The CB Final Moment *SPOILER*

[Shnay]

So I just saw the Real Folk Blues Part II for the first time (yeah, I missed it the first time around) and...well, I don't need to tell anyone reading this how great it is. Anyway, I was wondering about the final moment, where the black screen comes up and in the bottom corner of the screen it says, "You're going to carry the weight." I believe those were the words, and this confused me. Who was it referring to? Was it saying Jett would carry the weight of Spike's death for telling him to go after Julia? Was it saying that Spike would have felt responsible for the death of Julia? Was it a totally different saying that just got an awkward translation? Anyone have any theories/answers?

[randomguy]

Yeah I HATED that. Imagine how appropriate "See you Space Cowboy" would have been. My Guess? Cowboy Bebop loves classic rock references, and that's from a Beatles song.

[zmanjz]

I think it was telling us that we're going to carry the weight of not knowing what happens next. What Happened to Ed, Jet, Faye, Ein, Those "Bigshot" Actors, and everyone else???

These questions will weigh on your SOUL... FOREVER (Mwa ha ha ha)


Or not.

[ProdigyCube]

I just saw it for the first time last night too. It was... Incredible, it left me breathless. Any way I think it was a random quote.

[Jimmy Kustes]

I think it refers to Spike 'who lived by the sword died by the sword' will have to carry that weight.

[randomguy]

I'm sorry, but I hated the ending. I felt deceived. Not telling us what happens to anybody, being needlessly tragic in that overly-artsy way that up till this point Bebop had been doding well... I just thought it was frustrating. Hell, I kinda wish they'd just stopped with Hard Luck Woman.

[Gyro]

Originally posted by randomguy
I'm sorry, but I hated the ending. I felt deceived. Not telling us what happens to anybody, being needlessly tragic in that overly-artsy way that up till this point Bebop had been doding well... I just thought it was frustrating. Hell, I kinda wish they'd just stopped with Hard Luck Woman. If it ended with Hard Luck Woman It wouldn't have told us what happesn to anybody either :). Anyway, I loved the ending. It shouldn't have ended any other way.

[Shnay]

I definately wasn't complaining about the ending, I thought it was great. And while it was tragic, I don't think it was sad.

It would have been "sad" if Vicious had killed Spike and been victorious over him. However, Spike was able to get take the life of vicious as well, and the two went down together. Two former comrades were able to engage in a final battle, and the warriors died at each others hand. An overdramatic interpretation? Well, yes...but hear me out.
If Spike had died any other way, he wouldn't have felt "truly alive." Spike isn't the kind of guy who could just grow old and wait to die, he would have to go out with a bang...and did he ever. Also, Vicious would have hated to die by anybody else's hand. He was killed by a man he respected (sure he wanted to kill him, but he did respect him), and was once great friends with. The two went down in the best way possible. What an ending...("bang...")
As for the others, I think there's more closure than people are seeing (but you gotta use your immagination). Ed and Ein would have wandered the countryside causing various mischief from town to town. She could, possibly, find her father and travel with him, but more likely she'll "wander in like a cat" (I loved that description from HLW) to various places until (or if) she matures. Faye would probably go out on her own as a private bounty hunter, and would also wander until she found someone that could make her happy. Jet would settle down on a small planet, possibly as a cop. He'd enjoy the quiet life he's never had, calmly trimming bonzai trees.

So, yeah, I liked it.

[randomguy]

My thoughts.

Well, I see where you're going, but it just seemed....off. I mean, the last we see of Jet, he's experiencing what will probably be only momentary torment because of he's more or less seperated himself from emotion after leading a life of hardship. And Faye finally regains her soul, only to have it ripped out and stomped on by Spike. It seemed unfair that the very last shot of Faye in the entire series has her on the verge of tears. I mean, the ending wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I would have hoped for.

[randomguy]

*Shrugs* I should just drop it. At least it wasn't the usual cliche-fest that anime endings usually are. And there's always the movie.

[G. Wen]

I always interperted the quote, "You're going to carry the weight" as a reference to all the pain and hardships people have to carry when they're alive. Life is not free from pain, and a person cannot be free from suffering until that person dies. A person can choose to live and bear the suffering (s)he may encounter, or the person can choose to die. When Spike was alive, he was bogged down with pain and suffering, he was carrying the weight. But when he died, he became free from his suffering, as indicated by the closing song, "Blue".

[Fata Morgana]

Hey, I do NOT think that Jet has closed himself off from emotion. . . didn't you see the feeling, the love in his eyes when he watches Spike eat that last time? Jet hides his feelings, but he most certainly has them. Jet is a stoic; he feels things as deeply as any one else in the series, but he accepts that he can't change things, that that's the way they are and he has to live with it. As for Faye, she's certainly been through the ringer. . . but there's no doubt in my mind that _Jet_ will be there to pick up the pieces, to help her through. Ed's story isn't hard to extrapolate. She'll do what she always does - be a drifter, have adventures. But maybe in time she'll find her father. I definately agree with Shnay's assesment of Spike. His story really couldn't have ended any other way

Fata Morgana

[Sheamon]

*spoilers*
I can't stand using those black boxes to cover spoilers. If you're still reading this post now, you've been spoiled already. Anyway...



And Faye finally regains her soul, only to have it ripped out and stomped on by Spike. It seemed unfair that the very last shot of Faye in the entire series has her on the verge of tears
Actually, I felt it was very appropriate. Faye first shows up as a rather selfish, thrillseeking upstart who cares for no one but herself. As the series ends and we see that last shot of her we see how much she's changed as a character. She's no longer just out there for herself, she's actually found her self caring about other people.

[kachuke]

you know what while i'm reading this post space ghost is on and willie nelson just called space ghost a space cowboy hahaha .......... as for me i think the your going to carry the weight is for spike and how he has to carry the weight for getting julia killed they could've ran off together and both survived but he's got the guilt on him of having to go out with a bang and he did so selfishly .....still i can't imagine spike running away and growing to be an old man i loved the ending

[i miss katy]

Like the earlier post, I'm just going to go ahead with spoilers here, because anyone reading this thread without reading the spoilers can't be finding it very interesting.


Does anyone else view The Real Folk Blues as a story of Spike's ultimate failure? First, Jet tries to convince him to let it go in part one with the story about the man and Mt. Kilamanjaro. Spike goes anyway. Then he finally reunites with Julia, who wants to run away together. Spikes stays, and it ends up getting Julia killed. He comes back to the Bebop to say goodbye, and Faye begs him at gunpoint to turn back. He goes, and he dies. Sure, he kills Vicious (who has his own similar hangups, waiting in his tower for Spike to come kill him), but there was really no need to. The Syndicate will go on, everything will go on. Spike is never able to understand that.

It's not the only possible end for Spike, but it's the only one HE is capable of seeing. He's unable, after his second and third and fourth chances (the cat dying a thousand deaths, from his story) to overcome his tragic flaw, to let go (of the weight, if you will) of his past. His final speech to Faye (I'm going to find out if I'm truly alive) shows this quite directly, it's exactly what Jet was talking about in his story from part one.

Lest anyone think I'm complaining about how the series ended, much the opposite. This is classic tragedy, in the Aristotelian sense. Ending this marvelous, complex, stylish series with an ultimate failure, rather than an ultimate triumph, just goes further to show what animated storytelling can be.


Also, I fully agree with the description of Jet as a stoic that feels the pain of Spike's death very deeply. Jet is the mother hen of that group, he cares very deeply for all of them. His expression of sadness and joy as Spike eats his last plate of bell peppers and beef, and him standing at the window wiping the same spot over and over are probably my favorite moments of the whole series.