Archival footage fades (surprisingly seamlessly, I might add) to the deck of an air craft carrier. Soldiers attend to wounded on stretchers as a copter lands in the background. The camera focuses on the copter as a nasally voice calls Crockett's name; a man in fatigues and glasses leads another man in a helmet (squint through the haze and you recognize Crockett) by the hand, out of the frame.

And down some metal stairs into some kind of storage area. “You're not gonna believe this,” the first man says, sounding shaken. He's got a camera slung around his neck – a photojournalist. He leads Crockett to one of the metal shelves. “I don't wanna see this,” Crockett says as the journalist unzips what's now clearly a body bag. “It's irony, man,” the little guy says, tossing Crockett some kind of package he's pulled from the bag. We're intimately familiar with this type of plastic-wrapped white package: I doubt Sonny is, not at this point. The journalist talks like a hippie but looks like... well, a high school Economics teacher. Or something. There's an easy familiarity about their relationship that makes you think they've known each other awhile, that this isn't the first unbelievable thing he's shown Crockett.

Much later this actor will be the Passive Aggressive Gunslinger. I know we don't know his name yet, but it's easier if I just use it. The journalist, we'll find out later, is Ira Stone. Anyhow. Stone mentions the stiff's name, kind of lightly points out that there was a guy by that name in Sonny's unit. Sonny stares, eyes wide. “Yeah, I knew him,” he says, just a kid, shocked even in the midst of war; ten years later he still won't be hardened against death.

“Say hello to White Death, man,” Stone says cryptically, solemnly. This shocks Sonny further – he looks so young. “I knew him,” he repeats, leaning back against the shelves behind him.

Fade to black, and the credits. It's the second season, and this is the first time we've been shown a flashback to Sonny's experience in Vietnam. And what are we shown? Drugs. We don't know the specifics yet, but illicit drugs have haunted Sonny Crockett since before he became a cop.

After the break, the first shot we see is of a plane against the open blue sky, with brush down below. It's a nice echo of the start of the teaser, a nice way to connect the past with the present. The plane lands on a barren airstrip; as it does cops appear out of the brush like a guerrilla force, a helicopter trailing behind the plane as it taxis to a stop. The plane turns and makes to flee but there's nowhere to go. A man in fatigues yells through a bullhorn, identifying the DEA. Crockett and Tubbs appear at his side.

A couple of kids jump out of the plane, hands raised. For once no one starts shooting when the cops identify themselves – it's a sign that these are harmless small-fry. “Don't shoot! It's my dad's plane!” one of the kids shouts.

Cops identify the cargo as a few bags of pot. Crockett and Tubbs look amused, even if Crockett gripes about spending all night in the woods waiting for what they thought was going to be a load of smack. The DEA man does not share their mirth. He advises the kids they're under arrest for trafficking in illicit substances. “And don't forget smoking in the bathroom,” Tubbs adds as his partner cracks up. The kids look like, major bummed, man.

Another copter lands as Crockett and Tubbs saunter away, exchanging witticisms about the ineptitude and camera-loving ways of their DEA brethren. And there's that nasally voice, calling Crockett's name again. Crockett freezes, staring. “Stone?” he says, walking forward. Tubbs stays behind, watching as the other members of the press hurry by. (“Get the camera outta my face,” Sonny tells them, waving a hand)

There's the squirrelly reporter from the teaser – in civvies this time – but his camera is still there, hung around his neck like a badge. The two men stare at one another for a moment. Sonny offers his hand; they end up embracing. There's a nice bit of characterization via dialog – Stone kids Sonny that he doesn't look much like a high-school football coach, Sonny ribs Stone about missing his byline for the last ten years. They've neither of them ended up where they thought they'd be, back then, when they stood over the body of a fallen soldier and the merchandise he unknowingly carried.

Then the happy reunion sours as Stone mentions that someone named “The Sargent” is back, and then gets worked up about his new story. Or is it the old story? For Stone, it seems to be THE STORY, just like that, in all caps. Sonny's grin fades as Stone invites him to lunch on his publisher's dime. You get the impression that all conversations with Stone follow this trajectory – all paths lead to The Story.

