+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major giveaways from season 10+++
Season 10 of the show was not meant to be the final season, but when Alex O'Laughlan announced that he would not be returning to the show for an 11th season, the powers that be ultimately decided to cancel the series. So, the season finale that was supposed to be just a goodbye to the character of Steve McGarrett, ended up being the swan song for the show. And, for the most part, because of the already emotional nature of the show, it worked. In fact, the cast was told while they were shooting the series finale that the network decided not to pick up the show, so all of the emotion from the actors was very real.
Season 10 picks up shortly after the events of the season nine finale. We find out what happens in the aftermath of Jerry being shot. Jorge Garcia had already decided to leave the show, but he comes back for the first episode to allow Jerry to be written out. Most probably know the fate of the character already, but I will not spoil it. The big new addition to the cast this year was the addition of Sparticus and Arrow alumn, Katrina Law. I had only seen her on Arrow, so it is definitely weird hearing her talk in her normal voice, and not with Nyssa's accent. She plays Quinn, an MP who gets wrapped up in a Five-0 case and ends up joining the team. All the other characters are kind of at crossroads in their various lives. Steve is still reeling from the death of Joe White in the prior season, both Steve and Danny are trying to move on from their respective loves, Tahni and Junior have the will-they, won't-they get together dance going, Adam has moved on from Kono, this time being the one involved with someone with ties to the Yakuza, and Lou is adjusting to life as an empty nester.
The season pretty much follows its hybrid procedural-serial format. There are cases of the week that get intertwined with the larger story arcs that have prevailed throughout the show's run. In fact, old storylines are revisited again this season, and as a result, we see some old characters like Max, Doris, Wo-Fat, and even Victor Hesse. There were notable omissions from the season, including Teilor Grubbs (Grace Wiliams) or Joey Defore (Charlie Williams) even though there was a perfect opportunity to have them appear in the finale. Nor did Taryn Manning make an appearance as Steve's sister Mary, and there was definitely a storyline that would have allowed for her to appear. And of course, the notable omission of Grace Park (Kono) and Daniel Dae Kim (Chin) who left the show because of a contract dispute after season seven. Chances are, even if it had been known earlier that the series would be ending after season 10, there were likely too many hard feelings for either of them to come back. About halfway through the season, there was a crossover with Magnum PI one of the other 80s reboots that were developed by Peter Lenkov with Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, and Stephen Hill appearing on Five-0, and Megan Rath, Katrina Law, and Beulah Koale appearing on Magnum.
For those who get the DVD set, the extras include deleted scenes for select episodes and then on the final disc a twenty-three series wrap-up feature, an eleven-minute interview with Alex O'Loughlin discussing the evolution of his character and his decision to leave the show, and a four-minute gag reel. All in all, a decent amount of material.
Overall, the season was good. I think it could have been better if they had been more prepared for the series ending. Given that Alex O'Loughlin had hinted for years that he could not do the show much longer given the physical demands and the fact that he hurt is back pretty badly early on in the series, they should have really known that with him goes the show. The show obviously survived with major cast turnover in the past, but unlike shows like ER that did survive major cast members leaving, the character of McGarrett was the show, and the show would never have been able to survive without him. But, like I said above, given that the final episode was a send-off for the character of McGarrett it worked okay as a series finale, but would have been better with a couple more tweaks to the ending.
Season 10 of the show was not meant to be the final season, but when Alex O'Laughlan announced that he would not be returning to the show for an 11th season, the powers that be ultimately decided to cancel the series. So, the season finale that was supposed to be just a goodbye to the character of Steve McGarrett, ended up being the swan song for the show. And, for the most part, because of the already emotional nature of the show, it worked. In fact, the cast was told while they were shooting the series finale that the network decided not to pick up the show, so all of the emotion from the actors was very real.
Season 10 picks up shortly after the events of the season nine finale. We find out what happens in the aftermath of Jerry being shot. Jorge Garcia had already decided to leave the show, but he comes back for the first episode to allow Jerry to be written out. Most probably know the fate of the character already, but I will not spoil it. The big new addition to the cast this year was the addition of Sparticus and Arrow alumn, Katrina Law. I had only seen her on Arrow, so it is definitely weird hearing her talk in her normal voice, and not with Nyssa's accent. She plays Quinn, an MP who gets wrapped up in a Five-0 case and ends up joining the team. All the other characters are kind of at crossroads in their various lives. Steve is still reeling from the death of Joe White in the prior season, both Steve and Danny are trying to move on from their respective loves, Tahni and Junior have the will-they, won't-they get together dance going, Adam has moved on from Kono, this time being the one involved with someone with ties to the Yakuza, and Lou is adjusting to life as an empty nester.
The season pretty much follows its hybrid procedural-serial format. There are cases of the week that get intertwined with the larger story arcs that have prevailed throughout the show's run. In fact, old storylines are revisited again this season, and as a result, we see some old characters like Max, Doris, Wo-Fat, and even Victor Hesse. There were notable omissions from the season, including Teilor Grubbs (Grace Wiliams) or Joey Defore (Charlie Williams) even though there was a perfect opportunity to have them appear in the finale. Nor did Taryn Manning make an appearance as Steve's sister Mary, and there was definitely a storyline that would have allowed for her to appear. And of course, the notable omission of Grace Park (Kono) and Daniel Dae Kim (Chin) who left the show because of a contract dispute after season seven. Chances are, even if it had been known earlier that the series would be ending after season 10, there were likely too many hard feelings for either of them to come back. About halfway through the season, there was a crossover with Magnum PI one of the other 80s reboots that were developed by Peter Lenkov with Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, and Stephen Hill appearing on Five-0, and Megan Rath, Katrina Law, and Beulah Koale appearing on Magnum.
For those who get the DVD set, the extras include deleted scenes for select episodes and then on the final disc a twenty-three series wrap-up feature, an eleven-minute interview with Alex O'Loughlin discussing the evolution of his character and his decision to leave the show, and a four-minute gag reel. All in all, a decent amount of material.
Overall, the season was good. I think it could have been better if they had been more prepared for the series ending. Given that Alex O'Loughlin had hinted for years that he could not do the show much longer given the physical demands and the fact that he hurt is back pretty badly early on in the series, they should have really known that with him goes the show. The show obviously survived with major cast turnover in the past, but unlike shows like ER that did survive major cast members leaving, the character of McGarrett was the show, and the show would never have been able to survive without him. But, like I said above, given that the final episode was a send-off for the character of McGarrett it worked okay as a series finale, but would have been better with a couple more tweaks to the ending.
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