Episode 1: Asteroid Belt Blues

    Spike and Jet, two smooth  bounty hunters are introduced. The story takes place in the year 2071, when the Earth has been largely abandoned and human beings make their homes on the other planets, moons and asteroids of the Sol system. Travel between the diverse colonies is accomplished through hyperspace gates. All of the various spacecraft of the series are based on a standardized MONO system, characterized by the separable monopod. The story begins with Spike and Jet seeking out a new bounty head, Asimov Solenson, said to be on the aptly named space colony "Tijuana." Solenson is said to be a fleeing member of the Syndicate; in his flight he took their entire collection of a highly illegal and addictive substance "Bloody Eye", which seems to be a kind of speed.

Episode 2: Stray Dog Strut

    The episode opens on a mysterious character. He's carrying a case, pursued by lab technicians, and he has a huge bounty on his head. It's inevitable that the Bebop crew will get involved. Armed with some exclusive info, Spike goes in search of the culprit, named Abdul Hakim, on Mars.

Episode 3: Honky Tonk Women

    This episode begins with focus on a new character: Faye Valentine. Sexy, self-assured, and carrying an arsenal capable of defending a small nation, Faye makes quite an entrance. Apparently, this lovely lady is deeply in debt, and must make a deal with a casino owner/crime boss to clear herself. Meanwhile, Jet and Spike, following advice Jet got from Charlie "Yard bird" Parker in a dream, go to try their luck in the Casino of this very crime boss. A small mix-up on Faye's part and all hell breaks loose.

Episode 4: Gateway Shuffle

    Another episode which begins with Faye. This time she's stranded without gas, stuck in Jupiter's orbit. While there, she discovers a nearly-destroyed space craft and a dying pilot, who charges her to bring the case he was carrying to the ISSP. He also warns her not to open it. Meanwhile, Spike and Jet are going after yet another bounty, only to have him killed by eco-terrorists, "The Space Warriors." Lucky for them, the head of The Space Warriors has a much larger bounty than the one they were hunting. Unluckily, Twinkle Murdoch has a few tricks up her sleeve. In a twist of fate, Spike and Jet run into the stranded Faye. This episode is mostly comedic, but it includes a suspenseful-yet-fun scene which takes place in the hyperspace gate. Also, Spike and Faye team up for the first time.

Episode 5: Ballad Of The Fallen Angels

    This is the first "meat and potatoes" episode - we've finally reached actual plot. We begin "Ballad" in an unfamiliar setting, surrounded by people we haven't been introduced to. The head of "The Red Dragons", and a scary chap with a sword; but they do say the name of one who is familiar: "Spike." On the Bebop's end, Spike and Jet are having the first serious argument we've been witness to since the series started. Spike wants to go after a bounty, Jet feels that there's something wrong with the setup. So Spike goes it alone. Faye makes herself troublesome by going after the same bounty. This episode culminates in a fantastic Cathedral scene, with revelations both about Spike's past, and the people in Spike's present.

Episode 6: Sympathy For The Devil

    Several of the episodes in the series begin the way this one does - with a juxtaposition of past and present, so that you don't at first know which one is the now. The story begins as Spike wakes from a bizarre dream in a blues club, where a genius child harmonica player is performing. This time the boys are hunting a bounty head named "Giraffe", who seemingly has a grudge against Wen's guardian, "Zebra." Unfortunately just as Spike is about the capture him, Giraffe dies leaving behind a puzzling message and a ring. Spike, being the upstanding guy he is, spends the rest of the episode trying to carry out Giraffe's dying wish, with some unexpected results. "Sympathy" is a particularly dark, poignant episode, and while not one of my favorites it has its moments. One theme brought up during this episode is a recurring one throughout the series: the nature of comraderie and loyalty. As almost an aside, Faye settles in a little bit more to life on the Bebop; although Spike and Jet still act as though they dislike her, they are getting comfortable with her being there. She's becoming a comrade. Another side bit to this episode: Jet is bandaging Spike, nagging him up and down about the way he always gets hurt, and Spike, like a wayward son, just says "I'm sorry." That scene, short as it is, is a microcosm of the whole Spike/Jet relationship throughout the series.

