Uber-villain Victor Hesse returns and collars Chin Ho. Photo: Neil Jacobs/CBS.
Now you didn't really think Victor Hesse (James Marsters) was dead, right? Hot former vampires are a growth industry and make nice super criminals — especially super criminals who return from the dead. And in two of the funnier moments, Kono gets shaken down by a sharp Aunty, and the worst CGI fire ever burns up $10 million into upward floating CGI flakes. Mixing in some Mele Kalikimaka spirit, we fly to the filming locations:
The episode starts with quick shots of fave locales Aloha Tower, downtown Honolulu and Aliiolani Hale (Five-0 HQ), then holds on Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) with a bomb around his neck. Last week in the sneak peek I thought the scene was next to the post office building next to Aliiolani Hale, but it turns out to be one of the administrative buildings next to
Iolani Palace across the street. How did Chin Ho get in this predicament? We go back to the beginning...
It's another lovely day in Hawaii — we're treated to splashing waves upon the
Waikiki breakwater, then to scenes of the holiday, including the Mele Kalikimaka lettering across Aliiolani Hale and, pictured above, the big tree and Shaka Santa outside Honolulu Hale. (You can see the
Honolulu Hale display through December.)
Our story begins with an arms dealer turns up dead on Ewa Beach, a man who, according to Steve McGarrett, was the connection for Al Qaida in Iraq —
really? Anyway, it was determined he floated down from the "Ikalani Resort" at
Ko Olina, which is separated by two letters from the actual name of the place: Ihilani, below. Video footage of the resort reveals — aha! — our man Hesse is back.
Stan Shebs/Creative Commons.Overhead shot of the H3 Freeway winding into the Koolau mountains switching to a chicken fight in Kahuku, where they query a man of interest. Diamond Head fades to St. Louis Heights, where they find the body of the doctor who treated Hesse for gunshot wounds. Didn't look like St. Louis Heights: The properties are much closer up on the hill there. Looked more like Manoa.
We revisit the Halawa Correctional Facility, then meet "Kishimoto" — the go-to man for the Asian criminal element in the Islands when you need anything. The restaurant they were at looked like Hoku's at
The Kahala, but I couldn't say for sure. Anyone have an alternative?
Back to Diamond Head Road heading toward town, where McDanno try to track down Hesse at the condo where Kishimoto put Hesse up: with a view of Honolulu Harbor and One Waterfront Tower, it has to be mauka (mountain side) of Restaurant Row — probably a penthouse condo in Keola Lai next to the Advertiser building on South Street. Then they look for him at a "hostess club." Most of those are located on Keeaumoku Street and Kapiolani Boulevard, but they used downtown hot spot
Bar 35 and transformed the interior. (Excellent beers, wonderful thin-crust pizza.) They find Hesse and chase him out the back, but instead of running onto Bar 35's open-air lanai, they end up on the second-floor lanai of
thirtyninehotel next door. Hesse gets away in McGarrett's car up Smith Street. They pursue in a commandeered taxi, but call on Chin Ho to find him at the
Ala Wai Boat Harbor.Which is where Hesse gets the drop on him, and Chin Ho gets a shiny new bomb collar for Christmas.
Overhead shots of the
Capitol building that go to "Beretania Street" where Five-0 "borrows" $10 million from the HPD crime locker to save Chin Ho. It's actually about three blocks south in the area behind the Advertiser building, where Kono on lookout gets accosted by an Aunty on the local Neighborhood Watch. Kono gets flustered. The writers aren't making her look particularly sharp.
But they make it up to her by giving her a big gun and letting her take down Hesse, which she did in that Waipahu field during the money drop (looked like Royal Kunia south of Schofield), next to, no doubt, the fakest fire in television history. Someone boost the CGI budget!
Neil Jacobs/CBS.All ends well with another spectacular shot of Honolulu at night with fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (
held every Friday night), and a Merry Christmas scene with Danno in Santa garb. I believe this is the last episode until the new year (and the emergence of Wo Fat!), so chime in with any missed scene spots and have a very happy holiday!
The Quotable Danno
"Beautiful." — Describing his sad Christmas tree.
"You gonna put pockets in that thing and call it a pool table?" — on an oversized Santa outfit.
"You're like the Asian John Travolta."
"Superman, bring it down just a little."
