After 12 seasons on the air, CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 finally came to an end. Unfortunately, it went out with more of a whimper than a bang.
Hawaii Five-0 centers around Jack Lord and James MacArthur as detectives Steve McGarrett and Dan Williams who work for the fictional Hawaiian state police department. Others in the cast include Kam Fong, Herman Wedemeyer, Harry Endo, Zulu, Richard Denning, Al Harrington, Al Eben, Peggy Ryan, Glenn Cannon, Danny Kamekona, Moe Keale, Douglas Mossman, and Kwan Hi Lim. The show’s straightforward storytelling, fast-paced action and strong ensemble cast kept the show popular for years.
The last episode of the police series, number 278, is titled “Woe to Wo Fat.” It was first aired on April 5, 1980. By this time in the show’s history, both MacArthur (Danny “Danno” Willams) and Fong (Chin Ho Kelly) had left the series. In addition, other supporting characters like Governor Paul Jameson (Denning) and Officer Duke Lukela (Wedemeyer) are missing from the episode.
On the positive side, the episode gives us an ending to McGarrett’s long-running war against Wo Fat (Khigh Dheigh) that began in the show’s pilot. While it’s nice to have the evil Wo Fat back after several years absence, it is a letdown compared to some of his other appearances.
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In the episode, McGarrett investigates the disappearance of a trio of scientists. He disguises himself in Einstein-like make-up and poses as Professor Raintree. McGarrett ends up coming face-to-face with his old adversary, Wo Fat, who wants to acquire a powerful laser weapon. While he’d been working for the Chinese government in the past, Wo Fat’s now just out for himself.
Wo Fat uses a strange gas called “compliance ration” to control the wills of the scientists. Strangely enough, McGarrett isn’t as affected by the gas. He’s able to keep up his disguise and close off the vent that’s supplying the gas.
In the show’s climax, McGarrett is able to quickly dispatch Wo Fat in a hand-to-hand fight in the jungle. He finally captures the villain and sees him brought to justice and locked in a jail cell, complete with stereotypical striped prison clothes.
After McGarrett gloatingly says “Aloha” to the villain and leaves, Wo Fat smiles and pulls a thin metal file from inside the sole of his shoe. It seems unlikely that Wo Fat will be in jail for long.
What do you think? Were you satisfied with “Woe to Wo Fat” as the series finale of Hawaii Five-0? Would you liked to have seen the show end differently?
I was 12 when the pilot aired and as I grew I very much enjoyed the series. By the time the series had ended I was already working and traveling around the country. I did miss much of the later shows, Years worth, so I guess when I just now saw the ending, it being so many years ago, it was OK, one cannot compare our technology today to that of it back then:
Rest in peace:: Steve and Danno
Does anyone know the episode where someone holds a gun to mcgarretts head and; mcgarrett says ” I’m going to count to 3 and I want you to shoot him in the head danno”….or something like that
ALL THE EPISODES OF HAWAII FIVE-O ARE EXCELLENT, BUT THIS LAST ONE SEEM MORE OF A FINAL SOLITUDE OF CLOSING THE CASKET TO THE FINAL 12 YEAR SERIES. A VERY SAD SITUATION ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME THAT DEEPLY LOVED HAWAII FIVE-O. THE LAST EPISODE SHOULD DEFINITELY HAD A FINAL FAREWELL TO ALL THE FAITHFUL VIEWERS FOR THE PAST 278 EPISODES BY ALL THE MAJOR CHARACTERS THAT WERE ON THE SHOW EVEN BACK IN THE FIRST SEASON OF 1968. THEY COULD HAVE RESERVED THE LAST 3 MINUTES OR SO OF THE SHOW TO SAY THEIR GOOD-BYES!! A VERY SAD MOMENT… Read more »
It was, if you’ll excuse the expression…..a cop-out.
Although “Woe to Wo Fat” has met a lot of criticism, I like it. I don’t think Wo Fat would have seen through McGarrett’s disguise as much as he would have been steamed that Prof. Raintree looked so much like McGarrett. I like that the episode allowed McGarrett to put Wo Fat behind bars. Since Wo Fat no longer represented the Chinese government, there no longer was the pressure to use him as a bargaining tool with Peking. If the episode had continued for another act, I’m sure we would have seen the wily Chinaman being shipped off to Leavenworth.… Read more »
@H50 1.0 FOREVER: A fair assessment.
It would have been nice to see the other characters. Of course, Chin Ho was dead by this point so that would have been a real ending to remember! LOL