Hawaii 5-0: A little constructive criticism, offered with love.

There are character deaths that have broken my heart. Tara, Jenny Calendar, and Buffy’s mom on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Fred on Angel. Sun and Jin on Lost. Michelle Dessler on 24. Cpt. Roy Montgomery on Castle. “Twinned” John Crichton on Farscape, to name a few. And there is one thing that ties the deaths on these shows together: the writers earned my grief by investing in these characters and giving me reasons to care about them.

Which leads me to a death that, even with the fine acting of Daniel Dae Kim, only left me cold - Malia Kelly. It’s clear now she was a character brought in just so the writers could kill her off. A glorified red shirt. Apart from what the character could ultimately do for the “bigger than ever” Season 2 cliffhanger and the “huge” Season 3 premiere, they didn’t care about her at all.

It sums up for me the essence of what’s wrong with Hawaii 5-0, and why some fans who loved Season 1 are having a difficult time remaining invested in Seasons 2 and beyond. The episodes that stand out in Season 1 all embraced character. At the core of Hawaii 5-0, underneath all the action and explosions and flying bullets, was heart. Danny’s love for his family. Chin’s separation from and sacrifice for his family. Kono’s connection with Chin. Steve’s relationship with Mary and his growing friendship with Danny. Each character got episodes that peeled away their layers, exposing what drove them, what made them who they were.

Was the writing perfect? No, it sure wasn’t. There were plot holes a mile wide, and they re-wrote their own history with both Steve and Chin’s backstories. But I was willing to forgive them because when it comes to drama, plot is secondary to character development. And they were delivering that in spades.

Then came Season 2. Danny’s family all but disappeared from the canvas. We didn’t see Grace until episode 7, and it was an excruciatingly brief appearance. She didn’t even show up at Chin and Malia’s wedding. Chin got engaged and married in about the space of two episodes. And then Malia disappeared until the season finale. Kono, in disgrace and suffering for a criminal act she committed with Steve, was adrift and mostly off canvas for the 1^st four episodes. She had a few scenes with Chin, but Danny and Steve were completely absent, on screen, from her life. Did Steve feel guilt that Kono lost her job? We don’t know. If he did, we never saw it. Most of her undercover work happened off screen, her storyline completely invisible until it fitted the needs of the script in Episode 5. Later in the season, out of nowhere Kono and Adam Noshimuri (a criminal) began a relationship. It was an unlikely association for a girl who had seen her cousin’s career ruined by alleged corruption. A relationship that was pulled out the magician’s hat to serve a plot function in the Season 3 premiere.

Throughout Season 2, important character moments were only happening off screen, the audience left to conjecture and make sense of it themselves. The show’s focus became the case of the week and the McGarrett family conspiracy its driving force. A show I used to watch for character had become ninety percent plot and stunts. My enjoyment was largely based upon Scott Caan managing to do so much (non-verbally) with the very little he was given.

The episodes and scenes that do stand out were all about character. What made 2.10 so amazing wasn’t the pyrotechnics. It was Danny nervously jiggling his leg next to an airplane right before leaving for Korea. It was Jenna realizing she’d betrayed her friends for nothing. It was Danny lingering over Jenna’s body. Danny finding Steve and the look in Steve’s eyes when he realized he’d been saved. It was Steve refusing to relinquish his gun in the helicopter.

And then there’s 2.15 and Danny with a gun to his head having to choose between his daughter and killing an innocent man. The look on Danny’s face when he finds Grace. The way Grace clings to him. And the way Danny can only helplessly whisper he’s sorry.  This. Right here. It’s why I love this show. It’s not big guns and explosions. It’s character driven story. The writers have so much material to play with. And they choose not to.

The Season 2 finale and the Season 3 premiere are so full of plot holes, implausibility and cartoonish action that one viewer ordered fans of the show to “check their brains at the door” in order to enjoy it. The problem is, I don’t want to watch a show where I have to be brainless in order to like it. If I’m going to give lazy writing a pass, I better dang well be getting great character moments in return.

And instead of that, I got the infamous “BooBoo.” That Steve would call Danny BooBoo is laughable. Why? Because it's cutesy and silly and "precious" and we've never seen Steve be these things. I’d buy Peter Lenkov would call Danny Williams Boo Boo (a sidekick little bear that runs after the big bear Yogi constantly whining and pleading with him not to get into trouble) but it was completely out of character for Steve to do so. As a viewer, I was insulted. And writers who insult their audience don’t keep that audience for very long.

If the 1.8 in the ratings for the Season 3 premiere is any indication of what’s to come, Hawaii 5-0 is driving its viewers away in spades. Does this make me happy? Absolutely not. It makes me incredibly sad, because a show with such a wonderful cast deserves better than what they’re getting from their writers and their executive producers.

All great stories begin and end with characters. I hope someone in the writer’s room for Hawaii 5-0 remembers that. And soon.