A Past We Don't Understand | Cowboy Bebop
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- Опубликовано: 15 янв 2020
- The past is complicated, to say the least. Cowboy Bebop is a classic 1998 anime that depicts the perspective of 4 others: Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed, and how they deal with the past individually within their present-day bounty-hunting lives.
Twitter: / afterhoursgear
#CowboyBebop #Spike 
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![Spike Spiegel: Depression and Existentialism [Cowboy Bebop]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/J3l0yk5PWiY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Spike Spiegel: Depression and Existentialism [Cowboy Bebop]](/img/tr.png)
Endgame Summary
In Session 1, Laughing Bull foretells of Spike's death being brought on by a woman.
Laughing Bull: Swimming bird will meet a woman. The bird will be hunted by this woman. And then death.
Spike: One more time.
Laughing Bull: What's that?
Spike: I was killed once before by a woman.
Spike is speaking of Julia. Losing her love was so painful as to be considered a form of death. He was left in a detached dream-like purgatory from that day on.
In Session 26, Julia is shot in front of Spike. White doves fly by in slow motion. Horror, shock, and agony are expressed in Spike's left eye. He screams her name, drops his weapon, and runs to her. He takes her in his arms. Hears her last words, which are inaudible to the audience.
Spike looks down at his lost love and then up to the sky. The camera is now focused on Spike's right eye, which is shaking in a disturbing manner. The camera zooms into Spike's pupil and everything fades to black.
The next scene is of Laughing Bull predicting Spike's imminent death.
Holding Julia's coat, Vicious speaks of Spike.
Vicious: A beast that has lost his place. He has nowhere to return to now. He will come.
Vicious is both right and wrong. Spike will come, but he does have somewhere to return to one last time.
Two rose petals are shown blowing away in the wind.
Spike returns to the Bebop and tells Jet a story. An allegory about his life which he uses to explain why he will never return.
Spike: There once was a tiger striped cat. This cat died a million deaths, revived and lived a million lives, and he was owned by various people who he didn't really care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat, which meant he was free. He met a white female cat, and the two of them spent their days together happily. Well, years passed, and the white cat grew weak and died of old age. The tiger striped cat cried a million times, and then he died too. Except this time, he didn't come back to life.
Jet is keenly aware that Spike's death looms in the horizon. He is wary of the tale's implications.
When Spike gets up to leave, Jet asks him one last question.
Jet: Is it for the girl?
Spike: [beat] She's dead. There's nothing I can do for her now.
This is true. Julia is dead. There is nothing Spike can do for her. This does not lessen the impact she has on the events that are about to unfold. Jet understands this. Upon hearing of Julia's death, he has a resigned if devastated reaction. He knows exactly what this means for Spike.
Faye confronts Spike while holding him at gunpoint. She knows that he is marching towards his death.
Faye: Where are you going? Why, are you going? You told me once, to forget the past, ‘cause it doesn’t matter, but you’re the one still tied to the past, Spike!
Spike does not deny this. Instead, he explains the truth about his eyes. The camera spans from his left eye to his right eye.
Spike: Look at my eyes, Faye. One of them is a fake because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I've been seeing the past in one eye and the present in the other. So, I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture.
Faye: Don’t tell me things like that; you’ve never told me anything about yourself, so don’t tell me now!
Spike: I felt like I was watching a dream I could never wake up from. Before I knew it, the dream was all over.
This is not the first time Spike has expressed this sentiment. One of his most revelatory quotes was said in the teaser for Ballad of Fallen Angels.
Spike: The music box is broken, or is it? It starts to play, and a haunting tune fills the air. I wake suddenly from my dream. There is no music box! And yet there it is. A tiny one nestled in my hand. And I awaken from my dream again. As if I were peeling an onion. It’s a dream no matter how far I go. I can never reach reality. Trapped in an endless nightmare.
Spike is so affected by the loss of the woman he loves that even an item she once possessed haunts him. It is her death that has finally woken him from his detached dream-like state.
Faye shares with Spike that her memory has returned. She explains that there was nowhere for her to go back to. She pleads with him to stay.
Spike ignores her please and instead leaves her with these parting words.
Spike: I’m not going there to die; I’m going to find out if I’m really alive. I have to do it, Faye.
Faye is not comforted by this statement. The audience should not be comforted either. Spike's words eerily echo what Jet said to him in session 25.
Jet: Men only think about the past right before their death, as if they were searching frantically for proof that they were alive.
Faye cries and shoots off her gun. An act reminiscent of the 21-gun salute that is used in the military to honor the fallen.
