Cowboy Bebop 1.11

Toys in the Attic

Something is aboard the Bebop, something more than just the usual five. Jet is the first one to get bit by it. He was investigating what looked like a fridge of unknown origin in the cargo hold at the time. It gets him in the back of the neck. Spike takes a blood sample and tries crosschecking it against the ship's database of known diseases without any luck. Faye thinks that Jet and Spike are being overly dramatic. She is the second victim.

Spike equips Ed with heat sensing goggles. He also has a pair for himself. Ein is the next victim. Ed is nowhere to be found at this point. Spike arms himself with a variety of weapons and goes hunting for whatever it is that has felled his comrades. He comes face to face with a small black blob. His weapons don't seem to be very effective. It about this point that Spike remembers putting a lobster n the refrigerator in the cargo hold, one year ago. He remembers going back to check on it and seeing that it had grown into something beyond disgusting. Could that be the source of the black blob?

Spike decides he needs to get rid of the fridge. He opens an airlock. He gets rid of the fridge but the blob bites him as he is jettisoning the fridge. In the end it is Edward who defeats the blob, by eating it. What seemed serious turns silly in the end. The refrigerator is seen floating off into space to the music of Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker. This moment sounds and looks a little like the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey where a similar scene plays out to the tune of the Blue Danube Waltz.

The narration from Ed over the preview at the end of this episode makes it seem as if everyone is dead except Ed. At the very end the others break in, scold Ed, and insist that this wasn't the last episode.

This episode broken up into different "lessons". Each one comes from a different member of the crew.

Lesson 1 - Jet - Those that get rich or quick or live at the expense of others all get divine retribution somewhere along the way.

Lesson 2 - Faye - I've never had anything good happen to me when I trust others.

Lesson 3 - Ed - If you see a stranger, follow him.

Lesson 4 - Spike - You shouldn't leave things in the fridge.

I like this episode. I can see how some might not care for the way it ends but I'm cool with it.