Season 12 Ramblings

(aka Bad Writers, No Cookies! aka The Ghost of Danny Williams)

By BOBBI BAKER

The opinions written in this essay are expressly held by the author, Bobbi Baker, with no endorsement by any person or entity that choose to host it on the Internet or connected with the series in any way.

In a simple statement, Season 12 was/is hell. There is a myriad of possibilities of what transpired story-wise in the Hawaii Five-O universe. Here is my feeble attempt to discuss the mess of Season 12 and its place in the bigger scheme of the show…

The biggest shock of all – Danny isn’t around anymore. The biggest issue after watching all 12 Seasons of the series and Danny’s absence comes down to one thing: loyalty. Danny was loyal, arguably to a fault in some cases, to McGarrett for the 11 years they were seen in front of the cameras. This includes Season 11 where Danny was noticeably shuffled toward the background.

Something drastic had to have happened, in order for Danny to up and leave. Or did he leave? Curiously, there was no definitive proof during Season 12 that Danny had left on a permanent basis. Clues were thrown around hinting he had moved on but nothing was said outright – he simply wasn’t there. Could he have taken off for a special assignment? Taken a sabbatical because of burnout like McGarrett did in 1968 (S04E21 – Good Night, Baby-Time To Die!)? Was something else afoot?

Some plot points established in prior years rear their heads in Season 12. Among these:

            - McGarrett being appointed to head Five-O upon the recommendation of Walter Stewart, Attorney General (S01E10 – Yesterday Died, Tomorrow Won’t Be Born) and the appointment happened in 1959 (S04E21 – Good Night, Baby-Time To Die!). Also in S01E10, McGarrett had been in Korea as late as 1953 because Trinian had served 15 years in prison for murder and the episode took place around King Kamehamema Day 1968. The governor also states one of the best moves he had ever made was appointing McGarrett to head Five-O in S01E04 – Samurai.

            - McGarrett had been in Hawaii since at least 1958 because he and Luther had been friends for “ten years” (S01E18 – Along Came Joey).

            - Danny Williams had been a police officer for 10 years, circa 1972. This puts him on the force since sometime in 1962! (S05E04 – Pig In A Blanket). This plot point is important for a few reasons. One, Danny knows his way around because “he’s local…[Hawaii] born and raised”(S01E13 – King Of The Hill and S09E09 – Double Exposure). In multiple episodes, he proves over and over he knows several people and knows what exists and what does not. Two, he worked under McGarrett for quite a few years and knew McGarrett well. Finally, Danny knew what he was doing, albeit some hiccups in Season 1, as a cop and this last fact becomes most telling throughout Season 12. The viewer was spoiled by Danny’s competence!

            - Danny time and again stood behind McGarrett. One of the most memorable is S04E16 & 17 – The Ninety-Second War, Part I & II, especially after the car wreck in Part I. Another was S02E15 – Blind Tiger. Danny took over seamlessly and led the investigation into who was responsible for bombing McGarrett’s car.

            - Danny also tried a few times to rein McGarrett in with varying degrees of success (S01E19 – Once Upon A Time, Part I and S03E04 – Time And Memories). In the first, he asked McGarrett to back off and in the second gave the common sense advice for the other team members to take over the case because of McGarrett’s emotional involvement due to an ex-girlfriend being prime suspect. For the second attempt, Danny nearly got his head ripped off as McGarrett had the look of a viper and nearly jumped over his desk!

McGarrett has been in charge of Five-O for 20 years at least and probably a cop longer than that (this last point is explored later). Also, it is never stated outright if Danny became a member of Five-O right away or not. By his actions in S01E05 - …And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin, it seems like Danny has not been with Five-O that long. If that is the case, how did he get into the second in command position so fast? Is it possible this was simply his first kill in S01E05?

This second point is mentioned point-blank (no pun intended) early in that episode and it was indeed the first time he had killed someone in the line of duty. Considering the episode was in 1968, this would put Danny as a veteran with about six years experience – not necessarily an impossibility of his first kill being a long stretch after joining the force. There have been real-life police officers working their entire careers without killing someone. The six-year stretch of not shooting anyone makes more sense since he was second-in-command and not a rookie thrown into the deep end of the pool.

Bottom line: McGarrett and Danny have been in their positions and working together a long time. They knew one another’s strengths and weaknesses. This aspect was sorely missed during Season 12.

