‘Magnum P.I.’ Recap: ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’

10/26/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

MAGNUM P.I. -- "Night Has a Thousand Eyes" Episode 514 -- Pictured: (l-r) Melvin Diggs as Justin, Zachary Knighton as Orville "Rick" Wright, Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum -- (Photo by: Zack Dougan/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 514 of ‘Magnum P.I.’ To revisit the previous episode, 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.

Something that is genuinely fascinating about the fifth (and now) final season of Magnum P.I. on NBC, is the sheer fact that this year’s stories have tried some bold new things for the franchise. After all, the first half of year five offered up serialized storytelling, which is rare for a crime drama, revolving around Magnum’s past and some nefarious entities. Whereas the back half of season five is making it clear to us… that the show wants to focus on a central theme really. Specifically, what it means to go above and beyond… to just do good in this world. Because so many stories post midseason break, have focused on righting wrongs and how lives can be impacted by the evils of the world, and this week’s episode echoes those sentiments as well.

For ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ saw Magnum and Rick teaming up to solve quite the case for a friend of Rick’s. Who… was dealing with some serious life problems. For Jason recently survived a horrific and fatal car crash that took the life of his friend and a Honolulu PD officer and well… he was facing a lot of problems because of this. For he had alcohol in his system the night of the crash and the assumption was, he was behind the wheel and did this, and charges would be brought to bear. But what had him concerned, was that he wasn’t behind the wheel, and he only survived because he was pulled from the fiery wreckage of that crash, and he needed the person that yanked him out of there to speak up and clear his name so he could grieve and pick up the pieces of his life.

Which is exactly who Rick and Magnum set out to find, and that embroiled them in quite the moral quagmire. For it turned out that all of this was set in motion, by way of a dirty State Senator. Who in turn used his power to get a good cop into a bad situation and that in turn led to a wrong moment, wrong time scenario for the good Samaritan that saved the day. But thanks to Magnum and Rick, they were able to not only keep that hero safe long enough to speak up and save another life… but they put down corruption in their town because it was just wrong and because abuses of power are wrong. All of which stood to that central theme we discussed a moment ago and made for one uplifting and beautiful story about standing by people that have been wrong, and perhaps showing them a better way in the process. Since that good Samaritan did need to find a new career path.

But while that was lovely to enjoy that storyline, this tale also featured some other wonderful plot lines. One of which involved a conundrum for Higgy. Because she failed her private investigators certification exam multiple times and had to reckon with the reality that she could only do so much in this case, giving rise to a fascinating vulnerability for her and some frustration. Because she loves helping people and not being able to dive in, was a lot for her to handle. Plus, this episode also featured T.C.’s return home from the hospital and coming home brought forth a great deal of reflection for him. The kind that spoke to how his brush with death might have inspired him to really look at his life from a new angle. And really, it was just nice to be reminded of the depth these characters harbor and enjoy more time with them and the decency that runs through their veins.

All of which helped to bring together, a stunningly human tale about decency, and well… that’s not a bad theme to see on the air right now. Since the world is angry and fussy, and bad things are happening, so why not enjoy a show that features good people, doing right by others? And if that’s all the show is going to focus on for the next few weeks before saying goodbye, then that is just fine too. Because such a move really is treating us to some dynamic and uplifting stories and there is no better way to bid farewell to a five-year journey, then through good vibes, hope, and a grand reminder that we can be better through and through. And truly… it will be interesting to see what other wholesome stories await us as we inch toward the end of Magnum and Higgins’ time on the air. Until next time.

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