Ricardo Tubbs is a man of utmost tact. He rejoins Sonny only after Stone has left. Sonny tells him that Stone is a combat reporter he knew back in Saigon. “You happy to see him?” Rico asks. Sonny stares after Stone, looking... confused. “Yeah,” he answers, but it sounds automatic. “I'm just surprised. Danger junkies usually don't live this long,” he adds. He should know.

The partners walk shoulder to shoulder, so close they occasionally touch. Rico still has his sawn-off shotgun tucked under one arm as Sonny explains about the Sargent – a legendary supplier in 'Nam, a connection in the heroin trade who was supposed to have smuggled his stash back to the US inside the body bags of soldiers killed in action. Stone's Story.

They stop walking as Sonny explains the sickness of it – how it was the final insult, “a slap in the face” - to have gone to fight for your country (either against your will, as Sonny did, or a volunteer – it didn't matter, not if you ended up in a body bag) only to become nothing more than a mule for some greedy officer's stash.

We cut from Sonny's memories of the disgust he felt at seeing Stone's story proved true to a mirrored pyramid of booze. The camera pulls away to reveal Stone, Sonny and Rico at a bar. Sonny slouches, sipping his usual shot of Black Jack. Tubbs stands in the middle, drinking what looks like orange juice (does this man ever drink anything that doesn't contain fruit?) while Stone sits opposite Sonny, and appears to be having water. He talks like a man on a speed jag, explaining that he reported what he'd found to the Army back in Nam; that all they ever came up with was some low-level grunt who shot himself, not a man of The Sargent's caliber at all. This is obsession, there's no pauses between his words – it's one long sentence. You get the feeling this is the only thing he's thought about for ten years.

Rico asks the questions while Sonny listens, eyes cast down, as they're led to a booth. Stone answers, but Sonny's the one he's trying to convince. They sit down in a corner booth: Sonny on the left in white, Stone in the middle, Rico on the right in black. Stone talks so fast I miss part of what he says, but the gist is that people are turning up sick from heroin tainted with wood alcohol. And Sonny finally speaks up to say that wood alcohol was used to preserve the corpses on their way back from Vietnam. He's engaged now, almost against his will. Pulled into Stone's Story. Stone steals the cherry from the skewer of fruit in Rico's glass, which makes me giggle. Plus, there are two vases of orchids and other flowers on the table, nearly obscuring poor Stone; and about four on the shelves behind the booth. What, was there a fire sale on orchids in the props department that week?

And then the other shoe drops. Stone figures The Sargent must be pissed because the stash he's sat on for ten years is rotting on him (not to mention poisonous) just when he can make a killing. Then Stone mentions another figure, Maynard, “Captain Real Estate” whom he wants to interview, and he thinks Sonny can get him an in.

Now's the time for a side note: it's obvious, right, that The Sargent has to be Maynard. Right? I mean, too obvious. That's okay, it's a good episode, and I'm not gonna pick the plot holes apart too much. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Stone himself already knows as much, it's only Crockett and Tubbs who don't.

After lunch, Sonny laughs as he shakes hands with Stone, promising that he'll try and get Maynard's number. When he joins Rico in the caddy his laughter fades. Rico has doubts about Stone's story. Who wouldn't, the dude was so squirrelly? Anyhow, as Sonny tells Rico that he “shared some pretty radical times” with Stone (whatever that means) the camera focuses on Stone arguing with a woman in the lobby of the hotel.

OCB. Sonny's wearing a sleeveless pink shirt under his holster. And Stone's bug has infected Sonny, because he corners Castillo (who looks like he was trying to get somewhere else) and tells him about a rash of methanol poisoning deaths he's found. Castillo doesn't stop walking, and Sonny has to jog backwards while he explains. Turns out poor Castillo was heading somewhere specific, because Sonny follows him to a door marked “M” until Castillo gives him the okay to help Stone. M for men's room?

Stone and Sonny go to the local VA, which is painted the same sickly pink as Castillo's office. Poor vets. I mean, they're disabled by war and then they have to endure horrid pink paint as well. Stone sits on a couch below a huge American flag, questioning a vet about his roommate's death, as Sonny stands to the side, leaning against a wall. Listening. Like he's not sure he wants to be there. Also, besides the ghastly shade of pink, the walls are scrawled with graffiti that appears to have been drawn by your third grade teacher, with very neat penmanship.