Even with Danny’s absence – and subsequent ‘hauntings’ – Season 12 is not a total loss, but it’s close. On a bright note, there are a few episodes that are rewatchable:  “A Lion In The Streets,” “Who Says Cops Don’t Cry,” and “Good Help Is Hard To Find.” They give the viewer quite a bit to chew on. Others are not rewatchable, including “A Bird In Hand…,” “Though The Heavens Fall,” and “Use A Gun, Go To Hell.”

“A Lion In The Streets” has a lot to offer and was essentially the Season’s last hope as it was the strongest episode of the last year. Kumu boss Tony Alika is in action again, this time moving in on a local union. The union itself provides a good group of characters with their varied motivations but ultimately want the same thing, to keep their union in local hands. With Alika’s meddling, the situation becomes urgent.

However, Alika has chosen poorly in partnering with Johnny Mio, a baddie from Boston. Hot on Mio’s tail, James Carew who has his own agenda and a bit of back-story to share concerning the death of his wife and child.

On top of all this, McGarrett has been cursed with a “kapu.” It makes for some creative investigative work for McGarrett since no Hawaiian will (or can) talk to him.

There are a couple of interesting scenes that could be considered hints as to what happened in 1979 between Seasons 11 and 12. First, when McGarrett quotes Shakespeare, it seems a bit personal – specifically the part about revenge. This isn’t the last time McGarrett takes a revenge angle during the season. While it is directed at Carew, there seems to be an undercurrent to the past. Did Danny go off the deep end to make something right? Did he do something motivated by revenge to force himself out? This seems to be out of character for Danny. However, he could have been pushed/forced into something he wouldn’t normally do.

Second, there is a phone call McGarrett is trying to complete as Alika comes barging into the office. Earlier in the episode Alika used the kapu against McGarrett. It was now McGarrett’s turn with an entertaining exchange between the two.

As far as the phone call: it’s never stated WHO McGarrett is trying to get a hold of and based on the dialogue, Danny could be the one McGarrett is trying to talk to. McGarrett’s lines are, “When will he be back? Could I leave a message, please? Yeah, ask him…” Right then Alika bursts into the office, essentially cutting off McGarrett on his phone conversation. Again, may be reading too much into things, but maybe not in this case.

Notice McGarrett’s tone on the phone as well as his facial expressions. The dialogue is more reserved than usual and his expression is equal parts hopeful and restless. Based on these two things, it’s doubtful the governor is supposed to be on the other end. It could be, but again, the plot device is left wide open since it is not conclusively established WHO McGarrett is trying to reach. It could have been someone in Washington for what the viewer knows.

On to “Who Says Cops Don’t Cry.” There is an interesting quote by McGarrett to Carew (now “Kimo”) in his office at the start, “I’ve been wanting to add to the Five-O team for some time, Kimo.” Oh? How long has he been thinking about this -- before or after Chin Ho was killed (end of Season 10) or before (or after) Danny left between Seasons 11 and 12?

A guess would be sometime in Season 11, perhaps the latter half. It was during this time there were only three of them trying to take care of things and doing so for nearly a year. Throughout the run of the series, a lot of cases were referred to but not seen on camera. Could the situation have also worn down Danny to the point of throwing in the towel? A number of people are in and out of the office constantly, there should be a staff of some number working at Five-O. With many things implied and suggested as occurring off-camera during the last 11-12 years as a whole, there is no doubt the number of staff could be a slightly higher number than the three to four people seen in front of the cameras on a regular basis.

A number of officers are seen coming and going as missions dictate, so the higher number of staff may not be as far-fetched as it first appears. There could be a set rotation happening too between HPD and Five-O. This last point can explain why Truck is not a full-fledged member of Five-O as stated in a later episode during the last year. Also, McGarrett has handpicked people in the past and Truck was chosen to infiltrate the union to get the real story during the prior episode: “A Lion In The Streets.”

In the next episode, “Though The Heavens Fall,” Danny haunts even more. In a single scene, he proved – without being present – how competent he was and how fun it was to watch him in action.

It all comes down to the ‘protective surveillance’ of Mr. Howell. In the most painful dumbass move ever seen, at least in Hawaii Five-O, Kimo and Lori are in the car as Howell is kidnapped under their noses! Now, no one on the Five-O team is perfect, but the thought became, there is NO WAY Danny would have sat outside. He would have cuffed and taken Howell into jail before doing what Kimo and Lori did! In this single move, Kimo and Lori came across as pure rookies. Unfortunately, it was not the last they would appear inexperienced, but not to the point of ridiculousness as seen here.

