Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 16 Recap: Pono

Heartbreak and all the emotions that come with it take over the North Shore team on Rescue: HI-Surf Season 1 Episode 16, “Pono.”

Em finally learns that she can take days off and enjoy life. She spends her day away from work with her mom as they try to rebuild their relationship.

With her mom in town for a triathlon, Em thinks it’s only fitting that they go for a swim in the ocean together.

Unfortunately, Em’s day off quickly turns into a workday when she spots a snorkeler out in the water calling for help.

She sends her mom back to the beach to call an ambulance and rushes to the scene to assist. The snorkeler explains that she and her friend were swimming in caves when he got stuck, and she is unable to pull him out.

Switching gear with the snorkeler, Em dives down to the trapped victim.

After several attempts, she manages to free him and bring him safely to shore, where EMS is waiting. Proving that there is no such thing as a quiet day for her or the North Shore team, Em thoroughly impresses her mom with her quick thinking and selflessness.

To celebrate, Em invites her mom over for dinner, hoping to continue rekindling their bond now that her mom is making an effort to be in her life. However, Em’s mom surprises her with two extra dinner guests: her boyfriend and his son.

Em quickly realizes that, despite giving her mom the benefit of the doubt, her mom didn’t return to the North Shore for her. The moment her boyfriend arrives, Em is completely ignored as her mom focuses solely on him during dinner.

Back at headquarters, Laka and a newer lifeguard named Conor receive a call about an elderly woman who claims she saw a fisherman go into the water to spear hunt and never come out.

When they arrive at the scene, Laka is shocked to recognize the woman. Despite her dementia, he trusts her story, even though others doubt her credibility.

With no clear timeline of when the fisherman went missing, Laka and Conor begin their search. Laka heads out on a jet ski and finds a floating marker that the missing fisherman used to indicate his hunting spot, but the man is nowhere in sight.

Knowing that the woman was telling the truth, Laka searches tirelessly for over four hours. Just as Jennings radios for him to return before sunset, Laka spots the man at the bottom of the ocean and quickly dives down to retrieve him.

Even though the rescue is technically successful, the victim has been underwater for too long and is pronounced dead at the scene. Owning up to his responsibility, Laka personally delivers the devastating news to the fisherman’s family.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the beach, Kainalu shares his solution for the housing crisis with Hina — he plans to buy farmland and build yurts that lifeguards can rent, allowing them to afford to live near their jobs.

The only catch? He needs funding from one of his wealthy friends, and to secure it, he must win a game of beach volleyball.

Hina’s friend Rosie offers to be his partner, and unsurprisingly, they dominate Kainalu’s friends, winning by a landslide.

Not only does Kainalu secure funding for his housing project, but he also earns a steamy kiss from Rosie—an unexpected moment that makes Hina a little jealous. However, only time will tell if Hina will finally admit her feelings for Kainalu before he’s officially off the dating market.

—

What did you think of this episode of Rescue: HI-Surf? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Rescue: HI-Surf airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.

Follow us on X and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!