‘Hawaii Five-0’ Premiere Says Goodbye to Two Major Characters

(Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season premiere of Hawaii Five-0)

Hawaii Five-0 caused quite a stir over the summer when it was revealed that Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, two stars of the show, wouldn’t be returning after they failed to reach equal pay with their co-stars.

Since then, fans have been wondering how the show would say goodbye to these pivotal characters, Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua. All of those questions were finally put to rest when Hawaii Five-0 returned for Season 9 this week.

In the season premiere, it’s revealed that Chin Ho Kelly has moved to San Francisco to head up a mainland version of the task force — sending him far away from Hawaii.

In another scene, Danny shares that Kono Kalakaua is off chasing sex traffickers on the mainland, which makes sense following last season’s finale where Kono was seen on a plane to Carson City to take down a trafficking ring.

With two of the show’s leads gone, the series added regular Meaghan Rath, who portrays Tani Rey. Only time will tell if she’ll be able to fill the very big shoes left by Chin and Kono’s absence.

What did you think of tonight’s episode, Hawaii fans? Was it the same without two of the show’s major players?

Hawaii Five-0 airs Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.