This hour of Rescue: HI-Surf was less about the rescues and more about the personal drama, which made for an uneven affair.
The first season is more than a third over, and there’s still so much we don’t know about these characters. Scaling back the action (it was still there but not at the forefront) in favor of character development wasn’t a bad idea, but it’s not one that necessarily worked, either.
Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 7 may have shaded in some of the characters more, but it also reminded you how desperately this series needs the rescues to make everything come together.
There’s a reason Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 5 was one of the best of the season: the action was intense and the kind of thing you don’t typically see on broadcast television.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was the perfect blend of action and drama. And that’s where the show excels when they merge the two into something that keeps you hooked.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this one, and I appreciate the effort as someone who lamented the lack of character development. But things kind of slogged along, which was rather unfortunate.
Sonny was dealing both physically and emotionally from his motorcycle accident, and it was typical Sonny style; he was avoiding talking about it.
His wife was a better woman than me because he would not be welcome in that house until he finally talked to me about what the hell was going on. Obviously, things aren’t okay with him, and the motorcycle accident was a clear sign of that.
Sonny has reached a point where he can admit that he’s not okay but doesn’t fully know what to do about it.
His plea to Mayor Emerson for the things he promised him felt like a way to show his team that he was a Captain trying to improve things for them. He cashed in that favor because it was owed to him, but you could tell something else was at play.
When have we seen him impart wisdom on the youngins in the tower? That’s never really been his job, but the minute they showed him out there with Hina and Kainalu and then going out to rescue a woman in danger himself, I knew he was about to quit.
The writing was on the wall the whole hour, and it was clear that he took Em’s request to heart.
In his current state, he could not give the job everything it deserved. It’s life or death on those beaches, and Sonny’s head has been a jumble of grief and pain that hasn’t always allowed him to be at his best.
I’m glad that he could talk to both Em and Hina because they were two people who deserved conversations.
Em has seen right through him for quite some time, and he’s been hiding from her at every turn. She deserved to hear him say she was right while acknowledging that being a captain is hard work.
He’s given his all to that job, and when she inevitably ascends one day, she’ll see that. She’ll see that he was always trying to do his best for the team and the people of Hawaii.
Sonny’s conversation with Hina was very much one he should have had earlier, but he was still shrouded in his anger and pain. Hina did make a mistake, but it will likely not be her last. But as her superior, it’s important to help her through it instead of admonishing her for it.
Hina’s not a bad lifeguard; I’m glad he reminded her of that. She always has to rely on what she’s learned, and while that sounds like a given, it’s also something that can be easy to forget in the heat of the moment.
Your captain should always be there to remind you of that.
Whether or not Sonny’s actually done being captain remains to be seen. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Mayor Emerson, who would probably like to work with someone like Sonny over Em.
Plus, let’s be honest here. The series JUST started. There’s no way Sonny will just be gone like that!
While Sonny was stocking the supplies and saying his goodbyes to the beach, Em was having a rough time in her personal life.
Do I buy that Em really likes Sean? Sure, I guess. We haven’t seen too much of them to know for sure, and they met one second, and the next, they’re in what appears to be a pretty serious relationship.
But considering all that, her reaction to Sean potentially taking a new job didn’t feel wrong. Did he want her to beg him to stay and never leave her or something?
Her reaction felt very much in line with who we’ve seen Em to be: practical. It’s not as if she was breaking up with him right then and there. She more or less was trying to be supportive and realistic.
I’m unsure why she had to apologize to him later or why he felt so slighted.
However, part of that sweet-filled apology may have also had to do with residual feelings about Will and his un-inviting her to his wedding.
Will is by far the most confounding character on this show because what is his deal?
He looks pained whenever his impending marriage or even relationship is mentioned. He looks embarrassed almost. If Julie were a fly on the wall at the lifeguard house, I imagine she’d be incredibly disheartened with how Will acts.
Though, maybe he acts like that all the time.
Also, his betting Laka on how long he can stay sober when he appears to be making a good faith effort to maintain sobriety. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
He’s also still hung up on Em, and she on him, but he’s the one actively engaged to someone else.
It may be an unpopular opinion depending on how you view the idea of exes being friends or not, but Julie not wanting Em at her wedding made perfect sense to me.
Finding out that Will and Em lived together for THREE YEARS, knowing they work together daily, and being very much attached at the hip made me understand Julie’s perspective much more.
I still don’t think issuing ultimatums is healthy for either party in the long run, but Julie also has eyes and must know that Will isn’t over Em.
So, why is she marrying him? And why is he marrying her?
I know nothing about Julie outside of her family’s wealth, so I have zero stakes in their relationship, but it feels like such a waste of time. It’s just an obstacle to play Will and Em as the ‘exes who still love each other but can’t be together just yet’ story, and it’s not very interesting.
When Will stands Julie up at the altar to run back to Em and sees her and Sean passionately making out on the beach, it’ll be the least surprising thing this show has ever done.
Extra Rescue Notes
Petition to make Hina’s auntie a regular because her scenes are always fabulous. Thirty seconds around Kainalu, and he’s never been more likable.
Kainalu and Hina didn’t really do much discussing of their boundaries, but it’s the effort that counts! I’m just surprised it took them this long to talk about their shared living space, but as we’ve seen for weeks, their communication is nonexistent.
Laka finally got that date with Jenn and taking a friend just to see the shattered look on his face was low-key savage. I’d almost tell Laka to watch out for someone like that, but you could tell he liked it.
It wasn’t the best of hours, but not everything can be a home run!
What did you all think about diving deeper into everyone’s personal lives?
Did you miss the rescues?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
You can watch Rescue HI-Surf on FOX on Mondays at 9/8c.
Watch Rescue HI: Surf Online
