Episode Title: “Ka’oia l’o Ma Loko” (“The Truth Within”)
Writers: Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt
Director: Duane Clark
Previously on “Hawaii Five-0:”
Episode 4.02 “Al’ale Ma’a Wau” (“Fish Out of Water”)
It’s been a few years now since “Lost” went off the air and yet fans still get giddy when the show’s alumni inevitably appear together again on screen. This time around, Jorge Garcia returns to the island in the role of a basement-dwelling conspiracy junkie whose far out theory about a statue of Kamehameha and a Medici family artifact helps 5-0 bring a murderer to justice.
When the wealthy Philip Van Horn and his wife, Kaylea are murdered in their home, 5-0 begins to suspect their killers are after an artifact from the family’s private collection. The team learns that the Van Horn family has connections to the Royal League, a Hawaiian secret society leading Chin (Daniel Dae Kim) to reach out to his old tinfoil hat-wearing friend, Jerry (Jorge Garcia).
Though 5-0 is skeptical at first, Jerry’s theory on the killers’ motive does seem plausible. The Van Horn family has connections to both the Royal League and the men who built the Kamehameha statue, which stands in front of 5-0 HQ. Jerry believes letters sent between Jonas Van Horn and an American associate in Florence contain coded instructions to locate the Medici rings, hidden inside the statue.
As the case unfolds, Jerry’s theory looks less like the wild imaginings of a rabid “X-Files” fan (which Jerry is, we learn when exclaims, “Holy Fox Mulder” and later tells Danny, “you’re totally my Scully) and more like a motive for murder. Catherine (Michelle Borth) runs the letters through Naval Intelligence software and they indeed reveal the location of the rings inside the foot of the statue. The key, it turns out, is a scrimshaw belonging to the Van Horns. Chin is able to track down one of the suspects in a warehouse though a rental car record and McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny (Scott Caan) learn his accomplice is at local museum, about to steal the key.
In a classic “5-0” action sequence, the thief hops on a motorcycle that’s part of an exhibit and bursts through the building’s double doors. Unfortunately, we don’t get a high-speed chase this time around, as the suspect turns out to be a terrible motorcyclists, wiping out on the grass right in front of the building.
Aside from Jorge Garcia’s appearance, the mystery at the heart of this episode should also prove enjoyable for “Lost” fans. Hey, we’ve got a secret society, coded messages and a priceless artifact hidden in the foot of a statue. And then there’s Chin and Jerry joking about how that summer they spent in band camp was like being “stuck on a deserted island.” We see what you did there.
While McG and the boys are getting schooled on the location of Jimmy Hoffa’s body and the Hawaiian Illuminati, Billy (Justin Bruening) surprises Catherine with a cake as she prepares for her Navy retirement ceremony. It looks like Danno might be right; Billy’s still got a thing for Catherine and the fact that McGarrett’s calling with work requests while he’s throwing her a surprise party doesn’t help. The episode closes with everyone gathered at the ceremony and McG does not look pleased to see Billy in attendance.
As for Kono and Adam, we get a brief update at the top of the episode from Chin, who says they’ve made it to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, there’s no movement on the Wo Fat/Momma McG front. But what this episode lacks in plot development it makes up for with an off-beat case that introduces us to a character I hope we haven’t seen for the last time. Perhaps down the road, 5-0 will give Jerry another excuse to get out of his mom’s basement (it’s just a cover, remember) and on 5-0’s roster of colorful “consultants.”
