The subplot involving Switek's gambling problem was also used in Too Much, Too Late (1989). Some of the exact same footage is used in both episodes.
During the 1980s, this was one of the few television shows to have an official series finale. Most shows of that era and the previous decades just quietly ended when they were canceled, with a few exceptions such as The Fugitive (1963) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). However, when M*A*S*H (1972)'s series finale became the top-rated show of all time in 1983, networks decided to start providing a definite "end" to a series, especially one as popular as Vice. At the time of its airing, Vice's series finale ranked 6th all-time (as of 2019, it ranks 21st all-time, with 22.2 million viewers).
NBC's omission of Too Much, Too Late (1989) from season five left viewers with something of an unfinished puzzle. The rejected episode sets up many pieces of the series finale. For instance, part of Tubbs' motivation to undertake the suicidal mission to Costa Morada, and later quit the force, is arguably based upon feelings of hopelessness from his ultimate romantic rejection by Valerie. "Too Much, Too Late" also sets up the escalation of Switek's gambling addiction and the situation he finds himself in with regards to the bookmakers he is indebted to in the finale.
Castillo gives his final staredown to Crockett and Tubbs for quitting the force.
In Switek's final scene his face is in darkness the entire time, which seems appropriate for the psychological state to which his character arc has led as well as the questionable fate that lay ahead for him.