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The Best Episodes of Miami Vice Season 5

Every episode of Miami Vice Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Miami Vice Season 5!

Binge this in 16h 43m•Peaking at 8.3/10

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 1 - Hostile Takeover (3)
    8.3/10(449 votes)

    #1 - Hostile Takeover (3)

    S5:E1

    Still thinking he is really Sonny Burnett, Crockett starts a war between the crime family he has joined and a rival clan.

    Director:Don Johnson
    Writer:Ken Solarz

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  2. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 2 - Redemption in Blood (4)
    8.1/10(444 votes)

    #2 - Redemption in Blood (4)

    S5:E2

    As now drug-lord Crockett's memory returns, Tubbs feels his partner has gone bad and must be destroyed.

    Director:Paul Krasny
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 3 - Heart of Night
    7.3/10(356 votes)

    #3 - Heart of Night

    S5:E3

    Castillo grapples with emotions while protecting his ex-wife from a drug kingpin trying to kill her current husband.

    Director:Paul Krasny
    Writer:James Becket

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  4. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 4 - Bad Timing
    7.2/10(374 votes)

    #4 - Bad Timing

    S5:E4

    Ordered to take time off, Crockett's vacation is cut short when he is kidnapped by 3 homicidal prison escapees.

    Director:Virgil W. Vogel
    Writer:Scott Shepherd

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  5. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 5 - Borrasca
    7.2/10(350 votes)

    #5 - Borrasca

    S5:E5

    Tubbs & Castillo attempt to intervene in a drug deal in which government agents want no police interference.

    Director:Vern Gillum
    Writers:Robert Crais, Vladislavo Stepankutza

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  6. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 6 - Line of Fire
    7.6/10(379 votes)

    #6 - Line of Fire

    S5:E6

    Crockett & Tubbs reluctantly comply with an FBI request to guard their key witness in a drug overlord's trial.

    Director:Richard Compton
    Writer:Raymond Hartung

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  7. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 7 - Asian Cut
    7.3/10(350 votes)

    #7 - Asian Cut

    S5:E7

    Crockett & Tubbs use Trudy as a decoy to lure a sadistic serial killer who preys on call girls.

    Director:James A. Contner
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 8 - Hard Knocks
    7.2/10(339 votes)

    #8 - Hard Knocks

    S5:E8

    Switek sinks into drinking and gambling when thugs convince him to talk a friend's son, a major college quarterback, into throwing a game.

    Director:Vern Gillum
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 9 - Fruit of the Poison Tree
    7.8/10(348 votes)

    #9 - Fruit of the Poison Tree

    S5:E9

    Crockett & Tubbs investigate an attorney who defends drug dealers, then steals and resells their drugs.

    Director:Michelle Manning
    Writer:Rob Bragin

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  10. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 10 - To Have and to Hold (a.k.a. Second Chance)
    7.4/10(324 votes)

    #10 - To Have and to Hold (a.k.a. Second Chance)

    S5:E10

    While undercover, Tubbs falls for the widow of a slain drug kingpin. Crockett must leave to help his son deal with the pregnancy of his remarried mother.

    Director:Eugene Corr
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 11 - Miami Squeeze
    7.4/10(339 votes)

    #11 - Miami Squeeze

    S5:E11

    The irresponsible son of a fierce, anti-drug-minded Congresswoman jeopardizes his mother's political career when he incurs the wrath of a British drug lord by stealing his shipment of drugs.

    Director:Michelle Manning
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 12 - Jack of All Trades
    6.6/10(327 votes)

    #12 - Jack of All Trades

    S5:E12

    Crockett's cousin Jack, the black sheep of the family, gets him mixed up in a scheme. Jack must repay a $50,000 debt.

    Director:Vern Gillum
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 13 - The Cell Within
    6.4/10(340 votes)

    #13 - The Cell Within

    S5:E13

    A dark, chilling episode in which Tubbs is held prisoner - along with a drug dealer, a young prostitute and a prison psychologist - in the personal dungeon (complete with electric chair) of a supposedly reformed, freed killer who he once put behind bars. One of the highlights of Season 5.

    Director:Michael B. Hoggan
    Writer:Jack Richardson

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  14. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 14 - The Lost Madonna
    7.1/10(402 votes)

    #14 - The Lost Madonna

    S5:E14

    Crockett & Tubbs help an NYPD detective retrieve a stolen 15th century Madonna statue in the possession of a mob family.

    Director:Chip Chalmers
    Writer:Robert Goethals

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  15. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 15 - Over the Line
    7.4/10(325 votes)

    #15 - Over the Line

    S5:E15

    In the midst of working an undercover assignment, Crockett and Tubbs come across a clandestine vigilante group of frustrated law enforcement officers working within the department. Aware of Sonny and Rico's own frustration with how easily the bad guys seem to circumvent the law, the vigilante organization offers them an opportunity to join in. Lieutenant Castillo encourages them to accept the offer and work undercover in ferreting out the identities of everyone involved and to make sure that no one gets hurt. Unfortunately, that is too tall an order for his detectives to accomplish successfully.

    Director:Russ Mayberry
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 16 - Victims of Circumstance
    7.3/10(328 votes)

    #16 - Victims of Circumstance

    S5:E16

    Holocaust survivors are being murdered in Miami. Crockett and Switek infiltrate a White-supremacist group that might be responsible.

    Director:Colin Bucksey
    Writer:Richard Lourie

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  17. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 17 - Freefall
    8.2/10(426 votes)

    #17 - Freefall

    S5:E17

    Crockett & Tubbs embark on what they see as a suicide mission. They are recruited by a Special Drug Taskforce to escort the corrupt dictator of Costa Morada, a fictional Revolution ravaged Latin American country. Gen. Manuel Borbon has promised to reveal the members of the most powerful South American drug cartel. Crockett & Tubbs are faced with what might be their final showdown.

    Director:Russ Mayberry
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 18 - World of Trouble
    7.7/10(336 votes)

    #18 - World of Trouble

    S5:E18

    Al Lombard, thought to be dead, returns to Miami to see his son and the grandson he never knew, while eluding his rival Librizzi's hitmen.

    Director:Alan Myerson
    Writer:Raymond Hartung

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  19. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 19 - Miracle Man
    6.5/10(316 votes)

    #19 - Miracle Man

    S5:E19

    A vigilante believes he is a superhero, Miracle Man. His efforts to rid Miami of ""drug dealing slim"" intefers with Tubbs & Switek's operations.

    Director:Alan Myerson
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Miami Vice Season 5 Episode 20 - Leap of Faith
    5.5/10(366 votes)

    #20 - Leap of Faith

    S5:E20

    Agent Joey Harden returns to assist Crockett as part of a new division, Youth Crime Unit, that was formed by a previous partner. The YCU investigates a college professor that has created a new designer drug, Bliss.

    Director:Robert Iscove
    Writer:Robert Ward

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Hostile Takeover (3)" is the best rated episode of "Miami Vice" season 5. It scored 8.3/10 based on 449 votes. Directed by Don Johnson and written by Ken Solarz, it aired on 11/4/1988. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Redemption in Blood (4)".