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What Happened in the Final Episodes of Cowboy Bebop What Happened to the Characters in Cowboy Bebop?
Summary
Spike's fate at the end of Cowboy Bebop remains ambiguous, leaving it up to fans to decide whether he lives or dies. With Vicious dead, Jet and Faye are presumably safe, though their future paths are unclear. Edward and Ein leave Bebop before the final events, leaving their fates irrelevant to the conclusion.
The end of the Cowboy Bebop famous for its ambiguity, keeping Spike's ultimate fate from the audience. However, there are still other aspects of the ending that fans may not know. Here are some details about what happened in Cowboy Bebop's epic finale.
Cowboy Bebop tells the story of Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter, and his partner Jet. Along the way, they meet Faye Valentine, an untrustworthy young woman with a tendency to get herself into trouble, and Edward, a young hacker who serves as Bebop's tech expert. While the series is largely episodic, it has an ongoing storyline involving Spike's past with the Red Dragon Syndicate, and in particular a dangerous man named Vicious, who takes control of the Syndicate throughout the story and pursues Spike and his one-time lover, Julia. The final episode heavily addresses this Vicious storyline, bringing the two to a head.
What Happened in the Final Episode of Cowboy Bebop
Spike meets Vicious to fight to the death
Cowboy Bebop's ending is in two parts. The first half of the film sees the Syndicate sending assassins to kill Spike and Julia, and anyone else associated with Vicious. Spike is saved from an assassination attempt by a friend from the Syndicate, Shin, who warns him of what is going on and advises him on how to contact Julia. Jet is not so lucky and is shot in the leg, but they escape despite this. Julia, who is on the run herself, runs into Faye, and the two women team up and escape by car. Julia leaves Faye a message for Spike, telling him where to meet her.
Jet tries to enlist the help of his police contacts, but to no avail, as they are ill-equipped to deal with Syndicate thugs. Meanwhile, Faye relays her message to Spike just as the ship is attacked. They manage to repel the attackers, but not before the ship is damaged. Jet tells Spike to find Julia, so he leaves. Elsewhere, Vicious is brought before the Syndicate leaders, ready to be executed, but suddenly many Syndicate fighters switch allegiances, killing the elders and rescuing Vicious, putting him in command of the Syndicate for now.
In season 2, Spike and Julia finally reunite, with Julia hoping they can escape together. Together they visit an old contact of Spike's, Annie, only to find that she has been shot and is dying when they arrive. A gunfight breaks out at Annie's store, and while trying to escape, Julia is shot dead. Spike grieves her loss, but is forced to keep moving to stay alive. Vicious arrives at the scene after Spike has escaped, finds evidence of Julia's death, and realizes that Spike has nothing left to lose.
Spike returns to the Bebop one last time, having a moment with Jet, and then with Faye. While Jet seems to understand that Spike is doing what he has to do, Faye doesn't quite understand, and even shoots at the ship's wall in anger when Spike leaves for a final confrontation. Spike, armed to the teeth, begins his assault on the Red Dragon Syndicate headquarters. He meets Shin, who helps him locate Vicious before being killed in a gunfight. Spike finds Vicious, and the two have their fateful duel. Spike attempts to kill Vicious, but not before Vicious delivers a gruesome slash to his chest.
Spike begins to see visions of Julia, and slowly walks out of the building as Vicious dies. Surrounded by Syndicate men who are no longer sure what to do, Spike raises his hand and forms a gun, saying “Bang” before falling down the stairs. The camera zooms out, and finally stops on a bright star in the sky, which slowly fades out.
What happened to the characters in Cowboy Bebop?
The Fate of the Bebop Crew Revealed
Whether or not Spike is still alive at the end of the series is a big question that every fan has wondered, but the episode doesn't give any clues as to whether he's alive or dead. The ending is intentionally left ambiguous; he could have died, or he could have simply passed out from exhaustion.Even series creator Shinichiro Watanabe was reluctant to answer whether Spike is still alive, saying that even he is not sure about the truth. When it comes to Spike's fate, it is up to each fan to decide.
As for the other characters, it's much easier to tell where they stand. With Vicious dead, there's no reason for the Syndicate to bother Jet and Faye any further, so they're probably safe. Jet is definitely still on the Bebop, regardless of Spike's fate. What happens to Faye is less clear; it's possible she'll stay with Jet and continue working together, but she'll likely go off and do her own thing. Many fans have wondered about a potential relationship between Spike and Faye, but with Spike's fate so unclear, it's impossible to say whether or not that will ever happen.
Edward and Ein, of course, left the Bebop before this incident with the Syndicate began, in episode 24. They're living safely on Earth with Ed's biological father, Mr. Appledelhi, and are presumably unaware of what happened after they left the ship. With Edward's hacking skills, it seems like Ed could find out what happened to Spike at any time, provided she was curious enough to find out.
Cowboy Bebop is a rare example of a series with an intentionally ambiguous ending, and an even rarer example in that the ambiguity has persisted to this day, without any word from the creators about what happened. While it can be frustrating not to know, that ambiguity fits perfectly with the series' themes and arguably played a large role in why Cowboy Bebop has become a classic anime.