Teaser
McGarrett arrives at Iolani Palace as a young boy (Remi Abellira) finishes cleaning a car. The boy asks to clean the Park Lane windshield for "two bits, same as always". McGarrett flips him a coin, proceeding to the Five-O office. A man (Robert Edwards) in a car parked perpendicular to the scene watches the boy in his side view mirror. When the boy leaves, the man makes his move, opening the Park Lane's hood. The boy comes back asking "what you doing?" The man makes up an excuse about the car needs to run perfectly and the boy buys it, leaving again. The man then sets a batch of dynamite into the engine compartment.
McGarrett is clearly confused when he can't find anyone in the outer Five-O office. But things clear up quickly when he opens his office door, a surprise birthday party for McGarrett from the governor and his staff. Because of a discrepancy in birth years, a cake is presented with lots of candles on it. As the party wraps up, everyone goes their separate ways outside with the man still lurking nearby. McGarrett takes his pile of gifts to his car and one small box slides to the ground. Danno points it out and McGarrett answers, "I'll get it". He closes the door and his car explodes throwing him down! Danno moves in fast as the man takes off. McGarrett is hurt and blinded.
Act One
McGarrett is transported to a hospital with Danno accompanying him. The hospital staff evaluate as the doctor (Tommy Fujiwara) lists "presumable traumatic injury. Slight edema present. No fracture or flesh wound apparent. And some burns". The doctor orders a series of tests before McGarrett presses for what the real deal is.
At the Palace, HFD cools off the car so the lab can piece together what happened. Chin is clearly in charge making sure HFD has things under control, telling Kono to check everyone who was around "and everyone who had business in the palace today," and asking the photographer to take "every angle there is and then dream up a few". Chin asks a lab technician (Harry Endo) if he has anything yet, "I'll have to look through a microscope to find anything here" and they plan to take the entire car to the lab.
McGarrett begins a battery of tests to discover how serious his injuries are. Wheeled out of the x-ray room, McGarrett asks for Danno who has to run to catch up. When McGarrett says, "we'll proceed as follows," Danno quickly cuts him out. Danno's "we" means him and the rest of Five-O without McGarrett, rattling a list of steps to take to find out who was responsible for the explosion. When McGarrett asks about security Danno is ready, "Two uniformed policemen at each entrance. One in your room, one outside the door. He goes wherever you go".
In the lab, sodium nitrate is identified under the microscope; possibly dynamite. But they are fighting an uphill battle because they don't know "how the bomb was constructed or how it was triggered". With remains of the car in the lab, one of the assistants finds a part, a piece of metal tubing, that doesn't belong. 'Mr. Fong' examines it, his interest piqued. Assembling the mechanism with a spring inside, it's pinned at the end and could be attached "to any moving part of the car". When they remove the nail, the spring flies across the room.
Danno arrives at the hospital ready to report the news to McGarrett. Downstairs, the man responsible lurks, hoping to strike again.
Act Two
A doctor and nurse walk into McGarrett's room, introducing themselves as Dr. Rackman (Bob Gleason) and Nurse Lavallo (Marion Ross). Rackman explains Nurse Lavallo will be staying with McGarrett because of her extensive experience in "this type of case". According to the test results, there is pressure against his optic nerves impairing his sight. The reality is he can regain his sight, part of it or none of it. When Rackman mentions more tests, McGarrett loses his mind, "No more tests, doctor. I've been poked and jabbed and needled till my skin feels like a bulletin board". McGarrett instead demands his clothes and Lavallo challenges him to get them himself since they are in the closet right ahead of him. When he wants the office called to send a car, Lavallo tells him where the phone is located. McGarrett successfully calls the office through the operator and returns to the closet. McGarrett overcomes the obstacle of dressing, works on leaving his hospital room and making his way to the hospital front. Lavallo ensures no one interferes with McGarrett's efforts including HPD officers and other hospital staff. Things don't work out for McGarrett the way he wants because he bumps into just about everything finally falling in the visitor's lounge. He relents asking for Lavallo's help. She helps him but on her terms demanding he "get on your feet". She leads him back to his room as several look on including the man who put McGarrett there.
In a shack, Danno and Kono crash an illegal poker game. Five-O zeroes in on Jimmy (Alan Naluai), who talked about getting McGarrett when he got out. His release happened two days before. Jimmy's alibi is the game itself since he's up $6000.
McGarrett tries to conduct business as usual, rejecting Lavallo's suggestion of a signature template. They spar as Jenny (Peggy Ryan) helps with the paperwork and the governor silently enters. The governor lays in on the line: McGarrett cannot conduct business as usual and he's to cooperate with the doctors. McGarrett is determined to walk out and finds himself at rock bottom when he breaks a vase trying to put the phone back onto the side table. McGarrett realizes he can't figure it out alone and only now begins to work with Lavallo in earnest.
