Episode #30 "Bushido"

[Ferrariman]

Begin posting

[Tony D.]

Castillo is dynamite! review: Loved this episode! The story of the Japanese warrior-friends and the emotions between Castillo & Gretsky are first class. The estate with the royal palms is majestic & awesome and almost magical! I'd love to see this place live! Surf was really likeable.Too bad he was KGB. My favorite line--when Sonny yells " Surf's up!" I also noticed how formal Castillo acted when he gave the sword to little Marty. Like a ceremony was being performed. This episode is in my top 10 eps if not my top 5. In the back of my mind, those tall palm trees & beautiful blue-green water made this N.Y. guy finally move to Florida. Some observations : Trudy on real skates, not rollerblades, that even I could stand-up on. Crockett sweating profusely in his light shirt & Tubbs doing isometric flexes in a long sleeve shirt & tie, & barely breaking a sweat. I really dig the oriental background music throughout the episode. Castillo gives a couple real big smiles to Gretsky. When they were recounting the battle with the shogun warriors,"back to back, with drawn swords, I thought of them being, "Brothers in Arms"! The story of Toshi, was an allegory. Little Marty never heard that one from his dad, so I think Castillo made it up on the spot to describe his duel with his friend. The abandoned estate, freom the air, looks like the one DJ is selling in Calif. I really liked Surf. Too bad he was KGB! Prickle mentioned the engine turning itself off. I had the sub-titles on & it said "engine dying." Maybe since he wasn't giving it gas, it died, or maybe it needed a tuneup! My favorite lines are: , "Surf's up, Pal!" ; and " When you go, you go all the way" ; Tubbs - "Castillo doesn't give an inch" Crockett - "He can't!" Yeah, Castillo is "BAD". Funny how I didn't like him 'cause he was so colorless when I first saw him. Since then, I see how complex & cool he is, in his own way! There is so much emotion between Gretsky & Castillo. Great acting!I rate this ep a 10 !

[Papa Legba]

This is another good episode.Things that caught my attention was the atmosphere of the initial scene. Great integration of the music and the imagary. Reminds me of the opening of "Hostile Takeover". EJO did an excellent job of directing this episode.How sensible was it to have Trudy on roller scates though? All the bad guy would have needed to do was push her and she'd have fallen over!Also I was surprised that considering Gretsky's Ninja like prowess in taking out Herrera, tying up the DEA guy in what seemed like a matter of seconds, and doing a complete convert surveillence on the entire team, he seemed to be completely hopeless with a gun. Gretsky fires a machine gun at Castillo and misses, yet Castillo manages to recover from his shock and get Gretsky with one shot AND kill him. A monkey could have killed Castillo with that gun. I also thought it was a bit of bizarre way to get Castillo's attention. I guess Gretsky didn't have Castillo's telephone number!I thought EJO's acting was good when he has the talk with Gretsky's wife after he's told her that he's "gone ahead". You can see him almost break down in tears when he she talks about him. That's one of the few times you ever see Castillo come to raw emotion.I like how the stories that Castillo tells Marty Jnr are ones that describe, in an allegorical way the situation that they are in, and the relationship that Castillo had with Jack.Best scene for me was the scene where Castillo and the bad guys are engaging in a game of cat and mouse, alongside the eerie "Hello Earth" by Kate Bush. No way Castillo could have jumped from the ceiling onto the floor behind that Russian hitman without making a noise though. I thought he did really well to be able to take out two hitmen after having been stabbed as well.At first I wasn't a big fan of the episode, but over time it has grown on me a lot and I think it's a great episode for Castillo, in that it explores more depth to his character.Despite the holes in the storyline, the episode still works. I'll have to give it 8 out of 10.

