Cowboy Bebop: Episode Guide
Episode 1: Asteroid Blues
Characters Introduced
(main) Spike Spiegel
(main) Jet Black
(minor) Asimov Solensan
(minor) Asimov's Partner (name unknown)
Short Summary
Jet and Spike, two bounty hunters that have hit a low
point in the way of cash, go after Asimov Solensan, a bounty on the
run from his Syndicate. Asimov turns out to have stolen the steroid-type
drug Red Eye, and is attempting to escape to Mars along with his partner-in-crime,
a woman who appears to be his girlfriend/lover. She realizes he doesn't
really care about her in the end, however.
Extended Summary
We open to the bell chimes of a chapel, an overcast sky drizzling rain. A lone man leans against a wall, smoking a cigarrette and holding a bundle of roses--it appears he has been there a long time, evident from the pile of cigarette butts around his feet. The music is a sort of mix between a lullaby and a blues song as he seems to give up waiting for whoever he was, a single rose slipping from the bundle as he walks away. Memories of gunfighting and blood flash as we zoom in on the rose, the color turning from black to crimson red. The flashbacks end with the man flipping open a detonator and smirking, blood trickling down his face.
The scene then cuts abruptly to a techno, multi-colors opening, with the upbeat song 'Tank' playing as the credits appear. Thus begins...Cowboy Bebop.
A lazy harmonia blues tune plays as the scene appears--space set with ships flying towards a red-colored planet. Enter a view of what appears to be hyperspace, to a beaten ship. A man in a darkened room practices kata as another, who has a mechanical arm, cooks--the lights are abruptly turned on as dinner is announced to the practicing man, now known as Spike. Asking what it is, he merely gets a smirk and the reply 'special bell peppers and beef'. A cut to the outside of the ship showed the words 'BeBop' scrawled in red, denoting the ship's apparent name.
Back in the ship, we see a disreputable looking man on a techy computer screen, a money amount above his head with stats to his side. Jet, the man who had been cooking, says his name is Asimov Solensan, and is their next target. Spike pokes at his food as Jet continues, apparently ignoring the information being given to him; that Asimov operates in a syndicate spread all around the asteroids. Jet gets annoyed Spike isn't listening as he protests that 'you can't call it bell peppers and beef, when there isn't any beef.' He glares at Spike and says that yes, he would, since they're too broke to buy any meat. Spike demands where all the money from their last bounty went to--and Jet reminds him of a long list of things relating to various things Spike destroyed. He then resumes telling Spike about Asimov; that three days before there had been a shootout between his group and an enemy syndicate, in which he killed his own men and took off. The rumors were that Asimov was currently hiding in Tijuana, with his woman.
Spike notes that Tijuana is a place for small fries, but Jet says that this 'small fry' is worth 2.5 million. Spike seems unimpressed, simply saying 'Eh, I don't feel like it.' So Jet resorts to...happen to mention that in Tijuana, they have carnitas--carnitas, that have beef. Needless to say, Spike's interest is more firmly gotten.
We cut to outside the ship, which is now leaving hyperspace. A nifty light blast signals its arrival, and we cut to various scenes of the new setting--technologically advanced 'tollbooths' for the ships and how much it is, a floating asteroid, a zoomed out view of the hyperspace gateway. Back inside the BeBop, Spike's heading toward his own ship as Jet says over an intercom or something similar that he'll look to the cops for clues. Jet's doubtful of Spike's choice of information gathering, as he says he'll go see 'old man Bull'. As Spike gets in his ship, we're treated to nicely drawn shots of the technical side of Cowboy Bebop. These shots continue as he lifts off from the Bebop into space, heading toward an asteroid.
Cutting to 'on world', we see clips of a ramshackle neighborhood that has both old technology and new, as onground cars drive by, and in the air ships fly around. Going to three old men playing poker at a bar (these guys appear through the entire series, but they're not significant), we overhear one man complaining while the others, seemingly having heard it all before, put up with it. The door slams open--to reveal one Asimov Solensan, and a well dressed, seemingly high-birth woman, who appears to be pregnant. They sit at the bar--he orders a beer, she a Bloody Mary. The bartender, eyeing them, saying that he's got the vodka, but is out of tomato juice. Asimov discreetly pulls out a vial and says that he's sure there's a can somewhere. The 'tender, seeing the vial, says he'll check.
Men pull up outside the bar as Asimov follower the 'tender into a backroom, removing his sunglasses. He pulls out a vial of what we now know to be 'Red Eye', or 'Bloody Eye'. The 'tender asks a bit uncertainly if it's the real thing, while outside the men pull out guns and surround the bar. He says he'll need proof it's the real thing, so Asimov puts the vial in a spray, and sprays it into his eyes. Almost immediately veins appear in his eyes, and the room sways in and out of focus, tinting red. Asimov seems to enjoy the effect.
