No epic villain on “Hawaii Five-O” ever truly goes away, they simply reincarnate in some form through the storylines. Faithful fans will recall that visions of the nemesis, Wo Fat, impeccably portrayed by Mark Dacascos, even tormented Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) in hallucinations from a sensory deprivation tank in the Season 9 premiere.
It's only fitting that as the season approaches its end, another emissary of evil, Aaron Wright, played by Joey Lawrence, would rise again in familiar tradition.
The cyber-hacking wonder is the brother of he Ian Wright (Nick Jonas), who viciously captured and tormented Samantha Grover, the daughter of Captain Lou Grover (Chi McBride). There's also the little matter of how he aimed to bring down a loaded jetliner of passengers while vanishing himself.
Aaron masterminded the prison break by arsonist Jason DuClair (Randy Couture), who started a massive wildfire that nearly consumed “Hawaii Five-O” before the starter perished himself. In this week's May 10 Episode 24 of Season 9, “Hewa ka lima" (The Hand Is at Fault), Aaron Wright portends to be transformed for the good, the guy who “talks to people” and brings coffee to the office of the NSA.
Now, the genius puts his diabolical skill to work in cyber warfare, defending against foreign assailants.
Junior (Beulah Koale) is consumed with writing a statement to read at the parole hearing of the drunk driver who killed his sister, Maya. What he experiences at that moment, however, is more transforming than he can ever imagine.
Lou and his brother, Percy (Clifton Powell) take on the case of a stolen pastry recipe, and driving gets more dangerous than ever on this “Hawaii Five-O”
Defending the target
Aaron Wright rushes into “Hawaii Five-O” headquarters, with a huge request. He describes the story of the melee that same morning at his office, which left four people dead. He pleads for help from “Hawaii Five-O” because the killers have seen his face.
He actually gave them access to the area by letting them board his elevator. The evil genius terrorizes Tani (Meaghan Rath) that morning in her home, but she takes care of him this time.
In defense of national security and justice, the team agrees to help, but not before inflicting some hurt on the perpetrator who took out “Toast,” the truly good-hearted hacker who helped “Hawaii Five-O” in many a pinch. Jerry (Jorge Garcia) delivers a blow right to the face, knocking Wright straight to the floor. Wright insisted that because he came to “Hawaii Five-O,” even knowing what he was in for, his intent was validated.
Steve makes contact with the NSA at the scene. Even then, Wright’s relationship with the agency seems a little murky, but naturally, they are interested in keeping US information safe.
Steve ultimately believes the branch office chief, Flores (José Zuniga). The gunmen also wiped the computers of their victims. Jerry agrees to a plan to transfer the NSA data, under the savvy and surveillance of Wright. After a hiccup at the front desk, he gains entry into the highly secured area, but his process is nearly interrupted by a wary intruder.
The investigation leads to NSA employee, Tim Aquino (Gabriel Kennedy), who was using his access to sophisticated information to shakedown the victims involved, selling their information. He hit big paydirt when he got into the bank accounts of Kinross (Howard W Bishop) who was head of Cryolaris, a medical instrument company. A fake phone call engineered by Wright allows Jerry to get information on a dangerous anesthesia machine manufactured by the company.
Despite patients being killed, the company preferred to pay settlements rather than recall the defective device.
The only order that Steve gives to Aaron is to “stop talking.” The boss is barely able to resist his “punchable” face.
Driving, dodging, and delicious pastry
Tani and Junior take Wright’s telephone, driving around as bait for the gunmen. It doesn't take long for the action to start. Arguably the most bullet-riddled shootout in “Hawaii Five-O” history happens as Tani avoids being the literal target of their vehicle, driving like no other woman on cop TV.
From the time that Junior shouts “RPG at one o'clock!” more gunfire happens than in all of “Platoon.” Tani and Junior crash and overturn in the conflict, but somehow survive until McGarrett arrives in the nick of time to take the life-saving shot, just as “planned.”
Percy and Lou haven’t been reunited since last Thanksgiving dinner, but when Percy knows that his recipe for a delicious pastry has been purloined by a competitor, he plays the brother card to get Lou to crack the case.
On a visit to the competitor, the owner insists that he uses only “an original family recipe.” Lou doesn't buy that, and pretty soon, the owner breaks and admits that he buys the pastries wholesale-- from Flippa (Shawn Mokuahi Garnett). Flippa proposes that he and Percy go in on their own pastry business, and Lou becomes interested, too.
The most pivotal personal moment of this episode takes place for Junior at the parole hearing. He has prepared to face a hardened, evil, and unremorseful inmate. Instead, he sees and hears a man who is haunted by the injury he caused, the fatality and its aftermath. Junior stands to read his prepared statement, but instead, he crumples it and relates how he has given hate too much power.
He declares his fear that some of the memories of his sister may be “gone forever” because he allowed bitterness to replace the memory of her joyful spirit. He says that Maya would have wanted him to forgive.
Tani is there to support Junior, who still fears how his father will react to the response.
Jerry traces invoices to hundreds of thousands of dollars that Aaron Wright has rerouted to himself, and found proof that he knew about the attack. Steve tries to contact Flores, but it is too late. Wright shoots his NSA boss dead, then emerges from the car in a smoky haze, sure to make another getaway.
The Season 9 finale of “Hawaii Five-O” airs next week, but the summer should be easier since Season 10 is confirmed. Missiles are on the way, and so are McDanno and more action with all of “Five-O.”