Season 5 Episode 8: Dark Skies (5.8)

[KENJI]

2 Apr. 2023

Magnum and Rick make a shocking discovery in the Capt. Greene case. Higgins and TC head to Maui to help an eccentric billionaire find the owner of a pesky drone harassing him. Shammy helps Kumu after an incident occurs at La Mariana.

[KENJI]

The billionaire's ranch on Maui is really the Dillingham Ranch on Oahu.
http://www.dillinghamranchhawaii.info/

Higgy and TC shooting down the drone while riding horses was a bit over the top. I would've preferred Higgy to have shot down the drone in one shot when she originally grabbed the shotgun from the billionaire. I didn't like them riding back to the ranch to save the day either......a little too wild west for me.....I was waiting for some western background music to kick in at any moment, but thankfully they didn't go there! I remember the HFO reboot had a horse scene that was also an eye roller .

Shammy and Kumu's story was just filler in my opinion. I could've done without it, but it makes it easier on the writers that way......easier to drag out story lines too.

Rick has a new AMG Mercedes in this episode.

I'm liking the build up to who is after Magnum & Co.. I'm hoping we will see Magnum cross the line and kill the person after them in cold blood like the original T.M. did with Ivan.....add some shock value to the show. At the very least this story should have some sort of shock value....maybe the killer will have us surprised and talking.
I hope they don't drop the ball with a weak ending. Time will tell.

[Laohu]

Over all I enjoyed the episode but the Higgins/TC part of the show just did not work as well as it could have . The TM/ Rick part of the show was very enjoyable and I am looking forward to see how it plays out . Do you think we will get a cliffhanger in episode 10 with the guys being hunted storyline ?

[KENJI]

Over all I enjoyed the episode but the Higgins/TC part of the show just did not work as well as it could have . The TM/ Rick part of the show was very enjoyable and I am looking forward to see how it plays out . Do you think we will get a cliffhanger in episode 10 with the guys being hunted storyline ?

I would say yes to the cliffhanger. I hope the writers come up with a few more twists and turns.....this one needs to get a little darker with some shock value....something we weren't expecting.......maybe have Shammy knocked off in the helicopter.....say a bomb that was meant for TC and then go from there....maybe the guys kill the person hunting them in cold blood OR maybe Higgy pulls the trigger. Just give us something different than most episodes where they catch the bad guy and he/she goes to jail.

I agree the TM/Rick scenes worked way better than the Higgy/TC scenes.

[Amian]

I'm liking the build up to who is after Magnum & Co.. I'm hoping we will see Magnum cross the line and kill the person after them in cold blood like the original T.M. did with Ivan.....add some shock value to the show. At the very least this story should have some sort of shock value....maybe the killer will have us surprised and talking.
I hope they don't drop the ball with a weak ending. Time will tell.

I was thinking about Ivan when Magnum and Rick were interrogating the hired gun and the conversation turned toward the idea that they couldn't let him live. The stakes weren't built up enough yet, so it would have been too out of character to just kill the guy. And, well, they didn't.

The build up for Ivan was intense. I am not sure anything in the reboot has achieved anything close to that so far. But we'll see.

[Laohu]

They could really throw us a curve ball by making Higgins take thing to the next level to save the guys . By crossing the line it could cause a riff in her relationship with Magnum giving the show a new dimension as they process what happened . Might even give Katsumoto a problem As he wants to look the other way but the new detective wants to find out what really happened.

[Gearhard]

I have to admit, Higgins charging off on the horse and cocking the pump action shotgun on the go was a good scene, but the scene fell apart for me with the multiple shots and misses with a shot gun (scatter shot pattern), but worse was the one handed 12 gauge shooting. Even Rooster Cogburn needed to put the reins in his teeth to shoot up Ned Pepper and his gang in True Grit.

What is the Ivan mantra they need to work into the script?
"Did you see the sun rise?"

Aloha,

Glenn

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I'm liking the build up to who is after Magnum & Co.. I'm hoping we will see Magnum cross the line and kill the person after them in cold blood like the original T.M. did with Ivan.....add some shock value to the show. At the very least this story should have some sort of shock value....maybe the killer will have us surprised and talking.
I hope they don't drop the ball with a weak ending. Time will tell.

I was thinking about Ivan when Magnum and Rick were interrogating the hired gun and the conversation turned toward the idea that they couldn't let him live. The stakes weren't built up enough yet, so it would have been too out of character to just kill the guy. And, well, they didn't.

The build up for Ivan was intense. I am not sure anything in the reboot has achieved anything close to that so far. But we'll see.

