We were always going to get a flashback episode eventually, right? So much of what defines Spike, Vicious, and Julia is rooted in a past we’ve heard about only obliquely.
Dramatically expanding Vicious and Julia’s arcs isn’t necessarily a good or a bad choice, but it does change something that was purposefully enigmatic into something that Cowboy Bebop spends all 51 minutes of this episode spelling out in large block letters.
Julia, for her part, isn’t a guarded and traumatized woman in a cavernous apartment with a closet full of silk dresses; she’s a nervous, giddy young singer who doesn’t realize her boyfriend’s darker side is that dark until it’s too late.
And Spike — well, “Fearless,” but we’ll call him Spike for consistency’s sake — is himself, but looser, chattier, and quicker to smile.
As a field test on the path to being promoted into capos, their mentor Stax tasks them with negotiating a partnership with the Neptune cartel, which would helpfully extend the Syndicate’s reach to the outer planets.
If nothing else changed, you get the feeling Spike would rather spend his life cleaning up Vicious’ messes than stand against him.
He isn’t exactly charming, but you see how Julia might have been overwhelmed by his passion: lavish picnics, fancy jewelry, the fact that he bothered to learn a few seductive Russian phrases.
Maybe this could have worked — until the night when Vicious crosses a line by finding, torturing, and killing the Neptune cartel member who insulted him during their negotiations.
He has dramatically overstepped by giving the Neptune cartel a reason to go to war with the Syndicate, and his dad is more than happy to apologize to them by killing his son and calling it even.
If this is a parting gift to Vicious before Spike runs away with Julia, it’s the best thing he can offer: A future Vicious would never have had without him, paid for with guilt and trauma that will haunt Spike for the rest of his life.
So he sends one of his Syndicate minions to collect Julia and keep her locked up at his penthouse and goes to meet Spike with a large enough crew of goons that there’s no chance even Spike could get away.
A hail of bullets and a tumble down a cliff weren’t enough to kill him, though he did emerge with a new name and a lot more baggage.
• This episode fills in a lot of gaps, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions.
Spike gets several monologues: One about how Vicious rescued him from the streets, and one about how he’s always tried not to love anyone because he’s afraid of having something to lose.