Character Musings - The Big Three

[Robbie C.]

Over the years I've developed my own theories about how characters on Vice could be seen in terms of their larger roles or positions within the series. It's big-picture stuff mostly, but it's also the base of many of my opinions about the show and how the characters interact. Everyone talks about how Michael Mann redefined the visual aspects of TV, but I think the show also pushed boundaries when it came to how characters were seen and defined as well.

Ricardo Tubbs is Vice’s most past-focused character. Everything with him references back to his past in New York City. Even when he fathers a son, it’s with someone intimately connected to his origin in New York City (Calderone’s daughter…the daughter of the man who had his brother killed). His other serious romantic interest (Valerie) is also New York City. We never really see Tubbs connecting with Miami in a serious way. His residence remains more or less a mystery, in his covers he’s always the “out of town” guy, either from (again) New York or some Caribbean locale (Jamaica being one), and he seems comfortable with that. His past is always touching his shoulder, shaping who he is and really keeping him from moving forward.

James “Sonny” Crockett is a man with an ever-shifting past that doesn’t seem to touch his present in any significantly lasting way. He’s always focused on “now” or ten seconds from now, and exists almost as a shadow to his cover - Sonny Burnett. He lives in Burnett’s boat, drives Burnett’s car, wears Burnett’s clothes. His relationships are transitional things, with the single exception of Caitlin (who could also be seen as living in the shadow of her stage persona), and when she’s killed Burnett takes control. Significantly this is the only time we see flashbacks for Crockett…when what’s left of him tries to regain control from Burnett. I could go on about the number of disconnects and changes in Sonny’s background story on the series, something that’s unique to this character. Maybe Sonny’s just an extended meditation on the perils of undercover work, and what happens when the cover becomes the person.

Martin Castillo is the single-most developed character in the series, and is more than simple “black and white.” With a background deep in government misdeeds as well as ties to the civil rights movement, Castillo quickly evolves into the show’s moral compass. He’s not so much “black and white” as he is guided by what he believes is “Right.” And that’s Right with a capital R. Castillo never negotiates away his own conscience, even if it means going against the department. He’s seen the lengths the government will go to when it wants something (all the Southeast Asia arcs in his background) yet he remains unbent and unbroken. He manages to balance his past with the present and looks ahead to the future in ways his two top detectives do not.

[Bren10]

I don't know that Tubbs is kept from moving forward, at least not with himself as the culprit.  I felt that after losing his brother he found a new family with the Vice team.  Part of the journey of the pilot is beginnings and endings of things in the lives of Sonny and Rico as well as the end of the old style cop show and beginning a new type.  Nowhere is that more apparent than the transition from nighttime NY with earth tones and reds to sunny (Sonny anyone?) Miami in the intro of the pilot. Calderone was ultimately defeated and I think Tubbs would've been fine if that was where it stopped but tangents connected to Calderone kept intruding-Angelina and his son, Orlando etc.  Even so, when those events end he manages to move on without them affecting his behavior.  Valerie is a tie to NY but I also saw her as simply the one woman he was always carrying a torch for and that he thought was special.  But he was more into her than she was into him.  I think Tubbs managed to fit well into Miami.  The show didn't press the fish out of water thing very much though either once it got past Lou Rodriguez even though it could have.  His actual residence was always an issue to me too.  It would have been nice to spend some time with him there in some high-rise as a counter to the ground-level St Vitus.  I also felt Rico represented the audience in the beginning, traversing into this strange new world along with him.

I concur with mostly everything on Sonny. I always felt he represented something bigger than himself as a character. The true "son" of Miami who is given purpose as long as he remains there.

Castillo I saw as the patient one who plays the long game, never kneejerk reacting.  His personality reflects his surname which actually means "castle" which implies "fortress". The ice to Sonny's fire with Rico in the middle most of the time.  However he has caved at times to bureaucracy, as was the case with Tony Amato. Maybe he feels nothing can be done about it. In Bushido he would've been content to stand by while the CIA assassinated targets on US soil even though that's supposed to be illegal.  Although in all fairness there's no indication that Castillo thinks this is wrong, especially if you think he was responsible for the ending in Borrasca.  Come to think of it, Castillo seems to be fine with the amorality of the covert ops/spook world and I don't know exactly how to feel about that side of him.  He seems to cherry-pick when to intercede or not depending on how it suits him.  He does weigh the consequences of his actions more but he's supposed to be older and wiser so he should.  In short he is the father, Sonny the big brother (the "son" again) who doesn't always see the world like the father does, with Rico the slightly younger adopted and adaptable brother who has a perspective different from both because of where he's from.  I think Castillo is the anchor but his moral compass is more his own than an example to follow.  He actually enables the very system he often decries. I suppose he justifies this to himself by holding to some Batman-like moral code.  And by that I don't mean vigilante, I mean cognitive dissonance in terms of law and morality.  No he is absolutely not black and white but he knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

[Robbie C.]

