The true “ohana” of “Hawaii Five-O” is coming through on-screen and behind-the-scenes in Season 10. The elite crime-fighting force is forming bonds on many levels, and the talented cast of the police drama is displaying a wide range of gifts. After last week’s riveting emotional saga ending in Commander McGarrett losing his mother, this week's Episode 8, "Ne'e aku, ne'e mai ke one o Punahoa" (That Way and This Way Shifts the Sands of Punahoa), centers on a different family dynamic.

Series veteran, Chi McBride co-wrote the episode full of action, twist, and heart with Matt Wheeler.

McBride's character, Captain Lou Grover, has been the focus of some of the most memorable “Hawaii Five-O” episodes, involving everything from suicidal perpetrators to past connections with his best friend in Chicago, who murdered his wife. The Grover family is also responsible for giving loyal fans a feast of fun in the Thanksgiving episodes.

McGarrett is suffering in silence from the pain of his mother's passing and also their entire past, while a plane crash leads to a cachet of heroin worth millions, and multiple dead bodies.

On the job and a joyful reunion

Lou Grover couldn’t be happier to be picking up Siobhan (Nia Holloway) at the airport, after such a long time. He mentions that he had to “pull a few strings” to make the opportunity happen for her in Hawaii, but it's blatantly clear that he would do anything for this young woman he holds as close as his own children.

He is surprised when Siobhan says that she would like to go by his workplace but agrees that that can be on the agenda. First, they go to a gym, and none other than Metta World Peace, playing himself, is there to trade practice shots with the prospect. Siobhan steps up to the moment, and gives the NBA pro all he can handle, right in front of the coach from the university (Marita De Lara).

There is no doubt that Siobhan is an exceptional athlete, but her past has obstacles that Lou and his loving family know nothing about.

On the crime front, a plane has crashed, killing a co-pilot and first responders. Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) is already on the scene when Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Quinn (Katrina Law) arrive to run down the details.

Everyone is astonished to see Steve show up on the job, but he matter-of-factly says, “I need to get back to work,” since that's always easier than confronting devastating grief.

It doesn't take long for the trail through the lush foliage to lead to the precious load of drugs involved, and hot on the trail are the dark armed forces after it. A survivor has already shot a man in a convenience store. When Steve and the others follow a lead to the home of a Wes Cullen connection (Remember, on “Hawaii Five-O” old perpetrators tend to never truly die) they almost run into a DEA Agent, Richie Gormican (Jesse Johnson) who is sipping coffee and too sickeningly slick for words.

Gormican knows all about “Hawaii Five-O” and purports to be on the lookout for the same crooks out to be first to heist all the drugs.

Steve and Quinn are completely suspicious, but for now, they play along.

A dastardly plot revealed and a dream come true

One of the real treats of the episode is to see Chi McBride and Michelle Hurd, as Renée Grover, under the natural, easy spell that the actors create for viewers. This is the steadfast couple fans know. They discuss ways to help Siobhan, who has gang activity entangled with her collegiate troubles, as well as a weapon attached to her name. Renée refuses to believe that Siobhan is capable of that kind of behavior, but the coach at the university described those problems as real issues. They decide together that they can help Siobhan and will figure out the “how” of the situation later.

Siobhan overhears only the difficulties her presence may cause, and she disappears.

After a firefight under the deep foliage and some further leads, Gormican wants to celebrate at “the big table,” for foiling the plot to put the drugs on the street. He feigns giving “Hawaii Five-O” credit but his true intentions are quickly uncovered. One of the names associated with Gormican is a suspended DEA agent, and the compromised credentials and association with another contact cause the team to realize that the glory-hog agent is a fraud, who will quickly make his own deal for the drugs and vanish. Steve intercepts the proceedings and puts the fake good guy in cuffs just as he is about to board his getaway plane.

Lou sends a police cruiser to pull over Siobhan’s cab, and she relates the whole story, of taking the gun away from another girl, trying to help her friend. She insists that it would do no good to tell the truth, because “they don't care about us.” She no longer has a burning desire for basketball. She wants to become a police officer.

In tender flashbacks, Lou Grover is seen as the younger officer in Chicago. He goes to the scene where he finds five-year-old Siobhan alongside her mother, deceased from a drug overdose. He gently holds her, talking in the kind of voice and with the kind of questions only a five-year-old can love. He helps her with her shoes, and she becomes part of the Grover family forever.

Siobhan does get to meet everyone in “Hawaii Five-O” as they celebrate another case closed, and the mammoth drug deal intercepted. Quinn notices Steve's truck, but McGarrett is a long way from being in the mood for a celebration. She lets him know that she is there if he needs her. Throughout the episode, the ding of a phone is dismissed, but now, Steve calls Danny, saying he got all the messages, and he just misses his mother.

Healing can take a very long time, and it takes a family beyond blood ties to make it happen.
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