There is an old saying that goes: “All concerns of men go wrong when they wish to cure evil with evil.” This week’s “Hawaii Five-0” focuses on that idea as it impacts the lives of both McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Adam (Ian Anthony Dale). The episode, titled “Kā i ka ‘ino, no ka ‘ino,” is a traditional ʻōlelo noʻeau, or Hawaiian proverb or poetical saying, which means “to return evil for evil,” and continues Adam’s storyline from last week’s “O ‘oe, a ‘owau, nalo ia mea” (“You and Me, It is Hidden”).

In Hawaiian, “Kā i ka ‘ino” means “curse” or “to smite with evil,” and it seems as if Five-0 might be feeling the bite of wickedness as their case of the week makes a strange connection to the long-dead Wo Fat. Likewise, Adam’s past life as a Yakuza heir seems to also have resurfaced as he must make a decision about his future with Tamiko or with Five-0.

Written by Kendall Sherwood and directed by Karen Gaviola the episode leaves us wondering where Adam now stands after saving his new love, Tamiko (Brittany Ishibashi), the daughter of Yakuza boss, Hajime Masuda (Sonny Saito). It also brings forth a new villain for McGarrett, Daiyu Mei (Eugenia Yuan), who claims to be the wife of Wo Fat and seems to have more on her mind than just taking over her late husband’s role as an international arms dealer.

CURSED BY LOVE AND LOYALTY

The episode begins where we left off last week, with Adam arriving at Five-0 headquarters, after being summoned by McGarrett soon after Adam, with Masuda-san (Saito) and his crew, rescued Tamiko from kidnappers. McGarrett and Duke (Dennis Chun) wait for him and present him with his watch in an evidence bag taken from an armed robbery that Adam committed in order to find Tamiko. Rather than tell McGarrett the truth, he turns in his badge and his gun and tell’s McGarrett, “After everything you’ve done for me, you deserve the truth. I can’t give you that.”

McGarrett shares the exchange with Danny (Scott Caan) who thinks that there is a reasonable explanation for Adam to quit Five-0. Danny thinks the best of Adam and feels that there must be something that is holding him back from telling McGarrett the whole story. When Duke later tells them that Masuda is dead, Danny surmises that perhaps Tamiko wanted Adam to quit his dangerous job with Five-0 soon after losing her father.

But this is not the case, as Adam seems to have made a decision. He is going to choose Tamiko over his Five-0 family. Clearly, the curse of his birthright, as well as his love for Tamiko, has given him a new path in life. It’s just sad that he has also chosen to shut out his Five-0 family in the process.

THE GHOST OF WO FAT

If you are new to “Hawaii Five-0,” Wo Fat, played by Mark Dacascos, was the series villain from season one up until season five, when McGarrett killed him in the 100th episode, “Inā paha” (“If Perhaps”). In that same episode, McGarrett learned that his mother, Doris, who had been sent to assassinate Wo Fat’s father, raised Wo Fat after she accidentally killed his mother. Wo Fat’s last words were to call McGarrett “brother,” as they were both raised by the same woman. McGarrett rejected that relationship and promptly put a bullet through Wo Fat’s eyes.

So it seems as if Wo Fat’s wife, Daiyu Mei, has vengeance on her mind, and McGarrett in her sights as the man who killed her husband. She has recently escaped a Chinese prison where she was doing time for trafficking illegal weapons, which could explain the five-year gap between Wo Fat’s death and her seeking out McGarrett to avenge his death.

The connection between Daiyu Mei and the case of the week involves the use of a man-portable air defense system or MANPADS to blow a civilian helicopter out of the sky. McGarrett finds out that the weapon seems to have been part of a much larger shipment of munitions “that ended up in the hands of a well-known arms trader by the name of Wo Fat.”

RETURNING EVIL

Later in the episode, we see Daiyu Mei selling the weapons cache and then gunning down her buyers juxtaposed with McGarrett and the team storming the warehouse. Yet, all Five-0 finds is an empty space, which makes McGarrett realize that they were set up and that Daiyu Mei seems to be one step ahead of them.

As the episode ends, Daiyu Mei promises one of the dying buyers that she will get him help if he delivers a message to McGarrett. She tells him to give McGarrett her name and says, “He might not know me, but he’ll be familiar with my late husband, Wo Fat. Tell him I look forward to meeting him soon.” It is a promise that holds more than just a touch of evil.

What is interesting about Daiyu Mei — she seems to operate like Wo Fat. She is supremely calm, doesn’t really raise her voice, or overreact to setbacks or intrusions. We’ve been waiting for a proper series villain since the death of Wo Fat and Gabriel Waincroft (Christopher Sean in season six), and she seems to be equally as evil as they were before their untimely demise. We can only hope she lives up to the reputation of her husband. Because a good villain that we love to hate is very hard to find.

Wendie Burbridge writes the “Five-0 Redux” and “Magnum Reloaded” blogs for staradvertiser.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.