As expected, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop show can’t compete with the original
By Diana Nosa
Episode 7: “Galileo Hustle”
“Galileo Hustle” is yet another Faye Valentine-centered episode, and just like Episodes 4 and 6, it teaches us a lot about this character.
At the start of Episode 7, Faye meets her “mother” Whitney, and soon after follows her lead by convincing Spike and Jet to take her to the city of Santos. Here, we see that Faye’s actual personality contrasts with everything we’ve seen so far, which is a very good thing as it stays faithful to the anime. She’s no longer the tough cookie who has no issue kicking some bounty booty, but a youngster who reveres her mother and is willing to do whatever it takes to please her. But Faye has to summon some of that old steel when Whitney runs into trouble with the Iron Mink, the arms dealer who wants Whitney dead for betraying their marriage.
Watching the show, I thought this story would crescendo with Whitney stopped in her tracks and Faye, now having secured her Identikit, putting a stop to her mother’s shenanigans. Instead, we get a comically steamy scene between Whitney and The Iron Mink; the two seem to have made up after Whitney uttered a random safe word. While a few moments of comedy here and there is a nice break from the action, this scene didn’t feel necessary and I couldn’t help but feel robbed of closure on Faye’s story.
Nevertheless, this misstep is overshadowed by the other good moments. In addition to Jet indulging his doting father persona while Spike is hilariously fighting for his life in the background, we get some much-needed updates on the forthcoming coup, which now involves Julia’s plan to betray Vicious after he betrays the Syndicate. Hopefully that moment will resurrect some of the magic of the 1998 series.
We’ve seen Faye and Jet deal with their personal baggage, but our lead protagonist’s past has yet to be unraveled. Is Spike up next and, if so, how will he deal with the ghosts that have been haunting him?