History Recap / CowboyBebopSession26TheRealFolkBluesPart2

Julia and Spike stand in a graveyard, Julia pointing a gun at him. She says that if she had killed Spike that day, she would have been free. She lowers her gun and embraces Spike, begging them to just run away together.

Shin arrives at the Red Dragon massacre, and gives Vicious the bad news that Spike and Julia escaped. Luckily he only gets a warning (to not run out like is brother) instead of a more severe punishment.

They drive to Annie's and find her fatally wounded. She told them you weren't here. Thy told her Vicious assassinated all the elders. Spike takes Annie's weapons and gears up for a fight. Julie says she'll stay with him. Gang members burst in, and the pair run and gun their way to the roof. Julia is shot in the back. As she lays dying, she whispers something to Spike.

Jet visits the sand shaman, asking where Spike is. The shaman says that each lifeform has its own guardian star. When a life ends, the star falls and disappears. He sees a red star and a blue star. "His star is about to fall".

Back on the Bebop, Jet wakes to find Spike has returned. Spike tells Jet a story over a meal, of a reincarnating cat that refused to come back to life after its partner died. Spike tells Jet that Julie is dead. As he sets out to leave, Faye stops him at gunpoint. She points out his hypocrisy in telling her to forget her past when he is bound by his own. Spike tells Faye to look into his eyes: He tells her that one of them is a prosthetic, to replace the eye he lost in an accident. Faye take this sharing of personal information as a sign that Spike won't be coming back. She tells him her memory returned but there was nowhere for her but the Bebop. H says he's going there to find out if he's really alive. Spike pushes past her. Tearfully, Faye fires repeatedly at the ceiling as Spike walks away, not flinching and not looking back.

Spike storms the Red Dragon building solo, killings guards left and right with guns and explosives. Shin appears and provides support, but is shot and killed. He reaches Vicious' throne room, and an explosive trap blows the roof off. Vicious stands and states "I'm the only one that you kill you and set you free". Spike claims likewise. The two of them begin a fight to the death, Spike with his pistol and Vicious with his sword. They knock each other's weapons out of their hands, yet after a short pause both pass their weapon back to their opponent and draw. Spike shoots Vicious through, and Vicious drops to the ground dead.

Spike has a vision of Julia's dying words "It's all a dream". He staggers down the throneroom steps, holding his side, badly wounded. Guards at the foot of the steps look on dumbfounded. Spike looks up slowly, points a finger-gun at the guards and says "Bang." Spike falls down. The camera pans up from the room, into the sky and into space, as the credits roll. At the end, a star is seen going out. One last shot of Spike lying face-down on the ground, eyes closed.

''You're gonna carry that weight.''

* DramaticIrony: Vicious spends the entire series nursing his ambitions to take over the Syndicate...and while he succeeds, he only gets to enjoy it for a matter of hourse.

** It's not explicitly stated, but it's also not hard to imagine that Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious not just to avenge Julia, but to also protect Jet, Faye, and the others. With Vicious in control of the Red Dragons, it's a given he'd have turned those vast resources to hunting down Spike and his associates (which was doable as the Elders proved last episode). Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious ''now'' before he could come after Jet, Faye, Ed, Ein, or any of his other friends across the Solar System.

** It's not explicitly stated, but it's also not hard to imagine that Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious not just to get vengeance for Julia, but to also protect Jet, Faye, and the others. With Vicious in control of the Red Dragons, Spike would've known it wouldn't take him long to use the Syndicate's resources to locate the ''Bebop'' and Spike's friends (a doable task since the Elders easily tracked him down in the preceding episode). Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious ''now'' before he could move against Jet and Faye.

** It's not explicitly stated, but it's also not hard to imagine that Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious besides getting vengeance for Julia. With Vicious in control of the Red Dragons, Spike would've known it wouldn't take him long to use the Syndicate's resources to locate the ''Bebop'' and Spike's associates (a doable task since the Elders easily tracked him down in the preceding episode). Spike ''had'' to go after Vicious ''now'' to protect Jet, Faye, and the others.

* MutualKill: Possibly. Both Spike and Vicious land fatal blows on each other. While Vicious drops like a stone after getting shot, Spike managess to stay up longer before succumbing to his wounds too (apparently).

* BittersweetEnding: Julia is killed in front of Spike's eyes and he ultimately goes to settle things with Vicious. He comes out victorious but by all appearances mortally wounded, and leaves the Syndicate in shambles and potentially creating a power vacuum. Jet, Faye, Ein, and Ed all live but have to suffer Spike's loss.

