We Do What We're Told...Musings on the Burnett episodes of Miami Vice, pt. I
It's Saturday night, and I'm a nerd, so what am I doing? Thinking about Miami Vice. So sue me.
jadefire88 is still on the cruise and
heatherbrie and masterpip are currently burning through BSG 2.0 & 2.5, which they stopped by earlier to borrow from my younger brother. When they were here we forced said brother to watch "Smile Time" from Angel season 5, because we are evil. And had been talking about evil, foulmouthed puppets, which are hard to describe to the uninitiated, hence the visuals. Oh, how I miss Greg the Bunny. But I digress...
Anyway. The episodes forming the end of season 4/start of season 5 are traditionally called the Burnett Trilogy by fans, but it seems more involved than just three episodes. Which led to these thoughts.
In brief: Sonny Crockett loses his memory while undercover and believes he's his alter-ego, drug dealer Sonny Burnett. Whackiness ensues.
Shouldn't work, right? I mean, amnesia? Sounds like a baaaad fanfic. Or Baaad '80s tv. Oh, wait... just kidding. This is goooood tv. Really.
Despite their other missteps in Season 4 (of which there are legion - cows?? really???), TPTB get this one right. Why? They laid the groundwork, that's why, and so when it happens it's not a shock so much as inevitable. You can't see anything else happening by that point. And that's the result of good writing.
For four years on Miami Vice, Sonny Crockett might have toed the line between cop and vigilante but it was a line he never crossed. Even while those on his team did (Gina comes to mind, and I'm sure there are other examples) Sonny always stood by the law, not just the appearance of the law.
Until he fell in love.
Until the woman he loved was murdered before his eyes by a man who would have been in prison but for Sonny's actions.
Until he found out the woman he loved was seven weeks pregnant when she died, and hadn't told him.
Until he found out the man who killed her had holed up in the islands, untouchable.
Which leads me to...
Deliver Us From Evil - episode 4.21
The episode where Caitlin dies starts with Sonnie wanting to get Hackman, a killer who had tricked Sonny into freeing him from death row over a year earlier. Sonnie tells Rico that he'd always said he'd retire from the force before he got to the point where he went from doing his job to becoming a vigilante. Not in so many words, of course, but I deleted the relevent episode without writing down the dialogue. Silly me, because it's important.
Anyway. Sonny says this, then the bust where they hope to nab Hackman goes bad. Thinking he'd killed Hackman's unarmed girlfriend in the crossfire, Sonny asks to be reassigned away from Vice. He knows he's crossed a line, even after Castillo tells him that it was Hackman's bullet that killed the woman - he knows he wasn't playing by his own rules anymore. He wanted Hackman, and nothing else, not even unarmed bystanders, mattered.
It's time to get out. He loves his wife, and he's tired of missing important moments with her because of the job, and he hates what the undercover life is doing to his relationship with her. This is how it went bad with Caroline; only this time Sonny's mature enough to see it coming and want out.
So Sonny asks to be reassigned. He doesn't appear to have discussed this with his partner, but that's a whole other issue. He heads to Caitlin's show, probably hoping that things will change now, that he's found a way out. From the shadows at the side of the stage he watches her sing, her eyes seeking him out - love just radiating from her. He's giddy with it. Until she ends the song, turns to walk off the stage, and is blown away by a sniper. Hackman, positively gleeful. In Hackman's mind, it's less revenge than tit for tat.
Sonny retreats to the boat, practically catatonic. Unresponsive to his partner, who knows his pain, having lost his lover not that long before under similar circumstances. Rico is so careful with him - it's painful to watch, and though Philip Michael Thomas hasn't been very present this season he shines in these scenes. How do men comfort each other? Rico tries, but Sonny isn't having it.
A call comes. Rico answers. It's the medical examiner; Caitlin was pregnant when she died. Sonny lurches off of the bench and stumbles toward the back of the boat. Yes, I have horrible nautical vocabulary. They don't tell you exactly what happens, but from Rico's reaction ten to one he's losing all of that Jack Daniels in the head.
After that he drinks and works on his boat and brushes off Rico's gently persistent offers of company. Something like three weeks pass.
