Journey of 50 years!

First, Happy Halloween!! Tonight 50 years ago, CBS aired S05E08 "Journey Out Of Limbo".

It's so appropriate. The episode starts innocently enough with a dump truck traversing the road beside the ocean. Things take a turn at the destination when Danno is dumped out unconscious with a load of sand! What gives!?

McGarrett is talking with the governor when he receives an urgent call from Ben. Five-O converges on the hospital where Doc Bergman (Al Eben) informs McGarrett that Danno has a concussion. His memory of recent events is gone even though he can remember that morning. But it's not much help.

Che Fong (Harry Endo) then gets involved telling McGarrett and Ben that a horse is involved after finding horse blood and hair on Danno's clothes. Che also informs them Danno was in high brush. It's a serious mystery.

As Ben attempts to track Danno's movements, McGarrett has his hands full with a visiting Chinese dignitary. Lin Mai-Lu (Philip Ahn) is visiting at the invitation of Hummel (Keenan Wynn). The men knew each other during WWII when they fought the Japanese side-by-side in China. McGarrett reviews all the security with his officers, including Duke (Herman Wedemeyer).

Long story short, Hummel lured Lin to Hawaii to exact revenge and put the blame on the US Navy. Lin, being Chinese, fought with the North Koreans during that war where Hummel's son was KIA. Danno stumbled onto the plot by accident while out horseback riding. Hummel's guys went after Danno and after an audacious hail-Mary jump, landed in the dump truck hauling sand and hitting his head in the process.

Danno catches up with McGarrett, Hummel and Lin while out on a boat ride. McGarrett and Danno shoot at the boat heading for theirs, blowing it up. The explosion throws everyone about and after a quick shoot out, Hummel confesses what he was up to.

Mr. Mike does a much, much better job than I. It's here: https://www.fiveohomepage.com/5-0log5.htm#104

I like this episode a lot! I know it has it flaws but there are a few things that stand out to me.

One, I love the interaction with the Five-O team in trying to jar Danno's memory. While pieces are hazy and seem to be just out of reach, they help him put those pieces together to form the picture. There is an especially fun exchange between Chin and Ben about what's in the boxes. Oranges vs. drugs. Both actually make sense. :)

Two, the music at the beginning of the episode is especially creepy. Considering it was aired on Halloween night, it fits perfectly!

Three, the mare. I keep watching this series over and over because from what I could see, they didn't hurt the animals they used. If you watch closely, you can see the mare breathe. Also, if she was dead, her legs would be up in the air and stiff. I'm not counting the chickens we see in various "fights" but as far as the horses, they did a good job. :)

Some downsides include the flashbacks. I thought those were weird but that's being nitpicky. :) Another thing, and Mr. Mike pointed this out, is that Cal should have been asked more questions about the previous day. Not that he would have been able to give more info, but still would have been nice to close that loop.

Also, on the boat. I'm sure Danno is still feeling the effects of the first concussion. He's thrown back along with McGarrett after the smaller boat explodes. I say he wouldn't get back up - he'd be pretty dazed. At least, that's my opinion! :)

Regardless, I find the episode enjoyable.

Happy 50th, "Journey Out Of Limbo"!!! :cool:

One of my favorites from season 5. A great mystery!! The reconstruction and jarring of Danno’s memory are the best parts, as well as the flashbacks. A great Richard Shores score as well, especially during the memory jarring and flashback scenes.

Journey Out Of Limbo is probably a 2.5 or 3.0 star type episode. I remember the beginning when Danno was poured out of the 🚛 truck with the sand. It was a fantastic beginning. I also liked the HFO team working together to figure out what Danno noticed in the bunker. Danno also helped in the discussion triggering his memory. It was good writing as they had flashes when Danno avoided the gun shots on the horse, the life and death chase riding the horse, and his incredible leap into the sand truck. An incredible cliff jump!!! The truck had very high sides and Danno's jump off the cliff was amazing. He had struck his head on the side of the truck. It resulted in a brain concussion. I think HFO team finding the dead horse was important validating Danny's story. I always wondered if Danno and the HFO team had to later pay for a new horse. It wasn't Danno's fault though.
The ending was very suspenseful shooting at the dynamited sailor mannequins. Danno finally pieced it all together which saved the lives of those on the boat. Journey Out Of Limbo is a solid episode in the catalog. I think it is a creative and interesting episode. JC