‘Magnum P.I.’ Recap: ‘Hit and Run’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

MAGNUM P.I. -- "Hit and Run" Episode 511 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins -- (Photo by: NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 511 of ‘Magnum P.I.’ To revisit the Season Five Midseason Finale, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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Normally when a show returns from a hiatus of any kind, its fans are filled with joy. Because at last, there is more. More of those beloved characters, more of the stories that captivate and more of everything about the show that brings forth joy. But sometimes, those feelings are hard to find when a show comes back from hiatus, for the final time. Because then we know, this is it, the end of the line, a march toward a goodbye that we simply don’t want to take part in and well… all we feel… is melancholy. If anything, it is safe to say that fans of Magnum P.I. on NBC, felt that bittersweet sadness when they tuned into the show for its season five midseason premiere last night. Since earlier this year, it was announced that these upcoming ten episodes, would be the show’s final ten episodes.
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Which remains unfortunate news, especially since ‘Hit and Run’ hit the ground running and offered up one amazing plot. For this time around, Thomas and Juliet were hired by a hitman, to protect a young girl that he was contracted to kill. Which brought forth a stunning case that took our heroes all over the islands as they uncovered a disgustingly sinister plot. One that involved a down home church in the south, whose founding pastor was the young girl’s father, and out of a sense of duty, he took care of her, financially, from afar. But his passing meant that his son was taking over, and junior didn’t like the idea of paying off an individual that would be deemed as the illegitimate child of a pastor, so… he ordered up her end. But thanks to this duo, that never happened, and they saved the young girl and brought an entire crooked church empire down. 

Which was a wholesome and engaging plot that offered up a new kind of case for this duo to solve, and we will definitely miss that level of creativity and everything else this episode offered up. Such as the fascinating conundrum that Thomas and Juilet faced in this tale. Because there was in fact, a pregnancy scare for the couple in this story and that… left both of them wondering deeply… what would change for their profession if by chance they did have a baby. For they have chosen a risky line of work, one that puts physical harm upon both parties and well… this was a valid question and concern for them to address and something that most action shows and stories that feature a power couple in danger, don’t address in such detail. That made for some wonderful moments with these characters, the kind that ended in a manner we’ve been wanting to see for some time, and the wondrous character moments didn’t end there.

Because we also caught up with T.C. in this tale and followed in his struggles that resulted from that ugly attack in the midseason finale. And well, he was doing his best to adjust… with mixed results. Because it was hard for him to accept that he might not be able to overcome his injuries. But he had love and support around him, and good news at the end of this tale, and this was just powerful to watch to say the least and had us rooting for him every step of the way. Plus, it was also nice to see Rick start to work on potentially finding love again, with someone that accepts him for him, and this wonderful mix of character moments and development, alongside one juicy plot, really did make for one amazing midseason premiere. One that celebrated some of the best aspects of this show and of course, left us a touch melancholy.

But what is done, is done, and we did get five glorious seasons of this show and the big moments we utterly wanted, and that means… that once we let the melancholy fade, we can just savor the moments ahead. So that we can properly say goodbye to a show that brings us joy and managed to captivate generations of viewers and of course… letting that fade will also help us savor one great episode. Because that case really was the stuff of legend and showcased the best parts of our heroes and even the hitman that hired them. Plus, it was just great to see T.C. and Rick work to grow and move forward in life and well, sadness or no, it’s great to have these final episodes on the air and it will be interesting to see what other wonders await as we head toward the series finale of this magnificent show. Until next time.

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