Episode 7: Heavy Metal Queen

    "Heavy Metal Queen" starts with the introduction of V.T., a female truck driver in space. Tough, self-assured, capable, lover of heavy metal, with decided disdain for bounty hunters, she is know only by her initials. On Bebop's end, Spike, Faye and Jet are working as a team to capture a bounty head, Decker. Thanks to an "exclusive" tip, Spike is waiting for Decker in a bar along with every other bounty hunter in town; Faye is in the equally absurd position of waiting for the bounty head in a kid's ice cream parlor. Spike "introduces" himself to V.T. by helping her smack down some of the uppity bounty hunters in the bar during a very funny fight scene. The story of this episode revolves not so much around trying to catch the bounty as it does the character of V.T., and how she and Spike relate. She plays at disliking him when she finds out he's a bounty hunter, but in her heart she has an affection for him, the way you would a cool, mangy stray cat that just won't leave you alone. Another thing I love about this episode is the view of Spike, Jet and Faye's home life. Spike and Faye are like a couple of rebellious siblings, and Jet is like a nagging mom who always has to clean up after them.

Episode 8: Waltz For Venus

    As a commercial aircraft is landing on the decidedly middle-eastern influenced Venus colony, it is hijacked. Fortunately, Spike and Faye and Jet in the Bebop are waiting there to capture them, as they have a considerable bounty. Spike's mad Jeet Kun Do skills are noticed and appreciated by one of the passengers, Roco, who begs Spike to be his sensei. Reluctant though he is, Spike relents and gives Roco some pointers about Jeet Kun Do. Suddenly, as Roco notices some men looking for him, he gives Spike a package asking him to look after it. Later, Spike discovers that Roco has a bounty on him; upon looking inside the package he finds an extraordinarily rare plant used for curing an allergy which occurs only on Venus. As Spike learns more about Roco and his motivations, we get to see new facet to him as a character.

Episode 9: Jamming With Edward

    Edward is introduced. And who is Edward? Edward is Edward. "Jamming With Edward" starts out with a satellite carving strange designs on the surface of the Earth. The ISSP, supposing it to be the work of a hacker, puts a huge bounty on the head of the culprit. Is there any question of what follows? Faye and Jet are eager to capture the bounty, but Spike passes on it, claiming boredom. Faye and Jet, therefore, go to the earth to search for clues, Faye examining the transmitters in the area, Jet investigating local hackers. After a lot of work with no returns, they go back to the Bebop exhausted. Unbeknownst to them, however, the hacker "Radical Edward" has also been investigating the bounty head for their sakes. Edward gives them all the pertinent information in return for a favor. "Jamming With Edward" is one of the great comic episodes of the series, owing mostly to the bizarre character of Ed.

Episode 10: Ganymede Elegy

    In the midst of a melancholic flashback, Jet is called back to reality by Spike. The Bebop is going to land on Ganymede, Jet's home when he was a cop, to turn in a bounty head. Jet's preoccupation is the subject of teasing by Faye, who asks if he's thinking about the girl he left behind. Jet's obvious irritation declares loudly that that was exactly the subject of his thoughts. After cashing in the bounty, Jet goes to "Le Fin", the bar owned by his ex-significant other, Alisa.

Episode 11: Toys In The Attic

    Jet gets swindled by Faye, and having lost all of his clothes he goes to the storage bay to get a blanket. While there, something bites him. Spike and Faye dismiss it as a rat, but soon they discover the seriousness of the injury. One by one, each member of the crew becomes a victim of this unknown enemy until only Spike is left to deal with it.