And the vet isn't having it. He insists he doesn't know anything; the tension in the room grows as the other men passive-aggressively protest Sonny and Stone's presence. Sonny tries to defuse the awkwardness but the vet snaps at Stone that he doesn't want to be anyone's cover story, that the veterans are tired of being used to make other people famous.

Sonny can sense a riot coming. A crowd is forming, watching the confrontation brew, as a vet in a wheelchair starts in on Stone. Sonny tries to be peacemaker again, saying that he's just trying to do his job, find out where the smack is coming from. He says he's looking for help “just like you.” Which, um, whoops. Not the right thing to say at all. Because there's an unspoken gap here, a tension – Sonny got out whole, is functioning in society. He has a job to do. These guys are broken, whether physically or mentally. They don't have a choice – they were marked by the war. So was Sonny, of course, but it's not the same thing. And we don't know that Sonny's even identified himself as a fellow veteran.

Despite his misstep (or maybe because of it) Sonny knows it's time to go. And now we know why everything is painted pink; the shade exactly matches Crockett's slacks. He tries to tell Stone to buck up, little buddy, everything will be okay. Stone doesn't look convinced.

Later. Stone sits at a table on a patio going over his notes. A waitress makes a call for him, posing as his secretary, asks for Maynard. Gets nowhere.

Later still. Night. The sound of water and the lights of the Miami skyline. Sonny and Stone sit in the anchored Scarab, drinking beer. Sonny's telling a story about a recon mission into Cambodia. How after a battle, one of the men (I can't catch who exactly, I think one of the Vietnamese fighting with the Americans) goes out and starts screaming insults at his dead, despite the danger from the surrounding VC. And the story drifts; it's unclear whether this is happening all the same night, during the same mission, or if all of his experiences in Nam have blended into one big Story in Sonny's head. Anyway, he tells the tale of how he witnessed a kid blowing away the LRRP dogs he'd trained so carefully – (and listen for where he picks up some of Stone's stoner lingo) when Sonny asked him why, the kid says it's because they're too dangerous to bring back to the States. And Sonny remembers thinking that “I should blow him away for the same reason. And someone should blow me away, and he should be blown away...” He speaks in a creepy, limping tone, remembering how those dogs, that kid, himself – they were all killers – trained under fire for one purpose. And they had no place back in the world.*

As he speaks, as if conjured by his words, there's a faint burst of flame in the far distance, and a whistling. Past and present blur. “Incoming!” Stone screams, “Incoming!” as he hits the deck, and without thought Sonny follows. Something hits the water behind the Scarab. And again. Sonny struggles to start the Scarab as Stone continues to shout, pulling up his ever-present camera. Taking aim back in the only way he can.

Stone's giddy. The Scarab dodges rocket fire as we see an Asian man with gold teeth watching his target from the shore.

At OCB Sonny is pensive, as Castillo and Rico question him about the attack. Rico asks if he's sure it was mortar fire and Sonny barely bothers to answer. Of course he knows what mortar fire sounds like. As if he'd ever forget. Rico doesn't know this – he's never been there. But he accepts his partner's answer. The camera pulls back to see the entire Miami PD watching. No, I'm kidding. But there are more people there than just the usual squad. Even Zito looks serious. It's not everyday that one of their own gets fired upon by rockets.

“Maybe the hit wasn't on Sonny,” Stan offers. Go Stan! Rico watches his partner's reaction. Sonny looks... like he suspects something. He says the hit was on Stone, that they might have rattled someone at the VA. Castillo involves the squad in the investigation. Tells Sonny to stay with Stone, tells him “don't let him lead.” Heh. Sonny takes a breath. I think he would rather have dropped it all; he knows he can't.

Next, Rico and Stan walk down another very pink hallway. Stan is inexplicably dressed in leather bondage gear. Rico looks bemused. Stan explains that he gets lots of contacts from leather bars. That he and Larry have to “improvise.” Yeah, Stan, a likely story. We know you just like the way that leather vest feels.

