The Horatio Caine Scene On CSI: Miami That Went Too Far

"CSI: Miami" was a 10-season banger of a crime scene investigation drama that aired on CBS from 2002-2012 (via IMDb). It starred talented and well-known actors like Omar Benson Miller, Khandi Alexander, Eva LaRue, Adam Rodriguez, Emily Procter, and David Caruso. Whether you were a fan of it for its gritty, procedural crime drama narrative or just watched it for the memes, it still has over a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Caruso, who played Horatio Caine on the show, gradually took center stage as the series developed. He started out as an equally integral member of the crew in the earlier seasons, but gradually evolved into "almost a superhero later on," as observed by Redditor u/Elementaryfan on a "CSI: Miami" thread. Behind the questionable one-liners and his signature sunglasses, Horatio Caine was involved in some pretty over-the-top situations throughout the show's run. But there was one particular scene about halfway through the series that took things a bit too far.

As renowned (or infamous) as "CSI: Miami" was for unbelievable action scenes, the end of Season 6 Episode 11, "Guerillas in the Mist," really takes the cake. The episode itself revolves around a super-weapon — nicknamed "The Vaporizer" — which can literally turn a human body into red mist by firing hundreds of bullets in a single shot. Once Horatio finds out that unethical defense contractor CEO Darren Butler (Sasha Roiz) is trying to illegally sell and smuggle the weapon out of the country, he tracks Butler down to an airfield to recover the weapon and bring him to justice.

Butler, however, refuses to go down without a fight. He fires The Vaporizer at Horatio's SUV, which shields the detective but explodes seconds later — and Horatio somehow walks away without a scratch. The Lieutenant then approaches Butler with his 9mm in hand, protected by little more than his signature sunglasses. Horatio suddenly pulls an Indiana Jones and shoots Butler dead right between the eyes, then finishes the job by shooting Butler's henchmen dead, too. 

Fans on YouTube poked fun at the scene, like user Juan Mieles PH who wrote, "What nobody knows is that [Horatio] is the long-lost brother of chuck norris and father of [John] wick." User Chris ihx simply wrote, "I don't care if it exists or not, or it defies reality, I only know that it is epic and I like it."

As far as action scenes in crime dramas go, even "CSI: Miami's" over-the-top ones, this one really pushed the envelope of believability.