Officer Lori Weston Helps HAWAII FIVE-0 Shape Up

After a paddleboard competition, young champion Jen Hassley (Hayley Chase) is kidnapped. McGarrett must work the case with Officer Lori Weston (Lauren German), newly added to the Five-0 task force by Governor Denning (Richard T. Jones). Meanwhile, the still-suspended Kono meets the head of HPD Internal Affairs (Tom Sizemore).

In last week’s review, I mentioned my hope that Gov. Denning’s crackdown on Five-0 would lead to tighter plotting. This week’s episode, “Ua Lawe Wale,” was noticeably tighter. For one thing, Officer Weston is the first member of Five-0 whose police skill set is spelled out from the beginning. Having served six years with Homeland Security and begun her career with the FBI, her background was just right to assist with the kidnapping case, and she applied her training realistically.

In addition to more discernible procedure, this episode’s plot was better layered than most of last season. Jen Hassley seemed the perfect child, but she had secretly been communicating with her kidnapper. Along with this, Five-0 discovered the Hassleys were not Jen’s birth parents. Her kidnapper, Matt Porter, had offered to help Jen learn about her birth parents. As Five-0 looked into Porter, they discovered his history of helping people escape cults. This led to a third plot twist when Five-0 discovered Porter had been killed and Jen taken from him by cult members.

Upon infiltrating the cult compound, the team learned Jen’s birth mother (Emily Bergl) was the cult leader’s (Bruce Davison) daughter. Realizing Jen was born with a heart condition her father would not allow to be traditionally treated, she faked Jen’s death. When her father inadvertently learned Jen was still alive, the mother called in Porter to guard against Jen’s being taken back to the cult. I saw none of these twists coming and became engrossed in the adoption/reunion story.

Jenna Kaye (Larisa Oleynik) also helped with the case, though she appeared to be investigating McGarrett at the same time. When Steve pressed her about seeming distracted, she said the CIA had heard a rumor her fiance might still be alive and she had to leave to pursue it. This may have been a lie, or it may have been the reason she helped Wo Fat escape last week.

Finally, after meeting with Internal Affairs, Kono was stripped of her badge and drummed out of the HPD. I certainly don’t think Grace Park is leaving the show, or that Kono is leaving police work behind. I like the prospect of meatier storylines for Kono, but I wonder how well the show will be able to follow her while keeping up with the case of the week.

Given that original Hawaii Five-O was well known as a procedural, it’s odd how loose procedure was in Season 1 of the new series. If procedure continues to be served as well as it was in this episode, more fans of the original may tune in. Drawing on a fan base that large can only be good for the new series.