Even the members of “Hawaii Five-O” have human frailties under extreme conditions, and being without the benefit of air-conditioning, when an electrical blackout hits the island, brings out the best and the worst of humanity. The opening of the third episode for Season 9, "Mimiki ke kai, ahuwale ka papa leho" (When the Sea Draws Out the Tidal Wave, the Rocks Where the Cowries Hide Are Exposed), reminds viewers that instances of violent crime are prone to increase with temperatures. The individual members of “Hawaii Five-O” each have their way of dealing with the cooling crisis, and some of them save lives while dealing with a criminal situation.

Preserving the chill

Steve and Danny (Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan) are busy trying to save their precious allotment of seafood for their restaurant, and an argument breaks out over which precious fish should have priority. Kamekona (Taylor Wily) and his crew come just in time to get the store of ice they have stockpiled in the freezer, and they agree to leave enough behind to save the seafood.

When a call comes in about an escapee perpetrator shooting and killing two people, Steve and Danny take off for the scene. Tani (Meaghan Rath) catches Junior (Beulah Koale) in her office at Hawaii Five-O headquarters, sans underwear, just trying to sneak some cool, before they go off to keep the streets safe.

When Jerry (Jorge Garcia) has only soured milk for a refreshing smoothie at home, a trip to the convenience store turns into an opportunity for him to be the Good Samaritan. Lou Grover (Chi McBride) doesn’t let the heat keep him from the golf game of his life, even at the expense of the caddy.

Cold, hard cash and cubes

Tracy Benson (Tara Macken) had no criminal record before her arrest on assault charges for giving her landlord a brutal beating over her apartment’s AC issues that morning.

According to the landlord's wife (Mandy June Turpin), Benson was a quiet tenant, who always paid her rent on time, even when she had no job.

It doesn't take much investigation to uncover that this person, Tracy Benson, has been deceased for three years, but her identity has been assumed by Allison Ross, a bank robber who escaped from her last incarceration, with half a million dollars.

When Steve and Danny go to her rather swanky digs, Steve sees evidence of something moved from an air-conditioning vent, and he knows the cash is gone, likely at the hands of the service technician. They try tracking him down, and he is barely clinging to life, saying that Ross is gone.

With the elevators not working, Steve ponders that the thief on the run might try to make her way through the stifling heat of the shaft, and he discovers her, dead, and surrounded by her now meaningless dollars.

Lou decides to go ahead with the golf game that was set with "Dog the Bounty Hunter"(Duane Chapman), even though Dog decides not to brave the heat. Alone on the course, Lou has the game of a lifetime, despite his young caddy (Kenny Stevenson) withering under the conditions.

Lou is so revved up that he is ready to carry the clubs, but he wants the caddy conscious so he can have a witness to his finest game. He sinks a perfect six-foot putt to shoot par on the final hole but has to shake the kid on the bag awake and coach him into the words of the greatest day of golf. The scene is vintage Grover in a good mood.

Tani and Junior get the kind of neighborly dispute that no cop wants. When a man finds a whole family of neighbors taking a refreshing dip in his pool (because they think he is gone), he goes ballistic at gunpoint, threatening to shoot them all. Junior inquires about medications used by the man, wisely recognizing implications of antidepressants and heat.

He coaxes the man inside, averting a possible mass shooting, but when the armed homeowner attempts to jump from the roof, he has a crash landing, and leaves in an ambulance, but still alive.

Unfortunately, solving one situation leads to another, as Tani’s car is stolen just as she and Junior leave the scene. He urges her to walk to the station rather than wait an hour for an alternate vehicle, and the previous incident sparks Junior to divulge details about the death of his sister by a drunk driver, and her issues with depression.

The developing closeness between these characters is refreshing and natural, and the touching montages in this episode only fulfill the previous episodes that “Hawaii Five-O” fans have been privy to of the future, such as a glimpse of Charlie's graduation from the police academy last season.

When Tani and Junior hear the irresistible chimes of an ice cream truck, they, of course, have to stop and share some cones, in a really sweet exchange.

Junior gets the call that Tani’s car has been found at the beach, and they rush to get it, still finding the thief inside. He pleads that he only wanted the time with the working air conditioner, but that doesn't wash with Tani, who takes pleasure in putting him in a squad car. By now, though, her own car’s battery is dead, and while they wait for a tow truck, Tani and Junior take a joyful swim that looks like it could have come from a 1950s beach movie. This is another memorable moment, exquisitely filmed, from the episode.

When Jerry is at the convenience store, welcoming the wide-open doors of the refrigerated section, a dispute breaks out over the last two bags of ice between customers.

When they take the disagreement outside, one reveals that his wife is pregnant, and must be kept cool to prevent premature labor. Jerry intercedes, appealing to the man who only wanted the ice for making margaritas. In a scene to follow, both men are carrying the expectant mother to the cool section of the store, and comforting her with compassion. Conspiracy theories and fear of insects aside, Jerry often excels at humanity.

Sadly, the tendency to do a good deed doesn’t carry over for Kamekona this time, and he decides to triple his prices for shaved ice. This was much out of character for one who, with no recognition, donated a huge sum of money for a youth gym, as “Hawaii Five-O” fans can attest from last season.

Customers rebel, and destroy his booth, while a competitor has a “two-for-one” special on his product. In the end, decency wins out over market demand.

The day ends with Lou recounting his glorious day of golf, and no one on “Hawaii Five-O” has any desire to run inside from a glorious, drenching rain.
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