Hawaii Five-0 season 8 episode 2 review: The story of Junior Reigns and Eddie the Dog

Hawaii Five-0 season 8 episode 2 started off in a rather sweet way — the story of a DEA agent and his beloved dog. Unfortunately, things rather sad after that when said agent was shot and the dog was injured.

What made the story from here interesting was just how emotional it was, and also how it became about two different things: Picking up where the anti-drug operation left off, and then Steve doing what he could to look after the dog Eddie, who he discovered in a shipping container bleeding out. The sight of McGarrett caring for the injured dog was probably one of the most tear-inducing moments in the history of the show.

Steve made sure that Jerry looked after the dog and gave him progress reports, and from there he and Grover tried to do their best in order to track down the responsible parties behind the drug operation in the first place. They eventually found their way to a restaurant where a key source was located, and that was where some of the comedy began since it was a look into Steve’s future with Danny and the restaurant if they go through with it. They got some more information, went along their way, and eventually learned that one of they key people in the case had been killed: An overdose that was meant to look like an accident.

While at first it looked as though this overdose led the team without leads, it just so turns out that some blood on Eddie’s teeth turned up a name of one of the criminals. The Five-0 was able to use that to track him down, only to then learn that the restaurant they were at earlier was still very much involved! This was one of the biggest drug cases in the history of Hawaii, but the problem was that at around 40 minutes into the episode, there was still no word as to who was the responsible party.

Then, the big twist

One of the DEA agents was actually involved in it and was responsible for effectively cleaning up any evidence that would implicate him. He was pretty determined to get what he wanted regardless of anyone who was standing in his way.

It took a lot for Five-0 to be able to track this rogue agent down and stop the operation; as a matter of fact, they needed a little more help courtesy of Eddie. The dog was back in commission to pinpoint the drugs. This led to a shootout in the closing minutes … and (to the surprise of no one) the Five-0 team won in the end. After Eddie took down the rogue agent single-handedly we had arguably the funniest moment of the episode: Grover treating the dog like a king even though he wasn’t so much a dog person at all.

In the end, McGarrett decided to take Eddie in at the end of the episode until “he has a new home.” We have a feeling that this home is going to be right alongside McGarrett for the long haul. (It is clear that the dog misses his old owner, but they could get through this together in time.)

The arrival of Junior Reigns

Early on in the episode Steve had a chance to meet one of the show’s new characters in Junior, who was just dispatched from the Navy and was looking for more work. He wanted to be in Steve’s task force but he made it clear that there weren’t many openings.

At first this story felt open and shut, but then Junior showed up a little later. He was persistent with his efforts to be involved. He had a chance to visit headquarters at the end of the episode in order to meet with McGarrett and with that, he was offered a deal: Graduate from the Policy Academy. If he does that, there’s a spot on the team waiting for him.

CarterMatt Verdict

One of the things that we did like about this episode is that they addressed Kono and Chin during one of the Steve – Danny car conversations. They’re not just gone from the show and nonexistent. We loved the moments with Steve and the dog, and the show did an especially good job when it comes to using the cameras to give you Eddie’s point of view.

This episode was fun at times / sentimental at others, pretty action-packed, and the show did a good job not rushing along the story of Junior.

What’s next on Hawaii Five-0 season 8 episode 3?

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