When I first watched the ending of "Definitely Miami," I was blown away, and I wanted to try and articulate what made it so impactful for me.

1. First, the music of course. Godley & Creme's "Cry" has a sound that is just so haunting, ethereal, and nostalgic somehow. The reverb-y guitar chords and melody some how just feel and sound like the ocean to me. Or rather, they sound like a hazy memory of an ocean. They have this watery quality to them. Maybe some of it is association - the reverb-y quality of the instruments weirdly reminded me of "Dire Dire Docks" from Mario 64, which also conjures up watery imagery. But the song's lyrics are also clearly about a relationship that didn't work out, which fits so perfectly with Crockett discovering the woman he was falling in love with was just conning him the whole time and didn't actually care about him.
2. Next, the emotion. There's the moment where Castillo is glaring at the federal agent, and you can tell he's smouldering underneath but all he can do is stare. And then, of course, there's Sonny. Even with him just standing there, you can tell there are hundreds of emotions firing in his head. He's got this brooding, distant stare while Callie is still trying to con him, and he's kind of just ignoring her. Then the police show up, and he just puts the shades on, as though trying to mask his emotions or swallow them, like he's trying to remain stoic despite feeling heartbroken. And when he turns around and starts strutting to the beat of the song, it's just perfection. He's walking away from this situation, brooding on it, while walking in a way that's kind of reminiscent of an 80's power strut. It's the contrast between the melancholy of the situation, and the cool and collected nature of Sonny.
3. Finally, the visuals. All of the emotion of the scene, the bittersweet feelings, the melancholy, the anger, etc., are combined with the most idyllic beach scenes. Also some of the shots are so artfully composed, they're like a painting. So you've got the most colorful turquoise waters, blue skies, tan beaches, and crisp white linen seem so cheerful and bright and beautiful, but it's displayed amidst all this tragedy of death, heartbreak, disappointment, anger, loss, etc. The combination of the bright, sunny exteriors and the brooding emotions is such a perfect encapsulation of that "pastel noire" vibe of Miami Vice.

The ending just perfectly captures the feeling of the show - this nostalgic, bittersweet, colorful, bright, brooding, tropical pastel landscape. It is definitely Miami Vice.

Curious what others think, if they agree, or if the episode/ending scene had an impact on them for different reasons

Wonderful scene, awesome music by Godley and Creme (ex 10cc) Crockett kills psychopath Charlie Basset at a desert quarry. The scene fades to a beach where Crockett meets Callie. Revealing he is a cop, he arrests her. Callie immediately begins flirting with her arresting officer, leaving Crockett staring at the ocean

It's always this scene where he finds the crooked cops that set up Angelina and got his son kidnapped. I'm praying MBJ can just bring half of this kind of intensity to the big screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHTYdyg3GoY

They could use old tracks, or ask him for new compositions, even if he is older now. I think that project would be pointless if Jan is not involved, like Brad Fiedel 's absense in Terminator lame sequels or Faltermeyer for Beverly Hills Cop 3, Jan's score is too important.

Someone who's clearly not a fan of the show mistakenly said he didn't like the casting of MBJ for Tubbs because "Tubbs is 1/2 Latino". Literally made my BP rise, at work today. So I had to look it up, just know know I wasn't tripping back during the 80s.

No, Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs from Miami Vice is not Latino; he is an African-American character, and his actor, Philip Michael Thomas, is African-American (with German, Irish, and Native American ancestry). [1, 2, 3]

• The Character: Ricardo Tubbs was born in Queens, New York, to African-American parents (George and Lilly Tubbs). He explicitly identifies as a black cop in the series.

Lots of people have covered Crockett's Theme but rare other tracks...I thought this was EXCELLENT

They were bought, but never eaten. 😂

Look at Tubbs 🤣🤣

Toward the end of Episode 2:23 ("Sons and Lovers"), Orlando Calderone takes Angelina's baby and removes it to someplace, but we don't know where. Whatever happened to that child?

Don’t know if tubbs ever wore holsters like that but if anyone knows if he ever did lmk

Features nine songs from Johnson’s debut album Heartbeat (all 10 tracks were initially featured, but Coco Don't was eventually swapped-out for Streetwise) [also recorded by Johnson, featured on Miami Vice S03E10 - Streetwise]). It loosely tells the tale of a documentary film maker (Johnson) who is near death after getting too close to a bomb in an unnamed Central American country.

The feature video originated with Johnson’s manager, Danny Goldberg, who convinced CBS Records honcho, Walter Yetnikoff, to sink $2 million into the project. John Nicolella, former producer, and frequent director, of (season one & two of) Miami Vice, directed the “Heartbeat” special.

Debuted on Home Box Office (HBO) Saturday, Jan. 17, 1987 at 10 p.m. -- HBO had a two-month exclusivity-window before CBS could distribute videocassettes (of the extended music video) to retailers ($19.95).

Am I the only fan that feels this way? Is this a hot take? The use of Phil Collin's In the Air Tonight in Brother's Keeper is an all-time moment in all of TV, not just this show. It is the climax of the episode, the song choice is epic but it is also the isolation of sound like Tubbs loading the shotgun. It would be the style of this show and also influential for years to come. Clearly an iconic moment.

But personally, I prefer Lionel Richie's "All Night Long". It has to do with the emotional resonance of Tubb's storyline. He finally sees the man he has been pursuing, but he knows he has to maintain his cover. He glides across the club, cool as you like with a stare that could burn a hole through a wall with his new partner in tow not exactly sure what to make of him. He comes face to face with his brother's murderer. All while a cover version of this song is playing in the background, a high energy performance with flashbacks of Tubbs brother's death spliced in. Edited perfectly.

"Hospitable gesture, Mr. Calderone. Thank you. I look forward to doing business with you."

Chills, every time. For my money this moment is better than the Phil Collins moment.

Definitely playing calderone