Cowboy Bebop Sessions 4-5

Session 4 - Gateway Shuffle
Okay, this one's kinda meh in my opinion.  This is the episode, for me, where the show teeters on the edge of "Bounty of the Week" territory, so to speak.  There's nothing wrong with it, but considering what we get the very next episode, it's hard not to disregard this one a bit.  Hey, at least it's not "Boogie Woogie Feng Shui"...
The premise this episode is that Spike and Jet are after a bounty, but before they can nab him he's offed by a, ummm... family of eco-terrorists, so they go chasing the bounty on them instead.  Memorable quote: "Jet, how's our guy?"  "Uhhh... he's all fulla holes..." Faye comes back in this episode, becoming a full-fledged member of the Bebop crew before it's all over.  You could call this a case of First Season Weirdness, and like I said, it borders on the formulaic, but one episode later that formula would be totally shattered.  Now whereas I can't find much to say about this episode, I have way too much to say about the next one..

Session 5 - Ballad of Fallen Angels
Man ohhh man, what to say about "Ballad of Fallen Angels"?  SO much is set up in this one episode, from backstory to underlying themes to character chemistry, and sonofabitch, it leaves you wanting more.  For one thing, this episode introduces Vicious, Spike's one-time partner as we come to learn, now a bitter enemy.  It's the first in a series of three Sessions that address Spike's tragic past as well as one of three Sessions to feature Vicious, Julia, and various other players in this dream Spike can't seem awaken from.  Or is his present the dream?  Which does Spike want to wake up to?  A big theme for Spike is sorting his two lives, and deciding which one he really wants.  Another theme is the unexpected.  In my humble opinion, anyone who dislikes the lack of buildup to any of the trilogy of 'Vicious' episodes doesn't get this (or they do get it and don't care :P).  The whole idea is how abruptly Spike's other life intrudes on the present, and what a rude awakening life can give you; then before you know it, it's all over.  And Spike is more than ready to face this possibility, which is what makes him such a downright awesome character.

Speaking of a complete change of gears, I still haven't gotten to the plot.  It's actually not that sensationally unique, but it's all in the execution here.  It's made clear that Spike and Vicious were once partners in the Syndicate, Spike being more-or-less the one who kept the more, well vicious Vicious in line.  They had some sort of altercation over morals, or betrayal, or a woman named Julia, and now they hate each other.  You'd have to be brain dead not to have questions following the 'Green Bird sequence' (AKA the-part-where-he-falls-out-a-window).  Who's Julia?  Who betrayed who, and whose side was this woman on?  Why does Faye of all people also know this mysterious melody that Julia was seen humming?  And I've gotta talk about the music.  From the brooding opera house, to Spike's approach on the cathedral, to 'Green Bird' as he's thrown back out of it, the scoring on this episode is just a thing of beauty, and needs to be heard for itself along with the rest of the episode.  This isn't one for feelz (for lack of a better term), nor are the other two Sessions rooted in Spike's past.  They just sort of inevitably happen, and that's life.  Sad, aint it?  Okay, this one went for way too long, but whatever, I said all I felt like saying.