"Big Shots" Re-Watch: "Black Dog Serenade" & "Mushroom Samba"

 Cowboy Bebop

We get some backstory for Jet and a solo mission for Edward in today's post. Let's not waste anytime and get right into things.

Jet Black: "So you still think you're a shooter with an old gun like that. ISSP can sure waste tax money."

Fad: "On the gun?"

Jet Black: "No, on your salary."

Jet Black is contacted by his previous ISSP partner, Fad, when a Syndicate assassin, Udai Taxim, is involved in a death row prison ship breakout. Taxim is responsible for the loss of Jet's arm, so he has a personal interest in seeing this man brought to justice. Will Jet's quest for revenge lead to him losing more than just a limb?

Cowboy Bebop Noir

A "Cowboy Bebop" mystery is solved in this episode. How did Jet Black get a robotic arm? We know that Jet was once an ISSP officer and we get a little more background about that here. We meet his partner, Fad, and see some flashbacks to his past in the ISSP. 

I love the flashbacks in this episode. I love how they shift to black and white and it gives things a very noir feel. Jet as a police officer is exactly how you'd expect it. He's got the button up and the tie. The trench coat. The fedora. It's perfect. It is just what you would want form Jet Black the ISSP officer. 

Jet is one of my favorite "Cowboy Bebop" characters because he is kind of an enigma. He's an ex police officer turned bounty hunter. It feels like a strange transition. He's not afraid to do what needs to be done and choose violence, but you get the feeling that he yearns for peace with how he tends to his bonsai trees. You might think that this episode will give you a sense of who Jet is and sadly, you would be wrong.

A lot of this episode is very surface-y when it comes to Jet. His relationship with his former partner doesn't really give you much more about who Jet is. The flashbacks show that Fad and Jet were pursuing Taxim back in the day and that Jet followed him right into a trap and that is how he ended up losing his arm. It's clear from the moment that Jet is contacted about Taxim escaping that he is going to do whatever he can to bring this man to justice. The big twist in the episode is that Fad was a dirty cop who was working with the Syndicate and he's the one who actually shot Jet and caused him to lose his arm. This isn't a huge shock. You pretty much know from the start that Fad is going to stab Jet in the back. It's pretty telegraphed which I think works to this episode's detriment. Had we not known from the start that Fad was a bad guy, the emotions that the episode is trying to evoke from us at the end of the episode may have hit a little bit harder.

This isn't a terrible episode though. The cold open is great. You get from the jump that Taxim is a bad guy when you see the hallway littered with corpses. I think one of the great visual moments of "Cowboy Bebop" is Taxim pouring Dom Perignon into the open mouth of a dead man. I think sometimes though that "Cowboy Bebop" has this habit of just having these kind of 2-D villains. Like, they are established as being awful, but that's really all they are. 

Jet gets moments to shine in this episode. He goes hard and the fight between Jet and Taxim is bone crunching. Jet gets punched and shot and he's in a bad way but pulls it out. There isn't a ton of Spike and Faye in this episode which is fine. Each of the Bebop crew are able to carry an episode on their own which is one of the series big strengths. I do think it's hilarious that Faye's big plot in this episode is a cold shower.

Grade: B

Frog: "Hey mister, this here is the stairway to heaven. You know that, dont'cha?"

The Bebop crew are in a bad way. They are out of fuel and they are depending on the inertia of the ship to get them to Europa. They are also out of fuel and someone *ahem* Faye *ahem* has eaten their box of emergency rations. A ship collides with the Bebop and takes off and causes the ship to crash on a nearby planet that doesn't have a lot going for it. Ed and Ein strike out in search of food and find a mushroom dealer that is being pursued by a bounty hunter and a criminal. Can Ed and Ein pull it out for the team?

Foxy Brown.

Since Radical Edward joined the Bebop crew, she really hasn't been the episode focus. She's helped out and been on the periphery. She's there to provide some comic relief, but with "Mushroom Samba" she (and Ein) are front and center and it works really well. 

The crew is in a bad way. They are out of fuel. They are out of fuel. They are hoping that things work out for them. When they crash land after their space hit and run, it feels like they have Ed and Ein go and look for food because they are just trying to get them out of their hair so they can figure out their next move. But, Ed and Ein are pure chaos and they bring that wherever they go.

A bounty that is selling hallucinogenic mushrooms is perfect for a Ed and Ein focused episode. When they run into Domino Walker on the street and pick up some of his mushrooms, Ed hesitates to eat one herself when she sees how Ein reacts after eating one. So, what does Ed decide to do? Well, she basically decides to get the crew of the Bebop high. She leaves a mushroom out and each of the crew eat it. Hilarity ensues after. The most enjoyable part of this episode is what happens when Spike, Jet and Faye eat the mushrooms. Spike thinks he's on a stairway to heaven. Faye is swimming in the bathroom and Jet is learning the meaning of life from his bonsai. I think Faye's is my favorite because I mean, it's gross. The toilet overflowing and then her basically swimming in the water. But, it's also rather poetic since she was having some tummy troubles after eating the expired emergency rations.

I really enjoy the chase scene that ends the episode. It's completely unhinged, which is perfect. Ed and Ein on the scooter pursuing Domino who is being pursued by Shaft in the stolen watermelon truck while Coffee is after them too. It reminded me a little bit of "The X-Files" episode that I covered in my last post. It would have been completely fitting to have the "Keystone Kops" theme playing over this as well.

This episode is a little bit problematic. It's clear that they are pulling from blaxploitation films for this but it relies a little too much on stereotypes. I mean, Coffee's first move in this episode is to buy a watermelon that features throughout the episode. They even bring it into the police station. It's a little groan worthy. I get that this was a different time and that these Japanese writers and animators probably have a very limited experience with black people. I just wish that this show that really pulls from black music would have done a little bit better with this part of the episode.

Grade: B

Next up, Faye gets a videotape and Spike needs the Swordfish repaired.

What do you all think of these episodes? Do you wish we would have gotten more out of Jet's past? How do you feel about Coffee, Shaft and Domino? Let me know in the comments.