The Cowboy Bebop Love Ship

[JustJack]

Anyone who's seen Cowboy Bebop might have noticed that there is a strange love triangle going on behind the scenes of the series. As if it wasn't supposed to be out upfront for everyone to see, but just something that may pass through your mind as you watch....

Faye is pretty much a "dont mess with me" woman who believes she doesn't need anyone, but doesn't realize that there's nothing she needs more than to be with someone. Throughout the series, she doesn't necessarily show affection for anyone in particular, but whenever it seem Spike's life is in danger, she suddenly has a terribly great concern for him. In 'Ballad of Fallen Angels', we're given the idea that she sits by Spike's bedside untill he recovers. In Sympathy For the Devil, she gets concerned about Spike going against a supposedly "immortal" child, as if he'll die. Skipping to the end of the series, she even goes so far as to point a gun to Spikes head, knowing that his fight with Vicious will be his last.
Clearly Faye has a great love and concern for Spike whether or not she realizes it...
Jet is an overall hardass, but I think we can all agree that in the end, he's a very loving guy. He has a great concern for Spike throughout the series, and I'm not saying it's some gay thing, it's just that Jet really loves Spike like a brother, while they may not act like it. Many times Faye suggests that they 'fight like a married couple'. And they really do. The thing is, while Jet may be as tough as nails, he's a softy, and he cares for Spike greatly. And as he gets to know Faye, he ends up caring for her greatly as well. Sure, he doesn't necessarily show real affection for her, but throughout the series he tends to show a great level of concern and care for her whenever she's in trouble. And he may give her a hard time, but thats just because he doesn't realize how he feels. I think Jet & Faye are two characters who simply dont understand eachother, but deep down there's a great feeling of love and concern.
Spike...he lost his love long ago. He knows how much Jet can handle, and thus why he never seems to concerned about him, but you simply know that Spike and Jet have an understanding between eachother that if something goes wrong, they need not worry. Also, because of Spike's lost love of Julia gone so long ago and his inability to move on from the past(it's all in the eye's people... ;) ), perhaps this is why Spike NEVER, not once in the series shows any returned affection towards Faye. She clearly has some hidden love for Spike. Do you think that if he ever gave her the time of day, then she might have realized her feelings?

[Shnay]

I think that there is quite a lot of love on the ol' Bebop. However, I don't think that it's a case of misunderstood feelings and unrequited love. I think that, as you said, there is a lot of mutual love and concern among the crew, although they would never state it. And, really, they don't need to state it. They're all emotionally reserved people and they're all observant enough to know what the others are thinking. I think this “unspoken relationship” can be seen best between Spike and Jet in “The Real Folk Blues.” They both know the end is coming, and while they never say anything affectionate to each other directly, the feelings of love and concern are impossible not to notice.
But this unspoken relationship also extends beyond Spike and Jet. Faye cares a lot the crew, and they care for her. While she and Spike often engage in flitatious bickering, I don't think it's becasue they secretly want to have a relationship with each other. I think it's just that Faye has bonded more closely to Spike than she has with anyone else on the ship, and that's why their relationship appears to be more than a very close friendship.

As for Faye, I think her need for love and her "romani" attitude is the contradiction that makes up a large part of her character. We see in "My Funny Valentine" that she can (rather quickly) attatch herself to one person. Granted, she was extremely confused and vulnerable at that point (cryogenic freezing tends to do that to a person) but I think this shows that she is capable of having a relationship with someone. And in "Jupiter Jazz" she shows herself to be rather desperate for a relationship. This may have been largely due to her being drunk and probably very sexually frustrated, but, again, I think the feelings are always with her on some level.

However, the "don't mess with me" attitude isn't just an image. It's an essential part of her character. Like Spike and Jet, Faye needs a lot of time to herself. These characters aren't "average people." Their reserve when it comes to their emotions make any relationship hard. And while this emotional reserve isn't exactly a character flaw, it does greatly hurt their chances for finding someone and settling down. Could these characters ever settle down? Well, that's a discussion for another time.

[Jethro_McB]

Yeah, now that I think about it I see the whole Jet-Spike brotherhood thing. Just watching the show, you don't catch it, but it's there. Looking back, Jet always got really worried when Spike went off by himself, always very anxious when he saw Spike getting really angry. So yeah, there is a kind of love there.

The reason you never saw them actually admit anything is because the writers just couldn't think of any dialogue for such a situation. I mean, how could you have had those two characters have a discussion about that? Example:

The Lost Session: "What the Hell do You Mean by That?"

(Setting: Bebop's living room. Spike is sitting sideways in a chair, reading a magazine. Jet is typing away on the computer looking up bounties. Suddenly, Jet raises his head and clears his throat.)

Jet: "Spike?"

Spike: "Yeah?"

Jet: "I love ya, buddy."

(Spike just stares at Jet, eyebrows furrowed, mouth slightly opened. Ed wanders through with Ein. Ein barks. They leave.)

EYECATCH

EYECATCH

(Spike continues to stare. Jet has kind of a puzzled look on his face. Shot from over Spike's shoulder. Shot from over Jet's shoulder. Faye walks through, yawns, scratches herself, and keeps going.)

Spike: "What the Hell do you mean by that?"

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

(End Credits)

NEXT SESSION

Spike: (Twenty-seven seconds of silence) "Seriously...What the f-"

And Faye - she just wants a family. And not in the "get knocked up" sense, but in she wants a group of people that she can turn to when she needs them. Before meeting Julia, she had an attraction towards Spike. After that fateful meeting, though, Faye realizes that Spike will only have one love and that her affections will never be realized.

[Xevo]

I have always thought Faye and Jet ended up together, as a couple. Not just to console eachother over the mutual loss of Spike and Ed, but if you really re-watch the show you see that they frequently have a love-hate relationship. Jet does seem worried about Faye when she's in trouble, but blows it off with a tough guy attitude of "Well she got herself into trouble, she can get herself out of trouble!" Faye also seems worried for Jet in several cases as well. If you ask me, I think they would eventually get past their differences and would likely end up together. Just my opinion though =)

[G1Ravage]

lol, Jethro.

[JDuncan]

And Faye - she just wants a family. And not in the "get knocked up" sense, but in she wants a group of people that she can turn to when she needs them. Hmmm... Faye Manson ?