Sword of Honor, Blade of Death starts with a drug deal between Japanese mobsters going bad when undercover cop Michael Moroshima (Mako) is identified during the transaction and murdered. Michael is a friend of Sam's (Robert Ito) and he and Quincy (Jack Klugman) conduct the autopsy which reveals that Michael was killed with a precisely sharp object, like a sword. This leads them to the Japanese Yakuza gang and Sam tries to assist the police in the investigation before Michael's vengeful father takes matters into his own hands.
This is a fairly decent episode which does feature a murder investigation but very little mystery as we see the culprits and how they committed the crime right in the opening scenes. Additionally, throughout this entire episode I felt like I was watching a classic episode of Hawaii Five-O with the police investigating Japanese organized crime and the murder of an undercover cop. Several of the guest stars in this episode also appeared on the original Five-O series at various times, so this added to the vibe as well. Unlike Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), though, Quincy does not take charge in this crime story and leaves it to Sam to do the heavy lifting, so if you're a Robert Ito fan you will enjoy this episode.
Overall this is a reasonable and entertaining Season 8 episode which is worth watching, it just doesn't feel very much like a Quincy episode with Sam in the driver seat and a Hawaii Five-O type script and guest stars.