It's only been a few days since “Hawaii Five-O” aired the Season 7 finale and Alex O'Loughlin portrayed the ever-daring and dutiful Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett in typical fashion but facing scary circumstances. Steve is all-in with the team’s mission to rescue young girls caught in sex trafficking. He pulls off one of the most demanding feats for his body. He jumps onto a moving 18 wheeler rig and uses a flare to burn his way into the payload of precious, innocent girls. Still, under extreme gunfire, McGarrett is forced to cut the cab of the doomed vehicle away from the cargo to rescue the girls.
He also tells Danny (Scott Caan) that he is facing his own deadly battle that is sure to be ongoing into next season’s farewell.
‘The Good Doctor’ and McGarrett’s fate
News was just released by TV.com that “The Good Doctor” has been picked up by ABC for next season. The medical drama is based on a South Korean series of the same name and was developed by “Hawaii Five-O” stalwart star, Daniel Dae Kim. This project will allow Kim to stretch himself as producer and co-collaborator with David Shore. The dashing star Daniel insists that it will not mean less of him on the island with his “Five-O” crime-fighters. Kim insists that he is “equally passionate” about producing and acting, all part of his creative dimensions.
“The Good Doctor” will focus on an autistic savant surgeon played by Freddie Highmore.
Good doctors are exactly what Steve McGarrett needs now. At the opening of “Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono,” which translates “The Life of the Land Is Perpetuated in Righteousness,” McGarrett is not himself. Danny notices that he is drinking a lot of water and taking new prescription pills.
Steve brushes off the concern, keeping his focus on the mission to take down the trafficker that the team has been after all year. Only at the end of the episode does Steve reveal that he is suffering from radiation poisoning from “that dirty bomb.”
New turns into the future
Alex O'Loughlin has been firm in saying that Season 8 of “Hawaii Five-O” will be his last. How do you think the show should handle the farewell?
No one wants to see the handsome Navy Seal suffer a debilitating condition into death. The character of Steve McGarrett has seen too many farewells already. He parted with Catherine (Michelle Borth) twice, with no certain explanation. His mother, Doris (Christine Laiti) left him hanging, no matter how he chased after her.
Perhaps a new romance will arise for the brave officer in the form of a nurse who helps him fight off the poisoning. Will he find a new sense of peace with his past? It's no wonder that Steve always wants to put his life on the line for kids. Just like Alex O'Loughlin in real life, he has a heart for the younger generation and for doing good. Kono, the character portrayed by Grace Park, was so moved by the situation of the girls trapped in the sex trade that she flies off with a new purpose for life.
Show-runner Peter Lenkov and the “Hawaii Five-O” writers have a full season to make sure that Steve McGarrett gets a proper sendoff, with nothing thrown together. Fans expect loads of those “carguments,” and evidence of couples’ therapy between Danny and Steve. Hopes are high for stories to satisfy the dedication of Alex O'Loughlin, and all the cast, over eight seasons, and more.
