Hawaii Five-0 season 8: What could be the endgame for Chin?

When Hawaii Five-0 season 8 airs on CBS this fall, it’s clear that life for Chin is going to be in an interesting spot. Think about it everything that he has going on right now: Sara is under his care, a woman he loves in Abby and a great job with a team he loves working with. He’s surrounded by friends and loved ones, and Hawaii is a place that he easily calls home. There are plenty of people that would give anything to have the kind of life that Chin has… so can he really leave it all behind?

At the end of season 7, Chin had an opportunity to head over to San Francisco and lead a team of his own which is an offer that is very hard to refuse. He wouldn’t be behind McGarrett or anyone else, the money is presumably good, and it’s a chance for him to spread his wings with a new challenge. For many people in life, having that intellectual challenge is important. If anyone is deserving of a promotion, it is Chin — it’s just hard to get that with the Five-0 Task Force given that McGarrett is around.

Here is the problem: Chin taking this promotion means that his role on Hawaii Five-0 is dramatically cut, if not completely gone. You can argue that there would be a great spin-off about him leading a team in San Francisco (which we would watch in a heartbeat). Chin is a strong enough character to lead his own show, and it’d be great for CBS to have some more diversity among their leading men. Yet, he’s also great on the flagship show, and the idea of him leaving here is rather sad.

If Daniel Dae Kim ever did leave Hawaii Five-0, would taking the job in San Francisco be the right way for Chin to say goodbye? Out of all the possible options, it seems like it’s the ideal ending for him. It wouldn’t fundamentally change the character, or the relationship he has with Steve, Danny, Kono, or anyone else. They’d understand him wanting to move up the ladder in a bigger market with more responsibility. If it were to happen, though, there are some things that would need to happen first. For one, his relationship with Abby needs to be cemented if it’s going to turn into something more. It’s getting there, but asking someone to move with you is a serious commitment. He wants to make his relationship with Abby official (season 8 proposal?) and that might be all he really needs to say goodbye to Hawaii. Also, Five-0 needs to get Julie Benz back for a couple more episodes to make that happen. (Season 7 was a challenge, as she was a regular on another show in Training Day.)

Selfishly, we don’t want to see anyone leave Hawaii Five-0 ever. Yet, this is the eighth season coming up, so we do need to look at what some of these endgames are. If the show is ever to evolve without certain characters, don’t you want to know that they’re off somewhere happy, and willing to return in the future? That’s what is great about the way that Masi Oka’s Max was written out and we already know that Michelle Borth is willing to return as Catherine.

What do you want to see from Chin on Hawaii Five-0 season 8, and what’s your projection for where his story could end up? Share in the comments!

Meanwhile, head over here to get some other news when it comes to Hawaii Five-0, including some other great endgame-related pieces for some of the other characters. Also, if you want to know why we think Hawaii Five-0 should be up for an Emmy this season, you can head over to the link here to check out our Emmy pieces. (Photo: CBS.)