[nmathews]

About your Gretsky observation

This is another good episode.Also I was surprised that considering Gretsky's Ninja like prowess in taking out Herrera' date=' tying up the DEA guy in what seemed like a matter of seconds, and doing a complete convert surveillence on the entire team, he seemed to be completely hopeless with a gun. Gretsky fires a machine gun at Castillo and misses, yet Castillo manages to recover from his shock and get Gretsky with one shot AND kill him. A monkey could have killed Castillo with that gun. I also thought it was a bit of bizarre way to get Castillo's attention. I guess Gretsky didn't have Castillo's telephone number!.[/quote']I always thought especially after Castillo told the Toshi story (Thoshi touched his neck, but his friend could not pull back in time) that Jack missed Castillo on purpose because he wanted to 'die honorably' and have Castillo do the honors. He was dying of cancer and was in great pain, he knew Castillo's character and trusted him to take care of his family. Jack presumably was an expert at all kinds of weapons including guns. Castillo told his squad that when he descirbed Gretsky's profession and how dangerous he was.

[Papa Legba]

I always thought especially after Castillo told the Toshi story (Thoshi touched his neck' date=' but his friend could not pull back in time) that Jack missed Castillo on purpose because he wanted to 'die honorably' and have Castillo do the honors. He was dying of cancer and was in great pain, he knew Castillo's character and trusted him to take care of his family. Jack presumably was an expert at all kinds of weapons including guns. Castillo told his squad that when he descirbed Gretsky's profession and how dangerous he was.[/quote']Sounds like a good point that Nancy. I think I may need to rewatch the scenes where Castillo tells Martin Jnr the Toshi stories, as I didn't pick up on that specific point in his story. Your explanation would make sense, considering that Gretsky knew that he was going to die anyway, and clearly wanted Castillo to take care of his wife and child. I'd always just assumed that although Gretsky wanted Castillo to look after them, he wasn't necessarily expecting Castillo to try and arrest him (I assumed that his lack of surprise was actually false). But of course Gretsky obviously knew Castillo and his integrity very well, and should have known that he would. It just appeared to me that Gretsky tried to aim to kill Castillo. I would have expected him to maybe just point the gun at Castillo, and hope that Castillo would kill him. However I guess he thought that Castillo would never have fired unless he considered that his life was at threat, considering how close they were. Your explanation's made me look at that situation in a completely different light. Thanks.

[timm525]

10/10 for me.One of the best Vice eps. ever!And to add that Gretsky clearly missed Castillo on purpose. He had no intention of killing Castillo, he was dying anyway and wanted his family taken care of by Castillo. That was a forced suicide on his part.

[nmathews]

My original review from the first viewing a few years ago.You are welcome!Well yes it's a great episode. Castillo is interesting in it. I noticed EJO directed this episode, so I guess he had more say about how the episode would develop, or at least part of the finished project. I agree I love the music Jan Hammer has in this episode. I enjoy the first scenes of this episode so much. The whole OCB gang in these scenes. Love Trudy on Roller skates (I don't think Roller blades had bee invented yet. we were just coming out of the disco Roller skating phase from the late 70's). I loved Crockett and Tubbs up in the mezanine of the Winter Haven with the nightscope. as mentioned before I liked Zito popping out of the sand that was funny. Gina seems to do the bag lady bit several times in Vice. I remember her using that disguise in another episode, I think it was French Twist. Did anyone notice when Crockett or Tubbs were describing the DEA guy they described him ex-special forces and talks like Rambo? then Frank Stalone shows up as the drug dealer who does talk like Rambo since Sly is his brother. Does anyone know if Frank Stalone was originally supposed to play the DEA guy and they switched and they never changed the script lines? That's always bugged and puzzled me. Don't get me wrong, I like Bushido, but I really have to be in the mood to see it. It moves kind of slow for me. I like the allegory of the story Castillo tells Marty about his dad's and Castillo's friendship and how Jack died honorably, but Castillo was very sad about it. I also noticed that Castillo did hear Jack's wife come up behind him, but he didn't expect her to attack him. I still stand by my earlier comment that I thought Dean Stockwell's acting in this was a little stiff, but maybe that's because the cancer was huritng the character too much. He definitely set it up so Castillo would kill him and take care of his family. OK, I liked Crockett and Tubbs in this one as they both show their loyalty to Castillo. I always wondered where they had disappeared to, and how they caught up to him so fast, but then I noticed in this viewing, when Surf shot the Cop he shot at Crockett and Tubbs too and they dived into the water, so that's how Surf got Rico's caddy, and that's why Crockett and Tubbs weren't too far behind. Some one questioned why Enirida or whoever playe her was even in the episode, but I figured it was to show that Jack trusted very few people with his wife and child, Castillo was one, and Enirida was another, both from his shared past with Castillo. Jack needed somewhere for his wife and son to wait while he met with Castillo, and he certainly didn't want to leave them alone, so he had them safe with Enrida. As for why the actress showed up, we, the audience had to see that Castillo and Enirida were old friends and knew each other very well. After all Castillo couldn't just walk up to a stranger and say Hi, Jack sent me. With Castillo already knowing Enirida, and us seeing them meet and she letting him in, it reinforces just how special a relationship Castillo and Enirida had with Jack. OK, anyone else think Marty could have ditched the company men if he had wanted to? Didn't he know they were following him? Why didn't he, or are we supposed to believe he was so distracted by his upcoming meeting with Jack, that he didn't catch the company guys following him? I don't buy that even if he was surprised that Jack was alive and not killed in the Mesah ambush set up by Dale Menton (Golden Triangle). I guess I need to give this episode a very strong 9. 5/18/2009 - I agree that the music in this episode was very good and very appropriate. The music certainly fitted the scenes. Jan did a very good job on this, and the musical selections which weren't Jan's fit very well. I loved the scenes at Lumus Park (one of my favorite places.) I've come to realize how good an episode this is so although I still have to be very much in the mood to watch it. I'm amending my original rating to a 10. as a side note it gives me a bit of a shiver of glee that where Crockett and Tubbs are in the Winter Haven mezanine level I sat on a couch in front of that window in 2005!

