Aimee Garcia and Nick Gomez were key players in a recent episode of Hawaii Five-O, a show (for pretty obvious reasons) not swimming in Latino acting roles. You can watch the kidnapping drama unfold, right here on CBS.com (And here’s a special thank-you: CBS has been doing a great job of offering most of its line-up online–comedies and drama alike–almost immediately after broadcast, while networks like FOX and the CW are locking their shows up for days or even weeks after premiere.)
You’ll notice a couple of things about this tight little tale; just ignore the “to be continued” subplot with the bald guy from Lost.
Spoiler alert. Seriously: watch it before reading, or run the risk of learning a major plot twist well before you’re supposed to.
First: Latinos = Drug runners. Again. Wouldn’t you know, one of the first times Latinos make it onto the show, they appear as the greatest cliché of the twenty-first century TV: they’re narcotraficantes. Granted, they’re beautiful and very crafty criminals, but still…No tourists? Single parents? Traveling students? After all, this mythical version of the Aloha State has an African American governor and a whole lot of haole. How about some of ‘us’ appearing in a non-criminal capacity?
Second: Aimee Garcia has gone to the dark side. We’ve never seen her as smart-ass and just plain mean as she is in this. Clearly, she’s been hanging around the weird people over on Dexter way too much.
Third: A shout-out to Nick Gomez, a great Latino actor who plays a pivotal role in the episode (and kicks the door open for a possible return appearance). Nick, brother of Chuck’s Joshua Gomez, has been getting a fair amount of work recently, but not much recognition. He’s darn good, just as he was as a scientist in a recent episode of the USA Network’s Burn Notice. And if you doubt the brother-connection, watch him closely in his last scene, on the steps of the courthouse. He gives a smirk and a shrug that our-Morgan’s Morgan. We’re talking brothers here.
Anyway: it’s nice to see up-and-coming Latino actors putting in strong performances in the most unexpected places…including the jungles of Hawaii. All we can say is: more please.