Stan leads Rico into the apartment of a contact. Stan's contact is wasted – the cops find a big ole bag of tainted smack. This contact musta been doing pretty well to score that much of the (not so) good stuff. They get an ambulance. As the contact tells Rico to see someone named Dakota, Dr. Ruth is playing on the television behind him. Heh.

Stone sits at another bar, chatting someone up on the phone. Says he wants to make a buy – not information – he wants the “bad thing.” How many euphemisms are there for drugs, anyway? Later, Sonny and Stone pull up to a swanky dig in the Spyder (hi Spyder!). Sonny's located Captain Real Estate; Stone is less than thrilled. Way to show your gratitude, dude. Stone tells Sonny he's already talked to Maynard, that it's a dead end. Sonny's not impressed. “Maynard was a heavy Spook In-Country,” Sonny says. He insists that if anyone knows anything, it will be good ole Captain Real Estate. “What's he gonna not tell you that he hasn't already not told me, huh?” Stone whines. 

These two have great chemistry together, btw. Sonny tells Stone to be cool, Stone shoots back with “Well, it's amazing how much fun I'm having, you know.” They should take this act to Broadway. There are big glowing pyramids set up around the pool. Should look silly but doesn't; it reminds me of an outdoor opening I went to at the Hirshhorn Museum once. When Sonny questions Stone about how he used to get on with Maynard, Stone replies that “was In Country. I got along with everybody back there. This is the real world.” Exactly. And Stone doesn't seem to get along too well here in general.

In a stroke of genius casting, Maynard is played by G. Gordon Liddy. So we know right away he isn't to be trusted! He recognizes Sonny, shakes his hand. Sonny calls him Sir. Oh yeah, Sonny's big on respecting his superiors. Until they give him reason not to. Sonny senses tension between Stone and Maynard. They leave the party for Maynard's office. Where there are photos of Nixon and Kissinger on the wall, I kid you not. Wow.

Maynard denies the possibility of The Sargent. He goes on about how it was all a big misunderstanding, or possibly a Viet Cong propaganda campaign. You know, the usual excuses. Stone stands with his back to the room looking at the array of photographs on the wall while Sonny listens, sitting in a chair. With fake sympathy he says he knows how disappointed Stone must be after all these years. Stone turns and apropos of nothing calls him a pig. “USDA certified P-I-G.” Just to make sure we know he's serious.

Then while Sonny watches, astonished, Stone really loses it, ranting about spooks and extreme prejudice, then stalks out. In the foyer they talk over one another, and Stone apologizes. Says he was “a little strung out” and embarrassed about it. Says it don't mean nothing. The Story, it don't mean a thing. Sonny argues with him – says it means something, 'cause Rico found the contaminated smack on the streets right here and now. And he's not getting it – it's not that Stone thinks there's no case. He's ahead of Sonny – he knows that there's a case but it doesn't matter. Because it's tangled in the world of spooks and extreme prejudice, where the perps are above justice and above the truth of The Story. So it don't mean a thing, no matter how true.

It's too late. Because Sonny still believes in the truth, in the right thing, even if he's gotten cynical. Stone pulled him into this mess and it's too late to insist it's all bullshit. Not after what he saw in his comrade's body bag in Nam. Not when it's in his jurisdiction, killing people. Here and now. And Stone's obviously scared off for some other reason that Sonny's just not getting. But it's too late. Sonny can't let it go.

Sonny watches Stone leave as Maynard walks up behind him. Says it's sad, asks him if he's ever thought that “maybe the war covered Stone.” Sonny doesn't answer; Maynard watches him walk off, then exchanges glances with... the gold toothed asian man from earlier. The plot thickens.

Then Stone does the unforgivable and drives off in Sonny's precious Spyder. Not cool, man. So not cool.

Rico and Stan hit another bar to meet Dakota, played by the lovely (and frequent Vice cast member) Mrs. David Bowie. AKA Iman. While Rico gets to interview the beautiful woman, Stan gets ... uh, sniffed... by a man with leopard print hair. Stan suggests they move to “a safer neighborhood,” which turns out to be a very garishly painted lady's restroom. After Stan scares away the cokeheads, he, Rico and Dakota pile into one of the stalls. I dunno why, since they were supposedly alone. It's... weird.