[Shill]

A straight 10. No need to debate

[agent 47]

One of the absolute finest episodes in the series. Castillo takes center stage in this espionage-infused masterpiece with a great albeit brief role for Dean Stockwell ("Here's to Ben!"). The action scenes were fantastic plus we got a villain role for Sledge Hammer himself, David Rasche. It deserves a full 10/10 and nothing less.

Edited October 18, 2016 by agent 47
New review due to Blu-ray viewing.

[Papa Legba]

Did anyone notice when Crockett or Tubbs were describing the DEA guy they described him ex-special forces and talks like Rambo? then Frank Stalone shows up as the drug dealer who does talk like Rambo since Sly is his brother.

Sorry to be a pedantic Nancy, but I don't believe that wasn't Frank Stallone. Stallone appeared in "Blood and Roses", but the guy who played Herrera was (I believe) the same actor who played Senor Espinoza in "The Savage". I would tell you his name but I can't find a credit for either of these two roles in either episode.

[Ferrariman]

Not one of my favorites. To me it all went downhill after the teaser.

[Guest neworder]

Not one of my favorites. To me it all went downhill after the teaser.

Pretty well summarised for my opinion of this episode too.Yes the intro is decent and the ending is ok' date=' love the big palm tree's as Tony D has mentioned. But there is far too much dialogue in this episode, its pace is slow, Jan Hammer's music isn't his best and quite depressing although I suppose it hits the mood of the episode well. Plus I'm not overly keen on Bush's track. Nice to see Olmos get another development of his character and as always he plays his character superbly but too much dialogue and not enough Crockett & Tubbs. The rating from me has gone down since I last reviewed it, used to be 7.[b']6/10

[Lar]

I give it a 7. Good solid episode. Not a favorite, but one I'd rewatch. Great to see David Rasche, he's good in anything he does. I'd completely forgot Dean Stockwell was in this, he's also pretty awesome.

[Sonny-Burnett]

I'm kind of lukewarm on this one, would give it a 5. It is rather slow and at times not too exciting, but I liked the scenes with Castillo and Stockwell, and the Samurai-like character Castillo takes on in the house where he eliminates the Russians. Adds a bit more character to his mysterious background. I liked the visual scenery at the Deering Estate and who could forget the Surf character.

