…or cue the tropes! Here we go!
What do you get when you mix a 70s set, western shoot-out, Groundhog Day, and a lesbian kissing scene?
You get this episode of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop.
I wish I was kidding. I really do, but I am not.
This is another episode that has nothing to do with the anime episode.
Binary Two-Step is the name of the episode. The name of the anime one is Sympathy for the Devil. There is nothing in Binary that even resembles Devil. So, there will be no comparison.
This episode revolves around Spike being trapped by a rogue AI who is trying to capture his consciousness. Side plots include Jet trying to fix his ship, and Faye screwing a female mechanic. I would say you can’t make this up, but someone had to write the script for this. Let’s count the tropes and nostalgia hits shall we?
One: Rogue AI (2001, A Space Odyssey or War Games… Hell insert ANY AI gone rogue movie here.)
Two: 70s-style paneling in the office of the rogue AI
Three: Groundhog Day (reliving the same scene until the AI thinks it has Spike}
Four: Matrix-style glitching
Five: Old West music during the shoot-out.
Let’s count the stereotypical points:
One: Jet not trusting the mechanic.
Two: Faye and the female mechanic having sex when they just met.
Three: Men can’t give orgasms. (The mechanic asks Faye if she’s ever had an orgasm like that and Faye says she’s never had had that she can remember.)
As you can see in the above cap, Ed is mentioned. It is also mentioned Ed created the AI. That’s all there is with Ed.
Didn’t the LGBT+ not want to be fetishized?
Didn’t they complain about lesbian sex scenes being for men’s gratification?
As you can see, they used it in this episode. From the initial spark to the sex, it only took until the next scene. Yup, you read that right. No talking, no date, they just flirted and screwed. At the end of the episode, they give you the impression that a long-term relationship is possible after Faye remembers who she is.
In Conclusion
This whole episode could have been left out and nothing of value would have been missed. One could argue that Spike’s love for Julia was explored, but then again that’s been done in memories thus far.
We really didn’t need a lesbian love scene. We really didn’t. I am of the opinion the only reason it was put in there was they anticipated interest would be waining by this point and the tease of two women kissing would spike the ratings.
Rating
Zip, zero espresso shots out of five. It did nothing to move the plot along. It was contrived and too many tropes and nostalgia hits were in it to amount to anything.
Until Next Time, Space Cowboy
Anissa “Maddy” Walker
House of Geek 