Tamal Kundu
In its second episode, Netflix’s ‘Cowboy Bebop’ makes it clear that it wants to expand and flesh out the world originally depicted in the popular namesake TV anime (1998-1999) and the 2001 anime film ‘Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ by introducing new characters and storylines. Spike Spiegel (John Cho) and Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) look for a fanatic bomber. A Syndicate assassin pays Spike a visit, leading to a reunion between Spike and an old friend. Meanwhile, Vicious (Alex Hassell) and Julia (Elena Satine) face the Elders, and the former learns that he must pay a steep price for insubordination. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Cowboy Bebop’ episode 2. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Cowboy Bebop Episode 2 Recap
Episode 2, titled ‘Venus Pop,’ opens with a prologue where Punch and Judy, hosts of the public program about bounty hunting, announce that the authorities have issued a two million Woolong bounty on a deranged bomber who has been terrorizing Venus. He has destroyed three public buildings in the last ten days. As he leaves his bombs inside teddy bears, he has become known as the Teddy Bomber.
Deciding to catch Teddy, Spike and Jet attend a wedding. Jet believes that even though the explosions happen at night, the bomber leaves the explosives during the day when the facilities are accessible. In the washroom, Spike encounters Gunther, the assassin that the Syndicate has sent to kill him. While Gunther seems to be exceptionally trained, Spike still bests him. And when Gunther refuses to divulge who organized the hit, Spike puts three bullets in him.
Meanwhile, as Jet predicted, the Teddy Bombers appears, but Jet fails to catch him without Spike backing him up. The partners later argue about this, but Jet notices that Spike seems distracted. Telling Jet that he is going out for noodles, Spike visits an old friend, Ana, who owns and runs a jazz club, and asks her to find out who ordered the hit on him. She does, and it’s Vicious. It is at Ana’s that the audience is introduced to the show’s version of Gren (Mason Alexander Park).
Cowboy Bebop Episode 2 Ending: Who Are the Elders?
The Syndicate seems to have a power hierarchy. At the top, there is a group of veteran members running the organization. This makes Vicious basically middle management. He is a young and ambitious member testing the limits of his power. He was dealing in Red-Eye behind the Elders’ back, but they have inevitably found out about it. He and Julia are subsequently brought before them through holographic images to answer for his insubordination.
Vicious is then given a gun and ordered to shoot Julia. He initially pleads to the Elders to spare her, even offering his own hand in exchange for her life. Realizing that the Elders’ decision is final, Vicious reluctantly aims the gun at Julia and pulls the trigger, only to find it empty. One of the Elders then warns him not to make them question his loyalty ever again.
There are apparently three Elders, all of whom hide their faces behind masks and use characters from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as codenames, Caliban, Prospero, and Miranda. The way Julia seems to both loath and fear Caliban, she likely has some history with him. From Vicious and Julia’s conversation after this, we can even speculate that Vicious and Caliban might be related. When Julia accuses Vicious of not being “man enough” to protect her when she needed the most, he nearly chokes her to death. This demonstrably proves that Julia isn’t happy in her marriage, even though Ana tells Spike otherwise. Another thing that this incident shows is that Vicious, at his core, is petty and insecure.
Who Is the Teddy Bomber? Does Spike Tell Jet about His Past?
While researching the bomber, Jet discovers that their target likes to create a circle of fire that looks like an angel’s halo during the explosion. He also figures out the deranged bomber is using a compound called Vaxium Nitrate on buildings made out of Venusian quartz to get the halo effect. He and Spike deduce that the bomber’s name is Theodore Clark, who supplies Vaxium Nitrate to local construction sites. The authorities were inadvertently quite accurate when they named him Teddy Bomber.
Spike and Jet track Theodore down to his freighter. While they manage to subdue him, Jet mistakenly steps on a booby trap. But Spike takes the other man’s position so that his partner can go and get help. Throughout this episode, Spike mulls over the idea of telling Jet about his past with the Syndicate. He knows that the former ISSP officer will not take the news well and eventually decides that it’s not the time to tell his partner about Fearless.
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