Spike walks away from Faye without looking back. He is never shown thinking about anyone from the Bebop again.
The song "See You Space Cowboy" plays as Spike leaves the Bebop.
"Everything is already over",
You say with closed ears
The words only flow
Towards a tomorrow without peace
"There's nothing that won't change"
Even if my life ends
This love will not disappear
It's something that will live forever
Even if dreams are hidden in darkness
I got a rainbow
Rainbow in your hands...
The camera focuses on Spike's left eye. The eye that sees Spike's past. The lyrics begin as Spike is recalling romantic memories of Julia. He thinks of the first time he saw Julia and was captivated by her beauty. He thinks of a time when he made love to Julia and she cradled him in her arms.
Given that Spike confided to Jet just the previous session that Julia was a part of him, the image shows a moment in Spike's life when he felt whole.
Spike: She was a piece of me I had lost. She is my other half that I had longed for.
The song continues to play as Spike attacks the syndicate. It is a ballad of undying love alluding to lovers being reunited in the afterlife.
When Spike faces off against his hated rival, Vicious makes a proclamation.
Vicious: So, you're finally awake. I told you before, Spike. I'm the only one who can kill you and set you free.
Spike does not deny this. But makes a proclamation of his own.
Spike: Those words apply to you as well, Vicious.
During their fight, there comes a moment where the two disarm each other by swapping weapons. Vicious getting Spike's gun and Spike getting Vicious's katana. It is at this moment that Spike makes a statement of great significance to both men.
Spike: Julia passed away. Let's end it all.
Vicious: If that's your wish.
The rivals return their weapons. Spike shoots Vicious but gets sliced across the abdomen.
Vicious's death comes quickly, while Spike lingers as was foreshadowed.
Vicious: Don't forget, a snake's venom poisons slowly after the bite.
Spike watches Vicious's body fall to the ground, spends but a few seconds looking at him, then looks up to the night's sky. The camera is focused on Spike's right eye. Now calm.
Spike sees Julia. This is the first time in the entire series that Spike is shown seeing Julia with his right eye.
In session 13, during an auditory flashback, Spike and Julia discuss his eyes.
Spike: My left eye sees the past.
Julia: What about your right eye?
We do not hear his response.
In the penultimate scene of the series, we are specifically shown what Spike sees with his eye that sees his present. He sees her.
In Spike's vision, Julia is cast in a white light. She says her last words to Spike, this time they are audible to the audience. Spike is shown reflected back in Julia's eye. He glumly concurs with her. Spike is then completely engulfed by a blinding white light. The scene fades to white. This light is reminiscent of the divine light that is cast upon a soul that is ready to ascend to heaven.
Julia: It's all a dream.
Spike: Yeah. Just a bad dream.
From white we transition to the final scene of the series. It is now day. A white light is now cast over the entire syndicate.
Spike smiles, points a finger gun at the remaining syndicate goons and says "bang".
This is a callback to Wen from session 6. As Wen was dying he asked Spike if he understood the relief that came with one's own death. In response, Spike threw Wen's harmonica up in the air, pretended to shoot it while saying "bang", but then said "as if". When Spike says "bang" this time he is acknowledging that he now understands that relief.
Spike falls to the ground. He is never shown moving again. White doves are shown flying over Spike's body. White doves also flew by Julia when she died.
The camera follows an ascension into the heavens, while the song "Blue" plays. The song's lyrics allude to a soul ascending to heaven.
Free
Wanna be free
Gonna be free
And move among the stars
You know, they really aren't so far
Feels so free
Gotta know free
Please
Don't wake me from the dream
It's really everything it seems
I'm so free
No black and white in the blue
Everything is clearer now
Life is just a dream, you know
That's never-ending
I'm ascending
At the end of the credits a star goes out but never falls.
In session 13, Laughing Bull informs the audience to what a falling star truly is.
Child: A star just fell from the sky.
Laughing Bull: That is not an ordinary star, my son. That star is the tear of a warrior. A lost soul who has finished his battles somewhere on this planet.
Child: What warrior is it?
Laughing Bull: A pitiful soul who could not find his way to the lofty realm. Where the great spirit awaits us all.
Given that the star we are shown does not fall, it is reasonable to infer that the soul the star belonged to did make its way to the great spirit that awaits us all.
That soul has broken away from the cycle of death and rebirth and is never coming back. As was foreshadowed to happen to Spike in the fable of the tiger striped cat, who followed his love into death and never returned.
This was so worth taking the time to read. Insightful doesn't do you justice.
