It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Thomas and Juliet’s relationship became less secret on Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 5.
Their relationship started to become more public thanks to the behavior of their household pets, of all things.
Higgins had predicted that Rick moving into the guest house could be a problem for their relationship back on Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 2.
She was referring to having one less place where they could secretly hook up. But that didn’t turn out to be the real problem, however.
Indeed, even as sleep-deprived and exhausted as new dad Rick was, he still picked up on a change in Magnum’s behavior. He correctly deduced that Thomas was seeing a new woman.
What he didn’t yet put together was that Magnum’s new squeeze was a woman familiar to them all: Juliet.
That is until Roberto II led Rick and T.C. to that conclusion.
It was adorable that Rick made those tiny mouse-sized pancakes for Roberto. He should have known better than to leave the cage door open even for an instant.
And so the humorous adventure began, with one tiny mouse outsmarting two grown-ass men. They should have realized that a mouse wouldn’t wander too far from a sure food source, such as a human who makes him pancakes.
But Roberto was simply the mechanism that caused T.C. to look under a bed and discover a woman’s necklace. This find caused all sorts of speculation between him and Rick, listing every woman that recently had smiled at Magnum.
It was a happy ending for Roberto as he munched away on his tiny pancakes. But once Higgins reclaimed her missing necklace, the gears began turning, and T.C. and Rick put together that Thomas and Juliet were, at long last, a couple.
Now that they have reached this conclusion, what do they do next? Quietly watch the couple to collect evidence that supports their theory? Or maybe rope in Kumu and even Gordie to get their thoughts on the matter?
After Kumu’s case with Higgins went to the dogs, maybe she would be amenable to their hypothesis.
Juliet and Kumu had to tackle a much sadder case involving an animal, a dog that had been poisoned.
Sure, Patty was eccentric to throw a funeral for her dog, Hank. And Higgins was right to be skeptical when Patty claimed that Hank had been murdered.
But Higgins and Magnum can’t afford to turn away cases. So Juliet treated Patty’s claim of murder seriously, at least until the results of the necropsy came back.
Not surprisingly, the interviews they did at the dog park revealed that while Hank was hardly beloved, Patty was absolutely hated by all.
Higgins began to look at the case from another angle after the necropsy showed that Hank had been poisoned by rat poison in a lemon bar, an odd delivery mechanism, to say the least.
Let’s set aside the fact that Patty couldn’t distinguish the differences in scent between sugar and strychnine while cooking those lemon bars.
Juliet had no lack of suspects who might have wanted Patty dead. In addition to those Patty interacted with at the dog park, there was an ex-fiance and an ex-husband who kept her in the comfortable style of living to which she had become accustomed.
It was simple for them to pick out the murderer from there. Patty would have lost her alimony should she marry. So while the ex-fiancee wouldn’t have come into any money marrying her, the ex-husband would lose the alimony payments. It became an open-and-shut case.
Afterward, Kumu became aware of the change of attitude toward Magnum by “the lads,” Zeus and Apollo. It seemed more than them just getting accustomed to him after four years. It was more like they accepted him because their master, Juliet, felt differently toward him now.
So she won’t take much convincing from Rick and T.C.
The only case with teeth in this episode was the buddy comedy featuring Magnum and Katsumoto.
A tourist on vacation with his family vanished while going to his hotel bar for refills. A hotel security man called Gordie for advice.
With Katsumoto suspended from HPD, it only makes sense for him to go on adventures with Magnum and/or Higgins. He’s already done security, so what else is there for an ex-cop to do besides P.I. work?
Besides, as Magnum pointed out, he’s always wanted to work without all those pesky rules that hamstrung him as a cop. He just can’t say that out loud.
On top of that, it was Gordie’s case, although he couldn’t grab it since he’s not a licensed private investigator. But it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.
It must have killed Katsumoto to hold his tongue as Thomas did borderline illegal activities such as picking locks and hacking bank records.
Of course, Gordie used his contacts to move the case along, helping them to identify the missing tourist as a former mob accountant who had disappeared a decade ago. Sadly, David/Cliff had been running too long to trust anybody, which only got his family in deeper trouble.
Their two-pronged attack ended up carrying the day.
Also, Thomas kept Gordie too busy to consider his upcoming hearing.
To follow Katsumoto’s post-HPD career, watch Magnum P.I. online.
Did you expect Higgins and Magnum’s relationship to stay secret longer?
Would you like to see Kumu more involved in their cases?
How do you think Thomas and Gordie worked together?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.