* TitleOnlyOpening: Doesn't begin with "Tank", rather just an image of the title before going into the episode proper. The episode likewise ends the same as Jupiter Jazz as the camera pans up into the sky, this time using the song "Blue" to close out.

* BittersweetEnding: Julia is killed in front of Spike's eyes and he ultimately goes to settle things with Vicious. He comes out victorious but, by all appearances mortally wounded, and leaves the Syndicate in shambles and potentially creating a power vacuum. Jet, Faye, Ein and Ed all live but have to suffer Spike's loss.

* GoOutWithASmile: If he ''did'' succumb to his wounds, at least he does it smiling.

* MutualKill: Possibly. Both Spike and Vicious land fatal blows on each other and Vicious drops like a stone after getting shot, with Spike managing to stay up longer before too succumbing to his wounds (apparently).

* FamousLastWords:
-->'''Spike''': Bang.
** And then for the show itself:
--> '''''YOU'RE GONNA CARRY THAT WEIGHT.'''''

* GoOutWithASmile: If he ''did'' succumbs to his wounds, at least he does this.

* RuleOfSymbolism: As the song of the episode ends, we see a star shining brightly and then fade - Spike's (or, alternatively, Vicious's) star.

* BittersweetEnding: Julia is killed in front of Spike's eyes and he ultimately goes to settle things with Vicious. He comes out victorious, but by all appearances mortally wounded, and leaves the Syndicate in shambles and potentially creating a power vacuum. Jet, Faye, Ein and Ed all live but have to suffer Spike's loss.

* FamousLastWords:
-->'''Spike''': Bang.
** And then for the show itself:
--> '''''YOU'RE GONNA CARRY THAT WEIGHT.'''''

* TitleOnlyOpening: Doesn't begin with "Tank", rather just an image of the title before going into the episode proper. The episode likewise ends the same as Jupiter Jazz as the camera pans up into the sky, this time using the song "Blue" to close out.
* TheLastDance: As with Jet and Udai, this is the final battle between Spike and Vicious when the object of their affection is gone and only the grudge remains, both knowing one will not survive.
* TheLostLenore: Julia ultimately becomes this for Spike.

* RuleOfSymbolism: As the song of the episode ends, we see a star shining brightly and then fade - Spike's star.

* BittersweetEnding: Julia is killed in front of Spike's eyes and he ultimately goes to settle things with Vicious. He comes out victorious, but by all appearances mortally wounded, and leaves the Syndicate in shambles and potentially creating a power vacuum. Jet, Faye, En and Ed all live but have to suffer Spike's loss.

* StormingTheCastle: Spike does so and practically wipes out the entire Red Dragon by himself (though he does get shot in the arm).

* BittersweetEnding: Julia is killed in front of Spike's eyes and he ultimately goes to settle things with Vicious. He comes out victorious though seemingly dies in the process and leave the Syndicate in shambles and leaderless. Jet and Faye though are alright for the most part but know they'll likely never see Spike again.

* MutualKill: Possibly. Both Spike and Vicious land fatal blows on each other and Vicious drops like a stone after getting shot, with Spike managing to stay up longer before too succumbing to his wounds. Though it's not clear if he really did die.

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Faye tries to tell Spike this after she recounts how regaining her memories has gotten her nothing in the end, and all she has now is the Bebop, Jet and him. Even pointing a gun at him, however, she knows she can't stop him and lets him go.
* RuleOfSymbolism: As the song of the episode ends, we see a star shining brightly before burning out. A apparent symbol of Spike's "death".

* TitleOnlyOpening: Doesn't begin with "Tank", rather just an image of the title before going into the episode proper. The episode likewise ends the same as Jupiter Jazz as the camera pans up into the sky. Only this time we have the song "Blue" to close out.
* TheLastDance: As with Jet and Udai, this is the final battle between Spike and Vicious as the object of their affection is gone and now only the grudge remains with both knowing one of them is going to end up dead.

* StormingTheCastle: Spike does so and practically decimate the entire Red Dragons by himself (though does get shot in the arm).

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Faye tries to tell Spike this after recounting how regaining her memories has gotten her nothing in the end and all she has now is the Bebop, Jet and him. Even pointing a gun at him, however she knows she can't stop him let him go.

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: After she's show, Spike holds Julia in his arms as she dies.

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Faye tries to tell Spike this after recounting how regaining her memories has gotten her nothing in the end. Even pointing a gun at him, however she knows she can't stop him let him go.

* DyingInYourArmsTonight: After she's show, Spike holds Julia in his arms as she dies.