It’s strange to think that one of the best characters in “Hawaii Five-O” didn’t actually show up until season 4, and didn’t become a main character until season 5. Jorge Garcia’s Jerry Ortega debuted in “Ka ‘oia’i’o ma lok,” introduced as a childhood friend of Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim). Ortega is a conspiracy theorist, but luckily, he’s the fun kind of conspiracy theorist. He’s someone with an earnest curiosity about the world who approaches his theories with a sense of childlike wonder.
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In season 5, Ortega is hired to help the Five-O team on a regular basis. By season 6, he’s got his own office and by season 7, he’s got an official badge. It seemed like Ortega was here to stay, but in the season 10 premiere, he left the show for good. So, what’s up with that? Why would Ortega leave the Five-O team? And more importantly, why would Jorge Garcia leave a show that lets him hang out in Hawaii again full-time?
Jerry Ortega left because he had a near-death experience
The season 9 finale, “Hana Mao ‘ole ka ua o Waianae,” ended with a cliffhanger where either Jerry or McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) were shot by the season’s big bad. Fans spent months waiting to see which one of them took the bullet, only to find out it was Jerry in the season 10 premiere. He jumped in the way, sacrificing himself for McGarrett. Thankfully, the gunshot wound in his stomach isn’t enough to kill him. He recovers quickly and, instead of returning to the office like nothing happened, decides to leave his job and focus on “the next chapter” of his life. What’s that, you ask?
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“I want to write a book,” he explains. “I’ve been researching it for years. It’s about the connection between the Federal Reserve and the sinking of the Titanic.”
Ah, classic Jerry! He also tells the crew not to be too upset about him leaving, as he can always return to help with the occasional conspiracy case here or there. But because this was the final season of the show (not that anyone knew that going in), the team never got to take him up on this offer. Jerry’s amicable goodbye in the premiere is the last we see of him, at least as far as “Hawaii Five-O” is concerned.
As far as goodbyes go, this one’s pretty wholesome. Given that Jerry was shot in the previous episode, it would’ve been easier and more dramatic for the show to simply kill him off. I suppose the show wanted to keep things light and breezy and to leave the door open for Garcia to come back whenever he wanted. Both on and off-screen, it was a far lighter departure than when cast members Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park left the show after season 7 because CBS refused to pay them the same as their white co-stars.
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Jorge Garcia left because he had other projects in the works
Garcia has never really spoken much about his departure, except for in brief, PR-friendly terms. “I’m grateful for my time on ‘Hawaii Five-0,'” Garcia told TVLine at the time. “I loved getting to return to the islands and creating a character that connected with so many people. Playing Jerry was a blast, and I look forward to popping in again to play with my TV ohana.”
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Shortly after his character’s departure, Garcia could be found playing the lead role in the Netflix film “Nadie Sabe Que Estoy Aqui,” or “Nobody Knows I’m Here.” There, he plays a depressed former child singer who’s living as a recluse on a small Chilean island. It’s a serious, artsy film, and Garcia’s carrying it. It’s an interesting change of pace for an actor who is so often relegated to sharing the stage in an ensemble cast. It’s not clear if he would’ve had enough time in his schedule to film it if he’d been working on another full season of “Hawaii Five-O.”
Although Garcia never returned before “Hawaii Five-O” was canceled after season 10, fans did get to see his character one more time. He returned as Jerry Ortega in a season 5 episode of “MacGyver,” a show that takes place in the same fictional universe. It was a fun episode, although sadly, we never got an update on how that Titanic book of his panned out. Maybe in a few years there’ll be another “Hawaii Five-O” reboot that’ll answer that mystery.
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