"Hawaii Five-O" To Kill or Be Killed (TV Episode 1971) Poster

(TV Series)

(1971)

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8/10
Surprisingly anti-war considering that the show was probably considered by many to be quite "square".
planktonrules27 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is an episode from "Hawaii Five-O" that offers several huge surprises. The biggest is that although many considered the show "square" since it was very pro law & order, this episode is CLEARLY an anti-Vietnam war show--well before it was popular to criticize the war. Second, although the plot is VERY simple and the mystery is hardly difficult to figure out, the show has some amazingly poignant moments--very, very poignant.

The show begins with a guy apparently bugging the apartment next door. However, in the midst of doing this surveillance, the subject of his work dies--falling many stories to the ground below! How he died is a mystery--was it suicide or murder? And, for that matter, who was bugging the man and why?! The dead man turns out to be the a lieutenant who has just returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam. His father, an army general, is upset and insists that the guy MUST have been murdered--and it's obvious the kid was his pride and joy. Later, during the investigation, McGarrett learns that the general has another son and wonders why he never mentioned this. Well, it soon turns out that this other son was in the room with the dead man before he died--and they were arguing vigorously. Did the kid kill his brother or is there some other logical explanation for this?! The film ends up having major plot elements involving the surviving son refusing to go to war and questioning the legitimacy of the whole thing. Additionally, it turns out that the dead man is NOT quite the hero his dad thought him to be and he held a very dark secret.

As I already said, the film holds some very poignant moments and, unusual for this show, might get your tear ducts flowing! This isn't manipulative at all--just a very good drama that's well worth seeing.
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10/10
Powerful reflection of the times
jdarcy_199922 April 2022
WWII and Vietnam-serving generations and pressures and perspectives collide within a hero soldier's mind and within a family. Great episode - on many layers. Greatly reflective of the era in US history .
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10/10
Brilliant
grahameawilliams21 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
When you consider the.year it was made it covered so much in regards to the Vietnam war. Atrocity, Guilt, suicide, war objector, hawk versus doves...great episode.
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9/10
Based upon a real-life event of the Vietnam War. EPIC!
FloridaFred5 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Shades of the Vietnam War. Obviously based upon the real-life tragic My Lai Massacre of March of 1968. During a raid on a North Vietnamese village, United States Army Troops killed 500 civilians, mostly women, children, and infants. The United States Army tried to cover up the story, but too many people came forward. The Public, who was already tired of the Globalist War in Vietnam, cried "Enough!"

This show starts with a recently discharged War Hero, who somehow falls from a top-floor apartment to his death. Did he fall, or was he thrown?

A neighbor who tells HPD everything she saw, suddenly clams up and refuses to cooperate with McGarrett. Then the Hero's brother comes into the story; he has been drafted, and is planning to flee to Canada. How does he fit in?

This story is decidedly anti-war. We see all of the classic "War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things" posters on the wall. We get the reference to the many Americans who fled to Canada to evade the Draft. Several speeches by the characters question the reason (there wasn't one) for America's involvement in Vietnam.

Interestingly, the people who are helping the Draft Dodgers flee America are presented as drug-using dirty hippies. They are also portrayed as profiteers ("It will cost you $500 to get out of the country, Man!").

This episode does a good job of showing the different viewpoints on the War. The brave General who is "for his Country", the War Hero who now regrets the killings that he committed, the broken-hearted mother who has lost one son, and may be about to lose another one.

Army Intelligence (yes, it's an oxymoron) is trying to stop the War Hero from coming forward. And then things go awry.

Very well-played, with some obvious goofs regarding the uniforms and the long hair and sideburns on the soldiers. Any Veteran or Active Duty will quickly point out, "No way a General would dress so sloppy!", and "Why does the Colonel have his wings on sideways?"

One of the better episodes of H-5-O, it recalls the tragic time when America lost 55,000 young men (and lost the War), and broke the spirits and bodies of countless other soldiers and civilians.

I rate "To Kill or Be Killed" 9 Stars.
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