Until he shows up, at Vice, unexpectedly. Right when the squad is running down the case. He says it's a coincidence; I don't think it is. He takes the file, turns his back on the room while he reads it. He already knows what he's gonna do; he can't let them see his face, or they'll know too. I think he left the boat just for this purpose. He stays long enough to learn Hackman's location, and that extradition probably won't be happening anytime soon.
On his way out, Castillo calls his name. Sonny turns around. Castillo looks like he wants to say something; he ends up telling Sonny to get some rest. Right. I'm pretty sure that for the first time ever, Castillo is by way of omission sanctioning extra-legal action. Contrast his actions here with his attitude four episodes earlier, in "Hell Hath No Fury" where he repremanded the team for their unprofessionalism, for stepping beyond the bounds of their jobs. Something about that gap, the silence, where he could have reigned Sonny in but didn't. If anyone could have made Sonny change course, it would have been Castillo. It's kinda surprising, actually. Because Castillo's mantra is all about keeping the personal away from the professional. I guess it's too late for that by this point. He'll do the same thing with Rico, later. Maybe it's remorse, for that first slip. I dunno.
Anyway. Hackman's lounging in an island paradise. Cocky as always. Sonny walks up. There's dialogue, but it's not important, really. The actions are what're important here. Sonny hands Hackman the crucifix that Hackman gave him when he walked off Death Row, when Sonny realized he'd been played. Hackman mocks him, again. Says he knows Sonny, says Sonny can't shoot an unarmed man.
Sonny fires.
The camera pulls back and reveals Hackman with a gun in his hand. I swear to God the network made them add this part. It's like the scene in the revamped Star Wars where Greedo fires first. Though I would have liked the ambiguity better, in the end, it doesn't matter that much that Hackman was armed. Because gun or no gun, this is where Sonny Crockett really crossed the line. He walks away and the camera follows him. His own big gun dangles from his hand; he doesn't bother to put it away. He's done. Finished. And he knows it.
Thing is, he goes on. And that's where things get even more interesting. Because though he doesn't know it yet, Sonny Crockett has already turned into Sonny Burnett.
jadefire88 is still on the cruise and
heatherbrie and masterpip are currently burning through BSG 2.0 & 2.5, which they stopped by earlier to borrow from my younger brother. When they were here we forced said brother to watch "Smile Time" from Angel season 5, because we are evil. And had been talking about evil, foulmouthed puppets, which are hard to describe to the uninitiated, hence the visuals. Oh, how I miss Greg the Bunny. But I digress...
Anyway. The episodes forming the end of season 4/start of season 5 are traditionally called the Burnett Trilogy by fans, but it seems more involved than just three episodes. Which led to these thoughts.
In brief: Sonny Crockett loses his memory while undercover and believes he's his alter-ego, drug dealer Sonny Burnett. Whackiness ensues.
Shouldn't work, right? I mean, amnesia? Sounds like a baaaad fanfic. Or Baaad '80s tv. Oh, wait... just kidding. This is goooood tv. Really.
Despite their other missteps in Season 4 (of which there are legion - cows?? really???), TPTB get this one right. Why? They laid the groundwork, that's why, and so when it happens it's not a shock so much as inevitable. You can't see anything else happening by that point. And that's the result of good writing.
For four years on Miami Vice, Sonny Crockett might have toed the line between cop and vigilante but it was a line he never crossed. Even while those on his team did (Gina comes to mind, and I'm sure there are other examples) Sonny always stood by the law, not just the appearance of the law.
Until he fell in love.
Until the woman he loved was murdered before his eyes by a man who would have been in prison but for Sonny's actions.
Until he found out the woman he loved was seven weeks pregnant when she died, and hadn't told him.
Until he found out the man who killed her had holed up in the islands, untouchable.
Which leads me to...
Deliver Us From Evil - episode 4.21
The episode where Caitlin dies starts with Sonnie wanting to get Hackman, a killer who had tricked Sonny into freeing him from death row over a year earlier. Sonnie tells Rico that he'd always said he'd retire from the force before he got to the point where he went from doing his job to becoming a vigilante. Not in so many words, of course, but I deleted the relevent episode without writing down the dialogue. Silly me, because it's important.
