Summary
Cowboy Bebop’s sophomore episode, “Venus Pop,” is a repetitive offering that moves the story along slowly.
This recap of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop season 1, episode 2, “Venus Pop,” contains spoilers.
Cowboy Bebop season 1, episode 2 recap
Red Wedding
The last thing you expect when on a bounty hunter job is to meet an assassin in the bathroom of the wedding you are crashing. That’s what happens to Spike (John Cho), unfortunately. As he fights the killer off, he realizes the Syndicate must train him– he’s too good. Meanwhile, Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) tries to capture their target but is again knocked over and loses their man. Jet can’t take losing and blames Spike for its ability to make money.
Spike has heard enough, jumps on a ship to grab some noodles, and visits an old friend. Her name is Ana (Tamara Tunie), and she has seen the ghost of Fearless. That’s because Spike was supposed to be dead three years ago. She gives him a warm hug and a cold slap across the face. He deserved it, don’t worry. He came to her to see if she had heard anything about him being alive. She also serves as a way for him to ask about Julia (Elena Satine). Ana tells him the bad news, she married Vicious, and they are thrilled together.
Spike and Jet
Spike is having a low blood sugar episode because he is crabby, Jet notes. They head to Ishtar (I love the references) to find Teddy. Their target steals explosives from construction sites and uses them for his use. You know, for parties, holidays, and murders. As they enter Teddy’s ship, they discover they just missed him to surprise him with a breaking plan. Spike finds his noodles but can’t enjoy them because Teddy’s ship takes off with them inside.
They run for the cockpit, but they are locked outside. As they try to hatch a plan, some space junk takes the ship’s cockpit clean off. Great, there goes their bounty. As they search for an escape hatch, Jet steps on a booby-trap. This is in the middle of one of their fights, so this is sobering. When Spike tries to come up with a plan, a man, we can only assume Teddy, is in his underwear, holding a detonator, and has a mascot head of a teddy bear over his face.
They chase the freaky ones, apparently.
Spike, once again saving Jet’s butt, takes out the Ruxpin. Jet finally contributes and manages to grab the falling detonator as he still keeps his feel on the booby-trap. They find the escape pod, but Jet can’t move still. That’s until Spike quickly kicks his partner’s foot away and steps on the trap himself.
This guy knows how to make an apology.
The Ending – Vicious is Moonlighting
So, Vicious is in trouble with the Syndicate. He has been selling the drug red-eye on the side. He is summoned out of bed with his wife to a meeting of the high council. He wanted to expand their profits, he explains. They are not as understanding. They have hurt their reputation, not to mention stealing from them. If he takes from them, they will take from him. They hand him a gun and tell him to shoot Julia in the head. (It seems reasonable enough, right?). As she is on her knees, he pulls the trigger, and it clicks — the gun wasn’t loaded.
Nothing hurts a marriage like a botched murder attempt.
He later is seen drinking his frustrations away after Julia questioned his manhood, and she got choked in the process. He is at a table and breaks his glass in one hand by squeezing it. He is drinking in Ana’s club, and she watches him over the security tapes that are rolling in real-time.
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