U copied and pasted from the spike spiegel tribute
@@ryan-lr4un Nope. They copied and pasted from me, but I don't mind. I'm happy that as many people as possible can see this summary.
@@tiger-stripedcat7199 no they did it first u sent it 3 months ago the original was posted 4 months ago a month earlier than u
Just saying
*Speaking Like A Child* has to be one of the saddest or the saddest moment in cowboy bebop and it overall sums up Faye's real emotions.
It was a very hard episode to watch, execution was superb and will stick with me for a long long time.
It was implied Faye and Spike would have been targeted had Spike not taken care of Vicious. So him leaving to finish off vicious, was more on the lines of Spike not trying to get Faye and Jet involved with his past.
Spike thinks of Julia on the way to the syndicate. The song that plays while he is thinking about her is about how he'll love her even when he is dead. He uses Julia's death as the justification to "end it all" when he is fighting Vicious. He sees Julia immediately after he kills Vicious. He is shown thinking of Jet and Faye exactly ZERO times. Sure Spike wanted to protect his friends too. But Spike walks away from them, while Julia is always with him. She is first and foremost in his mind.
@@tiger-stripedcat7199 woah chillz
@@tiger-stripedcat7199 seems like you’re more triggered
@@slimcortez9055 Please. I gave a factual summary. That's it.
@@tiger-stripedcat7199 and he said chills as in “getting chills” from reading your paragraph 🧏🏽♂️
Don't know what was more sad
Ed & Ein leaving the crew or
Faye outlining rooms in the ruins & trying to fit in it or
Julia dying on Spike's arms & asking it's all a dream....
When I saw "You're gonna carry that weight" at the end, a tear fell from my eyes. F*cking masterpiece...
I didn’t understand that, was that’s message for the audience or what was it?
@@gogo-fs4wl i can be wrong but from my perspective it means that you are gonna carry the weight of your past, your karma since the directors have talked about the show being about spike's karma.
I was thinking it would have said the usual “See you Space Cowboy” but boy was I wrong 😭😭😭
A very beautiful show...only 26 episodes...and yet it is complete...and has a very beautiful ending...the best ending ever
Spikes running away from his past, jet wants to be in the past, faye doesn’t know about her past and ed doesn’t care about her past
Nice video!
Thank you very much, Sage's Rain, it means a lot. Your content has been a very positive influence for me as a person and creator in this past year. Keep up the great videos :)
Sage approved !
Great analysis. Good points. I agree with the other commenters that one aspect of Spike that isn’t mentioned is that his past actively pulled him back. We’re all responsible for our pasts, even if we don’t understand them. That’s the meaning there. In the end, the characters did finally find a true home in the Bebop. The tragedy of the final act, however, is that as soon as they’ve all realized this, the reality that Spike’s past would never leave them alone until he dealt with it sets in and is fatal to him. Each of the characters deals with their past in this show, and Spike’s is the last one.
There are only two shows that can have such a profound effect on the audience. Cowboy Bebop is the shorter of the two, MASH is the longer, but neither can be redone. They're just too well made as they are.
I just finished watching this show and now I’m researching CB I really enjoyed this video
Glad you liked the video!
Lol I did the same thing, but after watching a lot of videos I wanted more so I rewatch it
Don’t forget the movie
love the sages rain vibe keep it up
Thank you! That's a pretty big compliment haha
I love sages rain too
Please make more content like this. I have a deep lust for these thoughtful, heartfelt pieces that absolutely resonate with me.
It goes largely unsatisfied and feel selfish to ask, but this stuff is massively enjoyment, and the content, presentation, and tone move me.
I appreciate the sentiment. I can't promise that everything I talk about will resonate with everyone, but I'll try my best to deliver something I hope is somewhat worthwhile.
here’s a really long story
I watched cowboy bebop in a very specific time in my life, I had moved from my childhood home where I lived my whole life until I was 20, to Costa Rica for 2 years. Met new people’, made new friends, pets, new home… and then things didn’t work out and I had to move again. But instead of going back home I decided to move somewhere new. It was my decision but it was bittersweet, I hadn’t worried or overthought the desicion at all, I was excited for my new life. Near the end of my stay in CR I was watching a lot of anime and movies on my computer…. And I gave cowboy bebop a shot… I loved it, fell in love with all the characters.. the lore… 😅the aesthetic and animation the music,., when I got to the episode… where they all split… and ed leaves and ein follows… in that exact moment. I broke. I realized I was leaving everything behind. The people I grew up with, the people I had just gotten close with, My family, my past, my whole life basically. I was moving on and starting a new life. and I started weeeping. I held my dog that I had since I was younger that I wasn’t gonna see anymore & I cried like I’ve never cried before in my life. Loudly. This show hit me in a soft spot and now I will never be able to watch this without thinking of that moment…. Thank God that move ended up being the best desicion of my life, got my shit together, found a job, car, home, wife and had a beautiful child. But this show will always remind me of that mourning feeling of leaving everything/ everyone behind and starting new. It’s so bittersweet. It hurts.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story, it was incredibly moving. What a moment of introspection and emotion that must have been for you. I am gald that this show has such a special place in your journey and am sincerely happy that things turned out wonderfully for you.
