Em works to earn the team's respect when she is left in charge. Hina and Kainalu juggle multiple beachside emergencies. Will's fiancé pays him a visit at work. Sonny opens up to a former lifeguard about his trauma since losing his nephew. Laka continues his flirtation with EMT Jenn.
Em seems perfectly reasonable in how she handles Laka. He shows up to work late. He offers an excuse after the fact that may or may not be true. He told Will he was running behind. That isn't good enough. It indicates how he doesn't actually respect Em. She is given authority. She takes over command of the district after Sonny passes out after a rescue. It would be dangerous for him to continue as if nothing happened. His psychological stress is turning into physical symptoms. He believes he knows the right way to command this unit. Everyone views Em's ambition as a toxic quality. It's essentially her against the rest of the team. She demands everyone respect the dedication to this job as much as she does. She has high standards. That isn't a bad thing. All of them are quick to return to work after endangering their own lives to save others. They signed up for that physical and emotional toil. None of them want to sit around and wallow in the weight of the moment. They have to constantly be moving forward. They are all like that. It's only used as a criticism for Em. She leads the team differently than Sonny does. He's frustrated when he sees what she's doing. She at least has clarity over the situation. Meanwhile, Sonny is distracted in trying to make everything seem nice.
Sonny reached out for help. He's fortunate that the grief counseling service reconnected with him after he hung up the call. An appointment is open and available for him. And yet, he's afraid of how any of this medical information will be perceived as a detriment to his job. He has already endangered the people he works alongside. In the field, he was incapable of hearing Laka as a wave was about to crash into them. No serious consequences emerged from that moment though. Sonny maintained his composure. It was only after that adrenaline high faded away that the extent of the damage was revealed. Em, Laka and Will rally around Sonny. They provide him with the medical help he needs. He passed out. He wants that kept out of the incident report. He doesn't want anything jeopardizing his command. He has an eager lieutenant seemingly ready to strike at any moment. That positions Sonny and Em in a more antagonistic light. One where they battle over what's in the best interest of the district. They clash. They want to take each other at their word. It just isn't that simple.
Elsewhere, mistakes are made by the rookies. It doesn't increase the danger for the victims. It simply offers more dramatic storytelling. Hina responds after noticing a bad crash by her cousin while surfing. Meanwhile, Kainalu needs help dealing with drowning tourists. The lifeguards are trained how to respond to someone in this situation. Approaching a victim without the proper training and tools may only create more chaos. That's what happens here. A man refuses to listen to the advice from the lifeguards. He proclaims himself as a good swimmer. He disregards any concerns because he sees people in the ocean. They happen to be locals who are surfing. That's a different environment for them than someone who wants to swim and snorkel. The advice is ignored. The lifeguards should have been on alert for disaster to strike. Instead, the three people at the tower all went in different directions. Hina had her hands full. She responded once she became aware of the full situation. Meanwhile, Laka had to run because he purposefully put distance between himself and the rookies. He didn't want this assignment. He complained about it the entire time. Em decided to punish him. It's the only way to ensure he remains responsible on the job.
Sonny hates that Em made the lifeguards compete for what jobs they would be assigned for the shift. Hina and Kainalu are fine with where they are at. They at least view each other as colleagues who can be reliable on the job. The yearning is still there for more. That remains an incredibly forced dynamic. That's true of all the romantic melodrama. That's more of a distraction than anything else. It also creates the idea that Em is uniquely vindictive towards Laka. She runs into Jenn while on her morning run. She decides to share all of her stories about Laka in exchange for a ride to work. Instead of being a moment of friendship, it's entirely about Laka being upset that his latest crush has been speaking to his boss. That's annoying. All of these emotions are boiling to the surface as well. It's not healthy to bottle everything up. That's the advice given to Sonny. He can't control the sea. He tries his best to save lives. Sometimes he fails. He shouldn't take that personally. Zion's death is personal though. He can't ignore that. Em is right to be concerned about the lawsuit. Sonny doesn't want to hear it. He expects everyone to cope with the demands of the job exactly like he does. That doesn't work because he snaps. That leaves everything tense. The lifeguards can do this job. And yet, they don't seem like they like each other outside of it. That's not a sustainable feeling - especially for a broadcast network show driven entirely by workplace dynamics.
