Aloha, all! After a long and agonizing summer of waiting to see one of the biggest cliffhangers of the spring finales from earlier this year get resolved, Hawaii Five-0 returns to its regular night and time. Picking up right where the finale left off, the show dives right into what fans have been waiting three months to see. What happened to Kono?

Even though we never were truly worried about Kono's fate, we still wanted to see who came to her rescue. We wanted to finally meet Shelburne and we wanted to know what Malia's fate was. But did the pay off you know...pay off? Or was this just over top with a whole lot of action and not much plot?

If all you cared about was the first five minutes of the episode, then yes. The pay off was well worth the wait. The episode does a wonderful job of recapping what happened in the finale to set up the first scenes of the new season.

First things first, Kono is very much alive. And secondly, hurray for who saved her. Adam jumps in to rescue his lady love from a watery grave after being called by Chin. Can I just say that this man acted ridiculously fast? Or am I to suspend animated belief that Kono survived despite being underwater for quite some time? Does anyone know what traffic is like in Hawaii at that time of night? And where did he get a little raft so fast? Honestly, who cares! Kono is alive and well and Adam saved her. I called it by the way. I've liked Adam and Kono ever since it was revealed that they were together. These two give me feelings. And I really hope that the show makes them the one functioning relationship on this show.

Unfortunately, Malia wasn't so lucky. Despite the fact that Chin chose to save his wife over his cousin (in his defense he tried to save them both), he wasn't on time. Malia died before the credits even rolled. And honestly, did anyone actually care? I guess out of all the characters left in peril in last season's finale, she was most expendable. I think that is why her death really didn't matter. It happened so fast and she was such a minor character, that it didn't really do anything to evoke emotion for me. But it was actually the catalyst needed for Chin to straddle the line between good cop and bad cop. After the death of his wife, he vows to go after Delano. And he does in a very angry way.

McGarrett finally gets his chance to meet Shelburne who turns out to be his mom. A lot of fan theories had been circulating since the Pilot that either Steve's mother or father was alive. To be proven correct makes me feel extremely justified. I've always known there was something off about her accident. I do especially love Steve's reaction to seeing his mother again for the first time in 20 years. He's not completely forgiving of her decisions right off the bat. Especially not after he learns that she was a spy and that was why she had to fake her own death. But that's his mama and you don't mess with Mama McGarrett. He decides to bring her home from Japan because Wo Fat has been arrested and it's safe.

Or so he thinks.

Because Delano has found a way to help Wo Fat escape while he is in transit to the main land. Don't ask me to explain how. Just know, that whether you watch the show or not, the extraction of Wo Fat is more than enough reason to watch the first few minutes of this episode. The scene is straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Though not at all a fee-sable plan of action it was still a whole lot of fun to see unfold.

Once the team finds out that Delano and Wo Fat are in league with each other, Dark Chin comes out of hiding. He vows vengeance on the man who killed his wife. And he gets it. Delano devises a plan to get into a newly blown up HPD to steal drugs. I know, I heard that too and cringed. Such a big and elaborate plan for a drug theft left me wanting to slam my head against a wall. How very cliche, I thought.

But then, you realize Wo Fat is not with him and realize it's all part of the plan (insert Heath Ledger's Joker voice here). And much a bigger plan at that. The drug theft at HPD was a diversion to draw out Five-0 so Wo Fat could go after Shelburne. Delano gave him the intel that Shelburne was Mama McGarrett and using some of Delano's dirty cops he's able to get on the grounds of the safe house that is currently housing her.

But he didn't know that Catherine was watching her. Not that it mattered. When he finally got to Shelburne, she let him escape. And no one knows why. But at least the team knows that she let him run and she didn't actually defend herself against him. I personally don't trust Mama McGarrett. She's definitely hiding something. But she's a McGarrett so there really shouldn't be any surprise there. She was a spy and after surviving two attempted assassinations, she's clearly very good at her job. She's got to have a lot of skeletons hidden a closet somewhere.

Now, I don't quite understand why Catherine is back or why they've given her such a predominant role this season. Isn't she essentially filling in the same shoes left by Lori when she was blatantly written off the show in the stupidest way in the history of Hawaii Five-0 and possibly television? I know Catherine was there first, but she wasn't ever anything more than Steve's booty call.

Why the sudden importance? My biggest strife with this series is that they make Grace Park the be all end all in terms of female representation. I love my girl Kono, but honestly, she's not the best damn thing since sliced bread. Having another girl holding her own and going toe to toe with the boys is not a bad thing. I hope the series actually realizes that before they do something to Catherine to write her off in the same disrespectful fashion that actress Lauren German was on the receiving end of.

Overall, it was a solid episode for a Hawaii Five-0 season premiere. The action did not let up and the mystery surrounding Shelburne and Wo Fat continues. It's going to be a damn good season if this episode is anything to go by.

What about you? Did you enjoy the return for Hawaii Five-0? Was it everything you wanted or did it leave you wanting more? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @FilmThrasher or @Lilah86 on Twitter!