@@gearvanguard thank you for even acknowledging it at all. I try not to write personal stuff on RUclips bc no one cares but Your video inspired me to write it down in that moment. Great stuff
that ending....
....
"bang!", right in the feels
Cowboy Bebop is a timeless masterpiece
The algorithm favors you today, friend. I pray that you find success, as a video of this quality deserves such.
Thank you, I appreciate the kind wishes and words :)
Great essay. Been watching since i was 9, in 2001 when AS launched. Such a deeply profound show for a young kid.. we are decades older mentally than our predecessors for the stories like these.. there is hope for the future yet
I can’t even tell you how great this video is goddamn. It’s as perfect as it should be. Watching cowboy bebop was one of the greatest thing I did. Incredible work, I can’t wait to watch the rest of your content bro !
I appreciate the kind words very much, thank you!
Great video, Cowboy Bebop is a legendary piece of media that will stick with me for some time.
Talking about me having a nice voice lol. Great retrospective into the characters and what drives their motivations and actions through out their journey with one another. This was very well put together as well. Bravo sir!
Thank you very much my good friend, I've only ever heard my voice be called shit or cute so this is a first lmao. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, thanks again, I really appreciate it.
I just watched CB and now I want to see how other people who watched it reacted. Its such a great show, and I'm sad by how it ended :(
This was absolutely beautiful. Thank you
But yet we ourselves cannot move on forward from the Bebop. So here we are in denial. Wanting more but not wanting to accept the fact that it’s been over……….
.
.
.
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Thanks for the video
I am so glad I got to watch this video man, well done to you this video is sick!
Thank you! :)
This was really cool, awesome breakdown
Thank you! Glad you liked it :)
Well done sparked a tear 😭👏🙏
Thank you, it means a lot :)
same
Your voice is soothing and you explain this shows true meaning clearly. Beautiful video.
Many thanks
The writing was fantastic bro, please keep up the good work. This kinda helped me, I'm currently dealing with shit from my past that I cant move on from.
Wow, thank you for the kind words. I'm glad and touched that it helped you out in any way. All the best.
Thank you man, I appreciate it
Thank for speading the word of my fav gem i am entering my 20 birthday my childhood right here
This was super well done.
Thank you very much :)
holy dang how is this channel so underrated
More movies like that, good job
Thank you! :)
That was a great video!
See you, space cowboy...
This was a great analysis!
Thank you! :)
Good video, well done.
I thank the algorithm gods for sending me to your amazing video you gained a new sub today
I'm glad you could find my video! Thanks :)
Well done video. 👌🏾
Very well made video.
This video was a grt help, Amen..
jeeezzzz...great review
Very good video, especially since this is your second one. I guess the algorithm favors you, but I wish you had more than 97 subs for the amount of views and the quality you got.
Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment.
Good video thanks 🙏🏽
Thank you!
Legendary
Wow, thank you for your essay: I liked Cowboy Bebop as a Teenager (17 Years ago) Now rewatching Cowboy Bebop on Netflix I really love to see this video now
Thank you for the kind words, really happy that to hear that you are re-experiencing the show after so long, hope you enjoy/enjoyed it!
congrats, that's perfect
Really nice video
Thank you! :)
Nice video
Very nice
ai man your really good at what you do
this is something i would watch all the time. lol first 50!!!
Thank you very much, I really appreciate your time and support :)
Great video 👍
Thank you very much :)
@@gearvanguard you're welcome! Keep up the great work!😎👍
Jupiter Jazz always kills me... No matter what
Kool. Video.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thanks!
Cowboy Bebop deserves more respect
I need that last clip
What's the track playing at 1:43? I love it so much, I need to download it! 🥺
I believe it is called "Space Lion" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
What about ein???
gosh pls I wanna know the name of this piano song (5:01 - 6:04)
i need to know too :’(
@liamphiga i finally found it! it’s called high socks and it’s part of the bebop soundtrack
hope u still care hahahah
Wow
Nice video
Thanks! :)