Anyway. Sonny says this, then the bust where they hope to nab Hackman goes bad. Thinking he'd killed Hackman's unarmed girlfriend in the crossfire, Sonny asks to be reassigned away from Vice. He knows he's crossed a line, even after Castillo tells him that it was Hackman's bullet that killed the woman - he knows he wasn't playing by his own rules anymore. He wanted Hackman, and nothing else, not even unarmed bystanders, mattered.
It's time to get out. He loves his wife, and he's tired of missing important moments with her because of the job, and he hates what the undercover life is doing to his relationship with her. This is how it went bad with Caroline; only this time Sonny's mature enough to see it coming and want out.
So Sonny asks to be reassigned. He doesn't appear to have discussed this with his partner, but that's a whole other issue. He heads to Caitlin's show, probably hoping that things will change now, that he's found a way out. From the shadows at the side of the stage he watches her sing, her eyes seeking him out - love just radiating from her. He's giddy with it. Until she ends the song, turns to walk off the stage, and is blown away by a sniper. Hackman, positively gleeful. In Hackman's mind, it's less revenge than tit for tat.
Sonny retreats to the boat, practically catatonic. Unresponsive to his partner, who knows his pain, having lost his lover not that long before under similar circumstances. Rico is so careful with him - it's painful to watch, and though Philip Michael Thomas hasn't been very present this season he shines in these scenes. How do men comfort each other? Rico tries, but Sonny isn't having it.
A call comes. Rico answers. It's the medical examiner; Caitlin was pregnant when she died. Sonny lurches off of the bench and stumbles toward the back of the boat. Yes, I have horrible nautical vocabulary. They don't tell you exactly what happens, but from Rico's reaction ten to one he's losing all of that Jack Daniels in the head.
After that he drinks and works on his boat and brushes off Rico's gently persistent offers of company. Something like three weeks pass.
Until he shows up, at Vice, unexpectedly. Right when the squad is running down the case. He says it's a coincidence; I don't think it is. He takes the file, turns his back on the room while he reads it. He already knows what he's gonna do; he can't let them see his face, or they'll know too. I think he left the boat just for this purpose. He stays long enough to learn Hackman's location, and that extradition probably won't be happening anytime soon.
On his way out, Castillo calls his name. Sonny turns around. Castillo looks like he wants to say something; he ends up telling Sonny to get some rest. Right. I'm pretty sure that for the first time ever, Castillo is by way of omission sanctioning extra-legal action. Contrast his actions here with his attitude four episodes earlier, in "Hell Hath No Fury" where he repremanded the team for their unprofessionalism, for stepping beyond the bounds of their jobs. Something about that gap, the silence, where he could have reigned Sonny in but didn't. If anyone could have made Sonny change course, it would have been Castillo. It's kinda surprising, actually. Because Castillo's mantra is all about keeping the personal away from the professional. I guess it's too late for that by this point. He'll do the same thing with Rico, later. Maybe it's remorse, for that first slip. I dunno.
Anyway. Hackman's lounging in an island paradise. Cocky as always. Sonny walks up. There's dialogue, but it's not important, really. The actions are what're important here. Sonny hands Hackman the crucifix that Hackman gave him when he walked off Death Row, when Sonny realized he'd been played. Hackman mocks him, again. Says he knows Sonny, says Sonny can't shoot an unarmed man.
Sonny fires.
The camera pulls back and reveals Hackman with a gun in his hand. I swear to God the network made them add this part. It's like the scene in the revamped Star Wars where Greedo fires first. Though I would have liked the ambiguity better, in the end, it doesn't matter that much that Hackman was armed. Because gun or no gun, this is where Sonny Crockett really crossed the line. He walks away and the camera follows him. His own big gun dangles from his hand; he doesn't bother to put it away. He's done. Finished. And he knows it.
Thing is, he goes on. And that's where things get even more interesting. Because though he doesn't know it yet, Sonny Crockett has already turned into Sonny Burnett.