Episode 6: Not a fan of "we're still in VR" plots or time-loop plots as a general rule, but this wasn't too bad. An interesting idea, to take the Dr. Londes plot from the anime and tie it into the Spike-Julia arc. Although in execution it was certainly scaled down quite a lot. These past couple of episodes, it feels like a budget crunch is kicking in. We're getting a lot of shipboard material, and the location outside the clinic could not have been more backlot-y.
I have to laugh at the people claiming that Faye is "less sexual" in this show just because her costume's not as skimpy. I don't recall any anime episodes revolving around Faye actually sleeping with someone, talking about orgasms, and so forth. She had a romance with Whitney in her flashback episode, and there was flirtation with Gren before she found out the truth, but that was about it. This episode put her sexuality front and center more than the anime ever did. (Although I could've done without the usual magic modesty-preserving bedsheets, which are always just so contrived.)
And we have our first sign of Radical Ed! Remotely helping out the Bebop crew even before they meet her, just like in the show -- only with a longer gap before she shows up in person.
Episode 7: A very different approach to the exploration of Faye's backstory, but an effective one. Whitney is changed from a love interest to a fake mother, a charming con artist who upends the crew's lives. It was a fun ride, as long as I don't think too much about all the henchmen who were killed in what turned out to be just a kinky roleplay between the Mink and Whitney. A lot harder to sympathize with Whitney given that. Although I guess at that point we weren't supposed to.
Although I liked the bit where Jet was watching Kimmie's recital by telepresence while Spike was fighting goons in the background. That felt very Bebop-worthy. I do wonder how the holotechnology works, though. How was Jet seeing the recital? There was no reciprocal holo on his end.
So Faye finally gets her ship, which has been in the titles every week, so I was wondering when it would show up. And she finds the videotape as well. Interesting how they changed things -- instead of Jet and Spike having to go to extreme lengths to find a compatible player and then getting the wrong one, here Jet already has one, because he's been established from the start as a connoisseur of old media like phonograph records. It's different, but it works. And the part they kept the same -- young Faye's video -- was just as moving here as in the anime. Brought me to tears both times.
Episode 8: A fun script from The Middleman's Javier Grillo-Marxuach, adapting the "Pierrot Le Fou" episode fairly closely while still changing it into something else. I'd been concerned that this show would be too slavish in copying the original, but while it does have a lot of homages to the original, it has succeeded in becoming its own thing, differing largely in that the core trio are much closer, bonding more as a family, rather than just happening to hang out on the same ship and barely tolerating each other, or at least keeping any affinity they feel very close to the vest. And establishing that bond between them makes it carry more weight when that bond is broken by Spike going rogue. So it ends up having the same climax as the original -- Spike going it alone against the Pierrot -- but with its context and meaning made fresh.
(Although they changed the Spaceland amusement park to Earthland, which actually makes a lot more sense in a society where space is the default setting.)
Speaking of homage, there were a number of Blade Runner references, having the Pierrot quote Roy Batty's final speech in French, and having Jet name-drop the shoulder of Orion and the Tannheuser Gate. As a Middleman fan, I'm not surprised to see JG-M making pop culture references, but I wonder why he chose Blade Runner specifically. It doesn't seem to have any thematic connection to this.
Connecting the Pierrot's origin to Ein's was surprising, and it was sad to see them leaving Ein behind. I hope there's a reconciliation there.
Much less use of John Noble than I would've expected in the Vicious stuff. Also, if Vicious is the son of the Syndicate's head, why would he need to stage a coup? Wouldn't he already be the heir apparent? It's an odd change.
