Episode #45 "When Irish Eyes Are Crying"

[ViceFanMan]

29 minutes ago, fakespyder said:

I wish I looked that ridiculous.

But I liked this episode too.

It felt a little weird as a season opener but we now know this was never intended to be that.

I wish I looked as cool as Crockett ...but not in the inflatable parachute jackets, LOL!  I MUCH prefer the pastel linen jackets of Seasons 1-2...and they brought back the pastels some in Seasons 4-5 when they realized the sudden change in wardrobe for Season 3 didn't work.

Most true fans know that El Viejo was originally supposed to be the Season 3 premiere (and that is one of my favorite episodes)...but I actually really like this ("Irish Eyes) episode, too! It worked just fine for what the situation was, and where the show was at, at the time.  

[TylerDurden389]

Given that *most* of the wardrobe didn't change for the rest of the cast (hairstyles is another thing altogether), I think they should've at least had 2 of the characters make a simple passing remark about how/why Crockett changed his clothes. Either way, NBC or whomever was in charge of Don's look knew they messed up since throughout the 2nd half of S3, not only are the whites brought back, but Don's hair gets progressively longer too. Seems to me that Don's hair in S3 was basically the same style as the other seasons, but everything was made much shorter (top, sides, and the back). I haven't really seen any pics of him during the downtime between S3 and S4, but I'd imagine that there was a period when his hair did look the way it did in the first 2 seasons (albeit, with a trim to the bottom and the back), and S4's hair is just an "extension" (hehe) of what it looked like at the end of S2.

Though I hate that midway through S4, they cut it too short in the back and left the rest alone. Threw off the symmetry, IMO.

[ViceFanMan]

19 hours ago, TylerDurden389 said:

Given that *most* of the wardrobe didn't change for the rest of the cast (hairstyles is another thing altogether), I think they should've at least had 2 of the characters make a simple passing remark about how/why Crockett changed his clothes. Either way, NBC or whomever was in charge of Don's look knew they messed up since throughout the 2nd half of S3, not only are the whites brought back, but Don's hair gets progressively longer too. Seems to me that Don's hair in S3 was basically the same style as the other seasons, but everything was made much shorter (top, sides, and the back). I haven't really seen any pics of him during the downtime between S3 and S4, but I'd imagine that there was a period when his hair did look the way it did in the first 2 seasons (albeit, with a trim to the bottom and the back), and S4's hair is just an "extension" (hehe) of what it looked like at the end of S2.

Though I hate that midway through S4, they cut it too short in the back and left the rest alone. Threw off the symmetry, IMO.

When Dick Wolf took over in Season 3, major changes with hairstyles & wardrobe took place for both Don Johnson & Philip Michael Thomas. The pastels were gone, and they tried both dark & neon colors instead, and both DJ's & PMT's hairstyles were much shorter...and/or practically chopped off.  The changes did not go over well, and although the plots/episodes seemed to get more bizarre...in Season 4 you'll notice the pastels are back with the wardrobe (although more subtly) & with background colors, and Don's hair is again longer. Plus, although they weren't the tortoise shell ones (which are my favorite), Don also gets back his Ray Ban Wayfarers...this time black, and thank goodness, as the giant bulky Persol things he had in Season 3 did not look good!  But, once Dick Wolf took over, they couldn't quite seem to balance things...Season 3 had the weird hairstyles & wardrobe, but still had pretty good plots/episodes. Seasons 4-5 brought back the majority of the good wardrobe & hairstyles, but then totally went whacko/bizarre with the episodes.   

[johnnyfarragut]

speaking of wardrobe ... My Kingdom for that T-shirt! 

[Robbie C.]

37 minutes ago, johnnyfarragut said:

speaking of wardrobe ... My Kingdom for that T-shirt! 

Ask and ye shall (almost) receive: https://www.amazon.com/KILL-ALL-LET-SORT-T-Shirt/dp/B09J31NS4B

[johnnyfarragut]

Screenplay:

 

miami vice- when irish eyes are crying.pdf

[Adrian321]

On 9/29/2015 at 3:56 AM, vicegirl85 said:

OK, this is probably my very favorite episode of Miami Vice!  I love the colors and the music, the Irish terrorist plot was topical and hasn't been done to death, and of course at the end I had my hopes raised that Crockett and Gina would get back together.  Sadly that didn't happen and I can appreciate the reasons why some here feel that it was a weak episode--but I still love it!

