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yodeleyewho · 8 months

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Everything I picked up on/read into Made For Each Other

Basic plot of the story (Skip if you already know):

Darlene, Switek’s new girlfriend, who also happens to be Zito’s most recent ex, is moving in with Switek. The gang busts a counterfeit money operation and Zito got his hands burnt because he ran into a burning building to grab evidence. Zito’s house has also burned down so Stan lets Zito stay with him till he can find another place to stay. Darlene has moved in to Swi’s apartment and things aren’t the best between her and Zito.

Zito and Switek are on the case of Master Fence, John Costelada. They fail at their first try so they get Noogie and Izzy to go undercover and get info on Costelada. Darlene continues to complain about Zito and even tries to get Stan to leave him behind so he can “advance his career”. Noogie and Izzy aren’t getting along at first, but time goes by and they become best buddies. Stan wants some alone time with Darlene so he asks Zito to spend the night somewhere else. Castillo finds out that Noogie and Izzy are undercover and he wants them out of the case. Nug-man and Iz aren’t thrilled about this, so they continue to work with Costelada’s man without Stan and Larry’s knowledge.

Some stuff goes down and they end up getting kidnapped. And while that’s happening Stan and Darlene’s relationship has gotten shakier and they end up breaking up. Stan and Larry save Noogie and Izzy and they bust Costelada. The episode ends with Noogie getting married and Stan and Larry’s friendship remaining intact.

Now, time for my reading

The Burnt Fingers

The conversation before this takes place is Stan and Larry talking about Darlene. Stan accuses Zito of being a sore loser because she wanted to be with Stan not him. Zito denies this claim. But I read into Zito burning his fingers as a hint that he’s a bit more hurt about Stan dating Darlene than he lets on (you get too close to the flame it will hurt you). Yes, he’s glad to be done with her, but why did she of all people have to date Stan.

A House Reduced to Ashes

Zito is returning home, expecting it to be intact when he arrives, but he’s met with the news that it has burned down and everything is gone. This is continuing my reading of Zito being hurt about Stan and Darlene. A home, usually a place of comfort and safety, is taken away from him by a destructive force. Stan is part of Zito’s comfort and safety, Darlene is like the fire, but thankfully she will not succeed in burning down their partnership.

Music of the Episode

As Zito and Stan enter the apartment, Elvis Presley’s Treat Me Nice is playing.

🎵When I walk through that door, baby, be polite. You’re gonna make me sore if you don’t treat me right. Don’t you ever kiss me once, kiss me twice, treat me nice🎵

Darlene greets Stan with not one, but two kisses! But even though Darlene gives him two kisses, her treatment of Stan isn’t really nice (duhh). She cleared out Stan’s closet and put all of her clothes in there, she replaced a picture of Elvis with princess Diana (nothing against princess Di, btw) without asking Stan, and she has cluttered the house with her things.

Matching Clothes

Matching outfits can be seen all throughout MV, whether it’s simply an aesthetic choice, or because it reveals something about the characters and their relationship with one another, or it shows what they have in common and how in sync they are. In this scene where Stan lets Darlene know that Zito will be staying with them for a bit, we can see that she and Zito are matching, both wearing yellow. But what do these two even have in common? They used to date, but that’s it? They’re at odds with each other, so what could they possibly have in com— ohh, maybe the one thing that they have in common is that they both like Stan… hmmm.

Noogie and Izzy crash breakfast at Stan’s arguing about who’s in charge of the mission, their outfits do not match. Noogie wears 4 different colors: pink, blue, purple, and neon green, his outfit has a lot going on just like him. Izzy’s outfit only has the colors white and grey. His outfit doesn’t scream at you, it’s very calm. But later on when they’re dealing with one of Costelada’s men, they start getting in sync, and their outfits match (both wear blue, different shades of it, but they look similar enough).

As they’re talking to Costelada’s man, Zito and Switek are in the van waiting for the meeting to be over. Switek asks Zito if he could find a different place to stay for the night (he wants to be alone with Darlene) and Zito is ok with staying somewhere else. Switek starts asking if Zito has ever thought about his future, and Zito knows where this is coming from. He tells Stan that Darlene had the same conversation with him about advancing his career and leaving his partner behind. They happen to be matching in this scene, they both wear the color yellow. Out of the many things they have in common, they now have shared experiences with Darlene.

Night Talk

Heheheheheh, one of my favorite scenes of the show ever… BUT SINCE TUMBLR IS BEIN A MEANIE YOU HAVE TO REWATCH IT YOURSELF

Z: The guy is too good. That’s his problem. Here’s someone who could crush your head in his bare hands, yet cares that your eggs are done juuuust right. Y’know what I mean?

S: …Yeah.

