Season Analysis

Hawaii Five-0

Season 2 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

As Season 2 begins, McGarrett is in jail awaiting trial and Danny comes to visit him with a special guest. Danny finds out that Rachel's intentions may be different than he was hoping for. The task force gets a new team member whose job is to keep them in line.

Season Review

Season 2 of Hawaii Five-0 remains a fundamentally traditional action-crime procedural focused on justice and law-and-order. The narrative is driven by classic crime drama elements like corruption, organized crime, and revenge plots. The core theme of the task force is based on merit and competency in the face of criminal threats, not identity or immutable characteristics. The female characters, Kono Kalakaua and Agent Lori Weston, are portrayed as skilled and highly competent officers, yet their competency does not result in the emasculation of the male leads. The season features strong emphasis on family and tradition, including a prominent childbirth storyline and a wedding for one of the main characters. The series actively incorporates and celebrates Hawaiian language and culture as an essential backdrop to the action. However, critical analysis points out an underlying narrative where the white mainland-rooted male lead acts as the primary moral and professional authority, often rectifying corruption that is tied to local or non-white characters. The show's only engagement with alternative sexuality is through the 'bromance' meta-trope, which remains firmly non-sexual within the text. There is no evidence of anti-theistic messaging; the overarching morality is objective justice.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics5/10

The team features racial diversity, but the primary moral and professional authority rests with the white male protagonist, a dynamic that is critiqued as reinforcing a ‘white savior’ narrative over local and non-white characters who are repeatedly shown to be the most corruptible. Furthermore, the casting of a non-Polynesian actress in the key Hawaiian role of Kono raises questions of appropriation.

Oikophobia3/10

The show consistently celebrates the unique aspects of Hawaiian culture, language, and the beauty of the islands, positioning the team as protectors of their home. A low score is prevented only by the consistent thematic thread that systemic local corruption must be fixed by the authority of the mainland-military-trained leader.

Feminism4/10

Female characters like Kono Kalakaua and Agent Lori Weston are highly capable, autonomous, and professional, meeting the highest standards of a tough police procedural. The narrative does not depict male leads as incompetent or toxic. Motherhood and marriage are presented positively, specifically through a prominent childbirth plot and a character's wedding, countering anti-natal messaging.

LGBTQ+2/10

The core of the show maintains a normative structure, focusing on heterosexual relationships and the nuclear family unit (Danny's relationship with his daughter and ex-wife). No alternative sexualities are centered or explored, and there is no discussion or promotion of gender ideology.

Anti-Theism1/10

The show is focused entirely on law enforcement and criminal justice, consistently relying on a framework of objective morality. Religion appears only as a neutral setting or backdrop to a crime plot, showing no overt hostility toward faith or any promotion of moral relativism.