NCIS:Hawai’i 1X02: “Boom” puts us at two for two on starting an episode with a literal bang. As the camera transitions from a beautiful Hawaiian landscape to a remote road with a single armored car, we all know what’s coming. Robbery.
An explosion overturns this behemoth of a vehicle, the driver is murdered and the passenger, who’s calling MAYDAY, is left alive to open the door and hand over the cash.
Given that Karl, the driver, is wearing a bulletproof vest and we have a military-like strike team who kills him with precision shots, we’re not dealing with amateurs here. This is a problem too big — in Pac Fleet’s estimation — for FBI and HPD. They need Tennant!
And guess who comes calling? One Captain Joe Milius, who finds himself rather impressed by Tennant after her work uncovering the spy ring in episode one.
We’ve got the following facts early on: one survivor, an unscheduled bathroom break, and the security system going down on the truck BEFORE the explosion.
PLUS, not enough people knew this money existed at all, much less the route or timing of transportation. Oh, and it belongs to a foreign government too. No big deal.
Conclusion: inside help.
So what do you assume with only one man (woman) left standing and the need to identify the insider? Well, suspect her, of course.
Unless, perhaps, that’s what the perpetrators wanted all along. While Lucy and Tennant are interviewing Melissa, there’s news of another robbery in NCIS: Hawai’i 1×02 “Boom,” one which it’s impossible Melissa participated in.
And boy oh boy, do we have ourselves a stellar stock of TNT to pull off these explosions?! Our resident bomb expert, Boom-Boom, identifies the damage as the work of TNT. World War II era TNT, to be exact — which opens a chance for some Hawaiian history.
It had to have come from the island of Kaho’olawe, which is over 100 miles from the main island of Oahu. Possibly a charter boat?
Following that lead brings us to yet another explosion, this time killing Lester the boat captain as he was tries to evade NCIS agents. Boom-Boom steps back in to clarify this is the same TNT used before, but it’s becoming more unstable.
Bye bye, Lester. We hardly knew literally didn’t know ye.
Based on further intel from Melissa, it turns out Karl deposited a phone off road on his pee break and Ernie makes quick use of it to sniff out a bank the team should investigate.
Ok, here we turn again. A local bank is being held up just as agents arrive on the scene, and the perpetrator is strapped — with bombs and for cash. Debt is a big issue for the redshirts assisting the professional team.
Wow, quite the dance moves going on in NCIS: Hawai’i 1×02 “Boom.” Another turn. The bank robbery is simply a diversion to steal a valuable necklace.
Remember when this was about an armored car?
Anyhow, Ernie is forced to disarm the vest bomb in the bank, with Boom-Boom’s help over video, while Tennant talks the fall guy down. Fake bomb! Thank goodness for all involved.
Fall guy did give up info that the team asked for a plane, so we’ve got a huge shoot out at the airfield, which we win. All is well then.
The case was a bit convoluted, especially toward the end, but there were some character moments to chew on.
CHARACTER DYNAMICS
Kai and his father go another emotional round in NCIS: Hawai’i 1×02 “Boom,”, albeit perhaps making a bit more progress. Kai’s dispute with his landlord prompts dad to offer him a place to land in the interim, but that conversation ends with Kai casually slinging a deep cutting comment about his deceased mother. Upon revisit, Kai leaves Inoki with his dad, showing what he can’t say. His dad can be trusted with his most prized possession.
Lucy shows up at Jane’s out of nowhere, but she brings cake, so that’s fine in my book. She’s worried about Melissa being suspended and potentially losing her job when she did nothing wrong. Tennant shows good leadership here, where she gently nudges Lucy to use her strengths to speak to Melissa once again, not as a cop, but as a person. And it leads to a break in the case.
Jesse has decided to stop calling Kai “New Guy,” so that seems like progress to him being accepted by the whole team and not just Tennant.
Ernie clocks that Kai is squatting in the office to keep his dog, and tries to offer him a place to stay or help or… anything. Cue the “no man is an island” (even on an island) speech. It’s a good scene for them as they haven’t had much interaction yet. The follow-up conversation is definitely needed, with Kai thanking Ernie for his perspective and input.
Milius and Tennant are so adorably awkward after the case. He brings her several drink options and then asks her to take a walk with him and look at the stars. How CUTE!
Lucy and Kate are still skirting around each other, making a point every conversation to bring up what can’t happen between them. But Lucy pulls a pretty baller move when she disinvites Kate to the kind of “after case party” at a cool bar, saying Kate’s really missing out by not wanting to be friends because Lucy is awesome. Go, girl. Know your worth!
EPISODE THOUGHTS:
- It’s been awhile since I’ve watched a procedural, but in some ways it’s good to know nothing’s changed. There’s always more to the case than meets the eye, and who doesn’t enjoy a good “inside man” whodunit?
- I love “Boom-Boom” and I hope to see him again in future cases.
- No more pornography metaphors, please. It was SO awkward!
- Please deputize Inoki. We need a dog on the team.
- It’ll be interesting to see if they go a PTSD type route with Ernie. I’d hate for them to completely ignore what he perceived as a potential death scenario, especially on his first time in the field.
- It was good to see Tennant delegate some tasks to the team from home. She stayed to help her daughter with a project while she trusted her agents to do their jobs.
- I’m giving Ernie the MVP award for this episode. He pulled a lot of case and emotional weight.
What did you think of the episode? Are you in for the ride or do you need more convincing?
NCIS: Hawai’i airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.