Critic’s Rating: 4.2 / 5.0
4.2
The biggest swells the lifeguards have seen in years on Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 5 brought with them another tragedy.
Thus far, the series has shown the realities of what it means to be a lifeguard in dangerous waters. But to this point, the lifeguards have successfully pulled everyone out of the water so they could live to see another day.
Unfortunately, that streak came to a shocking end.
Huge swells meant it was all hands on deck for Sonny and the team. The beach was closed, and only experienced surfers were allowed out on the water.
Tension and nerves were wafting through the air, even for those who’d worked this kind of day before. There was no acting like it was no big deal when everyone knew the danger of the ocean.
Laka may have played around with Kainalu to rib him a little, but it was all business when the time came to work the water and keep people safe.
The waves were no joke, as evidenced by the numerous injuries that befell even the most experienced surfers. You could do everything right out there on the water and still find yourself caught up in the wrong wave at the wrong time.
As the day progressed, they were pretty lucky regarding the injuries and rescues they had to make, mainly because, again, they weren’t letting just anyone out there on the water.
Sonny’s decision to let Ocean’s little boyfriend out on the water almost came back to bite him, but Noah only suffered a broken nose, some lost teeth, and a bruise to his ego.
We’ve seen the tumultuous relationship between Sonny and Ocean, not much of it, but enough to know that it exists. They’re both still grieving the loss of Zion, and the last thing in the world Sonny wanted was for someone his daughter carried about to get hurt.
Even if he had just realized Noah existed that afternoon.
Sonny’s taken a lot of L’s this season, but he knew exactly what he was doing out there on that water. He’s the Captain for a reason, and it’s not as if we haven’t seen him be good at his job, but we have seen him be distracted sometimes.
We’ve seen him be a little out of sorts, but he was as focused and determined to keep people safe as we’ve seen him, knowing what kind of day his team would be in for.
Em’s absence as his lieutenant seemed to throw him for a bit of a loop when she first told him that she had the day off, and I fully expected her to give it up and help out.
Will certainly would have liked that since he spent most of the day looking at Em, talking to Em, and just existing around all things Em.
This hour was probably the first time I fully understood why his fiancée wanted him up and out of that job because he couldn’t even help himself where Em was concerned. Now, he still did his job, of course, but if there was any chance he got to check in with his ex, he made sure to take it.
Will is still an enigma compared to everyone else, making it difficult to invest in this pairing because we barely know half of it.
What does Will like to do? What made him want to be a lifeguard? What’s his favorite color?
I’ll take anything at this point.
On the flip side, we know enough about Em to know she lives and breathes lifeguarding. She clearly has designs on being a Captain one day, and she’s dedicated so much of her life to her job that it seems like she has little else going for her.
They’ve been setting the stage for an Em and Sonny showdown since Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 1, and it finally did hit here, but it came in a way I was not expecting.
Once the day was over and seemed to go well, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be people out on the water, and it’s a good thing that a few of them decided to stay behind.
When Hina told Sonny that she wanted to be on the rescue skis, I knew it would happen at some point during that day. And with Laka’s seal of approval, she was out there.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but Hina has proven she has the skills and the smarts to be out on the water. I’m sure anyone on the team would have vouched for her, not just Laka.
She’s a rookie, but she’s shown herself to be fully capable of holding her own, and perhaps most importantly, she has remained calm.
I can’t imagine the adrenaline rush that comes with being out on those waves and the split-second decisions that have to be made, all while staying respectful of the open water in front of you.
Sonny and Hina made a pretty good team, but things just went so badly when they tried to rescue Rocky.
Poor Rocky kept popping up throughout this hour in random places, and I should have guessed what would happen. But I didn’t see it coming at all.
When a wave took almost all the surfers out, Rocky got twisted up, and he couldn’t resurface on his own.
It can sometimes feel like things are moving in slow motion during some of these rescues, but you forget just how big and vast the ocean is.
Rocky was thrashing around underwater, but no one saw him. Sonny and Hina only found him when he was floating on the surface.
Sonny and Hina had seconds to get in and get Rocky before another wave came in, and they potentially lost eyes on him for good. They got there in enough time, but everything just happened so fast that Rocky was gone before he was ever truly secured under Hina.
From there, all hell just broke loose, and Hina almost got herself killed.
She was acting on instinct and emotion, which are normal human behaviors. Yes, she disobeyed Sonny’s orders, but in that moment, she felt she would still be able to help and do her job.
It did not work out that way, and I could understand Sonny’s frustrations. However, I could also understand why Hina did what she did. She felt bad enough and did not need to be screamed at in front of the whole team.
Sonny’s head has not been right since the minute we met him, and I don’t envy his position. He has to be the one to tell Rocky’s family, and he has to live with grief, guilt, and what-ifs for the rest of his life.
But so does Hina.
Em was right to tell Sonny all about himself because he had needed a wake-up call for some time. People have been tiptoeing around his feelings, for good reason, but his ability to lead his people responsibly is affected, well, you can’t simply sit back and let that happen.
I’d venture to say he needs to do more than simply get it together, but that would certainly be a start.
My heart truly broke for Hina when she broke down in front of Sonny, and no one could be bothered to comfort her.
She needed that hug from Kainalu more than she needed anything else. She must have let some completed gutted, and that physical comfort probably helped her from completely collapsing in the middle of that living room.
Speaking of Kainalu, he spent the hour being his dad’s dutiful little son until he had enough. And I’ve been hoping that there was more to Kainalu than meets the eye, and I still think that’s true.
Daddy Emerson made sure to tell his son more than once about all he’d done for him to keep him in line, and when Kainalu finally pushed back, that was a big moment for him because you could tell it was something he’d never done before.
He’s used to putting on a smile and doing what’s asked of him, but it’s obvious that his father pushing him to abandon his job on a day like that one when his team needed him was seemingly the final straw.
Now, Daddy did NOT look like he was okay with Kainalu’s decision to give up his car and start paying rent, and I have a feeling he won’t be content to let Kainalu go that easily.
Daddy Emerson clearly needs to project an image, and Kainalu is part of that. As the season continues, I expect much more friction between father and son, and I’m here for Kainalu’s rebellion!
Extra Rescue Notes
- I’ve noticed that sometimes there is at least one super random scene during an episode. This week’s goes to that fight Will and Laka broke up.
- I’ll believe Laka and Jenn can be a thing when they have a proper conversation.
- How many more episodes before Will and Em just admit they are nowhere near over each other? I’m giving it three.
This was a heavy one, but probably one of the best hours since the show premiered.
Let me know in the comments how you’re feeling after this one so we can discuss it!
You can watch Rescue HI-Surf on FOX on Mondays at 9/8c.
Watch Rescue HI: Surf Online