First of all, sir, how do you know what that’s like 🤨 have you been with someone who could crush your head in their bare hands yet cares that your eggs are done juuuust right?? Maybe he does have some experience with that, or he’s just mindlessly agreeing with him. But anyways…

I just wanna talk about Johnson’s acting in this scene when Zito says…

Z: I’m just worried about him. He’s such a soft touch. I just don’t want him getting shafted.

DJ tilts his head backwards, and slightly squints his eyes. This looks like he’s trying to figure out Zito’s true intent behind that statement. Or maybe he already has figured it out.

S: Well, I’m not a soft touch and I get shafted all the time.

He flashes one of his best smiles at Zito and gets him to laugh. Sonny then invites Zito to hangout with him a bit, stay at his place, introduce Harriet to Elvis (y’know, y’know). And Zito’s reply to his invite is hilarious. It’s not even what he says it’s how he looks at Sonny. It’s a very “wtf, dude” type of look. Sonny retracts his invite (perhaps a little embarrassed) and Zito assured him that he’s fine with staying in the office. Sonny double checks and Zito reassures him that everything will be fine.

This double checking reminds me of the opening scene of Yankee Dollar. It’s date night time for the office to close up and everyone is pairing up with their partner. Stan and Larry are going to the movies, Gina and Trudy are… going somewhere (i forgot), and Tubbs is making plans with his girlfriend on the phone. They’re having a wildly inappropriate conversation, a conversation that doesn’t need to be heard in the office. Tubbs gets off the phone and asks Crockett if he would like to join the date. Crockett assumes he’s joking and declines the offer. And as Tubbs is about to leave, he asks Crockett AGAIN if he’s sure about his choice.

Gee, what is it with these dudes not being able to pick up what the other guy is putting down?

It’s Either Me or Him!

The scene that follows Night Talk is Darlene and Stan being all kissy-kissy with each other. Darlene is enjoying it, but then Stan stops. She asks him what’s wrong and he lies to her and says that he drank too much, but she points out that he hasn’t even drank anything. He decides to be honest with her and reveals to her that he was thinking about Larry (gee, what a splendid time to start thinking about your partner), but Darlene is not happy about this. Throughout this episode Stan is always leaving Darlene to be with Zito.

First was when Zito had the TV up too loud, so he hopped out of he and Darlene’s bed to tell him to turn it down. But he ends up staying with Zito to watch an Elvis performance for a bit. He and Zito’s time together is interrupted by Darlene calling him back to bed. Second is the scene after Night Talk, and third is later in the episode where Stan and Larry have to go save Noogie and Izzy. She says, “if you leave here now with him, I won’t be here when you get back.” She pulls the classic “it’s either me or this” card. Stan chooses to leave her and be with Zito.

Marriage, Love, and Partnership

There are four relationships in this episode, two are explicitly romantic (Annie and Noogie, Stan and Darlene) and the other two are partnerships (Noogie and Izzy, Stan and Larry). Early in the episode, Noogie reveals that he is getting married to Annie, a stripper. Their relationship is joyful and love-filled, they’re both energetic and wacky, they’re great together. Stan and Darlene are nothing like them. Stan is far more in love with her than she is with him. There’s nothing that indicates that they have anything in common. Do opposites attract? Sometimes, but it definitely won’t work out in this case. Darlene is trying to take over Stan’s life. Going back a few paragraphs ago, I tell you that she clears out Stan’s closet and puts all of her clothes in their and replaces Elvis merch for princess Diana items. She also tries to get Stan to leave Larry behind so that he could get ahead in life.

Izzy and Noogie can be a case of opposites attracting and working together. They clash at first , but by the end of the episode Noogie appoints Izzy as his best man at the wedding. In Stan and Larry’s case , they have been paired together for a while now, so they have the longest lasting relationship out of all the four shown in this episode. These two are very similar. It can be seen in their sense of style, sense of humor, and their love for Elvis. Partnership is shown as one of the strongest relationships of the show. A partner will help you take revenge, a partner will help you bury a dead body, a partner is someone who becomes part of your soul, and they’re killed… well, God himself will have to hold you back from burning down the world. And in Switek and Zito’s case a partner will save you from a rotten relationship.

The ending scene is Noogie’s wedding. As Noogie and Annie are saying their vows we cut back to Switek and Zito.

S: Boy, am I lucky, that could’ve been me. Thanks buddy.

So we have two different relationships that are coming together as one. Noogie and Annie walking in to a new phase of their relationship, and Switek and Zito being reunited after being briefly separated by Darlene.

#but whether you buy Stan and Larry being romantically interested in each other or not #you must agree that they were certainly…#Made For Each Other #miami vice #sonny crockett #don johnson #80s #mv #john diehl #Larry zito #lawrence zito #Stan switek #switek #media analysis

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