Spoiler Laden Cowboy Bebop Thread and an Amazon Deal!

[MVS]

Musings, Theories, and so on, now that you've all seen the final episode.

I'll let Curtis begin.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...408242-2538214

98 bucks, for the DVD's. Not the boxed set, but a good price.

[Curtis]

Eh, ya fucker. You knew what I meant.

*ahem*

Anyhow, thing's that should have gone in the IM aside, let's talk some Bebop. Like, really delve in deep there, and see what's under the skin of the whole thing. For our money, it's one of the finest pieces of television ever created, and intelligent discussion (in its favor or otherwise) can never be a bad thing.

I think that probably the most important thing to keep in mind when watching this show, as I recently saw someone completely miss it, is that these characters (when you get under their skin), are not to be seen as "cool." They're flawed, flawed people, and thinking the ending doesn't add up because of the series' lesson in leaving the past behind is not something that should be done.

Spike, good qualities aside, is set as an example. Anyone can do anything at any time in their lives, and he's there as someone who, in spite of their good qualities, lets the past get to them to the point where nothing but his own end can come from it.

The buildup to the the choice he makes, and the choice Faye makes is so similar below the surface... They each find themselves in a place where the past is absolutely no more. They're caught by a situation where they can either choose to go on with life with what they've found since, or just die.

Faye took the advice from Spike that he couldn't follow himself. He had people he loved, people who loved him, and he just chose not to see it. He chose to let one doomed piece of the past lead him to his own end. As "cool" as he came off, he wasn't. He was an example of what's truly pathetic, and a lesson for every viewer who watches the show.

... Discuss, or make your own points. Hell, just give your thoughts, in general, on the series. Have a ball and all that.

[Green]

Good point, but what about Julia? Also, when did Faye ever leave her past behind?

[taloony]

I'll say I really loved the plot driven episodes, and only moderately enjoyed the comedic/side-quest type eps.

I wish the movie had focused on the rest of the characters after what happened to Spike.. It would have been nice to see if they dealt with things the way they thought they would.

I once saw a meshing of several Bebop eps. in a music video set to the Beatles "Yesterday." I think I linked to it from GG, actually. At any rate, it seemed to very much fit the series. *sigh*

[Curtis]

Julia, as well as Vicious, is just a physical representation of the past, period. She's not a character delved into well enough to be anything BUT a representation, and that's why we're kept from ever actually knowing her.

Faye left her past behind when she found that it had left he behind. She returned to the ship to start anew. When Spike's left his behind, he just decided that he there was nothing more for him and left the ship.

Ed, on the other hand, never suffered from this... She's never cared enough to consume herself with much of anything like that, and she's the definition of a nomad. Mr. Black is the old soldier, plodding through life because he never completely let it go. It can be said that each character is a show of how one person can take many different paths after a life altering event, really.

[Green]

I just figure Spike really likes Julia

[Curtis]

Shh! We're going for the subtext here! Subtext!









*figures he'd better toss in that I'm only joking smiley, so everyone will know he's... well, joking... Halfway, anyhow*





:jest:

[Hero]

It makes enough sense when you think about it:

Faye, Ed, and Jet all try to reconnect with their past. Even when they do (and fail) they find that there is something out there for them anyway - each other.

Spike, on the other hand, never really gets this. And when Julia dies, his connection to the past dies. Not that there was any realization that things couldn't be like they were in 'the good old days' - his 'past' was just yanked from him. He figures that there's nothing left after that. So he ends existence and closes all existence of himself by tying up his past (his last fight with Vicious).

What makes it so sad is Spike has plenty of likable qualities, not to mention he has a present through the rest of the members of Bebop. He continually ignores this though.

Which episode was it where he talks about his eyes? Something about one which sees the past and another that sees...? Was it the future or the present? Now that I think of it, that could be something with a deeper meaning.

[Rumpy]

What episodes is the movie suppossed to take place between?

I need to watch the episodes in order to get the whole picture.

[Green]

Hero, I think Spike says one of his eyes is fake and that one looks into the future while one in the past in the very last episode. He says it to Faye before he goes off after Viscious. You said everyone found each other except for Spike, I'm not sure about that. Certainly Ed didn't find them, since she went off on her own with Ein. I think Spike was doomed from the beginning, during the Jupiter Jazz first episode he and Jet have a fight, and Jet ends up saying something like, "I thought I knew you". Guess Jet thought Spike was trying to get over his connections with the Syndicate, but once they have that fight it becomes obvious Spike has been a lost soul. However, in the end Jet's last words to him are, "go on, take back what is yours" (or something like that), and he sounds like he means it (in the dub, anyways).
Rumpy, the movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23. Anyone know why they chose this timeline? I've seen the movie, and I couldn't see why. I was hoping Cowboy Andy would show up since its right after that episode, but nooo