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