Reviewer Rating: 2.8/5.0
2.8
I don’t know if the season premiere is any harder to follow than The Rescue.
There’s a decent show there, and we see flashes of it when they get into the action, and even when they choose the right moments to focus on romantic entanglements, which are the only parts of the show that give off a Baywatch vibe.
But overall, the show failed to really gain traction because it still wasn’t 100% sure what it wanted to be. Which begs the question: Is what the series is doing now good enough?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like some of these installments. The show itself isn’t boring (despite what some say), but it’s missing something that would make it a show you want to talk about.
This is a show that makes you want to get to the bottom of the plot and the true nature of the characters, and the people you really care about and even despise. No matter how you feel, positive or negative, at least you care.
As of now, I’m not sure if that’s going to happen with HI-Surf.
Sure there are some characters, but will they make an impact? Do you really care about their story? Does the series create a complex and interesting story that leaves you hungry for more?
Or is this the kind of show that goes through the motions? What’s the show playing in the background while you cook or fold laundry?
We’re only ten episodes in, so maybe it’s too early to tell, but that’s probably not a good thing.
The Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 10 was another good hour on the surface. The story picks up quickly from where The Rescue Season 1 Episode 9 left off, which means those entanglements are still being resolved and Sonny is still preparing to retire.
The Sonny retirement storyline always felt like it would be ultimately pointless because what would they do with Sonny if he retired? There are a lot of super dramatic ways to show this, but will the show actually do it?
Career-wise, Em doesn’t have many fans aside from Sonny, and you have to wonder if she’ll eventually get to the point where Sonny can’t save her.
Will he then preserve everything he has built in retirement and ensure that Em still has a job and a chance for a future? I can see things going in this direction, but as it stands, Sonny is hell-bent on retiring.
Sonny has been in need of help for a while, and we haven’t seen him come back for any meaningful therapy, but he seems much more relaxed since he decided to leave.
However, he still sings and dances while serving as captain because Em may not be ready yet.
Like any leadership position, being captain of a group of other adults comes with its share of difficulties, but every captain has a boss above them and they have their own role to play.
For the lifeguard captain, that means dealing with politicians and doing things that may not be consistent with their desires for the greater good.
It’s a slippery slope, and we’ve seen some of the decisions Sonny has to make that he wouldn’t necessarily make if he didn’t think it would ultimately benefit his team.
But Em is not Sonny, and that much becomes abundantly clear when she blurts it out at the council meeting.
I hate using the word “hothead” to describe a badass woman who is passionate about her beliefs, but Em is opinionated, smart, and determined. She’s not someone who always settles for the status quo, because that’s not who she is.
Sure, Sonny will step in and fix the problem, but he won’t always be there if he rides off into the sunset. I don’t think Em will line up at the far end like Sonny does.
It doesn’t help that Kenji is just waiting smugly, giving Laka a run for his money on his worst day.
Em’s outburst at the council meeting exposed her true feelings, if you want to call it that, but she’s also dealing with the whole Will situation, which hasn’t gotten any better since the holidays.
This is about Em and Will and where they are now. It’s clear they still love each other and have a deep affection for each other, but Will shows zero interest in breaking off the engagement, even though it’s clear he doesn’t want to marry that woman.
So now you have to ask yourself why this is happening, the only thing I can think of is that he is not completely over his and Em’s previous breakup and is completely unwilling to talk to Em about anything.
The two of them quickly fell back into old habits and sexual chemistry, but in-depth conversations were non-existent. Even their conversation on the beach at the end of the episode is about Amy facing her fears and expressing herself horribly.
She’s a different woman, and while it’s easy to say, honestly, she has nothing to lose, given the nature of her relationship with Will, she has a lot to lose.
They are close friends and colleagues, and Em is his supervisor in said job. Not to mention how frustrating it is on a personal level to put yourself out there and then be rejected.
I don’t know how people feel about the cheating storyline here, but it brings a spark to the overall storyline.
It’s all up to Will to decide what he wants. We don’t need to wonder who he wants because this is 100% Em, but he’s afraid to take the step and one has to wonder how long Em will let him leave her on the edge without a safety net.
Elsewhere in this throwback moment, Larca is left in limbo after a heist, making it difficult to predict his character’s future.
Laka started the series as one of my favorites because Kekoa Kekumano oozes charisma but he’s stuck in a difficult situation.
He’s the quintessential bad boy who was supposed to have a redemption arc, and things seemed to be heading in that direction when he finally let Jenn go out with him, but ended up failing in record time.
From that point on, he was lost, taking out all of his frustrations on everyone around him for the hour. Raqqa is not a bad guy either. He can be easily angered, but isn’t scary, especially at work.
It’s nice to see him go back and help the woman who lost the ring because that’s the kind of compassion Raka has and that’s why he ends up being a good lieutenant when he sobers up.
Sonny had told him before that he wasn’t ready, which wasn’t wrong, but he could do it. He sometimes seems to just get in his own way.
The final part of the drama is reserved for Sheena and Kainaru, though they manage their relationship well outside of some awkward interactions.
Sheena always found things strange as she tried her best to keep her distance from Kainaru. Now that the lines have been blurred, she’s in a strange position.
She liked Kainaru, but her mind told her it was a bad idea. Not only do they work together, they live together, but they come from different worlds.
It turns out that despite all the complexities, there’s a spark flying between the two of them that’s hard for her to reconcile.
Kainalu is a bit aloof and might not think about things that deeply, but he has always been interested in Hina. I don’t think he’d be eager to get down on one knee, but if Chyna gives him the green light, he’d be interested in the two of them getting to know each other.
The situation with Sheena effectively shutting down their budding friendship with benefits should be interesting, as we’ll definitely see one or both of them dating someone else, and I’m looking forward to some heavy angst and longing!
Their romantic will-they/won’t-they remain the best little subplot in the series, and hopefully the second half will bring more yearning and enemies-to-lovers goodness.
Additional rescue instructions
- Sonny and Jarla watched the council meeting like it was an episode of The Real Housewives and it was great.
- Kenji is going to be a problem, isn’t he?
- The man stealing the ATV and running over the woman’s lap was a move the show did well. They’ve put action third or fourth on their list of priorities, but for a long time, action was third or fourth.
Okay, guys, what did you think of the first hour of 2025?
Whose side are you on in the Will/Em/Julie relationship triangle?
Were Sheena and Kainaru’s decision to hit the brakes the right one?
Let me know how you feel in the comments so we can discuss it!
You can watch HI-Surf every Monday at 9/8c on FOX.
Watch Rescue HI-Surf online
