“Hawaii Five-0” has tried before to add to the Five-0 team, but no one has stuck as well their newest series regular, Chi McBride, who plays the commanding, but often conflicted, Captain Lou Grover. McBride plays the former head of HPD’s elite SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Unit, and has created a character that can hold his own with McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin), Danno (Scott Caan), Chin (Daniel Dae Kim), and Kono (Grace Park). McBride’s character has definitely grown since he joined the series at the start of season four, when he was introduced as the unorthodox SWAT commander that seemed to butt heads with McGarrett right from the start.

The title of the season four premiere, “Aloha Kekahi i Kekahi,” means “to love one another” in Hawaiian, yet there wasn’t a whole lot of love for Grover when he first came face-to-face with McGarrett. When I spoke to McBride on the red carpet that year, he shared that his character was supposed to be “one of the good guys, but there are some issues because I don’t always approve of McGarrett’s way of doing things.”

And that was never more evident than in that first episode. Yet we were pleased to see that while McG and Grover didn’t always see eye-to-eye on how to work a case, they did agree on one thing — that all bad guys need to be stopped, and as long as the “good guys” always win — they could find a way to compromise in order to get the job done. So when McG and Grover are forced by Governor Denning (Richard T. Jones) to work together in “Akanahe” (“Reluctant Partners”), we see two men who are dedicated to getting that job done — and they find a way to make a kind of compromise which starts to become a sort of reluctant friendship.

Luckily for us, this friendship doesn’t stop growing throughout the season, with Grover joining the team to help find his friend Jack Anderson (Karl Makinen), a fugitive hiding from the FBI, and then confessing to McGarrett the truth about why he and his family left Chicago in “Pale ʻia,” (“Buried Secrets”). It seems as if McGarrett isn’t the only soldier who suffers silently when he thinks about the lives he has taken — innocent or not. Grover seems to get even closer to the team when he helps them free McGarrett and Danno from a collapsed building in the fan favorite episode, “Kū I Ka Pili Koko,” (“Blood Brothers”). By the end of the season, in “ʻO Ka Pili ʻOhana Ka ʻOi” (“Family Comes First”), we see all of the animosity that started between McGarrett and Grover washed away.

I think for me it was the season four ending when Grover does exactly what Five-0 would have done, in order to save a loved one, which helped cement my love for him. Samantha (Paige Hurd), Grover’s daughter, is taken by Ian Wright (Nick Jonas) and Grover breaks just about every law he swore to uphold in order to comply with the wishes of her kidnapper — leaving his SWAT team in peril and the Five-0 team wondering what is wrong with their friend. They end up helping him in order to save his girl, but Grover’s actions force the Governor to ask for his resignation. McGarrett and the team surprise him during his first week as a retired cop — and ask him to officially join Five-0.

Of course, fans didn’t complain — here was another team member they could get behind — one who was similar to the rest of the team, who was tough and unorthodox, yet tenderhearted enough to sob thinking about the suffering someone he loves may be experiencing. It’s a testament to not only the strength of the Grover character, but also the talent of McBride, who was confirmed as series regular only a few months after season four started. Fans loved him, onscreen and off. He was one of the highlights at “Sunset on the Beach” and is always kind to fans whenever they see him around Honolulu. McBride also brings with him to “Hawaii Five-0″ years of television and film experience, as well as a physical presence that cannot be ignored. At 6’4”, even dressed in the requisite business attire of a Honolulu professional — modest aloha shirts and slacks — McBride can’t really “just blend in.”  

This is not a bad thing — he definitely adds to the look of the core four — brute strength, power, ferocity. While the team was strong before Grover joined them, that fifth add just rounded them off and gave them even stronger numbers and strength. I do love that they also allow Grover to carry McBride’s love of color and flair into the storylines. Grover’s brightly colored golfing attire is reminiscent of the salmon colored jacket McBride wore to the season four premiere — and really, only Chi McBride can pull off those colors and look as good and cool as he does.