I agree on Castillo. His moral compass was his own, and that was one of his more interesting aspects. Vice was always very Noir and almost a counter-culture influence during the Reagan years, and I think that's why Castillo's moral compass was so individual. I also think he was shown as being partly "broken" by the bureaucracy, which contributes to some of his variations. But also had certain non-negotiable points, and you sure knew when you hit them.

Tubbs I agree was supposed to be the viewer's window in to an extent, but he was also constantly looking backwards. That was certainly on him, but his fitting in with Miami was always superficial (at least to me). It was like the writers didn't quite know what to do with him so they in many ways left him static. Tubbs is a fascinating, if half-developed, character. I always thought it was interesting that he could float in and out of his covers without developing the issues Crockett contended with for the entire show.

[Bren10]

Mann has talked about "formed" characters and "formless" characters and how events affect them . Such as in Heat, Chris gets away because he is more formless where Neil dies because he was too formed.  I think that psychology applies to Crockett and Tubbs as well in how they are affected by things.

[Robbie C.]

The interesting part of that is the impact Yerkovich had on forming the characters. Castillo was in many ways formed and guarded by EJO. I wonder if PMT did the same thing with Tubbs given the consistency of his background? Crockett, on the other hand, has many shifting errors and omissions in his background.

I might move on to the others next. And even Izzy and Noogie....

[vicegirl85]

Robbie C. and Bren10, your insights on the Big 3 are very interesting to me, and regarding Crockett and Tubbs, you are bringing in some angles I hadn't ever considered.  Food for thought, and those concepts explain a lot about the characters.

I had actually never thought the writing supported the character development because of how fragmented and ever-changing the writers and directors seemed to be, at least after S2.  But just as Freefall now seems a rather inevitable ending based on all that has gone before, your theories have more validity for me based on the overall course of the show's run.

Bren10, I'm intrigued by the idea of "formed" and "formless" characters and their response to events.  This is the first I've heard of that concept.

[mjcmmv]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:47 AM, Robbie C. said:

Over the years I've developed my own theories about how characters on Vice could be seen in terms of their larger roles or positions within the series. It's big-picture stuff mostly, but it's also the base of many of my opinions about the show and how the characters interact. Everyone talks about how Michael Mann redefined the visual aspects of TV, but I think the show also pushed boundaries when it came to how characters were seen and defined as well.

Ricardo Tubbs is Vice’s most past-focused character. Everything with him references back to his past in New York City. Even when he fathers a son, it’s with someone intimately connected to his origin in New York City (Calderone’s daughter…the daughter of the man who had his brother killed). His other serious romantic interest (Valerie) is also New York City. We never really see Tubbs connecting with Miami in a serious way. His residence remains more or less a mystery, in his covers he’s always the “out of town” guy, either from (again) New York or some Caribbean locale (Jamaica being one), and he seems comfortable with that. His past is always touching his shoulder, shaping who he is and really keeping him from moving forward.

James “Sonny” Crockett is a man with an ever-shifting past that doesn’t seem to touch his present in any significantly lasting way. He’s always focused on “now” or ten seconds from now, and exists almost as a shadow to his cover - Sonny Burnett. He lives in Burnett’s boat, drives Burnett’s car, wears Burnett’s clothes. His relationships are transitional things, with the single exception of Caitlin (who could also be seen as living in the shadow of her stage persona), and when she’s killed Burnett takes control. Significantly this is the only time we see flashbacks for Crockett…when what’s left of him tries to regain control from Burnett. I could go on about the number of disconnects and changes in Sonny’s background story on the series, something that’s unique to this character. Maybe Sonny’s just an extended meditation on the perils of undercover work, and what happens when the cover becomes the person.

Martin Castillo is the single-most developed character in the series, and is more than simple “black and white.” With a background deep in government misdeeds as well as ties to the civil rights movement, Castillo quickly evolves into the show’s moral compass. He’s not so much “black and white” as he is guided by what he believes is “Right.” And that’s Right with a capital R. Castillo never negotiates away his own conscience, even if it means going against the department. He’s seen the lengths the government will go to when it wants something (all the Southeast Asia arcs in his background) yet he remains unbent and unbroken. He manages to balance his past with the present and looks ahead to the future in ways his two top detectives do not.

