There have been plenty of episodes, especially early on, where Magnum worked cases himself.
It’s always a pleasant change of pace when Higgins goes solo, such as on Magnum P.I. Season 4 Episode 17.
Well, Juliet was hardly solo. This time, she almost filled a sidekick role to precocious 12-year-old Ella.
Ella was an enjoyable character, mature beyond her years and on a mission to gain closure. Maybe even more mature than Magnum some days.
Ella was smart enough to trick Higgins into taking the case in the first place. She paid a guy $20 to stand in for her father on the phone.
It was easy to embrace Ella, who attempted to close her HPD detective mother’s last case, a triple homicide.
This case is undoubtedly weightier than Magnum and Higgins usually take on intentionally. Because when things get heavy, it’s time to bring in Katsumoto.
But before that happened, Juliet had to teach Ella some bad habits, such as hacking the homeowners’ phones to make sure no one was home to interrupt their search. It was funny that Ella called her on such illegal activity.
Once they found the murder weapon in the hiding place mentioned in the letter to Ella’s late mother, it was time to bring in Katsumoto, whatever Ella’s feelings.
Katsumoto caved and agreed to help with the case rather than farming it out to the cold-case department after hearing Higgins’ emotional appeal and seeing Ella’s resemblance to her mother, Phoebe.
Ella admitted to Higgins that she was pursuing the investigation because her last words to her mother were cross ones, and she wanted to solve the murders to gain closure.
Following Phoebe’s lead from her notes, Juliet and Ella interview the neighbors. Finding the letter writer, he informs them that the items taken in the robbery were abandoned, along with the gun he planted in the tree.
Then the wheels came off the investigation, as Ella’s father, who hadn’t given his permission, found her and took her home.
Knowing how important the case was to Ella, Higgins refused to let go, continuing her investigation.
To get access to Phoebe’s notes, she even nicely asked Ella’s father if she could look over those files. She also urged him to talk to Ella about why she kept pursuing the investigation.
Earlier, Juliet had learned about a rumor about Mrs. Akumu having an affair. That led her to make the mistake of checking with Clara, a gossipy neighbor, about that story.
She ignored a call from Katsumoto warning that Clara owned the murder weapon (couldn’t he have texted that?), which resulted in her getting conked with a frypan and facing death by gas.
Ella made the intelligent decision to call Katsumoto about Higgins’ overly long absence, and he and HPD arrived just in time to save both Juliet and Clara.
While Higgins faced death, Magnum was getting drunk with a fellow veteran.
That’s taking Thomas’s actions out of context. Sharing liquor was a way of breaking through Vietnam vet Bob Braddock’s crusty shell.
Bob was dying in hospice and was in no mood to have Thomas show up to hang with him. Bob was waiting for death.
As Magnum determined, Bob was lonely, but Thomas made quite a bit of effort to get him to lower his walls.
He rebuffed Magnum at first. But Thomas returned with a prime strip steak which perked up Bob’s appetite. In the interim, Magnum had also learned that Bob’s estranged brother Danny had requested that a veteran come to sit with Bob.
Initially, the two vets swapped war stories. Then, after they established a camaraderie, Thomas got Bob to open up about his relationship with Danny.
Older brother Danny was Bob’s protector growing up. But they fell apart during the war when Bob enlisted, but Danny dodged the draft, moving to Canada.
Magnum could tell that Bob wanted to say goodbye to Danny, so he got them talking again, then laughing, by videocall.
That whole storyline of veterans connecting was touching, especially Max Gail’s stirring performance as Bob.
Finally, Rick’s reunion with Suzy didn’t go as expected. Based on their video calls during her residency, Rick expected things to pick up where they had left off.
Suzy had quite another idea, expecting them to be friends and co-parents.
Based on their heated moment before she departed, they didn’t have a solid base to build a relationship. So Suzy was making the right call there.
It’s too bad because Rick has tried to live a more responsible life since he found out that he would be a father. Rick is no longer as happy-go-lucky as he used to be.
Luckily, T.C. was there to lend Rick a critical perspective. As Suzy spends more time with Rick, the father, Rick, the standup guy, maybe she’ll grow to see him as someone with whom she’s safe to build a relationship.
In other words, her statement made just after a long plane flight isn’t likely to be her final word on the matter.
To revisit Rick and Suzy’s relationship, watch Magnum P.I. online.
Would you like to see Ella return for a future episode?
How did you enjoy Magnum’s interaction with another veteran?
Will Rick and Suzy eventually become a couple?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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