New feature! I’m going to be taking a quick look at a
classic Miami Vice episode here every
Monday, because Miami Vice is the greatest show ever, that’s all. First up: “Evan”. While the entire five-season run of Miami Vice is streaming on Netflix, "Evan" is mysteriously missing, probably due to some kind of numbering snafu. That's a shame, as this episode is one of the greats.
Episode: Season
One, Episode Twenty-Two: “Evan”
Original airdate:
May 3, 1985
Directed by: Rob
Cohen
Written by: Paul
Diamond
Summary:
While trying to take down a weapons dealer named Guzman (Scarface’s Al Israel), Crockett and
Tubbs tangle with Crockett’s volatile and dangerous former partner,
loose-cannon undercover ATF agent Evan Freed, who is played with charismatic scenery-chewing
brio by the nice dad from Boy Meets World
(William Russ). Crockett’s increasingly frantic refusals to address the nature
of his feud with Evan cause a deep, jagged schism in his friendship with Tubbs (Tubbs to Crockett, “Don’t be coppin’ no
attitude, man.” Tubbs, my love, you just keep being you), which lasts almost
all the way through a commercial break. Meanwhile, the entire undercover operation
goes horribly, tragically, cataclysmically wrong, as everything on this show is
wont to do. Look, if somebody’s not hemorrhaging in Crockett’s arms from
multiple bullet wounds by the end of the episode, you’re probably not watching Miami Vice.
Iconic Moments:
Pretty much every single thing Evan does in this
episode—shooting up mannequins with assault rifles, crashing cars, breakfasting
on booze and cigarettes, charging onto Crockett’s boat to wave a gun at
him, claiming to own a bullet with Crockett’s name on it, staggering drunkenly
into Vice headquarters to cling to Crockett while sobbing, “Make me happy,
Sonny!”, and, finally, dying in Crockett’s arms after waltzing in front of a
bullet to save his beloved frenemy—is amazing.
Themes:
With his dying breath, Evan assures Crockett he’ll be next, which comes off less like dark foreshadowing and more like a cold statement of fact: Undercover work will eventually kill or corrupt or otherwise destroy Crockett, because it eventually destroys everybody.
Moments of Castillo
Badassery:
If Crockett and Tubbs are the soul of Miami Vice, then Lt. Castillo (Edward James Olmos) is its cold,
strange, spooky, unfathomably grim heart. While “Evan” is not especially
Castillo-heavy, he sneaks in a couple of nice character bits: Once when he wins
an argument with Evan’s blustery ATF boss without ever raising his voice or
changing his facial expression, and again when he shoots down Crockett’s snippy
request to be removed from the case due to his bad blood with Evan. Crockett: “I
think I’m entitled to a little slack without having to go through
confessional.” Castillo: “I don’t.” Boom! Argument over. Crockett slumps out of
Castillo’s sad, sickly pink office in defeat.
It’s All In The Details:
Check out the incredibly impractical way Tubbs pours champagne, y’all.
Check out the incredibly impractical way Tubbs pours champagne, y’all.
Music Notes: Two classics
from Peter Gabriel: “The Rhythm of the Heat” plays during the outstanding opening
sequence, while “Biko” closes out the episode. In addition, two very pretty, melancholy instrumental pieces composed for the episode by Jan Hammer are showcased: “Evan” and “The Talk”.
Rating:
Top marks. Five out of five flamingos.
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