The men burst into the bar, guns blazing--the bartender is shot clean through the head (no blood is shown) as windows explode. The old men duck for cover as the woman hides behind the bar, drawing her own gun and returning fire. Back with Asimov, we see everything through his eyes, still tinted red, and moving in slow motion. He's able to dodge the bullets of one guy, right before he kills him. He takes down the others in swift succession--to show how fast he can move, a bullet was headed straight for his forehead and was only inches away before he dodged it. He then kills the man that shot it, and from the dying man's blurring vision we see Asimov grinning a bit insanely.
Cut to Spike, in a smokey fortune-teller's room. He is silent for a while before expressing his lack of being impressed by all the mysticism. The fortune teller, unsurpringly, ignores him. He then says that 'the red-eyed coyote will appear at the north end of town.' The 'teller then goes on to say that Spike, 'Swimming Bird', will meet a woman, and be hunted by her--and then, death. Spike just smirks and comments 'One more time?' The fortune teller asks him what he means, and Spike replies 'I was killed once before by a woman.' He leaves shortly thereafter.
Going to Jet, we find him at the ruined bar. He sits at the bar and takes one of the bottles, saying it's on the house. As he takes a swig, two men burst through the door with guns drawn--they don't look quite as impressive as the last bunch, one muttering that Asimov must have gone berserk. The continue talking, with Jet hiding behind the ruined bar, going on to say that they maybe they should leave Asimov to the cops--with him using the Red Eye on himself, they wouldn't be able to beat them. They lean on the bar, and Jet taps one on the shoulder hitting him in the face (ouch) with the bottle from before. He grabs the other one and holds the broken bottle to his face, demanding more information.
Meanwhile Jet's in his ship flying over deserted areas--once again mentioning he's starving. The gas tank beeps, reminding him that he's not the only one needing fuel, and he starts to land. Cut to the inside of a junky bathroom, where he goes into one of the stalls as a man walks in. Outside, the woman from before is purchasing food from a vending machine. Back in the bathroom we see the man was Asimov, who seems to be getting the backlash from using the Red Eye--he's having trouble breathing, and is sweating profusely. He pulls down his sunglasses to check his eyes--which are bloodshot, but no longer Red Eye bloodshot--just before Spike comes out of the stall. He quickly pulls them back up.
Spike goes to wash his hands and Asimov reaches for the gun in his jacket. But Spike merely says that he should leave the water running so as not to clog the drain, before walking out whistling.
[break]
We come back just in time to see Spike run into the woman, making her drop food out of a bag of groceries. He apologizes, quickly helping her put them back--she thanks him, but then notices something is missing. He turns around, cheeks bulging from a whole hotdog stuffed in his mouth. He spits it out, but she tell him he can keep it. He grins and shoves it back in his mouth, taking out a couple other things he had taken from her and offering them back. She blinks, but then laughs.
Asimov is coming out of the bathroom, but he quickly hides as he hears Spike and the woman talking, watching them joke around. Later, Spike is refueling the Swordfish (note, this is his ship) while the woman watches, saying that despite it's old, it's still a good ship. She says it looks like he's been around alot, and he neither confirms or denies it. Instead, Spike pulls out a cigarette and says he's a traveling performer, twirling it in his fingers. She chuckles and says she can't tell when he's joking or not--he replies that he gets that alot.
She asks if he's been to Mars, and Spike replies that he was actually born on Mars. She goes on to ask if it's so great as all the tales she has heard--Spike says, 'sure, if you're rich.' The woman smiles and says 'then I'm sure we will be quite happy', while resting a hand on her swollen stomach. Spike watches her, then turns away, asking how far she thinks she'll be able to get. She's surprised, demanding who he is. He just shrugs and grins, saying he's an old-fashioned cowboy. Her eyes narrow as she figures out he's a bounty hunter, asking if he's after them. Spike just says that Asimov is a small fry, the type he doesn't bother with. The woman says that's a wise decision.
Spike's abruptly grabbed by the neck from behind by Asimov, who seems a bit annoyed he was termed a small fry. As Spike struggles to breathe Asimov continues choking him, seeming to take some sadistic pleasure in it. The woman shouts at him to let go and he does, Spike dropping to the ground--but not before his hand brushes inside Asimov's jacket. Asimov and the woman run to the car, and just before it lifts off the woman says quietly 'Adios, cowboy.' Spike watches them drive away, his vision blurring out.