Amian,
I too thought they were leading up to an "Ivan" moment, which would have lent a unsettling dimension - as it did in Classic Magnum - to TM and also Rick. It would have automatically made
this a more serious series, going back to the Foundation Story of who these guys are as originally conceived by Bellisario and Larson.
As a sniper behind enemy lines it was Magnum or the enemy, so he could/should dispatch the lowlife hit man if he had no other choice - you saw no protest by Rick when the hit man said that was
TM's and Rick's only option - but Magnum came up with another choice. But I did get the impression that in the moment the boys exchanged a look that said "we may have to kill this guy."

As for a cliffhanger, I'd wager a night on the town on Hotel Street with a randy Agatha that Higgy's old boyfriend who suddenly left will play a major role, as his introduction and story line were
otherwise pointless distractions. I thought he was a crap character, more like a underwritten mysterious man type introduced on a cut rate soap opera.

[KENJI]

They could really throw us a curve ball by making Higgins take thing to the next level to save the guys . By crossing the line it could cause a riff in her relationship with Magnum giving the show a new dimension as they process what happened . Might even give Katsumoto a problem As he wants to look the other way but the new detective wants to find out what really happened.

I like the idea of Higgy actually crossing the line! When she was after Richard's killer T.M. had to talk her out of it, but she could've easily pulled the trigger! I think one of her comments then to T.M. was something like "You don't know a lot of things about me Magnum" which shocked him a bit. That could throw a wedge in their relationship for a brief period....it just depends on what their end game is for E20......again they might be squeezing a lot in 10 episodes.....or they could flash on the screen fast forward 6 months etc. to help with the time line.

[KENJI]

I'm liking the build up to who is after Magnum & Co.. I'm hoping we will see Magnum cross the line and kill the person after them in cold blood like the original T.M. did with Ivan.....add some shock value to the show. At the very least this story should have some sort of shock value....maybe the killer will have us surprised and talking.
I hope they don't drop the ball with a weak ending. Time will tell.

I was thinking about Ivan when Magnum and Rick were interrogating the hired gun and the conversation turned toward the idea that they couldn't let him live. The stakes weren't built up enough yet, so it would have been too out of character to just kill the guy. And, well, they didn't.

The build up for Ivan was intense. I am not sure anything in the reboot has achieved anything close to that so far. But we'll see.

Amian,
I too thought they were leading up to an "Ivan" moment, which would have lent a unsettling dimension - as it did in Classic Magnum - to TM and also Rick. It would have automatically made
this a more serious series, going back to the Foundation Story of who these guys are as originally conceived by Bellisario and Larson.
As a sniper behind enemy lines it was Magnum or the enemy, so he could/should dispatch the lowlife hit man if he had no other choice - you saw no protest by Rick when the hit man said that was
TM's and Rick's only option - but Magnum came up with another choice. But I did get the impression that in the moment the boys exchanged a look that said "we may have to kill this guy."

As for a cliffhanger, I'd wager a night on the town on Hotel Street with a randy Agatha that Higgy's old boyfriend who suddenly left will play a major role, as his introduction and story line were
otherwise pointless distractions. I thought he was a crap character, more like a underwritten mysterious man type introduced on a cut rate soap opera.

You always crack me up Dobie! A night on the town on Hotel Street with a randy Agatha......HILARIOUS!!!!

[Amian]

Amian,
I too thought they were leading up to an "Ivan" moment, which would have lent a unsettling dimension - as it did in Classic Magnum - to TM and also Rick. It would have automatically made
this a more serious series, going back to the Foundation Story of who these guys are as originally conceived by Bellisario and Larson.

Good point. For the reboot, the guys were POWs in Afghanistan, and I don't remember 100%, but I want to say they were held even longer than the original guys in Vietnam. But the original did more to lean into that past and show how it built up not only the boys' camaraderie, but also the development of the Ivan storyline. I wonder if the reboot is too squeamish to go there.

As a sniper behind enemy lines it was Magnum or the enemy, so he could/should dispatch the lowlife hit man if he had no other choice - you saw no protest by Rick when the hit man said that was TM's and Rick's only option - but Magnum came up with another choice. But I did get the impression that in the moment the boys exchanged a look that said "we may have to kill this guy."

Actually, I noticed that, too! Rick's acting there was good.

As for a cliffhanger, I'd wager a night on the town on Hotel Street with a randy Agatha that Higgy's old boyfriend who suddenly left will play a major role, as his introduction and story line were otherwise pointless distractions. I thought he was a crap character, more like a underwritten mysterious man type introduced on a cut rate soap opera.

Ha ha! And I agree.

[Amian]

I like the idea of Higgy actually crossing the line! When she was after Richard's killer T.M. had to talk her out of it, but she could've easily pulled the trigger! I think one of her comments then to T.M. was something like "You don't know a lot of things about me Magnum" which shocked him a bit.

Agreed, there is potential for some good dramatic storylines.