In “Sign Of The Ram,” Lori can’t remember the drug found in Fiddler’s blood!? This is another painful example of a complete and utter rookie mistake. Danny would have spit it out! He provided vital information during the 11 years seen on camera.

Concerning the issue of drugs in Fiddler’s blood, a useless scene is seen where Lori calls in and says, “No trace of dope…” found in his blood. It occurs just before the Wave commercial bumper at the end of Act Three. Was there or was there not drugs in his system?! All this after SHE figured out the angle of the shot that killed Toby Wesson, which was a very competent and experienced move. The question then becomes, is Lori smart, dumb or lazy?

Fortunately, a more even keel episode is next. “Good Help Is Hard To Find” is full of nuggets and gives insight into just how busy the Five-O office can be. It also shows not everyone is a fan of Five-O and especially of McGarrett, namely Mark Maynard – a hard-hitting investigative reporter for KLB-TV in Honolulu. McGarrett locked horns with him because Maynard released confidential information related to “…the Jericho kidnap case.”

When did this case happen? What exactly happened? Based on the conversation in the governor’s office, a guess would be it happened awhile ago, perhaps even a year or two before. What is known, the kidnap victim died even though the ransom had been paid.

A definitive timeline is never given but if it happened less than a year before, it begs the question: Was the Jericho kidnapping case the straw that broke the camel’s back? Is it possible, even though Danny was loyal to McGarrett, this case had become enough to toss away nearly 17 years on the police force? Could this have been the trigger for revenge for a character not normally prone to go that direction?

This last question comes up because of McGarrett’s hang up on revenge – just before the end of the episode, McGarrett natters on about it again. This is at least the second time he lectures about it. Again, directed at Carew and yet again, with some possible underpinnings to the past. This is after Guido Marioni meets a nasty end.

Early in the episode, Maynard gives his television commentary and it gives a clue but McGarrett’s expression is so neutral he doesn’t help at all to figure out if this indeed a possible hint as to why Danny left Five-O (again, could be wrong). Maynard says about McGarrett and Five-O:

“…the once vaunted Five-O force has deteriorated to the level of a small-town constabulary…and the butt of this ludicrous joke is a man who is rapidly becoming a joke himself, the head of Five-O, Steve McGarrett. And why is he failing so miserably? Because he is a man of such personal vanity that good men have been resigning in disgust and have been replaced by incompetent sycophants.”

This dialogue seems to be an attempt to parallel real-life events – perhaps a writer taking out their frustration? As far as the story, there exists the possibility the commentary is speaking about other people, notice “men” not “man.” Again, how long has McGarrett been considering expanding the team as he talked about in “Who Says Cops Don’t Cry”? Was an attempt already made while Danny was still in the unit? Because he’s a workaholic and a man with high standards, McGarrett could easily burn through three to four people in short succession especially if he was trying to replace Danny and expected the new guy to be just like his old second-in-command.

In a nice twist of irony, Maynard eats crow at the end of the episode. He is put in a position to “…give credit where credit is due.”

At Alika’s house, McGarrett muses after he finds dust on a lamp, “I know Good Help Is Hard To Find, but I have just the woman here.” Is McGarrett saying the first part of the line from personal experience!? Notice how he says the line, there seems to be some lamentation in his voice. Did he realize too late he let his best officer get away and he’s having major issues re-grouping? Did he and Danny have a major falling out or something tragic happen? Danny isn’t dead, McGarrett would be way more off-kilter than he is during Season 12 if that were the case.

McGarrett proved his own loyalty toward Danny during the series. He ranged from irrational behavior (S01E13 – King Of The Hill), to protectiveness (S05E04 – Pig In A Blanket; S05E08 – Journey Out Of Limbo) and worry (S07E01 – The Young Assassins). McGarrett’s bad enough for being off-kilter this last year, by the way!

In “Image Of Fear,” McGarrett talks to Kimo and Lori and tells them he knows Joan is telling the truth. McGarrett says, “Call it 20 years on the police force…” Uh, isn’t it longer than that because the episode takes place in 1979? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say “more than 20 years…” or “with over 20 years…” Because the governor didn’t appoint a rookie to head Five-O did he!? This is where the plot point about McGarrett being appointed to head Five-O in 1959 raises its head.

