#H50 episode 8.18

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In Season 8 of H50, Alex took the helm in episode 8.18. Aside from other plots, it was the conclusion to episode 8.10 and the answer to the question WHO shot Danny?

huge thanks to my dear friend @vanduyn

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HAWAII FIVE-0 Episode 8.18 - the episode where Danny became a Data lookalike - YIKES!  

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I know, I am late to the party. But I needed some distance between the episode (8.18) and my thoughts. This is just about Danny’s part because all the other things have already been said. (You can call this one also brain farts :o))

I want to know what Wolcove and Wheeler were smoking when they wrote this episode because then I would have had one before I started watching. 

After about two episodes of badass Kono and the rest of the team going toe to toe with a human-trafficking ring and a whole episode Lou serenading to a guy with suicidal tendencies, someone thought it might be a good idea to squeeze in some domestic violence in another episode. Squeezing in says it right because you can't handle such a delicate matter in the third of a 42 minutes episode. 

So far so not good and if you think it couldn't get worse then be my guest and have a seat. I could be mean and say there is some kind of agenda behind it when they're turning our beloved badass cop from Jersey into a comic relief. And in the latest episode – hold your breath – into a young c*ck-driven cop who has nothing better to do than to save the damsel in distress from her violent husband just to f*ck her senseless shortly afterward in a moment of… WTF? I don't even have a word for it. Yes, he wasn't wearing his uniform, yes he might have been young and restless dumb. But that doesn't excuse what he did. He is a frigging cop and has sworn to serve and protect not to serve and screw the victims in which way ever. 

The two writers may have had their brain cells doused in too much Tequila, or the atmosphere had been heavy testosterone laden when they came up with the brilliant stupid idea it might be somewhat romantic to hook Danny and the victim up. I assure you IT IS NOT. As someone who has worked with women of domestic violence (abuse), I tell you the last thing they have on their mind is sex with whomever. The whole scenario felt like a slap in the faces of these women. 

And it felt like a slap in the faces of most of the Danny fans out there. Let's take a (painful) walk down memory lane, where Danny was written as a badass cop from Jersey whos hairs stood on end when he watched Steve doing his crazy ninja-SEAL-action stuff because the task force stands above the law thanks to the Governor of HI. During these days, Danny always tried the best he could to go by the book. Even if he must’ve have felt like a gymnast doing the splits on a tiny beam because Steve McGarrett couldn’t be tamed.

Pushing the fast forward button we see more and more of this badass cop/detective fading away with each season (for me, beginning with s 4). More and more they turned this character into some sort of comic relief and anti-action hero (in a negative sense). Almost like PL feared loudmouthed Jersey could steal away the thunder from super/SEAL Steve. For me, it was always the essence of the show, the heart and the soul and what drew me back to the screen every single week. Watching Danny and Steve going head to head, using up more of each other's private space until they felt comfortable enough around each other, so that was no longer an issue. However, they kept on clashing because their view of things was not always the same. Back in the days, we had all those great carguments and witty banter. That changed when Kurtzman and Orci left along with the original writers of the show. 

Pushing the fast-forward button to episode 8.18. Showing Danny sleeping with this woman added absolutely nothing to the plot. It wasn't needed. It could've had worked pretty well without it. The two could've also had some coffee and a talk about what happened. The exchange of body fluids was as unnecessary as a pimple on the ass nose. It was only good for two things: to make the haters happy and to dismantle this once excellent written character and turn him into a man-whore and even worse a rapist (all names I've found when I trolled the net) etc. 

Over the years we've lost an essential part of McDanno as the characters were no longer depicted as in the early seasons (s1 – 3) but succumbed to a poorly written parody of themselves.  But there is still a spark between Steve and Danny and this spark doesn't want to die down. This spark can't be extinguished, no matter how hard they try. Even if it is the tiniest spark, I've ever seen. 

And so it seems that PL and his writers have a new agenda. Destroy Danny's character as much as possible. Turn him into a caricature of the worst kind. Make him a whiny, annoying pain in everyone's rear end. 

TPTB don't expect standing ovations from the crowd. You might have done a more or less a good job in trying to dismantle this character, but you haven't succeeded by far. 

We all know what kind of person Danny Williams was (and for us still is), and you can twist him as much as you want and turn him into a douche cop, a careless, ego-driven piece of whatever... 

For us, he will always remain the loudmouthed badass cop from Jersey that rides shotgun in his own car having hilarious carguments with his I-love-to-hate-you partner in crime Steve because we are never getting tired of rewatching the scenes that made this show big.

Kindly note

Thanks for reading.