Dakota does the polite thing and offers the men some blow; Stan offers her “construction blow” which turns out to be chewing tobacco. Ugh. Dakota rolls her eyes and wrinkles her nose. Prettily. So declasse, right? Rico sweet talks her, trying to get a lead on the tainted smack. Dakota tells them to get in line. This is a large bathroom stall, Stan and Rico have enough room to stand shoulder to shoulder. Their competition is coming from a journalist. Guess who, right? Iman looks like a queen. Impossibly long neck, so graceful. Wow.

Anyway. In the caddy, Rico asks Sonny what he knows about Stone; Sonny tells him to “save the dance for the nightclubs.” Heh. Get to the point, for anyone who needs that translated. So Rico does get to the point. Stone has been lying to them; he's in contact with Dakota, he's not staying in the classy digs he said he was in. Gina saw the Spyder at a joint by the causeway. I'm not sure if Sonny's more pissed about being lied to or about the missing car.

They pull up outside the “Marlin Hotel” and Sonny follows Rico, his hands jammed down in his suit pockets. In the early seasons he did this frequently whenever he was uncomfortable; I think it stopped later. There's a scene in “Evan” that I remember vividly with the same body language.

An angry blonde answers the door when Rico knocks. The hall and the room inside looks as if they've been smeared with rags dipped in watery paint. Not attractive. Probably not meant to be attractive. This is a dive, right? Anyway, the blonde is annoyed and throwing her stuff in a bag. Rico rather hilariously tells her he and Sonny are into “import/export,” which is like the lamest cover ever; Sonny tells her straight out that he's a friend of Stone's from Vietnam. Rico's tie matches the stripes in Sonny's jacket exactly. The duo listen to the blonde's rant – she tells them that Stone just got out of his seventh stint in rehab, that she's paid for everything, that he's a big ole bum. She's had enough.

And whoa, is this lady taking her one scene and running with it. She actually laughs in Sonny Crockett's face. Which goes over about as well as you'd expect. Sonny has jumped to the (probably correct) conclusion that Stone's in trouble, and he's all about loyalty; so her scoffing about Stone's Vietnam manpain and shouting that she hopes he dies is enough to send him stalking from the room while Rico rolls his eyes like “ah God, not again.” Just kidding. About the rolling of the eyes anyway. There is something long-suffering about him though.

Back at the club, Dakota sits smoking regally at a little table while a man who looks like an accountant sniffs coke in the opposite chair. Sonny and Rico stomp in. “Who are you?” the accountant whines; without looking at him, Sonny knocks him on his ass and turns to Dakota, demanding to know where Stone is. It's hilarious. Completely inappropriate and unnecessary, but it cracks me up. Sonny only ever seems to really fly off the handle at people who get in his way, that aren't important at all. With the big fish, he gets cold and quiet and watchful. And clenches his jaw.

Tubbs pulls the accountant up by the scruff of his neck; Dakota looks suitably ruffled. “You guys are cops, aren't you,” she asks. No shit, lady. Crockett takes out more anger on the little table of coke, sends it flying. Dakota spits out the address of a warehouse; says she's never met her source, only his little buddy with the funny teeth. For no apparent reason, Tubbs asks the accountant if she's telling the truth. Since he's probably just one of her clients, why would he know? He's smarter than he looks, because he says “Absolutely.” Anything to get these crazy ass cops off their backs.

Another Doors song starts (the entire soundtrack, when not Jan Hammer, has been The Doors) as Sonny jumps out of a van which drives off. Sonny sneaks into the warehouse in time to hear Stone trying to blackmail The Sargent. Oh Stone. Ransoming your ideals for a little cash. It's sad; it happens all the time in Sonny's world.

Rico watches from inside the van as Stone and Maynard exit the warehouse, getting into separate cars. Sonny slides into the passenger seat; as Maynard's car passes they both duck. They follow Maynard at a not very inconspicuous distance. I'm not sure they know it's Maynard at this point? It's obvious though.