[rodriguezisdead]

Marty has some classic lines throughout MV - one that gets me everytime here is "After they put me together again in Bangkok..." - after the beginning of a sentence like that it somehow doesn't matter how the sentence ends!I've seen this a few times over the last 2 or 3 years and I have to say I agree with those who score it lower upon repeated viewings - but only slightly lower is justified IMO. And that's chiefly due to the plot inconsistencies (eg. C&T don't have any signs of their forced 'dip' in the water), and the slow movement as the story unfolds.But overall I have to remember the thrill this ep gave me the first couple of times I watched it - high points included: Castillo's relationship with Jack - handled beautifully IMO by EJO but so much of his acting was understated and powerful in this show - right from his reviewing of the bust video through to his gentle smile with Jack as he listens to the professionalism of his old friend again; Castillo on the ceiling and in ninja mode for 5 minutes at the end; the beautiful shots of the palm trees from above as Castillo & Co. try to escape the Russian, and I also love Sonny's relationship with Castillo in this one - he has the closest relationship to Castillo in the show IMO and sometimes it really shows - it's almost instinctual when Sonny asks Castillo "What do you want me to do?". It is interesting (and so right IMO) that he doesn't say "What do you want us to do?" (as Tubbs is also pictured in this scene for example). Sonny tries to play the 'eyes and ears' again for Castillo in this ep on more than one occasion (eg "you need manpower") but he also respects Castillo's methods even when he knows that Castillo might have to bend the rules a little in this one (hence the discarded badge). I've always argued that these three (C&T and Castillo) are often portrayed as 'brothers' in this show but none more so than Sonny & Castillo. Compare this for example to the final outstanding scene at the beach in the Savage for example.I give this an 8 out of 10.

[Papa Legba]

Another question that crossed my mind was regarding Surf's identity. Was he an American (possibly CIA) agent that had defected to the KGB, or was he a Russian KGB agent that was doing a very good job of impersonating an American agent?Surf tells the Russian hitmen to not speak in Russian, but he speaks to them in English, which implies that he doesn't know any Russian himself and therefore he's an American.However when he was riding the Caddy through the trees and he was coming out with the "Man I love America, don't you?" speech, it was almost like he was overplaying the whole American identity thing, which could imply that he was actually a Russian who was over-acting his role.

[Shill]

yeah, I think he was a Russian who's speciality was portraying an American

[Sonny-Burnett]

To me Surf's comments indicate he must have lived in the USA long enough to lose his accent and gain an inside knowledge of our customs (and cars), and even seems to have a fondness for his time here. Probably a matter of years.

[Tony D.]

I agree with Shill and Sonny-Burnett!

[nmathews]

My take on Surf

Another question that crossed my mind was regarding Surf's identity. Was he an American (possibly CIA) agent that had defected to the KGB' date=' or was he a Russian KGB agent that was doing a very good job of impersonating an American agent?Surf tells the Russian hitmen to not speak in Russian, but he speaks to them in English, which implies that he doesn't know any Russian himself and therefore he's an American.However when he was riding the Caddy through the trees and he was coming out with the "Man I love America, don't you?" speech, it was almost like he was overplaying the whole American identity thing, which could imply that he was actually a Russian who was over-acting his role.[/quote']I've alwasy assumed Surf was a Russian who was undercover as an American. Remember he repremands his comrandes from speaking Russian at a site that was originally an American Government operations center. I just assumed since they had took over the American Governement operations center they were supposed to speak and act American and when they didn't Surf called them on it. I believe he understood and spoke Russian fluentaly. Remember he wasn't sure about the Far Out usage which had gone out of fashion in the late 70's and mid 80's. He also talked about going back to Moscow Also earlier in the episode the one American talking to Castillo mentioned that the KGB had already sent their A-Team after Jack. I also think Surf really liked American Cars and that's why he was so enthusiastic about Rico's Caddy. (kind of weird listening to this in the present day with GM's problems in the news)

[mjcmmv]