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Photo 1 via @nitro808 - Post fight scene actionn with #ScottCaan last night and Alex as the Director! #BookEmDanno #Danno #DannyWilliams #SteveMcgarrett #H50 #HawaiiFive0 #Hawaii50 #h50season8 https://t.co/SMGaey26c6 Photo 2 via @nitro808 - From the @sonyopenhawaii to the set of @hawaiifive0cbs with #Alexoloughlin in the directors chair. #HawaiiFive0 #H50 #OnSet #h50season8 #CBS #Hawaii #TV - https://t.co/9wOs9aoEmw

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The ridiculousness of H50 episode 8.20

So the Big Kahuna Lady who managed to kill almost every crime boss on the island got killed simply as that? And they play it like whiny Adam found his cojones in the end and lay his hands on hear? Or it seems that way at least.

Beg my pardon when I say that this is another boring and uninspiring solution as in 8.18. Again mastermind PL and his writers failed to live up to our expectations for witty plots and unforeseeable plot twists. 

And Cath was brought back for even more far-fetched reasons and to involve Steve into another dance with the radiation. Like 1 + 1 = 0. And his health issue wasn’t even worth mentioning. And again we got a closure from the last closure that seemed to be the last but it was not as it was brought up again in this episode. *headdesk*

I hope they get their crap together for the few remaining episodes. And the end is not Steve being kidnapped by the Russian submariners who disappear into the sunset with him. 

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Alex is taking the helm on the set of Hawaii Five-0. Directing episode 8.18. Thanks to  @ninjaloha50 for all the great pics

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Scott is hawt + Alex and Malia

via David M. Dilworth FB https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210967078278607&set=pcb.10210967097639091&type=3&theater … BTS on the set of #H50 episode 8.18 feat. #ScottCaan 

He also got snapshots of Alex and Malia strolling along the beach.

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Side note:  For me, it feels a bit strange that Alex barely talks about how it was working with (one of his) best friend(s) Scott Caan. I expected some more insight. In none of the interviews, he gets candid about that. Maybe it’s just me who noticed it...

Alex O'Loughlin is adding another title to his all-encompassing Hawaii Five-0 resume.

The 41-year-old star, who has valiantly led the Five-0 team as Steve McGarrett, makes his directorial debut with Friday's season eight episode of the CBS action drama, stepping behind the camera for the first time in his career.

In the installment, titled "E Ho'Oko Kuleana (To One's Duty)," the ex-wife of the man who shot Danny (Scott Caan) in an early season eight episode finds her way to Oahu, kicking off a slew of flashbacks to a time when the actions of a younger Danny, living in New Jersey at the time, helped save her life. While Danny's past comes back to roost, Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Junior (Beulah Koale) patrol the island, providing levity to an action-packed hour, and Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) is framed for the murder of the crime boss he's been hot on the heels of.

Ahead of the episode's premiere, ET jumped on the phone with O'Loughlin for a candid conversation about his directorial debut, why he's backtracking on comments he made about his desire to step away from Hawaii Five-0 after the current season and the "trickiest" part about directing himself.

ET: Friday’s episode of Hawaii Five-0 marks the first time you’ll be credited as a director in your career. How would you describe the experience stepping behind the camera versus being in front of it?

Alex O’Loughlin: It was super exciting. It was very different in the sense that when I’m in front of [the cameras], I try to make all the cameras disappear and all the strange people holding things around me just go away. That suspension of disbelief that’s required as an actor to live truthfully in imaginary circumstances is different to what needs to happen as a director, in the sense that you are the master of all the moving parts. You create the world in every detail. But it was thrilling. It was fantastic. It’s something I really hope I can do more of in my life because I enjoyed it very much.

You’ve been working in the industry for a while. Why did now feel like the right time for you to take the directing plunge?

I think my career is still a work in progress. There are many things I want to do, so many people I want to work with, so many different opportunities out there as an actor. It’s a really good question. Fundamentally, on this show, it took me years and years and years to get my workload down to a point where I could even conceptualize doing something like directing, because it takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. I know myself -- I don’t do anything half-a**ed -- so I think I did a hundred prep hours on this thing, almost like a bit of a psycho; I was a little OCD with it. It was by chance that [the opportunity] came this late on this show. When I started, I don’t think I was ever a good actor -- I’m not saying I’m a good actor now, but this show has been a master class in acting. I think I’ve grown as an actor on this show, [and] I wanted to do that first.

What was the most challenging part about directing?

The trickiest thing for me was dealing with myself, to be totally honest. I didn’t do as much acting preparation as I would’ve liked to or as I always do, so I was a little frustrated as an actor and also as a director. I was sort of racing back and forth from when I’d act a scene and then I’d call “cut” and then I’d race back to the monitor to watch the playback of my work, which I didn’t really care about. I just wanted to get me out of the way so I could focus on all of these great actors I was working with. I was annoyed at and with myself. [Laughs] But everything else was great.

This may be a difficult question for you to answer, but how is Alex the director different from Alex the actor?

