As expected, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop show can’t compete with the original
By Diana Nosa
Episode 10: “Supernova Symphony”
We’ve arrived at the finish line, and the warning signs we saw at the beginning of the series have been borne out. It’s a shame, especially since the Netflix series seemed to have finally found its own unique stride. “Supernova Symphony” is anything but an organized orchestra; it’s more of a disastrous discord.
From the pacing to the needless inclusion of side characters to the conclusion that proved to be 100% not worth the time, not only did this series lose all the momentum it managed to build up this far, but it left such a sour taste that I almost wonder if they’d been trolling us the whole time.
Firstly, this episode should have been, without a sliver of a doubt, focused entirely on Spike Spiegel. The inclusion of Jet Black’s daughter Kimmie and other secondary characters was not necessary; they just got in the way of the story reaching the conclusion that we thought we were going to get: a showdown between Spike and Vicious where only one walks away alive. The anime wisely had Jet and Faye take a backseat during this part of the story, but the Netflix show isn’t as smart.
Secondly, while I’m all for a girl power moment and appreciated Julia’s expanded role in the adaptation, we were never given any hint that taking over the Syndicate was Julia’s intention, just that she wanted the freedom to what she pleases. Yes, doing what she pleases can include being a leader of the Syndicate, but some foreshadowing or heads up of some sort would have helped us swallow this twist.
And speaking of story beats not being executed well, it seems like the series forgot about the Syndicate employing her husband to shoot her. Considering all of this, why the writers tasked Julia with delivering the final shot to Spike Spiegel simply because he didn’t retrieve her, despite knowing that he would have been killed if he had done so, is completely beyond understanding and extremely painful to watch as it shows clear signs of inexcusable forgetfulness.
However, those stumbles don’t even hold a candle to the last egregious mistake. The sudden appearance of Radical Edward would have been exciting if our red-haired genius was shown much earlier in the series, but like this, it was all I could do to not switch off the series and ask myself what was the point of including them at all, Ed stumbling upon an (uncharacteristically) drunken Spike with Ein in tow creates a plot hole so huge I doubt even a whole second season could make up for it.
These three things weren’t the only issues with the finale, but they were the hardest to ignore and prove that the remake not only missed the point of the 1998 series, but its own point. And boy, is that a shame.
