The season three finale is a wonderful episode featuring Saundra Santiago as both her mother and her regular character, Gina Calabrese. Jeroen Krabbé and Shawn Elliott guest as former lovers of Gina's mother, and in supporting roles are the regulars: Crockett, Tubbs, Joplin, etc.
Flashbacks from Cuba in the early 60's provide the opening background for an episode that focuses on lost love and revenge. By the end we have learned a great deal about Gina's 'backstory' and seen one of the strongest performances Santiago provided during her five years on the program.
Krabbé provides the sort of strong performance that many prominent guest stars brought during the life of the program. Elliott does a nice job in a fairly familiar role, but Krabbé really shines in a piece of inspired casting. Much like Liam Neeson, in the first episode of Season Three, Krabbé adds a nice performance in scenes with Santiago's 'Gina' and her normally supporting female character is able to really show her stuff as the lead.
In addition to the regular Jan Hammer soundtrack this episode mixes in some strong torch songs from the 30's. The well-constructed finale fits around a classic tune as the ending matches the tone set in the opening scene. Heroes of the Revolution is yet another example of why Miami Vice was the must see crime show of the 80's. It was and is simply superior television.
For those that aren't familiar with the series this is a good episode to enjoy as a 'stand-alone' item. You don't need to know the history of the characters or be a strict Don Johnson fan. A nice hour of well-written and well-acted cop drama is here for you to experience. You will get a little taste of all the regular characters and a full banquet of Saundra Santiago.