It’s time for another Faye-centric episode, as we learn more about how she got conned after waking up from cryo-sleep. This is an important moment for her character, so let’s take a look and see if they handled it with the same gravitas as the anime.
1. Whitney Matsumoto
So, here have Whitney Matsumoto, the woman who tricked Faye into thinking she was her mother after she was unfrozen. While a previous episode had Faye swear to hunt her down, instead it was Whitney who found her. Just… out of nowhere, at the start of the episode.
She’s a classic con woman type of character. She blackmails Faye into working with her by holding her identikit as leverage, then sweet talks Spike and Jet to get on their good sides. She also has a couple dozen false identities, all with plenty of their own bounties on them.
Now, when we see her and Faye working together, they bounce off each other well enough, but there’s still plenty of anger from Faye. We even see Whitney try the “We’re not so different” approach. And Faye gives us more anger.
I mean, yes, it’s an appropriate response, but it’s all really one-note.
Oh, and then to make things better, she’s on the run from a notorious arms dealer named Iron Mink, which gives the rest of the crew no small amount of trouble. Except as we learn at the end, after everything they went through, that it was all just some kinky roleplay that they do. Then they make out in front of Faye.
Way to suck the entire drama out of the character arc.
2. The Tape
Okay, so the crew went through a lot of crap, but at least they got Faye’s identikit, right? Well, the only thing in there is a VHS tape, and fans of the anime will know what that means. Of course, VHS players are practically antiquated even today, so surely in the future finding one would be – wait, they already have one on the Bebop? I… guess that makes that easier?
So the tape itself is, very much like the anime, a recording a young Faye made to encourage her future self. A lot of the dialogue is taken verbatim from the anime, especially the parts about causing trouble for other people and meaning well, and ends with a little cheer routine for herself.
However, there are a few differences as well. This tape is a bit shorter, lacking the shots setting it on Earth and anything showing Faye’s friends. What it does add, though, is a scene of her playing piano and ending with her mother’s voice. Given this episode was all about her fake mother, it was an appropriate addition.
3. Jet Takes a Call
While all that’s going on, Jet’s main goal is to watch his daughter’s recital. Fortunately, thanks to Cowboy Bebop’s hologram phone technology, he can call in from just about anywhere.
We actually see a bit more about how those holograms work. We see it scan Jet’s face and body before it’s projected onto his seat at the recital, while we also see him sitting in a random room to take the call. So it cuts between Jet watching from the recital, and then seeing him sitting (or occasionally dancing) by himself and staring into space. He even has someone ask if he’s alright, because it does seem odd to anyone not on the call.
This also gives us an amusing moment where we see Jet cheering for his daughter while Spike is in the background, fighting against a swarm of minions. Clearly he can still see what’s going on outside the call as well, because it gets interrupted when a minion gets thrown through the window.
I’ll take it for building on the show’s technology and showing us how it works.
But the main point is: this episode reiterates Jet’s attempts to be there for his daughter, and the other characters are recognizing that. (And also: good on Jet for seeing through Whitney’s deception and actually looking into it.)
4. The Coup Continues
Now then, shall we return to this series’ biggest weakness? Yes, it’s time for the ongoing adventures of Vicious and Julia.
Continued belowJulia knows Spike is alive, and confronts Ana about it. Even though Ana was encouraging Julia to leave Vicious before, she also knows that if she goes to Spike, Vicious will just keep hunting them down. So of course, the only solution is for Vicious to die.
Oh, and Gren is there too.
Then we get Vicious’ plan, which he works out with Mao and The Eunuch during an excruciatingly unengaging meeting scene. They’ll turn him in to the Elders for plotting a coup, Mao will be tasked with executing him with his own sword, then they betray the Elders and kill them instead.
Simple, right? Of course, it also puts Vicious in a position where it would be incredibly easy for anyone else to abandon the plan and just kill him.
That makes sense, since it was Julia’s plan, and she wants Mao to betray Vicious and just properly execute him. It’s all a setup so she can get out of the Syndicate and get Vicious out of the way, which is at least her showing initiative.
5. Anime vs Adaptation
I know I said I wouldn’t judge the live action Cowboy Bebop based solely on how it compares to the anime, but in this case, I have to talk a little about how they differ.
Anime Faye woke up from cryogenic sleep after a space travel-related incident. She’s saddled with debt, but falls in love with Whitney Haggis Matsumoto, a supposed attorney. He faked his death, and had Faye inherit all his debts, leaving her utterly betrayed, heartbroken, and owing more money than she could possibly ever pay through no fault of her own.
Live action Faye woke up from cryogenic sleep after (presumably) the same incident. She’s “reunited” with a fake mother, Whitney Matsumoto, who eventually steals all her assets and flees. Then this episode happens, and not only does it lack the same emotional punch, due to it lacking the buildup and pacing that the anime had through its flashbacks, it all leads up to that incredibly uncomfortable makeout session.
As far as the tape goes, the anime featured a full episode of buildup, as they had to find a working betamax player. The live action version drops it at the end, connecting it to Whitney’s part of Faye’s story. But the fact that the Bebop has a working VHS player onboard just feels cheap.
Anyways, that seems to be it for Faye’s character story. All that remains is for her to figure out if she prefers butts or boobs.
So until next time: see you, space cowboy.