This is so well thought out and developed. I never saw anything like it before! Thank you, Robbie! Great work!

[mjcmmv]

On 3/14/2019 at 1:51 PM, Bren10 said:

I don't know that Tubbs is kept from moving forward, at least not with himself as the culprit.  I felt that after losing his brother he found a new family with the Vice team.  Part of the journey of the pilot is beginnings and endings of things in the lives of Sonny and Rico as well as the end of the old style cop show and beginning a new type.  Nowhere is that more apparent than the transition from nighttime NY with earth tones and reds to sunny (Sonny anyone?) Miami in the intro of the pilot. Calderone was ultimately defeated and I think Tubbs would've been fine if that was where it stopped but tangents connected to Calderone kept intruding-Angelina and his son, Orlando etc.  Even so, when those events end he manages to move on without them affecting his behavior.  Valerie is a tie to NY but I also saw her as simply the one woman he was always carrying a torch for and that he thought was special.  But he was more into her than she was into him.  I think Tubbs managed to fit well into Miami.  The show didn't press the fish out of water thing very much though either once it got past Lou Rodriguez even though it could have.  His actual residence was always an issue to me too.  It would have been nice to spend some time with him there in some high-rise as a counter to the ground-level St Vitus.  I also felt Rico represented the audience in the beginning, traversing into this strange new world along with him.

I concur with mostly everything on Sonny. I always felt he represented something bigger than himself as a character. The true "son" of Miami who is given purpose as long as he remains there.

Castillo I saw as the patient one who plays the long game, never kneejerk reacting.  His personality reflects his surname which actually means "castle" which implies "fortress". The ice to Sonny's fire with Rico in the middle most of the time.  However he has caved at times to bureaucracy, as was the case with Tony Amato. Maybe he feels nothing can be done about it. In Bushido he would've been content to stand by while the CIA assassinated targets on US soil even though that's supposed to be illegal.  Although in all fairness there's no indication that Castillo thinks this is wrong, especially if you think he was responsible for the ending in Borrasca.  Come to think of it, Castillo seems to be fine with the amorality of the covert ops/spook world and I don't know exactly how to feel about that side of him.  He seems to cherry-pick when to intercede or not depending on how it suits him.  He does weigh the consequences of his actions more but he's supposed to be older and wiser so he should.  In short he is the father, Sonny the big brother (the "son" again) who doesn't always see the world like the father does, with Rico the slightly younger adopted and adaptable brother who has a perspective different from both because of where he's from.  I think Castillo is the anchor but his moral compass is more his own than an example to follow.  He actually enables the very system he often decries. I suppose he justifies this to himself by holding to some Batman-like moral code.  And by that I don't mean vigilante, I mean cognitive dissonance in terms of law and morality.  No he is absolutely not black and white but he knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Wow, this is good, Bren! Never realized Castillo's name means castle/fortress. I also see him as the father figure. Lou Rodriguez didn't have the control or intensity to rein in the likes of Sonny Crockett and when Castillo first arrived on the scene in One Eyed Jack, you could see that Sonny and Rico were not about to give in to his discipline without a fight. Once the Lieutenant earned their respect, the bond was forged and forever intact! These characters were more complex than we realize at first glance. Great analysis! 

[mjcmmv]

On 3/14/2019 at 2:27 PM, Robbie C. said:

I agree on Castillo. His moral compass was his own, and that was one of his more interesting aspects. Vice was always very Noir and almost a counter-culture influence during the Reagan years, and I think that's why Castillo's moral compass was so individual. I also think he was shown as being partly "broken" by the bureaucracy, which contributes to some of his variations. But also had certain non-negotiable points, and you sure knew when you hit them.

Tubbs I agree was supposed to be the viewer's window in to an extent, but he was also constantly looking backwards. That was certainly on him, but his fitting in with Miami was always superficial (at least to me). It was like the writers didn't quite know what to do with him so they in many ways left him static. Tubbs is a fascinating, if half-developed, character. I always thought it was interesting that he could float in and out of his covers without developing the issues Crockett contended with for the entire show.

Well said! You're right-Tubbs was not as well developed as a character, but they did try to create an arc with Angelina and his search for family. I always wondered what happened to Rico after his partnership with Sonny dissolved. I see Sonny on a sailboat in the Keys, maybe doing some private investigating along with some heavy partying. But Tubbs? Where did he end up? NY? I don't think so!