Five-0 Final-Season Mystery Is Solved
Out of nowhere — and almost a year to the day that the episode in question aired — a burning question of sorts from Hawaii Five-0‘s final season has been answered.
Two-thirds of the way through the long-running CBS reboot’s farewell run, there was an episode, titled “I ho‘olulu, ho‘ohulei ‘ia e ka makani” (“There was a lull, and then the wind began to blow about”), in which Danny Williams (played by original cast member Scott Caan) met Leslie (Haunting of Hill House‘s Kate Siegel), “the girl of his dreams,” at a local bar.
Out for a drive afterwards, they were nearly clipped by an oncoming car, and wound up crashing in a ditch when Danny swerved out of the way. With Leslie critically injured and no cell phone signal available, Danny did his best to tend to his passenger’s wounds if not extricate her from her crimped seat. But by the time he was able to successfully flag down a passing truck, Leslie had already died.
And save for a brief follow-up in the next episode, where we saw that Danny was still out of sorts… that was the end of the abrupt, tragic storyline.
On Twitter Friday afternoon, a Five-0 fan named Alicia asked Peter M. Lenkov, who had showrun the series (as well as executive-produced MacGyver and Magnum P.I.), “Was there purpose or hidden reason for making Danny go through that heartbreak and trauma? It still confuses me.”
Lenkov answered, “I thought it was a compelling story. Simple as that. And I knew [Scott Caan] would act the hell out of it.” Which Caan did. Lenkov then concurred with another follower that when it comes to Caan’s Five-0 work over the years, the episode was “one of his best.”
Update: In March 2021, Lenkov tweeted to another H50 fan that the “plan was to pick up that story in S11,” and havinG Danny try to track down who ran them off the road in the first place. “It bothers me too we never finished it.”
In July 2020, CBS ended its relationship with Lenkov, following an investigation into claims that the prolific producer created an unhealthy work environment. In a statement, Lenkov responded, “Now is the time to listen and I am listening. It’s difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better.”
Yes, well, what Lenkov leaves out is that continuity was never one of his strong suits – or main concerns – when it came to Five-0. This example is one of many unfinished plotlines that came and went. But have to agree, Scott Caan was outstanding in the series, as was the rest of the cast. Still a McDanno fan :).
What was unfinished about this plot line though? She died, the end.
Apologies if this is somehow not clear above, but the question was: What was the point?
Why, in the final season of a show, and with Danny already toying with reconciliation with his ex, introduce “the love of his life” just to kill her in the same episode?
That was the question.
I understand the story and you did it well. I was replying to that commenter where she stated “One of many unfinished plot lines”
👍
[Shrug]… I always just assumed someone of great power in a series had issues when these bummer/stupid episodes appear. It’s just the way of the world, needing to tolerate others’ issues.
Hey, Tim, my issue was with large and/or tragic plotlines that never had much impact on the series after that episode or arc aired. Having said that, I know that a CBS procedural is not the vehicle for that kind of storytelling, but I think Lenkov et al were particularly negligent in some of the important story arcs and their impact going forward. Sorry if I was unclear – you are right, the plot itself was resolved, Cheers!
Because who was the dude that ran them off the road? And why didn’t they get him? That’s the unfinished plot.
My Friday nights aren’t the same without Hawaii 5 O. Miss the hell out of the show. There seems to be so many unanswered questions regarding story lines for the other Characters. Especially not seeing Danny’s daughter in the final episode.
I miss this show so much! If you happen to get ION Television on your cable, the network is airing mega marathons of 5-0 on Sundays and Fridays starting at 9 am.
Thanks for this Five-0 story… I still miss the show and wish it had continued on into season 11! Definitely a great episode for Scott Caan. There was some follow up with Steve being so worried about Danny that he changed his Valentine’s Day plans to invite the whole team over to make sure Danny wasn’t alone. But I think the real dropped storyline was Danny’s relationship with Rachel; it looked like they were on track to get back together in season 9 after she got divorced and they got close again after Grace’s accident. Would love to know why Danny and Rachel never worked it out! No doubt Steve was relieved–he was really concerned about Danny getting back together with Rachel.
That’s what I always wondered. What was the point in teasing their reconciling, only to to have it not work out off screen. Talk about a fruitless plot point for the character.
I always wonder about Danny and Melissa’s relationship you saw her is season 7 and then nothing no mention of her ever again. At lease Steve’s relationship with Lynn was mentioned as being over but Danny and Melissa nothing.
Bring five 0 back put someone else in charge of five 0 it was a great show really should bring back
Sinceramente, o Lenkov nem merecia ter o direito de por o nome da série ou do Scott na boca. Quem acompanhou de perto sabe do que estou falando.
We fans are very sad without Hawaii five0
Our favorite ohana
Really the best show of CBS.
We love McDanno very very much.
Alex O’loughlin is excelent actor.
Not every one can behave perfectly at all times. Creative people can be temperamental on occasion. The work product is more important than political correctness.
If you feel the need to apologise to any person you insulted harassed or offended, that’s your decision , not the new tyrants overseeing the world. If they want to do a mea culpa, let them.
TWO LEGS BAD, FOUR LEGS GOOD.
Do you always use “political correctness” in the place of “treating people with dignity and respect?”
I’d agree that the Rachel plotline was dropped/never resolved, but I just chalked it up to Claire van der Bloom being unavailable. I respect Alex’s wish to leave, but I really liked Lincoln (who was introduced in the finale). I wish they would have continued the series with him, Lou, Tawny, and Junior. I would have watched.
Really miss the show. Still think the ending was crappy…..another pointless Cath appearance. It was Lenkov being….. well Lenkov!
Please bring this program back i have every episode taped I watch them over and over again I love Steve the most but the rest of them are brilliant I love ste and dannys relationship so please please bring it back it was the only thing I love to watch big please .
The show was amazing. I miss it.
I am still hoping it can come back without Steve. I started watching because of him but the whole cast soon became my favorites. They can do the show without him and give the actors work.
What happened with Wofat?
Steve killed him in season five.
He kidnapped Steve in order to torcher information from him. Steve managed to break free, wrestle Wo Fat’s gun away from him and kill him.
Hawaii 5-o should have never been canceled the show was a very good portrayal of the original on CBS, if CBS wants to cancel a long running tv series cancel NCIS ,,its got quite boring
Yes I do miss Hawaii 5-O but I still enjoy watching
NCIS.
Agreed.
NCIS is a bore. No chemistry among the cast. The lab girl is horrible.
H5O would be amazingly excellent with Lincoln’s character over the team!
When are you going to show new episodes of Hawaii Five O.
Super-cancelled.
Just wish five-o would come back. Loved it – the stories, the actors. One of the BEST!
Why did H50 end with so many unanswered questions? Will H50 ever come back to tie up all the loose ends? Was my most favorite show. We need one of the best shows back!!!
Super-cancelled.
They should have continued with Lincoln. The character of Danno was totally obnoxious most of the time and that was boring. If his name wasn’t Caan he would have never gotten this part. Not attractive at all in fact quite the opposite. The new McGarret was ok but he could not compare to J.lord’s good looks.
The one that was great in the series was Will Yun Lee, playing the part of Sang Min. Superb actor
There are millions of viewers like me, who WISH, WISH, WISH, that Hawaii Five-O would come back!!! I think we all understand the reasons why that won’t happen – BUT WE SOOOO WISH IT WOULD!!! BEST ACTED, WRITTEN, DIRECTED SERIES EVER!!!