Before we start
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I guess different opinions about this Valentine’s episode clearly come from which glasses one is wearing while watching it. By that I mean people being team Lynn, or team Cath, or team McDanno mainly, and what these different groups desperately wanted this episode to be. For myself there are no expectations for Steve’s love life going in any specific direction. And I think relationships and girlfriends on the show, are used and abused by the writers for whatever story they need tell at that time. In other words, not really important stuff for a procedural cop show.
In the end I found this episode more entertaining than what I thought it would. If you just take it as some holiday silliness, there might have been a few giggles and laughs in there ……
Just for some fun I add this question posted by somebody on twitter who I have not seen on #H50 tag before.
I guess the answer was loud and clear here? As it stands now: 94 RT’s for McRoll and 32 Likes for McLynn (And as a truly unbiased viewer in the case of these 2 ships, I did not RT or Like.
Over the course of this season, Paula and I have been discussing on a number of occasions, that we feel that there is a lot more of Alex in Steve this season than before. It is as if Alex just decided to have some fun as being himself with Steve on occasion. I kind of had the feeling that this was an episode of Steve much closer to Alex than to the Navy SEAL Steve we met in Season 1
The actor adds he is happy to jump out of a plane or roll a car, but he would like a chilled episode every so often. “A vacation episode would be nice,” Alex says, “where all McGarrett does is sit on the beach and gets served mimosas and get his feet rubbed.” – Alex O’Loughlin, TV Week, March 22016
We have read in articles that because of their busy lives, Alex and Mrs O like to do the staycation thing and that they on occasion book into one of the hotels on the Hawaii for a weekend of fun. And I am sure Alex visits the spas at these hotels on those occasions. Actors are so used to all the make-up and treatments their skin needs for their job. I think Alex is no stranger to all this pampering, and knows a lot about all these beauty treatment and things. You can see he had loads of fun doing this episode, especially filming it just before Christmas break.
You can also see the fun-loving Alex, channeling his role models as a teen growing up during the 80’s, coming through with that headband during the Yoga class.
Sarah Carter tweeted: ” that look was al Alex 🙂 “
(You will know what I am talking about if you grew up during the Rambo, Karate Kid, Staying Alive, Jane Fonda years)
My random thoughts with some “wisdom” from the Koala Smartass:
It is as if this episode did not know what it was supposed to be. (And here I am shamelessly stealing some great phrases that I saw all over social media in regards to this episode)
- Prologue to some bad porn (Those giggling handholding girls with Danny and his cheap glasses on the balcony)
- A swingers weekend (Adjoining rooms and switching teams – although not sure which way the switching would have gone)
- Some S & M going wrong (aka ‘safe words‘ not working – Danny was clearly in unbearable pain)
- Or just the ‘5-0 Shades of Danny Williams‘
- The mandatory yearly shipper-baiting episode with a side slap to say they have girlfriends across the table (With Steve stroking Danny’s ear so lovingly)
Koala Smartass: 
- Crime Of The Week: Lynn and Melissa organising a double valentine’s date/day for their respective lovers.
Koala Smartass: Bazinga!
- Question for the week: Is it wise to cast friends as lovers? Can there be good chemistry? It looked like Steve was on holiday with his sister. Actually Steve looked more seductively at his sister Mary in Episode 1:05, than what he ever looked like when looking at Lynn during this episode.
Having said that – Steve and Lynn acting more like brother and sister could mean any of a number of things:
- The actors as friends feel self-conscious and do not know how to play a couple of lovers.
Koala Smartass: But this can’t really be true, because they managed to look like lovers in previous episodes.
- Okay then maybe they want to show us that Steve and Lynn is not 100% in this relationship at all. But that could be because of one of a few reasons:
- Lynn seems to be more into Melissa
- Steve is still too much in love with Cath
- Steve is actually really in love with Danny
- Steve is just a bad lover and Lynn don’t want to really be lovers with him anymore.
Koala Smartass: Wow! What a mystery and major story arc for the future might the writers be setting up here? #sarcasm Maybe Steve should have attended “The Method” classes?
- The character of Lynn, just as with Ellie, had the potential to be a really good addition to the show when she was initially introduced. Working with delinquent children; I really thought that there could be opportunities to work with Five-0 and give her character some meat other than just being in Steve’s bed. I expected their relationship to build and become better and not go backwards as it seems to be at the moment. They have known each other for more than a year now, but Lynn never matured and neither did the relationship. She just turned into a giggling teenager. Lynn seduction moves and body language reminded me of some insecure teenager trying to be coy. And when she accuses the inquisitive and engaged it the fun Steve when he asked questions, of ruining her Zen, she looks more like someone on some serious drugs, than a pissed off girlfriend?
Koala Smartass: Questions I would like to ask. Was that what the actress was told to do? (Just like the childish attempt at flirtation moves she made when stripping for Steve during the previous Valentines episode) Was that what the writers wanted? Or did the actress and director get it wrong?
- Why is a seemingly gay dude trying to teach insecure straight guys “The Method” of how to hook up with girls? That alone should be a clue to these hetero guys that he is a fake. I think Kono could have been kinder and just advised him to get out from the closet rather than to chase unattainable women.
Koala Smartass: Ouch!
- I found the people playing the young boy’s parents really bad actors. And they did not even look like they could be his parents at all.
Koala Smartass: I always wonder if that was a casting faux pas, or if the director failed at coaching the unseasoned extra actors on the set. Or maybe the editors just included the wrong clip.
Things that really went wrong in this episode:
- NOT seeing Steve in full length, wearing those white pants.
Koala Smartass: Yes, that was a lot a like a lover charging you up for weeks, just to let you down at the climax. (Oops did I say that out loud?)
- NOT seeing Steve getting his moves on.
Koala Smartass: Maybe Alex’s back was too sore for bed-action scenes and the stunt guy did not want to do stand-in for all that heavy breathing?
Since the message boards on IMDb will be closing down in the next few days, I thought just to post one person’s perspective about the episode from there here:
dapoppaq
Friday nights show was a disgrace. This queer-baiting has got to stop! Steve had more physical contact with Danny then he had with his date. Asking him if he wanted to switch teams? And what was up with him practically fondeling Danny’s ear!? Adjoining rooms? Facials at the spa? Frisbee into the ocean? Using their “immunity and means” to break into that kids room to get back a non-existent pair of $20 sunglasses? Steve should have bitch slapped that whinny idiot. What, taking a day off from work means you leave your brains at home? And the crime of the week was just absolute nonsense. No wonder they don’t show previews of the upcoming show. What a disappointment.
- “Life lessons” I thought the episode tried to teach us:
- If you want to treat somebody (on Valentines or special days), find what they actually love doing and organise something along that line for them, not what you would like to do. Spoiling them with what they love, is real love.
- Surprises that need a lot of organising, rarely end up being great.
- Spending loads of money on something while trying to be romantic, does not always guarantee results.
Koala Smartass: Oy, you have gone deeply philosophical again.
And that was Steve’s story for:
Hawaii Five-0 – Episode 7:16
Poniu I Ke Aloha (Crazy In Love)
Written by: David Wolkove & Matt Wheeler
Directed by: Jerry Levine
To be continued …….
Slide show of screencaps from the episode:
Alex O´Loughlin ~ An Intense Study 