That's an interesting question. There are some big differences. When I'm working as an actor, I want to be left alone and I have to go inward to get to the work that I've done, if that makes sense. But as a director, I'm much more gregarious and running around [on set] -- "Hey, I'm so glad we're doing this!" -- fiddling with all the cameras and lights. It's not that I feel more like a collaborator when I'm directing, but I feel like the collaboration when you work as an actor is more unsaid, it's more unsuspecting. You are a cog in the machine and you just focus on your part. As a director, you're focusing on all the cogs and on all the sums of the [whole] part.

You had the opportunity to direct major emotional beats in the episode, as well as a big action sequence and flashbacks with Scott. What was the most difficult for you to execute?

The action's second nature to me. I know how to do action and make it action-y. [Laughs] The thing that was most exciting to me was working with actors. Working with [guest stars] Joanna [Christie] and Daniel [Kaemon] was great. To have the permission to climb down into the foxhole with these actors where they live and do all their hard, dirty, emotional work and sit with them quietly and go, "Hey, listen, how do you feel about this? Do you trust me to take this [scene] this way?" That sort of stuff was really beautiful because I've had that relationship from the other side with a handful of wonderful directors over the years who care about the human condition. I care about story, man. I care about the human journey. To have these amazing actors give me the encouragement to be a part of what they're doing, to help them make choices, that was really, really amazing and very fulfilling.

We also see McGarrett playing the guitar early on in the episode, which is a nice nod for fans of the show, and you get to share the scene with Jimmy Buffett. Talk me through filming that moment.

Oh yeah, that was rad! [Laughs] It's funny, that Portuguese guitar -- I've played guitar my whole life, but that was impossible to play. So someone had to come in and string it like a normal guitar because none of us [had experience playing it]. I cheated a little bit and had them restring it so I could play it like a human. That was fun. It was a bizarre, funny little moment to have Jimmy Buffett with his bare feet up in McGarrett's office. It was nice. For the most part, it's a pretty dense, serious episode, so those little parts are deeply important relief moments.

In the April 13 episode, McGarrett's ex, Catherine, comes back into the fray. What can you tease about Michelle Borth's return?

It was great to see Michelle and it was cool to pick up where we left off. It's a great action, travel-y episode with McGarrett and Catherine. It's also nice to see these two sharing the same space for a minute and to explore how they feel about each other, how everything is cool [between them]. It was weird for a minute, the way she left -- somebody who's about to get proposed to and they choose an allegiance to the government and national security. It was a big blow for McGarrett. I think this episode served as a gentle closure and reinstated the friendship between the two of them, which was really important.

Last time we spoke, you were adamant about Hawaii Five-0 season eight being your last. We're now approaching the end of the season. Do you still feel the same way about your future on the show?

I'm opening the door a little bit. A big part of this is that my back injury is doing a lot better after my stem cell treatments. It's a big deal when you hurt your spine; it's one thing to get your teeth knocked out or have torn ligaments and tendons, but that injury really scared me. A couple of years ago, part of my reality was if this stays this way, I can't [do this anymore]. What are going to do, Ironside? Put me in a wheelchair? That sort of shifted a little bit. It's the end of a very long season and we're almost at 200 episodes. It's tough for me to think about coming back to work right now, but I'm open to negotiations. I haven't heard much but yeah, I'm open to it.

Could there be a situation where former stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park returned at some point for a final farewell? Has there been any internal talk about that?

I haven't listened to any talk about any of that stuff. All I know is they left and we got two new fantastic young actors who want to be here. It's sort of made a massive difference on the show. We had a long relationship with those other guys and they decided they didn't want to be here anymore and now we've got two people who want to be here. I don't know what it's like on the outside and I don't read all the news either, but from the inside, it's been a charming adjustment. That's probably part of why I'm more open to coming back as well.

So you'd be interested in discussions for a potential ninth season? (Note: CBS has yet to renew Hawaii Five-0.)

I'm way more open than I used to be but again, I don't know if we're even close to making a deal so it still might not happen. So we'll see.

Hawaii Five-0 airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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Alex is still at worx directing #H50 episode 8.18. Today they are faking to be in Jersey. #ScottCaan behind the wheel. Can't wait to see this episode! via bwallace808 IG stories.

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Alex channeling his inner Scott on the set of episode 8.18 - picture credit Alex Meagh Rath IG stories - picture credit Scott The hundreds

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What we see here is actually a very happy director. Alex behind the camera at episode 8.18

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Thank you, Alex, for not only directing H50 episode 8.18 but also being part of it. We can’t wait to see the outcome. via Tara Macken on IG stories.

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HAWAII FIVE-0 Promo episode 8.18, no Danny in the promo 😭

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Thanks to hawaii_isla808 IG and FB! Video shows Alex directing and Meaghan and Beulah sitting in the car. 

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Late night shot with director Alex on the helm. I admire this guy and his dedication. Awesome! I’m really looking forward to this episode.

source/credits: bwallace808 IG stories

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And an hour later, they are still hard at work. This vid is from yaco_gucci’s IG stories.