Episode 12: Jupiter Jazz, Part 1

    This episode begins with the revelation that Faye has gone, seemingly for good. Giving as the excuse that Faye cleaned out the safe, Spike and Jet have Ed dive the net to try and find her. What Ed comes across instead is the name "Julia." Spike bounds out like a man obsessed while Jet argues with him; they need to find Faye, he says. Spike leaves the Bebop on bad terms with Jet; it seems he has gone for good as well. As Spike goes to out to find Julia, Jet goes seeking Faye.

Episode 13: Jupiter Jazz:, Part 2

    This is the conclusion to "Jupiter Jazz." Jet finds Faye, and they have an almost frank discussion about their feelings. Poor Jet; he really is a softy, but there's just no way for him to say "I care about you Faye." Faye is depressed, obviously, but I don't think she's blind to the fact that Jet cared enough to come after her. The second half of the episode is all about Vicious, Gren, and Spike and their confrontation.

Episode 14: Bohemian Rhapsody

    This fun little episode begins with Spike, Faye and Jet each nabbing a bounty head. Unfortunately their efforts prove futile, since the bounty they were after, the mastermind behind a gate hack scam, wasn't among the hoods they caught. After a little detective work by Jet they discover that the hack was perpetrated by an insider in the Gate corporation. The climax of the episode occurs in a drifter colony where they've tracked the bounty head's location.

Episode 15: My Funny Valentine

    We start out this episode the way so many others do -- with the Bebop gang in need of money. Jet decides to catch a bounty head who is "the smallest of the small fry", a Don Juan con artist. After his departure, Faye, who's feeling. . . nostalgic? . . . starts telling her life story to Ein. Needing to get it off her chest but not really feeling free enough with the rest of the crew to be able to tell them. What happened to Faye in her past? Now that would be spoiling, wouldn't it? Suffice it to say that the Faye of the past was quite different from Faye as we know her now. She was a trustingsoul, with a rather sad-yet-amusing love affair to get over. Spike ends up hearing the whole thing, but not believing a word of it.

Episode 16: Black Dog Serenade

    Another episode that deals with Jet's past, "Black Dog Serenade" begins with Faye's complaints about Bebop's shower. Her nagging of Jet leads to a question about his arm; why doesn't he get reconstructive surgery? Around this point, an old partner of Jet's during his days with the ISSP, Fad, calls up wanting to team up with Jet one last time. Fad wants to catch a runaway prison ship that happens to be carrying an old enemy of Jet's, Udai, a member of the syndicate. Apparently, Udai had something to do with Jet loosing his arm. Jet at first refuses, but finally decides that this is something he must do. The climax occurs inside the prison ship, with some interesting twists.

Episode 17: Mushroom Samba

    This, my friends, is the episode you've been waiting for all your lives! Seriously, it's an all-Ed episode, which is a high mark of quality. The Bebop crew finds themselves without any food and stranded on a strange planet. Spike and Jet attempt to fix the Bebop, and they send Edward to go out and get some food. Ed takes Ein along and she rides off on her motor scooter. What Ed finds, and what she does with it is where the good stuff comes in.

Episode 18: Speak Like A Child

    This is one of the more interesting episodes, but it's also one of the least action-packed. We begin with a montage of images which basically represent the life that the Bebop crew are living, and with Jet telling the story of Taro Urashima. Suddenly, a package arrives for Faye. Faye leaves in a hurry as soon as she realizes something was sent C.O.D. to her with no return address. Spike opens the package to find. . . a Beta videocassette. What follows is a quest venture by Jet and Spike to discover what exactly the tape holds.

Episode 19: Wild Horses

    "Wild Horses" begins with Jet and Faye "fishing" for bounties, while Spike is bringing his ship to be overhauled. Doohan, the former owner of the Swordfish II, is the guy who Spike's entrusting his beloved ship to. After Spike's return to the Bebop, he finds that Jet and Faye were unsuccessful with their attempts to capture the bounty heads. It seems that the guys they're after have a virus that they transmit by harpooning the attacking ships. As long as they avoid getting harpooned, they'll be OK. If they do get harpooned, Jet's solution is to turn of their ships' computer systems and fly them manually. One misstep on Spike's part, and he's a dead cookie.

