Critic’s Rating: 4.1 / 5.0
4.1
Things got spicy on Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 9, as Will and Em engaged in a full-blown affair, Laka’s wild ways caught up to him, and the roommate situation between Hina and Kainalu just got a whole lot more complicated.
It makes for an interesting mini hiatus, as the show is poised to break before returning in the new year, leaving all the main characters in precarious positions.
This leaves the biggest question now: where do things go from here?
Fresh off their impromptu kiss to close out Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 8, Will and Em were still very much engaging in a physical affair, and they weren’t doing much to hide it.
From the looks that somehow got even longer while on the clock and their little ruined waterfall run, the two were fully committed to hooking up, but there was almost zero talking about anything.
It didn’t seem like either of them was feeling particularly guilty or anything throughout much of the hour; they were just high off each other and their rekindling. And that’s an interesting development because A LOT needs to be discussed.
Will is still very much engaged, and Em still has a boyfriend, yet they’re content to act as if none of that exists now. But how long will that truly last?
There’s also the whole ‘Em-may-be-captain-soon’ and how that will affect all her relationships, none more so than hers with Will.
Rescue: HI-Surf has dedicated itself to slowly rolling out everyone’s personal business, and it’s impressive that they’ve made some of these storylines enjoyable when we know next to nothing about these people.
But on the other hand, why are we just finding out in the ninth episode that Will and Julie have only been together for 6 months? What is Will doing?
We still don’t know exactly what caused Will and Em to split after three years and maintain such a close-knit relationship, but I assume it may have had something to do with her becoming lieutenant.
It’s not the same as being a captain, but it must be frowned upon for lieutenants to date lifeguards underneath them, but I also don’t believe that would be the only reason Em would dump him.
Will seems like the kind of guy who was down bad enough for Em to work somewhere else (hell, he was ready to be a firefighter because his fiancée asked him to), so what else happened between them?
Since they aren’t talking, we have no idea, but this kind of honeymoon cheating period won’t last, and the cracks were already forming when Em’s friend caught them with Em’s top undone in front of a spectacular waterfall!
Decisions will have to be made regarding their future, and that means having the tough conversations they’ve been avoiding in order to engage in the physical. Some affairs can subsist off that, but their connection is more than fleeting moments of desire.
They are both in love, but as much as they try to hide it, there must be many unresolved feelings about their relationship and the breakup.
They need to unpack all that and figure out what to do about their significant others (real people with real emotions!) before they think about jogging out to any more waterfalls soon.
Speaking of Em, though, Sonny went above and beyond to make sure Em was in line to take his spot as captain, and it was a little hard to watch, even if he was making all these moves for the right reason.
As soon as the Chief started talking about Em being a hothead (cue my internal eye roll), it was so obvious that she was never going to be seriously considered for the role, even if she was more qualified than the ten other males who were surely itching to take Sonny’s spot.
I wasn’t sure why Sonny pre-emptively told Em she would get the spot when he knew there was a real possibility it wouldn’t be as easy a transition as he made it seem, and I still maintain it was the wrong decision.
But Sonny was at least honest with her in this hour, and he was doing her a big favor by letting her in on the inner workings of that kind of job and the posturing and politics involved.
It’s not always the best person for the job. Often, it’s nothing of the sort.
Sonny’s not above getting in the fray and doing what needs to be done, as we saw during Rescue: HI-Surf when he made that initial deal with now-Mayor Emerson that resulted in Kainalu bumping out Hina but also facilitated his big move here with the commendation.
Sonny may have gotten what he wanted in the end, but he’s officially out of favors to call in with the Mayor, and he’s on the Chief’s bad side now, and there’s no way that all these things don’t eventually come back to bite.
I do not doubt that Em deserves that position, and she wouldn’t have gotten it without Sonny wheeling and dealing, but what a weird position to be in if you’re Em.
It must feel rather icky, and that sucks because she’s dedicated her life to that job, but she was never going to realistically be considered, even if she was the correct person for the job.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it, but I don’t believe Sonny’s done on the North Shore. It’s too early in this whole series to have Sonny just be done, and now that’s got various people pissed off at him, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find a way to strong-arm him into un-retiring when the time actually comes.
While no one outside a few select people knew that Sonny was ready to hang it up, Laka found out and ran over to Sonny to get his blessing about applying to be the lieutenant. Seeing how quickly his excitement morphed into embarrassment and gloom was pretty sad.
Laka’s a good lifeguard. He’s proven time and time again that he knows the job in and out, but being second-in-command? He comes in late and hungover, and he does not strike me as the kind of person to dedicate themselves to the business side of being in charge.
That’s not to say he couldn’t get to that point, but he’s not there right now. He’s not ready for that level of responsibility.
Getting conned and robbed really capped off Laka’s horrible day, and I ask again, what is Will doing? Why is Will kind of the worst person? His attitude toward Laka often stinks, but immediately laying into him instead of offering an ounce of understanding was disappointing.
Laka knew he messed up, and maybe he does eventually need the big conversation about his actions and their negative consequences, but perhaps that could have come after he had a minute to process the last few hours.
I wish Laka had hit him with a direct “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” line because he deserved to hear it. Consider worrying about yourself before telling others about themselves, Mr. Will!
While Em, Will, Laka, and Sonny ended the hour in weird places, the same could not be said for Hina and Kainalu, who finally took all their sexual tension and did something about it.
After spending the whole hour being glorified babysitters, and after Hina accidentally saw her roomie butt naked, the two hooked up, and honestly, it’s about time!
The whole rivals from different sides of town cliché notwithstanding, there’s a natural chemistry between the two, and you could tell throughout the season that Hina’s walls were slowly coming down.
Kainalu’s not a bad guy, and he’s turned himself into a good lifeguard. Through work and now learning about each other’s lives, both of them have seen different sides of one another, and it was just a matter of time before they gave in to the attraction that was always there.
Now, do I think for one second there won’t be major regrets, particularly from Hina, when they return from break? Absolutely not. I’ve watched television before.
But now that we’ve gotten the enemies to roommates to lovers angle covered, it’s time for the angst! And I say, bring it on.
Extra Rescue Notes
- The rescues were few and far between here, but they made all the personal stories so intriguing this hour I couldn’t even be disappointed. You won this round, Rescue: HI-Surf!
- Em’s friend was so disgusted with Em and Will and their cheating that she couldn’t even pretend not to be upset.
- A Christmas episode before we even have Thanksgiving?! I understand it’s just the product of scheduling, but it feels like we got there too quickly.
- Props to the youngster trying to trade his fins for a board.
The first half of Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 has flown by! It’s been a bumpy ride, but there are many stories to look forward to when the show returns.
Hit me up in the comments with all your thoughts about this one and what you hope to see when the show returns!
You can watch Rescue: HI-Surf on FOX on Mondays at 9/8c.
Watch Rescue HI: Surf Online
