CBS aired S07E22 – "The Hostage" 50 years ago tonight.
Dane Clark has his first of three guest appearances on Five-O playing Jesse Cooper. Jesse is an aggrieved veteran who feels he's been wronged. He attempts to see his former commander Colonel Chadway (Morgan Sh'an) who lives in an apartment building with his wife (Alice Lemon). When the wife dismisses Jesse, he kind of loses his mind and shoots a young HPD officer (Dennis Chun) who had been called by the front desk.
Jesse is a very sympathetic character as he has fought alcoholism and has hit rock bottom. In the ensuing chaos, he takes a young girl named Ruth (Linda Purl) hostage and holes up in an apartment on an upper floor.
Enter a grumpy HPD cop named Grover (Scott Brady) and it seems things will not end well for anyone, especially Jesse. But wait! Five-O rolls up and McGarrett takes control of the situation pretty quickly. The first thing that has to be figured out is – who is Ruth and is she okay. Grover scares the hell out of Ruth's mom Emily (Joan K. Young) by telling her that Jesse is a sexual predator – which isn't true.
An HPD cop (Chuck Couch) repels to outside the window of the apartment and looks straight at Ruth. Upon that commotion, Jesse shoots the cop but only wings him. Danno, leading the group who is supporting the repelling cop, pulls him back in and the cop reports Ruth is fine. However, the cops now know that Jesse is a bit of a loose cannon and it takes everything McGarrett has to keep a lid on the situation.
First, they shut Grover (or Glover) up and reassure Emily they have no evidence that Jesse is a predator. Second, the lines of communications are opened with Jesse – what does he want, where does he want to go? Third, McGarrett has to deal with a rogue cop (James Kahoano Jr.) who wants to be traded for the girl. Fourth, dealing with Jesse's wife and priest talking to the media, which sets him off again.
For her part, Ruth remains calm and talks to Jesse along the way. When it's all said and done, Five-O's tactics work in apprehending Jesse and freeing Ruth.
Mr. Mike always does a way better job than I do. His review is here: https://www.fiveohomepage.com/5-0log7.htm#166
This is a really good episode. I think they made Jesse a little too sketchy but I get the point. I love the interactions between McGarrett and Jesse as the former points out Jesse's accomplishments on the battlefield. I also like the care they take to make sure all the cash that Jesse requested is all there before handing it over. There is a lot of mention of prior shared experiences with other police agencies in how they handled hostage situations and it shows in Five-O's tactics.
Linda Purl is impressive as Ruth. She's a just a teen girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, thanks to her mom – McGarrett knows he's dealing with someone who is mature and level-headed (more than can be said of some of the other characters!).
Happy 50th, “The Hostage”!!
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