Act Three
Danno takes charge in McGarrett's office and his first order of business is bringing in Sam Lee (Bunny Hahanamoku). He has Five-O's attention because of a cancelled $1000 check to Leo Mahani. Lee claims the job is find the "punk" who hit McGarrett. Paying for a contract on McGarrett and paying by check "might as well send you an announcement," it's stupid and "suicide".
McGarrett strolls the hospital with Lavallo. She tells him not to expect anything significant in such a short time. What can be done is to work on "perceptions," all things that can be smelled, felt and heard. McGarrett identifies various things and knows when they are inside versus outside. Kono shows up with a bowl full of "lomi-lomi" which McGarrett identifies right away.
Danno and Chin arrive at Roger Masterson's house. His mother answers the door allowing Danno and Chin in. They want to know where Roger was the afternoon/evening before. Roger claims he was at the house talking to his probation officer with his mother backing him up. They also tell Danno and Chin 'Mr. Joshua Frank,' the probation officer, stayed for dinner. They even discussed a vocation for Roger, "landscape gardening". A picture of Mr. Masterson sits on a table; he's the man responsible!
In his hospital room, McGarrett demands a report from Kono. Based on Kono's response, the governor laid the law down with Five-O too; McGarrett is to rest and heal. Kono tells him everyone checks out so far and there aren't any other witnesses. McGarrett comes up with the boy's name, Poto. With the new information, Kono leaves. McGarrett is pleased with himself since his memory is improving.
A car pulls into a service station, Masterson gets out to go to his locker in a back room. He pulls out dynamite and another triggering device under the watchful eye of McGarrett's photo inside his locker.
Act Four
Poto is at Five-O looking through mug shots, tossing them aside as he looks over each one. Kono calls McGarrett with the bad news as Danno and Chin sit with him. Danno purposes his theory, "I think we're dealing with the worst kind. A guy with no criminal record. A psycho ... no logic to his acts" and no real way to track him down until he moves again. Nurse Lavallo's entrance interrupts the brainstorming session. McGarrett doesn't mind in the least, even complimenting her on her "perfume". A second call, this time from Che Fong, interrupts McGarrett's early dinner. The lab was able to trace the metal tube to a manufacturer in "Westphalia, Germany," specifically "the steering shaft of the Westphalian Oberland car". With only one "agency" in town for that car, McGarrett sends Danno and Chin to it but to stop at the office first to pick up Poto.
Danno, Chin, Kono and Poto arrive at the same service station Masterson went to earlier. They talk to the foreman as Poto takes a look around. The foreman is of little help until Poto finds Masterson in a picture on the bulletin board. Because "he's not on the floor" the foreman says he should be "at his bench in the back" and he leads them there. Again, Masterson is nowhere to be seen. The foreman tells them which locker is his, which Danno breaks into and finds McGarrett's picture and more trigger devices for bombs. They leave.
McGarrett and Lavallo stroll the hospital. Masterson spies them from the stairwell and that's not all he's up to. Lavallo leads McGarrett into the 'Therapy' room, making him stand at a spot while she asks him to figure out where she is in relation. Turns out, he's still partially deaf in his left ear.
Meanwhile, Masterson sets up a second bomb in a plant just inside a door to the stairwell. Also, the Five-O team rushes to the hospital, now knowing who they're looking for.
Lavallo continues her work with McGarrett, teaching him how to use "the Hoover prescription cane" so that he can walk by himself at some point. McGarrett tries it out being fairly successful with it. As he's working in Therapy with Lavallo, the second bomb goes off in the stairwell. Amid the confusion, Masterson sneaks into the Therapy room pushing McGarrett and Lavallo back into the room and locking the door. McGarrett isn't happy and wants to know who's talking to him. Masterson pulls a gun with a silencer and retells his son's story of being "arraigned by a cop," how it was his "first offense". It dawns on McGarrett this is the man responsible for his blindness! Lavallo sees an opportunity, turning off the lights and yelling for McGarrett to "drop". A fight ensues between McGarrett and Masterson as the two are on an even playing field in the dark room. McGarrett eventually pins Masterson allowing Lavallo to turn the lights, unlock the door and yell for some help. The Five-O team has arrived on scene and rush into the Therapy room. Danno arrests Masterson for no doubt multiple assaults.
McGarrett has always been able to see light, but that was about it. Now he can focus on the treatment to hopefully restore his sight. This continues for a while until his full sight does indeed return. However, the first nurse he sees is Nurse Feinberg (Suzan Carney) who admonishes him for being barefoot. Lavallo does call him, wishing him luck and eventually telling him her first name is 'Edith'. Oh, what might have been.
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