We’re getting closer to the end of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, and that means things are starting to move. We get a fair bit thrown at us this episode, but does it work? Well, let’s take it one point at a time and see.
1. Mad Pierrot
This episode brings in Pierrot LeFou, also know as Mad Pierrot. In the anime and live actions series, he was subjected to a number of traumatic experiments that turned him into a killing machine, but broke his mind in doing so. He’s far less rotund in live action, but they do eventually give him the clown outfit he wore in the anime.
Additionally, the anime had him be incredibly acrobatic, bouncing around this way and that as he fought. The live action version doesn’t really do that, aside from one moment… and even then, we just see it via CGI shadows, rather than actually see him moving about. But they did keep his vast assortment of weaponry, hover boots, force field, incredible speed, and penchant for laughing while shooting.
Though there are plenty of differences too.
In this case, the live action version decided that the Syndicate was the organization that created him, as opposed to the ISSP. They also invented the Red Eye drug to keep him under control… which doesn’t make sense, considering the effects that we saw Red Eye have on Asimov.
And instead of having a trauma based around cats, this version of Pierrot hates dogs because they were used in his experiments… somehow. It involved sending his memories into dogs that were hooked up to the machine, which also allows him to access them remotely and control them? It… really doesn’t feel fully thought-out. At first I thought it meant the dog-based trauma would mean Ein could help save the day, but no, Ein is actually one of the dogs he was connected to.
Also, he decides to quote the “tears in the rain” speech from Blade Runner in French when he sees a clown costume. Don’t ask why. (Though the clown’s name was “Tongpu,” which was Pierrot’s real name in the anime, so that’s a decent shout-out.)
Finally, his fight with Spike ends similarly to the anime: he gets distracted by a toy animal, which helps Spike stab him in the leg. Now, in the anime, he started breaking down and crying for his mother because it was made clear that the trauma of the experiments caused his mind to regress into that of a murderous child. But the live action version did not provide any such explanation, and in fact the dialogue he was given suggests quite the opposite, so his sudden breakdown after getting stabbed once makes far less sense.
In short, Netflix tried to bring multiple other plot points in to Pierrot’s character and backstory, but in doing so it created more plot holes.
Basically, it didn’t tie the plots together so much as it tried to stick them together with duct tape.
2. Ein
Okay, so let’s talk about Ein getting pulled into Pierrot’s plot.
So Ein isn’t a data dog with super intelligence, he’s a dog that was used in the experiments done on Pierrot. This allows Pierrot to somehow control Ein remotely, including projecting a hologram of himself to send a message.
Poor Ein, being dragged into this poorly done story beat.
But I was right about one thing: Ein’s nametag said “E1N,” as it’s a subject number rather than a name.
And then, because Faye’s worried about Ein being controlled again, they leave him an an alleyway. How dare they? First of all, Ein is part of the crew and is a very good boy. Secondly, Jet’s daughter likes Ein, so he’s important for that. Thirdly, dogs are supposed to be incredibly expensive, so that’s just leaving money behind. And fourthly, Ein is a good dog who deserves better.
3. So Close, Jet…
When Jet looks into Pierrot LeFou, he contacts Woody again. And she’s just as unnecessarily and uncomfortably horny as before. (Seriously, calm down with the double entendres for just ten seconds, would you?)
She looked into LeFou and came up empty, which means he’s either connected to some sort of Special Ops team, or the Syndicate. Then she reveals she looked into Spike as well, and found the same.
Continued belowJet still trusts Spike, though; they’ve had each other’s backs for ages, after all. But he still tries to get some information out of Spike while he’s healing, and with a little help from some rum. It doesn’t work, but at least Jet is being proactive and trying to gather information.
Then he concludes that Spike must be ex-Special Ops, because the only other option is ex-Syndicate. Well, he was close, but just missed it.
It’s clear that Spike will have to come clean to Jet by the end of the series, so how will Jet take it? He’s clearly had issues with people lying to him and keeping secrets before, but he also said he understands what it’s like to have trouble from the past come back to haunt someone. Guess we’ll see soon enough, because there’s only two episodes left.
4. Coup De Vicious
And at last, Vicious pulls off his coup against the Elders. As expected, Mao betrayed him and went for the killing blow. And of course, Vicious saw it coming, because there wouldn’t be a story if it just ended there.
Instead, he switched places with Santiago, using the face changers we saw in episode 3 to make Santiago look like him and vice-versa. Then he kills them all, and for once, we actually get to see Vicious being, well, vicious. Yes, he takes a few hits too, but it’s actually a decent fight scene, letting us finally see what he can do.
Of course, if literally anyone had a gun, that fight would have gone a lot differently. It seems like everyone uses guns except for the Syndicate Elders’ bodyguards, who you think could really have stood to use some instead of bladed weapons when Vicious started cutting them all up with his katana.
Then, we actually get some more character info for Vicious, as we learn that one of the Elders is his father. All those insults from the Elders, saying he’s a disappointment, were actually insults from a father to a son. So on one hand, it gives us more depth to his character. On the other hand, it means that half of everything we saw go on with Vicious was because he has daddy issues.
Oh, and Mao used her last breath to tell Vicious that Julia asked her to kill him, so that’s going to cause some marital issues.
Lastly, I wanted to call out how the subtitles named the three Elders as Caliban, Prospero, and Miranda, key characters in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” I liked the reference, although it had absolutely no symbolic bearing on their characters. In fact, they even missed an opportunity for Vicious’ father to be Prospero (whose role as a father to Miranda is an important part of the play), but no, he was Caliban.
5. Kind of Cliffhanger
So Spike wins his fight against Mad Pierrot, but the entire Earthland park is exploding (I guess those grenades had quite the chain reaction) and we don’t see what came of him.
The Bebop is stuck floating in space because Spike hit them with a virus so Jet and Faye couldn’t follow him to his fight, and it’ll take “at least an hour” to get back online.
Vicious is now in control of the Syndicate, and he knows what Julia did. The episode ends with him approaching her, fear in her eyes, and he does that ridiculous looking smile again.
It’s quite a spot to leave the episode in, and the first time this series has had anything close to a cliffhanger. It actually managed to hit a strong note to end on that actually has viewers wondering what will happen next.
But most importantly: what happens to Ein? Will they go back and retrieve him? Because I swear, if this series ends with Ein still waiting in an alley, like in Futurama’s “Jurassic Bark,” I will take back everything positive I said about this show. Ein is a good dog and better not be left behind, that’s all I’m saying.
Anyways, we’ll see how things wrap up in the final two episodes. So as always: see you, space cowboy.
