Galileo Hustle
Episode 7 of Cowboy Bebop Season 1 starts with Faye approached by a face from the past. It’s Whitney, and she has a big proposition for Faye. In exchange for taking Whitney off-planet – to Santo City to be precise – she’ll hand over Faye’s Identikit. So aboard she comes; Faye introduces Whitney to Jet and Spike. The latter is still suffering from a nasty migraine, which has been days now, until Whitney helps sort out a kink in his neck. It immediately does the trick. Whitney also finds common ground with Jet, who refuses to move the Bebop until after Kimmie’s recital. That is, until Faye, Whitney and Spike manage to sweettalk him to get there and back before it’s due to begin. Julia arrives to see Ana, calling her out for keeping Spike’s whereabouts a secret. Ana admits she did this to keep Julia safe, bringing up Vicious’s… well… vicious streak and how she’d have to look over her shoulder the entire time if she went on the run. At the end of the day, Julia will never be safe… while Vicious is still alive. Interestingly, Julia enacts a coup of her own, suggesting Ana double-cross Vicious and kill him. If she does this, Julia promises she’ll get the throne and more, while Julia gets her ticket out of the Syndicate. The Bebop gets on the move but Jet exhibits a number of concerns over Whitney and her body language. So naturally, Jet checks the scanners and notices she’s a bona-fide con-artist. Faye notices the boys checking and admits the truth, revealing how she’s got amnesia and wants to try and piece together her past. Giving Whitney a lift seems to be a surefire way to do that. Jet is not happy about being played, admitting that they would have had Faye’s back had she just admitted the truth. Only, just like that they’re interrupted by a pirate on their broadcast, The Iron Mink. This guy is the most notorious arms dealer in the solar system. He’s after Whitney and it seems they’re actually married. With her wedding ring doubling up as a tracker, Spike and Jet take off while Faye follows Whitney to locate the Identikit she’s been promised. Alone, Whitney admits she enjoyed playing the part of Faye’s mum and actually admires the huntress, especially given her tenacity. The pair make it to the warehouse in question, with Whitney encouraging her to head off and find out who she was in the past. Opening up the box, she finds a VHS tape. Meanwhile, Jet arrives for Kimmie’s recital, projecting himself there via a holo-call. As he watches this take place, the scene outside the window is one of carnage, as Spike ends up in a big fight with The Iron Mink and his goons. Spike manages to take everyone out…except the Mink. In fact, the Mink happens to be with Faye and Whitney. Faye plays her part well, pretending to be Whitney’s daughter and pleading with him to stop. Only, it’s suddenly revealed that this was all one big roleplay, with Whitney and the Mink orchestrating this big chase as a way of spicing up their love life. As the pair begin kissing, Faye skips out and heads back to the Bebop. Vicious meets with Mao and Santiago to make his play. Now, the idea here is for Mao to present the Elders with “proof” that Vicious is staging a bloody coup against them. The Elders will swear a death note while Santiago will deliver Vicious to the Elders. With their guard down, he’ll kill the Elders and take their heads. Only, as we know Julia has a play of her own so we’ll have to wait and see how that works. Aboard the Bebop, Jet and Spike end up watching Faye’s VHS tape. It’s a home video about her as a child, promising her older self that she’ll be okay and that she’s got a lot to offer. As the scene cuts to one of her playing the piano, Faye whispers a thanks to her mum.
The Episode Review
Cowboy Bebop returns for a more Faye-centric episode, focusing on her past and what happened prior to the cryo-sleep. Now, there’s not a lot to go on here but it does seem like her mum was there for her. The interesting ties between Faye and Whitney also help to add an extra dimension to this episode and reinforce Faye’s past trauma and family issues. Meanwhile, Spike and Jet help to give this episode an edge of comedy, with Spike’s one-liners and the hilarious recital incident, with Jet dancing away, giving a surreal and absurdist comedic edge. It’s easily one of the highlights here. Cowboy Bebop has done well with its main ensemble and each of these episodes have helped to bring something new to the fold. The ending hints that we’re going to get more details over Faye’s past in the future but we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition.