Episode # 30-BushidoWow, great comments. This is one of my favorite episodes for many reasons, so I give it a 10 out of 10. First of all, Bushido gives me a real picture of what Castillo is all about, and I respect and admire the character EJO helped flesh out in this episode. It's all put out there for us: Castillo's integrity, his loyalty to his "crew" whether it be Jack Gretsky or the Miami Vice squad; his dedication to seeing that justice is always served; his experience during the war that prepared him in a special way to deal with the challenge of a city gone mad with drugs and dealers prepared to make profits at any price. My husband always said Castillo was the real hero in Miami Vice and when I see this episode, I can see why he says it (even though I don't agree with him!) One scene that I always found interesting was the one where Castillo strokes Gretsky's wife's hair, as if to comfort her. It was so unlike him and I found myself wondering if he was attracted to her or if he wanted to convince her he would always be there to protect her and her son.Another thing I wondered is how Jack's wife figured out that Castillo killed her husband. She was an agent and she was smart but what did Castillo say that tipped her off? Was it intuition? Was it a clue in the story he told the boy? How could she think he was out to destroy her when he ran to the safe house and did all he could to hide her and the boy? He could have killed her any time he wanted while she was off guard but he was tender and thoughtful, trying to support her and her son in any way he could. The way she turned on him didn't make sense to me. By the way, did anyone notice that Marc Mackaulay played one of the Russian bad guys stalking Castillo in the deserted mansion? He was the same actor who played Doc Jerry in the 5th Season's "Bad Timing" and he also played a bad guy in the third season's "Streetwise". He's one of the actors we met at the 20th Year Miami Vice Anniversary Reunion in 2004. You can see him featured in pictures put out by fans when he posed with his wife and child. He was very friendly and willing to share his experiences on the show. We were thrilled!!!!MJ

[agent 47]

Surf tells the Russian hitmen to not speak in Russian' date=' but he speaks to them in English, which implies that he doesn't know any Russian himself and therefore he's an American.[/quote']The fact he speaks english to his comrades means nothing, the actor may not have had time to learn some russian, the producers may not have had time, or, more likely, this is TV in the eighties, how many shows during this decade we have seen where we see similar scenarios? It means nothing, it's a TV show, it means nothing that he doesn't speak russian, the actor may not have known russian, it's not like that the people behind the show were going to drop an actor just because he didn't speak russian, on movies? maybe, tv shows? no. We just have ignore it and enjoy the episode, it was made for that purpose.

[Tony D.]

I always assumed Castillo's story to the boy revealed that he killed Jack. Never thought otherwise.

[Papa Legba]

Another thing I wondered is how Jack's wife figured out that Castillo killed her husband. She was an agent and she was smart but what did Castillo say that tipped her off? Was it intuition? Was it a clue in the story he told the boy? MJ

I think you may have answered your own question there. This was my interpretation as well. I seem to remember that as Castillo is taking Marty upstairs, you briefly see Gretsky's wife, who appears to be nearby, and therefore potentially able to hear what's being said. The inference (although again subtle), is that she followed them upstairs, listened outside the room and worked out from Castillo's allegorical story that it was him that had killed Gretsky. I think there's a lot of subtelties in this episode.

[Papa Legba]

By the way' date=' did anyone notice that Marc Mackaulay played one of the Russian bad guys stalking Castillo in the deserted mansion? He was the same actor who played Doc Jerry in the 5th Season's "Bad Timing" and he also played a bad guy in the third season's "Streetwise". He's one of the actors we met at the 20th Year Miami Vice Anniversary Reunion in 2004. You can see him featured in pictures put out by fans when he posed with his wife and child. He was very friendly and willing to share his experiences on the show. We were thrilled!!!!MJ[/quote']He also appeared in "World of Trouble" as a shooter, and also appeared in a couple of shootouts, one in "Over the line" and the other in "Freefall". He also played a porno expert in "Death and the lady". Marc was quite versatile because he was also a stuntman as well as an actor. I think he must live in Miami because he's appeared in quite a few other Miami related productions such as "The Specialist" and "Burn Notice". I'm impressed that you met him. Considering he appeared in more Vice episodes than any other guest star, I wouldn't mind meeting him myself!