The Steve McGarrett Story – No #9 (Epi 1:09)

We continue from here

This time around, it is very much about duty versus conscience. Should a cop or a soldier do their duty, or do what they think is morally correct, maybe without knowing all the facts?

After one of the diplomatic service agents were found dead, Steve and the team are brought in to help protect a dictator, General Pak, visiting the state. The service agent phoned his boss to inform him about an assassination plot against the General, but he was killed before he could report the detail.

General Pak committed crimes against his own people and he is hated all around. With their briefing about the task, Steve and Danny run into one of Steve’s old Navy SEAL buddies Nick (Bullfrog), who’s security company was also contracted to guard the dictator. Steve and Danny did not like the fact that they needed to do their duty and protect this obvious bad  guy, but Danny also could not understand why someone like Steve’s buddy would willingly do it?

Interesting story, following the previous one. Last time Steve doubted Danny’s faith in his old partner, but here we have and old fellow soldier of Steve’s working with them, with Danny immediately not liking the guy. Steve jokes that it is jealousy.

This episode gives me the opportunity to clear up something that seems to be misunderstood by a few people. The cars that the team drive are cars given to them by the state as part of their job. It is not their own personal property. So the Camaro is Danny’s car, but belongs to the team, Steve’s truck the same and also Kono’s red car and Chin’s black SUV. The state can hardly expect them to put their own personal cars at risk, for car chases and gun fights etc.

Steve: All I’m saying is it’s cool with me if you want to have a picture of Grace, okay. But any other additions and decorations to the interior of this vehicle should be treated like a wire-tap request where you need my authorization.

 (One of the rare occasions where we see Steve wearing sunglasses. Can any of you remember if there are any other occasions, apart form the Pilot episode and meeting Mary in the cemetery (in 104), where he wears one?)

In order to know who they need to protect the leader from, they also need to solve the case of who murdered the security person. With all the evidence and some security cameras around the hotel, the suspect is an unidentified woman. Following the trail of the suspect they find the house where she killed the owner as well and also a whole arsenal of guns.

While following leads of possible accomplices of the assassin, Steve and Kono find a man and his family who had to flee their country when General Pak persecuted them. They explain what happened to them, but say that they don’t want to kill the General, but want him to stand trial and be held accountable for his crimes.

Nae Shan – victim of General Pak: She wants to know why the police are protecting a monster like General Pak? She asked how can a man do that and still call himself a man?

Danny: Who is that guy [Nick] ?

Steve: Before he worked private security, Nick was Special Activities Division.

Danny: Special activities? What kind of special activities?

Steve: S.A.D is the military arm of the CIA.

Danny: Oh really? I thought you guys were Navy SEALs?

Steve: When you have certain specialities, you can be recruited into different units as needed.

Danny: Are you going to answer any of my questions?

Steve: What do you wanna know?

Danny: What was you speciality?

Steve: I can’t tell you that either.

Danny: Okay, you have done this before. Where was that? When exactly was that?

Steve: I worked the other side.

Danny: The other side? The sniper rifle, is that your speciality?

Steve: [Grin]

(We never really get an answer about Steve’s skills. Danny guessed that it is a sniper, but up untill now, we have never seen Steve using any sniper skills specifically)

Tracing the assassins phone calls they realise that Nick’s team was actually contracted to kill the General and Five-0 then have to protect him against part of what they thought were their support on protecting him.

In the end it turns out that by doing their job and risking their lives, the team did the right thing morally as well. The General and his family actually came to the USA, to get asylum and to testify about  the atrocities in their country and even be punished for his own crimes. With this he wants to end the war in his country and end the suffering.

The team manages to protect the General and his family. During a hand-to-hand fight, Steve kills his former friend and colleague, Nick. 😦

Danny: You have got to start doing a better job of picking your friends.

Steve: Tell me about it. I picked you, didn’t I?

Danny: Yeah.

 

And that was Steve’s story for: 

Hawaii Five-0 – Episode 109

Poʻipu (The Siege)

Written by: Peter M. Lenkov & Shane Salerno

Director: Brad Turner

(15 November 2010)

To be continued here