Episode 20: Pierrot La Fou

    Make sure you turn off all the lights when you watch this episode. And remember, the serial killer that's about to call you is already inside your house. "Pierrot" starts out with some very grotesque murders by a freaky, almost cartoony character wearing an insane grin. Spike comes upon the scene and is spotted by grinning man. He's beaten within an inch of his life, but manages to escape. As Spike is recuperating, a message comes for him from the murderer. Meet me at the party, he says. Spike, being the headstrong dumb ass that he is, goes to meet this killing machine. The confrontation takes place in an appropriately Batman-esque place, an amusement park. As Spike fights "Mad Pierrot", Jet and Ed find out who this freak of nature really is.

Episode 21: Boogie Woogie Feng-Shui

    A mysterious e-mail sends Jet on a search to find an old acquaintance. His search leads to the grave of his old friend, where he meets the spirited young daughter of his acquaintance, Meifa. It's her will to find her father that draws Jet further into the mystery, raising more questions, and answering few.

Episode 22: Cowboy Funk

    Whilst foraging for food, Spike intercepts a serial bomber, the Teddy Bomber, trying to blow up a skyscraper. Spike-baby does his usual schpiel of beating the crap out of the guy while looking bad-ass and spouting off cool catch phrases. Teddy Bomber is just as intent upon blowing up the building, however, and just as he's about to blow himself and Spike sky high -- lo! Andy the Cowboy appears! Cowboy duds, horse, theme music and all! Andy manages to both save Spike's life and nearly get him killed at the same time. Back at the Bebop, Faye and Jet aren't buying any part of the story. Ed, however, proves the existence of Cowboy Andy, who is in actuality Andy von de Oniyate, heir to the Oniyate ranch. The Bebop crew go to a masquerade party, having laid another trap there for the Teddy Bomber. Again they miss their chance and again Andy appears. Spike, as you might imagine, has an intense dislike for Mr. Urban Cowboy which borders on obsessive.

Episode 23: Brain Scratch

    Flipping through various channels on his TV, Spike sees Faye on the screen. It seems that she has joined the cult Scratch in order to rid herself of debt. Looking a little bit deeper, Jet and Spike discover that the leader of Scratch, Londes, is wanted for a whopping 38 million Wolong bounty -- the real reason behind Faye's desire to abandon her body and live "in the infinite sea of electrons". Armed with very little information, Spike, Jet, and even Ed go in search of Londes. All of their searches turn up fruitless. No trace of the man can be found anywhere. A call from Faye sends Spike off to help her; meanwhile Jet buys a game console that purportedly scans the brain into the net, allowing Scratch members to abandon their bodies. Jet, Ed and Ein work on hacking the Scratch website, while Spike goes to face Londes alone.

Episode 24: Hard Luck Woman

    Spike and Jet awake one morning to find that the Bebop unexpectedly on Earth, and Faye and Ed gone. Faye, searching obsessively for some vestige of her past, brought Ed to Earth on the off-chance that she might find the actual location of the fountain which appears on her mysterious Beta tape.

Episode 25: The Real Folk Blues, Part 1

    This episode begins with a failed coup attempt on the part of Vicious to take over the Red Dragons. Vicious is captured by the Van, but warns them to kill him now. Meanwhile, Jet and Spike are at a bar, crying in their vodka about the events of "Hard Luck Woman" when suddenly some syndicate scum start shooting at them. Lin's brother Shin helps them escape, and tells them about Vicious's failure to seize power. Now Spike is a target, due to his past allegiance to Vicious. And so, we find, is Julia, also once part of Vicious' clique. The past and present finally collide in a graveyard, the cliffhanger ending to this episode. Ah, how painful it is to say goodbye.

Episode 26: The Real Folk Blues, Part 2

    Spike confronts his past head-on in this brilliant, exquisitely, beautifully painful conclusion to Cowboy Bebop. Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop, has said: ". . . the taste of Bebop lies in the sadness that things have to come to an end."