Another item established as the series moved from one year to the next was the lack of drawn out explanations when something needed to be done. There are multiple examples peppered in every season. McGarrett wanted something and the team would be on it! When McGarrett tells Kimo about the payoff and the meeting between Joan and Kwon at Sea Life Park, Kimo asks what it’s all about. This seems like it was an attempt to show this trick was still in play, but in this instance, it wasn’t nearly as effective – it was more forced. 

Hopefully Kimo wasn’t planning on an explanation, although it appeared he wanted one before telling Gary and going out to Sea Life Park. Alas, he wasn’t going to get it, just “Popcorn.” McGarrett was used to blathering half-sentences and stuff magically happened. Occurred with Danny all the time! As Season 12 proved time and again, Kimo was NOT Danny (or vice versa for that matter).

In a funny stock footage moment (at 43:21 on the Amazon Digital copies), when McGarrett makes the right turn opposite of stopped traffic, there are two people in the car. He’s driving ALONE in the story!

Then there is “A Shallow Grave.” Some back-story on the Governor – he was a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office in 1959. Coleman has been in prison 20 years (another episode taking place in 1979 but no definitive timeline is given) and the governor prosecuted him. Bottom line: when exactly did McGarrett get appointed to Five-O!? Which governor did this?

According to the governor in S01E04 – Samurai, Governor Jameson (we find out his name at the series progresses) appointed McGarrett. Also, Attorney General Stewart recommended McGarrett for the job (see above established plot points) to head Five-O. Did these two men, the governor and Stewart, work together in the DA’s office and this was how they knew one another!? When exactly did the governor become governor? Where was Stewart in 1959 where he was in a position to recommend McGarrett to head Five-O? This seems like a very jammed timeline at best, a major inconsistency at worst. Was Coleman’s case the last to be prosecuted by the governor while he was with the DA? Because of the open-ended nature of the series, there are more questions than answers in this particular matter.

There are more problems with this episode than most. First, the scrambled memories had been done before (and better) in S05E08 – Journey Out Of Limbo. Once again, Danny is haunting Season 12 without even trying!

Second, as Lori is talking with Dr. Ramsey, Lori asks how far back regression can go. In the process, asking, “Past lives!?” Seriously!? How is that obtaining facts for the case!? She’s not acting very objectively! One wonders how McGarrett would react if he saw her line of questioning because he made fun of Duke and Danny in S10E21 – Frozen Assets when the pair reported back on the resurrection demonstration!!! Unfortunately, it gets worse when Lori postulates that reincarnation could have something to do with Mike’s strange memories…YOU’RE A COP!!! Pay attention Lori!! The urge to slap her is great!!

McGarrett makes no sense either in this episode – he gives other people second chances but criticizes others who do!? What the what!?! He’s skeptical of Jake hiring Coleman back after 20 years in prison. Yet in S02E10 – All The King’s Horses, McGarrett was adamant about giving Mike Finney a second chance. As far as he was concerned, McGarrett considered Finney’s debt to society paid off!! What about Coleman? Jake is trying to do the same thing McGarrett did nearly ten years before!

Turns out, Danny isn’t the only one haunting Season 12 as seen in “The Kahuna.” The kahuna at Lono Bay tells Truck, “Things learned in childhood are not to be forgotten.” Reminiscent of the scene between Kono and Chin Ho in S01E23 – The Big Kahuna when Kono says he hasn’t believed in Pele since he was four years old but he feels like he was four years old again as they conducted night surveillance on Sam.

In “Labyrinth,” Kimo becomes pretty bossy with Duke and there is no need for it. One thing that could be said of Danny, he was a team player – it was easily seen especially in later episodes. Granted, Danny could get bossy but it happened only a few times and very early in the series. In Kimo’s case, it comes across as much more arrogant. Someone should tell him, “Yo Kimo, you just got here! The second slot is yours by default!! You’re not taking over McGarrett’s slot anytime soon so stopping bossing Duke!!” The second slot should be Duke’s as well!!

“School Of Assassins” is more proof the wheels are about to fall off and explode in every direction. After being discovered on the compound, Kimo has to literally run for his life. His escape is a near copy of S05E08 – Journey Out Of Limbo minus the sand truck and the cooler escapee!

If that wasn’t bad enough, they couldn’t even let Danny have his gun!!!??? The little silver automatic he carried every now and again? Looks like someone tried painting it black to hide it. Regardless, it shows up here with the female assassin in the house. McGarrett comes up behind her and forces it out of her hands. It looks like the same little gun that can hold at most, eight rounds!!!!!

