Hawaii Five-0: 10 Of McGarrett’s Most Reckless Acts

Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) of Hawaii Five-0 is known for a lot of things. The leader of the Five-0 team, an ex-Navy SEAL, half of what fans have dubbed “McDanno” and a brave man that will do whatever it takes to keep his family, friends, and home safe. One of the other things he’s especially known for is his crazy stunts. Steve’s not afraid to push the limits, even when it comes to his own body. He’ll scare any criminal and he’ll push the envelope to get results.

The Governor granting him a free pass with “full immunity and means” to get the job done in the first season allowed Steve to wreak all kinds of havoc, and even after both her death and that free pass was dropped, Steve still continued to be his reckless self. That said, here are 10 of McGarrett’s most reckless acts.

10 Broke Into The Governor’s Mansion Alone

In the Season 1 finale, Steve breaks into the Governor’s mansion hoping to find evidence that shows the Governor knew her recently-murdered assistant was sending Steve clues from his father’s stolen toolbox. He’s dressed all in black, acting like a ninja as he breaks in and out.

Unfortunately for Steve, the next day he’s framed for the murder of the Governor’s assistant and is forced to go on the run–until the Governor is later killed and Steve’s framed for that, too. Steve doesn’t hide from trouble; he dives right in and investigates, which in this instance landed him in a lot of trouble until his team later helped him clear up his name in the Season 2 premiere.

9 Threw A Guy Into A Cage With Sharks Around It

Looking for information while trying to solve a case that started with a shooting at a high school football game, Steve takes Joey (Max Casella) and Danny (Scott Caan) out on the water. Then, he throws Joey, a gun seller with information that they need, into a cage in the water.

Sharks swim around him as Joey screams and pleads for them to get him out, while Steve and Danny chill and let Joey sweat it out until he’s ready to talk. Granted, the sharks circling the cage aren’t carnivorous, and therefore harmless, but Steve’s tactic to get Joey to talk was definitely effective, and probably scarred Joey for life.

8 Used A Grenade To Blow Off A Door In A Pawn Shop

The first season boasts some of McGarrett’s more reckless moments, and this instance is no exception. When the owner of the pawnshop refuses to let Steve and Danny into the back to check out the merchandise that could be related to their case, the owner didn’t bet on the fact that Steve keeps grenades handy.

The happy expression Steve has on his face as the guy continually refuses to help them shows how much pleasure he takes in his work and the full immunity and means that come with it. Steve even provides an “I’ll be back” before he goes out to fetch the grenade and blow off the door. Danny, for his part, offers to pay for help for Steve’s demented ways.

7 Didn’t Call For Back-Up

From the moment we met Steve, we knew we were in store for some serious action and entertainment. He could be both serious and lighthearted.

When he goes looking for a suspect with Danny that’s connected to his father’s murder in the “Pilot” episode, Danny suggests they call back-up, to which Steve replies that Danny is the back-up. This does not please Danny, but it’s something he reluctantly gets used to overt ime as Steve’s partner and best friend.

6 Drove At Full Speed Through A Front Door

While Danny and his old boss from HPD are trying to protect a coma patient with signs of waking that is from a former case of Danny’s,  alongside the patient’s nurse, they are outnumbered and under fire from hitmen after the patient.

Steve is trying to find them and help, but can’t quite locate the house–until Danny tells his partner to follow the gunshots. That does the trick, as Steve honks once before coming through the front door at full speed in his truck and killing the last of the hitmen. Good thing Danny and the others weren’t near the door–even with the honk, there barely would’ve been enough time to get out of the way.

5 Hung A Guy From A Rooftop

In “Ohana”, a man is kidnapped that, given his career, could pose a threat to national security if not rescued. Steve, Chin (Daniel Dae Kim), and Danny manage to track down one of the kidnappers, who’s been injured, and, wanting to find out why they kidnapped him, Steve brutally hangs the kidnapper off the roof, holding him by his legs.

Danny yells at Steve the whole time, shouting that it’s not “Guantanamo” and Steve can’t just hang a guy from a roof until Chin finds out who the kidnapper is and they get the info they need. Steve later explains to Danny the kidnapper would only talk out of “fear of death”, but Danny doesn’t agree, reprimanding Steve. Steve had a point, but his points tend to get a little extreme.

4 Jumped Out Of An Ambulance

Steve was escaping from prison, but it’s still a pretty big risk. He’d already been stabbed in prison in the Season 2 premiere, and while in the ambulance, he beats up the paramedics and leaps out, hitting the pavement hard and rolling a couple of times before he’s nearly hit by a car.

Considering he was already injured, and then manages to get up and run after jumping out of the ambulance, it’s impressive he was able to push his body to the limits that he did. It had to hurt, and he took a big risk when he was already in big trouble, but if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have cleared his name.

3 Didn’t Look Both Ways Before Crossing The Street

In “I Helu Pu”, Steve’s especially mad and gunning for a suspect who’s hiding out at the Russian Consulate. The moment they trick him into leaving, Steve chases after him and is so into it that he fails to notice the car coming, which hits and injures both him and the suspect.

Steve was lucky enough to come out of it with only minor injuries, and that his suspect also lived and went to jail. Granted, Steve was trying to catch a criminal but in his desperation to catch the suspect, he forgot to take note of his surroundings, and it could’ve cost him more than just a suspect.

2 Hitched A Ride Under An Armored Truck

In “Ohuna”, Steve hides underneath the armored truck ordered by a team of criminals that have taken Kono (Grace Park) hostage until they’re out on the road, and he crawls out from underneath and is dragged upon the pavement for a moment before climbing up to the top and punching out the driver, taking over so the criminals inside the back of the truck aren’t tipped off.

Kono herself puts up a good fight as she later falls out of the truck and proceeds to kick serious butt. Steve for his part had his bulletproof vest and T-shirt torn up significantly for riding beneath the truck, but he’ll go to any length to protect his teammates and capture the bad guys.

1 Jumped Off A Bridge Onto A Moving Semi Truck

In the Season 7 finale, Steve jumps off a bridge and lands onto a moving semi-truck below, aiming to rescue young girls that are stuck in a sex trafficking ring. This is probably Steve’s craziest stunt, as he could’ve died several different ways had his timing been off or had luck or a guardian angel not been on his side.

Steve has been known to risk his life several times to varying degrees, but he’d never quite gone to this level before. Though we were certainly concerned for Steve, as was his team, it made for one of the best, if not the best, action sequences we saw on Hawaii Five-0.