The Ending Of Miami Vice Explained

The final scene of “Miami Vice” sees Crockett on his houseboat, the St. Vitas Dance, except it’s not really his houseboat. Almost everything he owns, from his designer clothes to his car and boat, is the property of the Miami Police Department. He was only allowed to use them due to his status as an undercover cop. Tubbs visits one last time, and they ponder what they will do next. 

Tubbs will return to the Bronx, New York. He probably won’t be allowed to be a cop anymore, but perhaps he’ll become some kind of community leader, inspired by the selfless nature of Felicia, who sacrificed herself for the people of Costa Morada. As for Crockett, he aims to travel somewhere south of Florida and live out the rest of his days as something of a beach bum — easier said than done, considering he has no pension. As an honest cop, he never built an illicit retirement fund of stolen goods.

Crockett offers to drive Tubbs to the airport, and they set out in Crockett’s famous Ferrari Testarossa, which is technically stolen at this point. As they drive off, audio from the pilot episode can be heard, with Crockett asking, “Hey Tubbs, ever consider a career in southern law enforcement?” This segues into a special end credits sequence set to “Tell Me” by Terry Kath, featuring numerous clips from across the five-year run of “Miami Vice.”