“The Golden Noose” has a couple of more tidbits. After Le Doc is killed, a unique weapon is found on him (same one used to kill Jim Weaver). When McGarrett asks Halloran about it, he says, “I’ve seen only one like it before, taken from an international terrorist.” Did it happen to be in S10E01 – Up The Rebels? Was it another prior case and what was it all about? Again, how long ago did it take place? Who was involved!? Things are so open; the possibilities are endless!

Just before Nadira calls into McGarrett, who was he talking to on extension 2369!? Like what happened in “A Lion In The Streets,” only this time there was no dialogue concerning extension 2369, only the dialogue between McGarrett and Nadira on 2376.

One of the main issues of Season 12 is the attempt to be clever when it wasn’t necessary. In “The Golden Noose” the action is supposed to be taking place in the middle of the night. Honolulu is plain DARK in the middle of the night. Not only is it obvious the camera work is during the day, but also in the far background a bus can be seen in the traffic with the sun shining on it!

Perhaps the biggest contrast between the prior seasons and Season 12 can be seen in “Clash Of Shadows.” For one, at 9:56 (Amazon Digital copy timing), it is a stock footage shot of the Five-O Ford Custom 500 driving down the street, near the canal in Honolulu, by…most likely Danny!!! Even if it isn’t, it is not anyone from Season 12 – the only possibilities are Chin Ho, Kono, Ben Kokua or as a long shot, Duke. The license plate numbers are X-9404 and the surrounding traffic has Black on Yellow plates. One can hope they paid James MacArthur for Season 12 because he kept appearing in various stock shots!!

An appropriate quote from Kimo in this episode, “That was really dumb to let that guy smack me from behind with a pistol.” No duh!! Again, no one is perfect but at least Danny fought back when confronted with someone while making a search – specifically a knife attack in an apartment/hotel room in S01E09 – By The Numbers.

Fortunately, Duke gets a couple of jabs in during the episode. First, Duke is able to chuckle – he gets to tell Kimo to wear a shirt and tie because the latter will be talking to bankers! Second – and funniest of all – Kimo tells Duke to put out an APB on Christine Martin and Duke answers, “Already done.” THAT’s what is supposed to happen!! Seen it over and over again in prior seasons! Why? Because the team KNEW what they were doing! Thank goodness, Duke still knows what he’s doing!

Another haunting, this time in “A Bird In Hand…” There are several photos on Angie Walker’s wall. The photo closed in on by the camera has McGarrett and a bunch of guys by cars from S05E06 – Fools Die Twice. Danny is not in the shot but up on the fire escape/stairs with a rifle ready to take out Kira Johnson before he reaches the helicopter to escape during the fake payroll robbery.

Then there is “The Moroville Covenant.” McGarrett laments, “I’ve got enough problems where I am.” The lack of details speaks volumes! If he wasn’t missing his prior team members before, he is now.

They all knew when to dial it in and they were always at the ready. This season saw a bunch of rookie moves and some disconnected acting. Karen Rhodes points out that Lori is too chirpy in this episode. Karen also writes, Lori is really hard to be believed. Of course she is, too many rookie mistakes. Even with his dumb moves, Kimo is much more believable as a cop than Lori.

Another off moment during the season is the camera shots throughout the outer office. There were not as many cubicle shots as in previous seasons and it was hard to tell if Danny had completely moved out. In “A Lion In The Streets,” Duke had moved into the cubicle once used by Danny – this would support that Danny had indeed moved on completely. By the next episode, Kimo moved into it. By contrast, Kimo may have used it a whole five times over the course of 18 episodes (only McGarrett is seen in S12E19 – Woe To Wo Fat).

This does not change the fact that Duke has been there and Kimo suddenly comes onto the scene and he’s in the second position!? This is one of the jumps in logic that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever because the hierarchy would not work in that way. The horrible jump adds to an already disjointed feeling that permeated the last year.

Would Season 12 have been better with Danny on board? It’s hard to say. The biggest question is if he was on board, how many changes would have been allowed to keep Danny in character? More likely, he would have been reduced to the same level as Kimo and Lori - driven to near incompetence. No one was justly treated in this last season, which is unfortunate and it was not necessarily the faults of the players. There were even a few times one could root for these folks but it was nowhere near the level one would have cheered on the prior team members, except Duke, one can always root for Duke!!