Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
3.5
It was a busy day for the lifeguards on Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 12, as a tsunami warning meant herding everyone off the beach, and for Sonny, he had to search for his missing daughter.
While ramping up the action, the tsunami threat slowed the ongoing storylines, especially in the aftermath of Will and Em’s “breakup” and Em’s decision to back out of becoming captain.
It was a long day but an impactful one that launched a slew of new stories that will guide us into the second half of the season.
Sonny started the hour seemingly still convinced that he was ready to retire, even with Em throwing a wrench into everything during Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 11 when she decided she no longer wanted it.
On the one hand, Sonny is a proud guy who made a decision that he wanted to stick to. He knew that he struggled in the aftermath of Zion’s death, and he felt that it was time for him to step aside.
But on the other hand, he’d made great strides to get himself to a healthier place, especially on the job. He’s still a good, stable captain capable of doing the job, and days like the one he had further prove that.
It’s not as if Em couldn’t do it, but perhaps it wasn’t her time the way she thought it was.
The tsunami threat started as an advisory and became a full-blown warning as the day progressed, and realizing that they would essentially be going into the potential event blind had to be pretty scary, even if Sonny didn’t show it.
Sonny can be extremely stoic when he needs to be, and considering Ocean was missing, and a tsunami was potentially coming, you’d think he’d be a bit more frantic, but that’s not really him.
At his core, he’s pretty damn calm, and he’s shown that when he’s in the right headspace.
We still don’t know much about Ocean, but she’s a teenager. Teenagers sometimes skip school and lie to their parents to hang out with their friends and do other things their parents may not approve of.
She just happened to pick the absolute worst day to ditch her phone at home.
It was funny to see Sonny sniffing around Ocean’s friends to see if someone would snitch on her. Once he got the information he needed, it was easy to find her and her boyfriend.
I felt a little bad for Ocean getting screamed at because no one wants their parents to come from them when their friends are around. But she did mess up, and he had every right to be upset with her.
With the chaos of the day, Sonny was scared. A natural disaster was looming, and he had no idea where his daughter was.
Sure, Ocean didn’t know what would happen when she woke up that morning, but she still lied to her parents. That’s reason enough for them to be angry and disappointed, with the tsunami warning adding an extra layer of irritation.
In the aftermath of Zion’s death, Sonny has likely been a shell of himself in some ways, but the way the community reveres him on that island and his approach to the job has shown him to be a good human being.
And Ocean’s a teenager who was mad when she lashed out at Sonny, but the two worked together like a well-oiled machine when they had to save a man from the water.
You could tell Ocean was scared throughout, and even with some junior lifeguard training, you never think you’ll be in a position to help save a life.
It was a powerful moment for father and daughter, and it seemed to be what Sonny needed to remind himself that he still wanted to do the job. He always knew he was capable, but working alongside Ocean seemed to give him some clarity that he wasn’t done yet imparting wisdom and protecting his neighbors.
He didn’t get a chance to talk to Em until the end of the day, and Em spent her day with Laka because Will ran off to Australia after Julie dumped him, and honestly, good for him.
Did he run away when the going got tough? Absolutely. But there was no way he could stroll into work after everything that happened.
That job needs a clear head, as we know from what we’ve seen with Sonny, and Will’s whole life changed overnight. A reset and chance to process would only be for the best.
Em was in the dark about his jaunt back home, and god, how sickening she had to find out Will and Julie broke up from Laka, of all people.
Em may not know that Laka is her biggest hater, but I know, and I was so sick for her that she had to find out through him.
The fact that so many weren’t evacuating the beach appropriately meant Em and Laka were busy all day long. There were not big, heart-pounding rescues, but I’m a fan of all the rescues they give us.
And you could tell as the day wore on that Em was struggling internally with everything that had transpired with Will and the decision to no longer be captain.
Anyone can understand the simple act of changing your mind, but there’s no way Will didn’t factor into Em’s decision at all, and I hate that for her because he’s not worth it.
Em’s worked hard to be in the position she’s in, with the full backing of someone like Sonny, whose word means so much. But if she wasn’t ready, then she wasn’t ready.
It would have been way worse for her to accept the job and then decide, a few weeks in, that she didn’t want it, throwing everything for the team into flux. Doing it now meant that Sonny still had a chance to change his mind, and that’s precisely what he did.
The whole season has been shifting toward Em becoming captain, and now that’s just over, and we’re right back to the on-the-job dynamics of Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 1.
It makes you wonder what they have planned for the rest of the season.
Elsewhere, Hina gave her blessing for her friend Rosie to chat it up with Kainalu after being impressed with his decision to drive a critical patient to the hospital himself instead of following protocol.
It gets swept under the rug at times because of the Will/Em saga and Sonny’s various issues, but Kainalu has slowly become one of the best people on this show.
He started as a jerk, nepo baby who was in over his head, and he’s turned into a damn good lifeguard, and he’s shown himself to be compassionate, hardworking, and kind.
You wouldn’t even know now that he and Hina had such a rough start because they fit together seamlessly at this point.
But Hina doesn’t want to be Will and Em, and that’s mature and probably the right call. But they have so much chemistry, and there’s clearly something there between them.
Kainalu would jump at the chance to pursue something with Hina if she gave him anything back, but she’s protecting herself. I can understand that on the surface, but how will she react if things between him and Rosie progress beyond flirty beer-pong banter?
I will take this kind of angst and pining over whatever Will and Em have going on every day of the week.
Extra Rescue Notes
- The way Hina and Kainalu were gossiping about Will and Em was wild. I swear everyone on that island, except Julie and Sean, knew what was happening.
- Laka and Em make a good team, and I’d be a fan of the twosome if Laka knew how to mind his business. I’m not even a fan of Will and Em, but it’s infuriating to hear him constantly give an opinion on them when no one is asking.
- Em is a better person than me because there’s no way Will would have heard from me first after what he did.
- Any time I hear the word “tsunami” on a television series, I think about 9-1-1 Season 2 and what a feat it was back then to show a disaster of that scale on broadcast television.
Alright, guys. Now it’s your turn to let me know how you feel after this one.
Are you glad Sonny isn’t retiring?
Where do Will and Em go from here?
Are you rooting for Hina and Kainalu to get together?
Comment down below with all your thoughts so we can discuss!
You can watch Rescue: HI-Surf on FOX at 9/8c on Mondays.
Watch Rescue HI: Surf Online
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