 

Fahey was a great guest star!  Loved it when Crockett asked him about the girl with the sticky fingers and Eddie K said "She's working her way through school."  I'm probably stating the obvious but the girl working her way through college by doing exotic dancing has truth to it as well as being a popular trope--but it's not something that would often be mentioned on a broadcast network series.  The Daytona's last stand is classic for sure!  Was Crockett's white Testarossa supposed to have been Berrigan's after being repainted white?  Can't recall if that was spelled out later.

 

 

Even with the emotion and doomed romance of Gina and Carroon, we again see the contrast between the desperate patriotism/nationalism of the IRA who see themselves (or at least paint themselves) as freedom fighters and the cynical, commercial side of terrorism and weapons-dealing; as well as an agent of the law trying to shape events to gain the ends he wants, no matter that other people may be endangered.  This is all wrapped up in an entertaining and well-paced story, beautifully filmed with the dark and bright colors: black, navy, charcoal, royal blue, lime-green, intense yellow and white.  When the OCB team meets with Richard Cross, note the color coordination of all of them!    

 

nmathews, on 02 Sept 2009 - 1:35 PM, said:

I agree that Sonny and Gina maintained a special relationship and it was on display here.  When Tubbs tells Gina that Sonny thinks she is in too deep with Carroon (to be objective is the way I took it) and she snaps back "That's just great!  Because Sonny would be real objective."  I always wonder if she means Sonny would not be objective because he is a bit of a dog in the manger about Gina (I don't really think she meant this!) or because he has a tendency to get too deep himself.  Sonny was very caring as he defended her to Cross, and later, when he breaks the news about Carroon's weapons deal.

 

Re: the final scene on the parking garage roof:  Gina tried to get Carroon to put away his weapon and forego his planned attack on the Concorde. She still cares for him and knows he can avoid consequences since he hasn't "done anything yet."  Carroon turned his back on her and is reaching for his gun as Sonny shouts "Freeze!"  From my POV, Carroon was going to shoot Sonny (first, at least), and Gina could see this.  She fired first and then Sonny fired; both shots struck Carroon with enough force that he went over the wall.  Just as in Blood and Roses, Gina killed the bad guy who was in a position to kill Sonny.

 

To be fair to Gina, the horrible Ramirez pressured Gina to sleep with him against her will.  She didn't do it willingly but had allowed herself to be in a spot where she was alone with him, with no backup.  Even if someone doesn't want to call it a rape (which I believe it was), it wasn't something she willingly consented to and if she had revealed herself as a police officer the case would have been blown.  Frank Mosca similarly had her in a vulnerable position (yes, due to her own error in judgment).  In her zeal to get him to reveal his "business secrets" she allowed him to ply her with alcohol and then found herself in a position where she couldn't extricate herself without compromising her cover.  Sonny never forced himself on her or tried to prove he could have her whenever he wanted her.  She was shown to let her passion for justice cause her to jump into situations without thinking them through, but it's not fair to call her a praying mantis (IMO)!    

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I think I like this episode because it has a lot of emotion/romance as opposed to more car/gun/boat action, and it's good to see that some men (I think!) feel the same way I do about it.  Imagine fits perfectly in the intro scene, and The Last Unbroken Heart is perfect for Gina.  Sean was someone she thought was the real deal, so it hurt worse--probably even worse than when she broke it off with Sonny (because of Brenda).  Sonny hurt her, but he didn't break her heart--she knew he wasn't ready for a commitment, and they were able to stay friends.  Sean had indicated she had a future with him, and she allowed herself to believe it.

 

I agree with those who said this could have been fleshed out as a 2-hour episode; both the Gina-Sean storyline and the Carroon-arms deal-Cross interference sides could have been developed further.  She was as quick to jump into bed with Sean as Crockett or Tubbs were with various female guests throughout the series and I still find this a bit rushed.  Still, I give Irish Eyes a 10 of 10.

Even if I disagree, I like how you supported your point for your favorite episode.

