Crockett tells Tubbs in the same scene that once a police officer reaches the point where he is willing to go outside the law to get vengeance on a criminal (as is ultimately the case for him in this episode), they have "maybe a year" left as a good cop;
SPOILER: Crockett burns out and quits the force almost exactly one year after this episode, marking the end of the series.
SPOILER: Crockett burns out and quits the force almost exactly one year after this episode, marking the end of the series.
The final scene originally had Crockett shooting and killing an unarmed Hackman - essentially cold-blooded murder - to show how his dedication to duty had finally been broken. However, NBC censors at the time refused to allow the episode to air unless both men had "equal arms", as Crockett - the show's protagonist - was not allowed to commit such an act. (In 1982, CBS generated some controversy when an episode of Magnum, P.I. (1980) implied that Magnum had shot an unarmed villain.) Consequently, the shot of the gun in Hackman's hand was added to appease them, somewhat diminishing a pivotal moment in the show.
The color of Crockett's eyes changes markedly from episode to episode and scene to scene, perhaps responding to the lighting, but also to his inner feelings - often green, sometimes brown. When he shoots Hackman, however, they are jet black, as if he is already becoming Sonny Burnett, whose eyes are usually dark. Additionally, his stride as he walks away from the killing is also more constrained than his usual walk, more like his walk as Burnett; Crockett's voice also changes from its usual tone when he briefly speaks to Tubbs while cleaning the St. Vitus Dance, to when he speaks to Hackman before shooting him - at which point he speaks in a lower, more sinister tone similar to his voice as Burnett. While it is unknown if these changes are intentional or merely coincidence, it could be argued that Crockett's desire for revenge against Hackman caused his Burnett side to begin to surface, making it easy for him when amnesiac to believe it was his primary identity as it was, at this time, at least partly in control.
This episode begins a story arc that runs over the final episode of season four and episodes one, two and four of season five, regarding Crockett losing his wife, suffering amnesia and becoming his alter-ego, Sonny Burnett.
The opening narration states "Previously on Miami Vice", similar to Down for the Count: Part II (1987) and A Rock and a Hard Place (1988), but in this case the episode referenced is Forgive Us Our Debts (1986). This is the third and final time the "previously" opening would be used on the show.