They chase Maynard. Maynard swerves around a garbage truck; Sonny and Rico, in the van, aren't so lucky. It's unclear whether the truck is in cahoots with Maynard or Sonny and Rico are just taken by surprise by its presence; either way their van crashes into the truck and the truck's lifting arms do what they're meant to do, which is lift the van off the ground about seven feet. Through the smashed windshield you can see Sonny scrambling for his gun. The passenger door opens and Sonny jumps down to the street, joined by Rico, guns trained on the truck; Maynard's car waits a moment and then squeals away. They watch it go, breathless, shaken, Sonny holding his ribs.

And apparently he didn't know it was Maynard, because he asks if Tubbs got a look at the guy. When Tubbs describes Maynard, Sonny has that “Shit, I fucking knew it.” look. Tubbs asks what's up with Stone. “He's selling alright,” Sonny says, “Selling out. It's the American Dream, Tubbs.”

Another piece of police property bites the dust. See, Larry and Stan aren't the only ones who fuck up! The boys walk away and leave it behind. I wonder how they got back. Didn't look like a part of town where you could hail a cab. And, uh, no cell phones. Those days must have sucked.

I realize I haven't mocked much of this episode. I apologize. I'm actually enjoying it too much to mock it.

Speaking of taxis, back at the sleazy hotel Mrs. Stone gets into a cab and immediately insults the cabbie. So she likes to spread the love. But uh-oh, the cabbie is none other than Mr. Goldteeth.

Cut to the camera panning over flotsam – maps, a proof photo (the Pulitzer prize winning image of the execution of a Viet Cong prisoner). The photo is marked with red grease pencil to show where it should be cropped – as if someone had given it to Crockett; as if Stone took the image, or as if Sonny was friends with that photographer (in Real Life one Eddie Adams) too, as he doesn't strike me as the war memorabilia collector type. This is all conjecture, of course. Anyway. We pan past a heap of medals (elsewhere I've identified most of them – notably the Purple Heart and the Silver and Bronze Stars) as Crockett rifles through packets of letters until he pulls out what he's looking for – a stack of old photos.

Sonny shows Tubbs one of the photos, and Tubbs identifies Maynard. Tubbs listens to what his partner isn't saying; I love it when they show that aspect of the partnership. I don't mean this mockingly – Tubbs is a good listener. Much better than Sonny, usually. It's because he can step back and detach himself – Sonny's too emotional, too in the moment to do that well.

“God, I sorta liked him,” Sonny admits. Let down by his superiors again. The only superior who will never let him down is Castillo. And Rico doesn't interrupt; just listens. They're sitting on the St. Vitus, nearly knee to knee, it's startlingly intimate. Sonny has realized Maynard and The Sargent are one; Tubbs suggests that maybe Stone knew it all along. Of course Stone did; everyone did except for these two. Sonny doesn't want to believe he's been used by his friend (again) but he can't deny it any more. “What are old friends for, right?”

Mrs. Maynard is a tennis whiz. She also stops for no man, so she's swinging away at tennis balls as Sonny and Rico question her the next day. She tells them that Maynard went to his fishing cabin out in the keys, that he took Mr. Mung, his faithful Laotian sidekick. And somebody did their homework back then; I've read recently about the heroin connection with Laotian refugee camps. There's whole bunches more; let's just say Maynard wasn't the exception to the rule when it came to drug running spooks in Southeast Asia during the war. But that's why I'm watching this episode now: research. Hmm.

Mrs. Maynard is so oblivious that she keeps chatting away even after Crockett and Tubbs have left. Just as the camera starts to pull away, she gets hit in the head with one of the tennis balls. Heh. Those silly rich housewives and their tennis.

Sonny pilots the Scarab through some Florida backwaters while Mr. Mung watches from the brush. Inside Maynard's cabin, Stone is reiterating his blackmail scheme; Maynard is unaffected. He starts going on about pain, about how no one in this country really understands pain, only money. If I were Stone I'd be squirming right about now. “Naturally you expect to receive money for what you know, instead of pain. How ironic.” Yeah. Maybe the heroin cuts down on the squirming.

