I'm quite an avid watcher of Cowboy Bebop and this thread came to mind. I figured I could get some competent answers, at least I'm hoping I can. There could be possible spoilers from the story I guess, but who hasn't seen Bebop? If you haven't, get out from under the rock. So, here it goes:

Typically you're used to seeing "See You Space Cowboy" at the end of every Bebop or others pertaining to that episode like "Easy Come, Easy Go", when you're introduced to Faye Valentine for the first time. (Session 3 Honky Tonk Woman) But theres always been the one from the last episode, "You're Gonna Carry That Weight." (Session 26, The Real Folk Blues Part 2) I'm going to bet it has a deeper meaning than advertised but I thought it would make a decent discussion.

Being as some of the Sessions are named after songs, it can be suggested that this quote can be in homage to the song "Carry That Weight" by The Beatles.


The title (and main lyric) is a reference to two people, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. In Paul's view, John, if he allowed the Beatles to break up, would be "carrying the weight" for that for the rest of his life. While the Beatles more came apart than were broken up by John, Paul is essentially blaming him (and Yoko Ono) for the decline in the band's relationship. The second reference, to Paul himself, is about "carrying the weight" of the band by acting as the manager after the death of Brian Epstein. Until he took on the job, Paul had never realized how much Brian did for them, nor how difficult it was to manage the financial side of the Beatles.

After the song's interlude, "Paul, you're going to carry that weight" can be heard in the chorus.

Ok, it has relationship to The Beatles but how does it fit in the Bebop story, etc? So, I'll put it out on the table. What do you guys think this quote means, who is it aimed at, and so on and so forth, whatever you'd like to add.

Personally, I don't have a solid idea, hence why I made this thread. It could mean plenty of things, some insite would be nice.

spike left the syndacite, which one of the twin brothers says was a bad thing and kind of shook things up within the syndicate, and this could be a simile?

or could just be that it's a depressing ending and you, the viewer, will carry that with you.

As you see Spike's (and only Spike's) image when this final line is displayed, there's very little doubt in my mind that it's entirely directed at Spike. What meaning it holds for Spike, though, is much more open to interpretation.

I think it most strongly refers to the weight Spike carried around with him after leaving the syndicate. Throughout the series, Spike seems like a pretty easy-going guy ("whatever happens, happens" et al) except for when he deals with the life he left behind. Whenever something or someone from his past enters his life, he starts acting differently (just take a look at how he reacts when he merely hears Julia's name at the beginning of Jupiter Jazz). I think he's pretty obviously carrying a lot of emotional baggage around from his younger days. I think that's why he always talks about not knowing whether he is really alive or dead. As much as it is about his near death experience, I think he's also referring to the fact that he hasn't really felt alive since he left the syndicate. The "weight" is all the inner turmoil he's carried (and never really dealt with) throughout the run of the show. In that sense, it's mostly a reflection on the quintessential part of Spike that wasn't really explored (just inferred) from what one saw over the course of the entire series.

Though this is my preferred explanation, I think some interesting parallels can be drawn between the Bebop crew's situation and The Beatles' one mentioned by Twilight in the first post. One could see Spike as John Lennon, and his decision to go to the syndicate as Lennon's decision to allow The Beatles to break up. Even though Ed and Ein (combining, is some respects, to represent Ringo) had already left at that point, the Bebop still had its three main people together and could have continued living together without changing the dynamic (seriously, it's only a drummer :erm: ). As Spike is leaving, Faye (in McCartney's role) vainly tries to threaten/persuade Spike into staying on the Bebop. She knows his departure may mean the end of the Bebop as they know it, implying that Spike deciding to leave would make him responsible for that dissolution. Then both of them die before they can reunite with their (respective) group, and at the hands of people who used to be considered "friends" (Vicious as a former ally of Spike, Chapman as a schizophrenic fan). Therefore, Spike, because he chose to leave the ship and face fairly certain death, must bear the �blame� for the ending of the Bebop as it is know by the people in the show's universe as well as for the literal ending of Cowboy Bebop as a TV show.


p.s. Twilight, you may want to put a spoiler warning in the thread title (seeing as the thread deals with the absolute very end of the last episode of the show :) )

Wow, just wow, I would like to congratulate you sir on making sense, being logical, and reasonable. I really understood your standpoint and absolutely agree; and here I thought this thread was an automatic failure considering I wasn't sure how many competent answers I could get out of people. A+

Eh, I mention spoilers in the first paragraph, if people are going to post without reading the topic starter than theres something wrong.

Also, welcome to the forums. Good first post :p

Thank you very much for the positive comments, and for rolling out the welcome mat. I never would've guessed I would write that much in my first post here, it's quite a relief to know that I got all that out without tripping over myself somewhere. I think there's more I can add to this discussion. Unfortunately, though, I think trying to get any of it out would result in disaster. I think it's because my brain is too tired at this point to help itself. I think it's about time I clock out for the night. I think that even if I'm perfectly awake and thinking clearly, someone could post here with a different view that I would never have been able to see or predict. I think that maybe, just maybe, that's what makes Cowboy Bebop such a wonderful show.












I think I'm going to regret typing at least some of this post when I get up.

I think trying to get anything more out of is would just be crazy. imo those 2 explenations are freaking perfect. i personally side with the second one more though. as if he's gonna bear the weight of leaving the world behind.

that was an ownage post.

someone once described the series as the perfect artistic representation of the blues. i think 'you're gonna carry that weight', following the penciled drawing of spike's face on the steps, is the perfect way to wrap the series up in keeping with the theme of the blues, before even trying to look into what meanings it could have.

riotmedic and zobman make good points, equally valid ones. the likening of the situations spike and john lennon were in relation to the bebop and the beatles is skillfully and interestingly put forward, and makes a lot of sense considering how much the series is about music essentially as well as the other themes it deals with, which watanabe often says in interviews and which is clearly apparent. great thread