In a car driving along a deserted countryside, Asimov asks the woman why she stopped him. She protests that he's been doing this too much--but he interrupts her, getting jealous and saying she liked Spike. The woman seems to get weary, looking away and saying that she just wants to leave now, and go be happy on Mars.
Jet finds Spike still lying on the ground, asking him if he's had a good nap. Spike grins up at him, saying he had sweet dreams. Jet leans on a wing of the Swordfish as Spike gets to his feet, saying that they shouldn't bother with Asimov. He goes on to tell Spike the info he already knows--and Spike pulls out a vial of Red Eye with a smirk. He mentions 'the red-eyed coyote will appear at the north end of town'.
Up in space we see this huge police blockade, and back on planet police cars are getting busy. Asimov and the woman get out of their car and start walking. We're taken to a restaurant, where the old guys are once again playing cards. A man with a sombrero sits on a bench nearby. Asimov sits by him and they exchange the usual Red Eye code--the man says he'll only pay 15 million. Asimov gets up to leave but the man stops him, telling Asimov to show him. Asimov reaches in his jacket--to find the Red Eye isn't there. The man holds up a vial, asking if he was looking for that. He gets up, asking Asimov if he knows how much he's worth--2.5 million; a small fry. The man takes off his sombrero, revealing a grinning Spike (who really, you could tell it was all along).
Asimov says he thought Spike wasn't after his bounty--Spike comments there's just no thrill in the cheap bounties. Asimov demands the Red Eye back, and Spike tosses it up in the air, where it explodes. Asimov's gaze is distracted for a moment, and we see Spike holding a smoking gun. He lunges for Spike, and the two engage in some nice old-fashioned hand to hand.
At this point, we're able to see how amazingly well done Cowboy Bebop's fight scenes are. Every little thing is detailed, and the movements are illustrated incredibly well. During this we also get a view of how well Spike is at fighting--he seems to blend a mix of street style with traditional martial arts, with a touch of style that's all his own. He comments that Asimov depends on his sight too much, right before landing a punch in his face. The woman has a gun trained on them, but is hesitant to shoot in case she hits Asimov.
A hail of bullets sudenly rains down on all of them, forcing Asimov and the woman to run. Spike runs after them, but stops to take out a car of people that seem to be from Asimov's syndicate. Asimov and the woman reach a docking bay, where they take over a ship--another flies overhead, shooting at them. The woman falls, a large tear in her stomach. But instead of blood, vials of Red Eye pour out.
She scrambles into the stolen ship while trying to keep the Red Eye in, and Asimov yells at her, calling her an idiot and that if they lose any of the Red Eye they're screwed. The woman stares at him, seeming to now get the fact he doesn't care for her, only the Red Eye.
Meanwhile Spike's still fighting the guys when more cars pull out, shooting at him. He ducks for cover, but the cars are all slammed into by a newly-arrived ship--the Hammerhead, Jet's ship. Jet grins at Spike and asks how he's doing--Spike yells at him that he's late. He then sees the ship Asimov had stolen lifting off, and runs to go get the Swordfish.
A melancholy blues song plays in the background as Spike gives chase to Asimov in the Swordfish. We get a shot of the woman, who seems to be having doubts about this whole thing. As they fly over a canal, Asimov breaks a vial of Red Eye into his eye despite the woman's protests. They enter space, Spike close behind, and see the massive blockade waiting for them. The woman knows they won't get out of this alive, seeming resigned to her fate now. Spike's eyes widen as blood splatters across the window of the cockpit, and flys alongside them to see the woman holding Asimov's body, a gun in her hand. He's still shocked as she mouths, 'Adios.' Then the blockade starts firing, forcing Spike to get out of the way. He looks back to see the woman's body float into space, Red Eye vials exploding from her stomach. Glittering remnants of the ship drift slowly down toward the asteroid.
Later on the BeBop, Jet is once again cooking. He calls for Spike to come get food, only to see he's not in the usual spot. Instead he's in what appears to be an observatory, overlooking space as he practices again. He stops and looks out the window, and Jet comes up to tell him that the food's ready. Spike asks what it is, and Jet once again replies, 'special bell peppers in beef', using the lack of gravity to float his lit cigarrette over to Spike. Spike takes a drag on it, his face expressionless.
We end the episode with a shot of the BeBop in space, the words 'See you space cowboy...' on the bottom of the screen.
At this point the credits roll to the quite amazing song 'The Real Folk Blues', and then a preview of the upcoming episode comes on.
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Next > Episode 2: Stray Dog Strut
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