In these last two seasons, five and six, we’ve gotten to know more about Grover and what makes him tick. His backstory was introduced in “‘Ike Hānau,” or “Instinct”, the episode that brought his former Chicago PD partner Clay Maxwell into the story. Clay and his wife, Diane, came to Hawaii to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, and Diane dies during a morning hike. Grover suspects Clay planned and executed the murder — banking on the fact that his oldest friend would help smooth over the investigation and not look too deeply into the circumstances surrounding Diane’s death.

But Grover is a good cop — and his good cop instincts led him to uncover a completely different story than the one Clay was telling. With the help of Five-0, he almost gets Clay to break, but his satisfaction had to be put on hold until season six, when Grover’s story got even more interesting.

Grover decides, much like Five-0 rolls, to take his investigation into his own hands. He returns to Chicago, in “ʻUmia Ka Hanu” (“Hold the Breath”), to confront Clay and get his confession. While many fans thought the episode went overboard with it’s brutality, Grover does it to find justice for Diane and to save Clay’s girlfriend LeAnn (Jonell Kennedy) from the same fate.

Yet, Grover doesn’t seem to be able to get too far from his past, as it comes back hard and fast in “Mālama Ka Poʻe” (“Care For One’s People”) when he and his family are forced to take off from Hawaii when Clay organizes a hit on Grover and his family. Clay wants revenge for Grover sending him to prison. Grover sadly has to move his family before the hitmen catch up to them, and the Five-0 team are left to unravel why their friend went off the grid. They uncover the hit, and the rogue FBI agent who is after Grover, and save their friend and his family.

I think Groverʻs family is another reason why we love him. His wife Renee (Michelle Hurd), and their children Samantha (Paige Hurd) and Will (Chosen Jacobs) are loving and supportive, and they make a great little ʻohana. We see Grover as the whole package — good at his job, a strong family man, a loyal friend. All aspects that make him an integral part of the Five-0 team. He fits — he shares their values and their like minded tactics — sure, they may disagree every now and then — but what friendship is perfect? Grover is a big man with a big heart and that makes for an interesting character and a solid teammate — flaws and all.

REDUX SIDE NOTE

So far the news of “Hawaii Five-0” guest stars for season seven has been minimal, but from the social media posts from various actors, we can guess that there will be some interesting actors joining the Five-0 crew starting in September.

We know from the news from the first day of shooting on July 6, that Rosalind Chao has joined the cast in a recurring role as Governor Keiko Mahoe. She will replace Richard T. Jones, who played Governor Sam Denning during seasons two through four, as the Governor of Hawaii. Jones was last seen in “Akanahe” (“Reluctant Partners”) when he refereed between McGarrett and Grover, forcing them to partner up in order to catch season baddie Ian Wright. Season four ended in 2014, which is about the same time that Hawaii elected their new governor, David Ige. So it would seem fairly accurate that “Hawaii Five-0” would get a new governor as well.

Chao is most famous for her work in the legendary television show “M*A*S*H” and the sequel “AfterMASH.” She played Klinger’s South Korean bride Soon Lee who married the former cross-dressing company clerk in his own white wedding dress. Chao also played Keiko O’Brien, a Japanese botanist, in both “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Movie fans will remember her as Rose, the unhappily married daughter of An-mei, in the film version of Amy Tan’s novel “The Joy Luck Club.”

Since Statehood in 1959, Hawaii has had eight governors — and none have been an Asian female. We have had three Asian governors — George Ariyoshi, Ben Cayetano, and David Ige. We’ve had one kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) governor, John Waiheʻe, who served from 1986 to 1994; and one female governor, Linda Lingle, who served from 2002 to 2010.

We’re definitely looking forward to seeing Chao this season. I know I’m definitely interested in watching her try and wrangle McG and the team. Won’t that make for great fireworks?

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Wendie Burbridge is a published author, playwright and teacher. Reach her via Facebook and follow her on Twitter  and Instagram.