While not one of my favorites, I can see it tried something new, compared to the usual stuff, but it still maintained the theme pretty well.

It maybe didn't make enough of the potential for a 2 hour episode ? However, that Daytona destruction is nonetheless  iconic for all MV fans.

[Adrian321]

On 4/8/2023 at 6:46 PM, ViceFanMan said:

When Dick Wolf took over in Season 3, major changes with hairstyles & wardrobe took place for both Don Johnson & Philip Michael Thomas. The pastels were gone, and they tried both dark & neon colors instead, and both DJ's & PMT's hairstyles were much shorter...and/or practically chopped off.  The changes did not go over well, and although the plots/episodes seemed to get more bizarre...in Season 4 you'll notice the pastels are back with the wardrobe (although more subtly) & with background colors, and Don's hair is again longer. Plus, although they weren't the tortoise shell ones (which are my favorite), Don also gets back his Ray Ban Wayfarers...this time black, and thank goodness, as the giant bulky Persol things he had in Season 3 did not look good!  But, once Dick Wolf took over, they couldn't quite seem to balance things...Season 3 had the weird hairstyles & wardrobe, but still had pretty good plots/episodes. Seasons 4-5 brought back the majority of the good wardrobe & hairstyles, but then totally went whacko/bizarre with the episodes.   

I kinda always felt "icky" about the lack of visual style of Season 3. The season was okay,but, for example in episodes such as "Forgive us our debts", this lack of pastels and lighting made it so..... *good*.  My 3rd favorite episode, despite an apparent disadvantage.

It felt a little bit too depressing most of the time though. Hard to watch maybe ?

Season 4's good episodes really brought a more mature MV, in the shell of the old experience. In S4's "Deliver us  From Evil", despite being the continuation of Forgive us our debts, it made such good use of colors and lighting, in my view, as good as S2 episodes such as Definitely Miami and Payback.

 

[ViceFanMan]

4 minutes ago, Adrian321 said:

I kinda always felt "icky" about the lack of visual style of Season 3. The season was okay,but, for example in episodes such as "Forgive us our debts", this lack of pastels and lighting made it so..... *good*.  My 3rd favorite episode, despite an apparent disadvantage.

It felt a little bit too depressing most of the time though. Hard to watch maybe ?

Season 4's good episodes really brought a more mature MV, in the shell of the old experience. In S4's "Deliver us  From Evil", despite being the continuation of Forgive us our debts, it made such good use of colors and lighting, in my view, as good as S2 episodes such as Definitely Miami and Payback.

 

Season 3 still had some good plots/storylines (till towards the end of the season)...but the drastic change in visual stye, colors, and hairstyles did not go over well. As bizarre and whacko as the episodes started being in Seasons 4-5, at least they returned to the pastel color-scheme. 

[Adrian321]

2 minutes ago, ViceFanMan said:

Season 3 still had some good plots/storylines (till towards the end of the season)...but the drastic change in visual stye, colors, and hairstyles did not go over well. As bizarre and whacko as the episodes started being in Seasons 4-5, at least they returned to the pastel color-scheme. 

For the most part, you are right. But this style also made SOME episodes even better, like an amplifier.

 

[Matt Twist]

On 5/11/2021 at 10:24 AM, ViceFanMan said:

Original NBC promo for the start of Season 3...even advertising a “new look”:

Killer !! Thanks for sharing this promo !

[BunMVO]

On 5/21/2023 at 1:48 PM, Adrian321 said:

I kinda always felt "icky" about the lack of visual style of Season 3. The season was okay,but, for example in episodes such as "Forgive us our debts", this lack of pastels and lighting made it so..... *good*.  My 3rd favorite episode, despite an apparent disadvantage.

It felt a little bit too depressing most of the time though. Hard to watch maybe ?

Season 4's good episodes really brought a more mature MV, in the shell of the old experience. In S4's "Deliver us  From Evil", despite being the continuation of Forgive us our debts, it made such good use of colors and lighting, in my view, as good as S2 episodes such as Definitely Miami and Payback.

 

Yeah, I just rewatched Irish Eyes. Your sentiments mirror mine. I actually like Season 4 better overall, but the bad episodes of that season really dragged down the overall quality.