This week's episode of Hawaii Five-O, "Hao Kanaka," had its action-packed moments, but found its true strength in the relationship of Danno and his ex-wife, proving it takes more than muscles to be a true Iron Man.

At last, viewers were given a chance to meet this supposedly evil woman, and it was nice to see that there was more to Rachel than the Psycho ring-tone and the many allusions to her unreasonable behavior in previous episodes. It was a good move to bring Rachel out in the open so that the audience had more to judge her on than faceless, over-the-phone arguments with Danno.

There were a lot of unresolved issues between Danno and Rachel, and perhaps even a spark of romance remaining.

It will be interesting to see how things play out in future episodes, and I really do hope Rachel makes a few more appearances. Her presence helped to flush out Danno's character. And the slightly bitter banter between the two was fun to watch. It was also nice to see McGarrett's appreciation for Rachel's cooperation on the case combined with Danno's unease at being in his ex-wife's home.

The main story regarding jewel thieves planning a heist during a triathlon was fun, but riddled with tiny mistakes that were hard to over look.

My major contention being that most triathlons I have ever witnessed usually separate the female and male competitor groups into different heats, so I had a hard time believing that the co-ed group of robbers would be able to coordinate together as easily as they did. I grant that there may have been story off camera to explain that, but it seemed an odd mistake for the writers to make.  

Another faux pas was quickly admitted by the characters, but still felt unnecessary. I'm referring to the scene in the chiropractor's office where McGarrett decided that there was no time to walk a few feet to grab a kit in order to dust for finger prints, and grabbed dust from a vacuum instead to pull prints off of used bags of blood.

In previous episodes, I could see where time was a real factor, but this really seemed like a lame excuse to have McGarrett do a cool MacGyver move.

Also, Kono or Chin couldn't have brought Danno a computer from headquarters to use for the flash drive he found? Perhaps I'm being overly picky, but I think the writers could have found a better way to get Danno back over to his ex-wife's house to see his daughter and have that meaningful exchange of looks and veiled comments at the end of the episode.

Sure, for the most part, reality can be suspended for the Five-O, but there has to be a certain amount of realism in order for the fantasy to be fully accepted. Little things pulling the viewer from suspension of disbelief cause the bigger improbabilities to jump out, making for a choppy viewing experience.

In a fan-ish vein, I'd like to note that I found it hilariously cute that there's always a reason for McGarrett to remove his shirt, or have a manly fist fight on the beach, not forgetting that Kono usually gets into a swimsuit and into the water for some reason. There's always a little service for both genders, which thankfully actually suits the tone of the show more than deterring from it.

Overall, the series remains strong despite its occasional hiccups, maintaining just the right mix of action and storytelling that have kept me coming back week after week with high expectations.

No new episode next week. Have a safe and happy holiday.