.

Fortunately, Magnum and Higgins have their work to keep them occupied, even though this episode's case was pretty weak.

It was pretty evident early on that the married CEO was having an affair with the missing CFO. He was too emotionally invested in her for them to be only coworkers.

It would have been easy to make the business bro running the oil hedge fund into the villain. But he was all business, to the point of trying to poach the CFO for his company.

Detective Childs went for the easy win -- twice. First, he used circumstantial evidence that wouldn't hold up to arrest Will, the custodian, who had little reason to want Sandra dead.

Will provided vital evidence to Magnum and Higgins when he said he heard Sandra arguing with another woman. That narrowed the suspect pool down to the CEO's wife, indifferent about their affair, and the real killer, the CEO's daughter.

It was a bit of a disappointment when the CEO took the fall for the accidental murder committed by his daughter. Then again, it never would have happened if he hadn't been screwing around.

Childs will have to learn to listen to Magnum and Higgins instead of shrugging them off. Katsumoto learned that lesson the hard way.

To follow the black ops team's history, watch Magnum P.I. online.

What do you think of the new normal of extreme caution?

Who is after them, anyway?

Shouldn't Thomas and Juliet avoid the PDA while working?

Comment below.

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