Part of Stone's grand blackmail plan was that if Maynard didn't meet his terms by a certain time, the damning manuscript would be released. However, he didn't exactly anticipate that his super-angry wife, who had said manuscript, would be picked up and killed by the ever handy Mr. Mung. So there was at least a manuscript after all; somehow that makes me like Stone better. Or maybe worse. I dunno. “Good news,” Maynard says, “Your divorce came through.” he tosses Stone his wife's ring. At least her finger wasn't in it. Ewww.

Too late, Stone realizes what an idiot he's been. He starts to get up but Maynard shoots him. Sonny and Rico run for the cabin. Stone shouts for a medic. I love this dude. Our heroes kick in the door as Mr. Mung and Maynard escape. Sonny takes a look at Stone's injuries and as per usual doesn't put pressure on the wounds. Also, out of his extensive medical knowledge, he declares that Stone will make it. “If I feel like it,” Stone gasps petulantly. “Do me a favor,” Sonny gripes, “Feel like it.”

Tubbs points out the obvious, that their targets are getting away. “They know they have to kill us,” Sonny says. Thank you, Captain Cheerful. As they sneak through the underbrush, Sonny's gotta be regretting the choice of white pants and peach jacket. Not exactly camo, is it?

They split up. Jim Morrison sings “My eyes have seen you...” as they creep through the weeds and undergrowth. If he wasn't having Nam flashbacks before, Sonny certainly should be now. A bird screeches; Sonny pauses and continues on. For one of the only times I can remember, the camera actively takes Sonny's POV (which means we too share his view) as he hunts Maynard. A stick snaps. We see Mr. Mung making ready to fire on Sonny; there's a click and Sonny whirls, firing. Good thing it wasn't Tubbs.

The music stops, replaced by buzzing insects. Mr. Mung is shot through the throat. Nice aim, there, Sonny. Sonny checks Mung's pulse and then steps over the body. Maynard and Tubbs both listen.

Maynard walks nearly without sound. Sonny's making a lot of noise for someone who's trying not to catch a bullet. Maynard is wearing plum, Sonny's shirt is lavender. Just thought I'd point that out. Sonny takes aim and the buzzing insects reach a crescendo; then Tubbs turns to face him. Close one, eh? Sonny nearly collapses in relief at what he almost just did.

Sonny's nice hand signals are all for nothing, as just when he's finished silently explaining his plan to Tubbs, they hear the motor of a boat start up. And in true Vice style, Tubbs and Crockett reach the dock in time to watch Maynard jet away in his yacht.

Inside the cabin, poor Stone is still bleeding. Tubbs says he'll radio medivac; I'm wondering why they didn't take the time to do that earlier, but whatever. Stone tells Sonny they've found an end to his story – under the bunk he's leaning against is a case of plastic wrapped smack. “Isn't it ironic?” Stone repeats like three times, while still no one thinks to put pressure on his damn wounds, though Sonny wraps him in a blanket and gives him a hug.

Ironic indeed.

*From Sonny's description it almost sounds like he was part of a LRRP (long range reconnaissance patrol) team, and there was a LRRP team in the First Cavalry DIvision (which I vaguely remember someone mentioning somewhere that Crockett belonged to - it could be fanon and not fact) but the timing seems too early as this unit returned in 1972. Also, they were part of the Army Rangers, so as a draftee I dunno, it doesn't fit??? But I'm terrible at understanding this military stuff. Also, in S5 he mentions familiarity with interrogation tactics, how the VC were interrogated. Again, not sure this would be firsthand knowledge of a regular army grunt. Were army grunts going on recon missions into Cambodia?

It's all very vague and frustrating from a writer's standpoint. Crockett was supposedly drafted in 1973 (?) for a two year stint. I don't remember where I got that. Anyway, because he was born between 1944 and 1950, Sonny would have been part of the first,1969 draft. He must have pulled a relatively high number to not be called up until 1973; but not high enough to avoid service. And he was still in the Army as of the Fall of Saigon in April, 1975.

 

Grr. I was hoping there was more specific info in this ep that I'd just forgotten. Again, don't really want to have to read entire books on the subject. My dad was lucky and pulled a really high number; plus since he was born in 1953 he was in the last, 1972 lottery. If he'd been born three years earlier, he'd have gone over (the 1969 draft for his birthday pulled number 2). I digress.

If anybody can shed light on this subject, I'll write a recap of your choice.