Did Hawaii Five-0's Adam Cross Too Many Lines? 'He Has More to Lose Now'

Matt Webb Mitovich

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The following contains spoilers from the Dec. 6 episode of CBS’ Hawaii Five-0.

This Friday on Hawaii Five-0, Adam Noshimuri made some brash decisions that may have forever altered his future — both on the task force, if not beyond.

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After Tamiko was kidnapped by Yakuza rivals, Adam defied Masuda — and lied to Five-0, taking a “sick” day — by getting involved in the hunt for those responsible. Along the way, a masked Adam dragged out of a bar someone with intel on the kidnappers, threw him into his car trunk, and delivered him to the Yakuza. Once Tamiko was returned and all the dust cleared, Masuda had been slain (assassinated?), thrusting underling Kenji into the top spot. And among Kenji’s first orders of business was to execute in cold blood that man Adam grabbed — making him indirectly responsible for the senseless death. Adam had barely a second to process the weight of that when Steve called and asked him to come to HQ ASAP — having learned from Duke that Adam’s watch was found at the bar.

Did Adam go too rogue in his well-meaning quest? And will it be at the cost of his job on the task force? TVLine spoke with Ian Anthony Dale about what’s next.

TVLINE | We go to this well about once a season, pitting Adam against his past. What would you say makes this particular storyline about his Yakuza leanings different from any that came before it?
What will make this one different is I feel like he has more to lose now. I mean, there was always the risk of losing [then-wife] Kono if he couldn’t distance himself from the Yakuza. But with the team, he has earned their trust, they have welcomed him into the ohana, and he’s now putting all of that on the line in order to save Tamiko, in order to ensure her continued safety. And I think what really makes this different is that he has always sort of teetered with going back to the dark side, but in this case it’s the furthest he has stepped back into that world, you know? And I’m not sure if he’ll be able to come out this time.

TVLINE | For me, one of the biggest pit-in-the-stomach moments was the final scene, when he’s on the phone and Steve’s like, “No, I want you to come in now.” What can you say about what happens next?
That was a really fun scene to play because Adam is hollowed out at that point. He couldn’t have more incriminating evidence against him, and not only that but he is wracked with guilt. And to have to somehow “put on a face” in order to go and deal with the confrontation with Steve… you just have no idea how that’s going to play out, or if Adam’s going to be able to get himself together in order to deal with that situation. I think the audience is going to be very surprised with the way the following episode starts, and it’ll only sort of engage them more in the intrigue of where this story is going for Adam.

TVLINE | How difficult will this storyline be for those viewers who have welcomed Adam into the Five-0 ohana over the past few years?
You know, I’m not sure…. I feel like part of what endears Adam to the audience is that no matter how many times its appeared like he’s dipping back into his dark past, he ultimately does something to redeem himself and prove that their hopes about me were correct. But they’ve never seen Adam go quite this dark, and that’s going to twist him up a bit. They’re going to always remain hopeful that Adam ultimately is a good guy, but that’s really going to be tested.

TVLINE | Lastly, tell me about the episode (10×15) you’re currently directing.
Well, I’ve got this wonderful episode co-written by Chi McBride and Matt Wheeler where we reintroduce a character we just met in Episode 8 — Lou Grover’s niece, Siobhan. She has always wanted to be a cop just like her uncle, so she is now enrolled in the Honolulu Police Department Academy. There is another cadet played by John Harlan Kim (The Librarians), this wonderful Australian-Korean actor that I can’t wait to work with, and it turns out that he has been planted by the Yakuza to become an informant. All the while, Adam, in order to earn the trust of the Yakuza again, has been given sort of an impossible task, which is to become an informant himself, feeding information to the Yakuza while working for Five-0. It’s a very juicy episode.

Want more scoop on Five-0, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

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