Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

This week, season 4 comes to a close.

Episode 4.22 “Mirror Image”

(Dir by Richard Compton, originally aired on May 6th, 1988)

Trying to recover from the assassination of his wife, Sonny Crockett throws himself back into his Sonny Burnett persona.  As this episode starts, Sonny has managed to get close to a ruthless drug dealer named Gutierrez (Antonio Fargas).  When Guiterrez blows up a boat that is full of rival drug dealers, the Vice Squad assumes that Gutierrez died in the explosion.  They also assume that Sonny was lost as well.

They are incorrect.  Gutierrez got off the boat before the bomb went off and somehow, Sonny was able to survive being blown up without suffering any sort of physical injuries.  However, mentally, he wakes up with amnesia.  When Gutierrez’s doctor tells Sonny that he’s a drug dealer and this his last name is “Burnett,” Sonny believes him.

In Ft. Lauderdale, Sonny quickly moves up in the organization of drug lord Miguel Manolo (Tony Azito).  Now believing himself to be a criminal, Sonny has no hesitation about murdering anyone who he views as being a threat.  He kills Gutierrez in cold blood about halfway through the episode.  At the end of the episode, he shoots a corrupt detective (Chris Cooper) in cold blood.  Tubbs, who has been investigating Manolo, witnesses that final murder.  “SONNY!” he yells as Sonny escapes in a speedboat and season 4 comes to an end.

Season 4 was truly uneven, featuring some terrible episodes and also some episodes that were good but not particularly memorable.  Before I started this season, I read that it was considered to be the worst of Miami Vice‘s five seasons and, having now watched every episode, I can see why.  Sonny marrying Caitlin never made any sense.  Most of the villains were either generic or ludicrous.  Most of the episodes just didn’t have the style that made the first three seasons so memorable.  Even worse than the boring episodes were the ones that tried too hard to be quirky.  Trudy going into space was definitely not a great idea.  With all that in mind, this final episode was great.  The action was stylish, Don Johnson actually seemed invested in the story for once, and Phillip Michael Thomas got to show off his own skills as an actor.  If only the entire season had been this good!

As well, I should mention that, along with Chris Cooper as a bad cop, this episode also featured Julia Roberts as Manolo’s girlfriend.  Roberts didn’t really get to do much but, even in a small role, her screen presence was obvious.  It’s not a surprise she became a star.

Next week …. we’ll start the final season of Miami Vice!