When I think about my favorite episodes of Cowboy Bebop, I tend to gravitate towards the mythology episodes: “Ballad of Fallen Angels,” “Ganymede Elegy,” “Jupiter Jazz,” “Speak Like a Child,” and “The Real Folk Blues.” I often forget that “Pierrot le Fou” even exists at times. This is truly upsetting, as it is without a doubt the best non-mythology episode of the series, and stands right beside the aforementioned episodes, quality-wise. I think the reason my mind tends to gloss over it at times is because it is so different from all other episodes of the show. There is no bounty-head-of-the-week, very little story, and the aesthetics of the world are much different than what we’re used to, especially in the opening scene and the flashback toward the end.
Much like “Toys in the Attic,” another episode without a bounty-head-of-the-week, “Pierrot le Fou” riffs on horror movies. But unlike “Toys,” which was more of a parody of containment thrillers like Alien (the monster was a mutated lobster that had spent too much time in Spike’s dirty fridge), “Pierrot” is a much more serious take on psychological horror and slasher films. The incredible thing is that “Pierrot” is probably scarier than the average slasher film (I say this while not at all being an expert on the genre).
The episode’s story is almost non-existent: Spike meets an insane serial killer, known only as Mad Pierrot, and is forced to confront him. Pierrot is known to never leave any survivors, and brutally hunts down anyone who sees his face, so Spike will never be safe until Pierrot is dead. That’s it. It’s nothing deep, but it is enough of a reason to make an episode about a super-creepy man, who is a kind of cross between The Joker and The Penguin, who kills with abandon and is nearly invulnerable. His image is disturbing in its innocence, as one wouldn’t assume that a fat (nearly spherical) man with a large stovepipe hat and ruff would be dangerous. Then he starts to float and defy physics. He bows and curtsies to his victims, he is polite, beginning an encounter with the line “Hello gentlemen, I have journeyed here in order to take your lives!” He is fast as hell and can’t be shot due to a force field preventing fast-moving objects from striking him. And he is armed to the teeth with all sorts of guns and explosives. The man is scary.
The all-out creepiness of the episode is aided by the absolutely terrifying music, which really helps set the tone while not being obvious about what it’s doing. I don’t think I ever noticed how unsettling the music really was until this viewing, which was done with a more critical eye. At the beginning of the episode, when Pierrot’s character is established, the music sounds like nails on a chalkboard. At the end of the episode, when Spike and Pierrot have their climactic battle in an abandoned amusement park, the music changes to creepy carnival music. The unsettling nature of the carnival soundtrack is underscored when we learn the truth about Pierrot and his child-like mind.
This episode is so much about the senses’ experience than the more intellectual episodes. Fortunately, “Pierrot” is an absolute feast for the senses while still maintaining a strong intellect (unlike a certain “groundbreaking” 3D movie that shall remain nameless). As already pointed out, the music sets the mood perfectly. The visuals are some of the best in the entire series, even though they are almost minimized in the opening scenes. Specifically, the lighting throughout the episode is absolutely incredible, and the shadow work in the opening is brilliant. The first scenes with Spike and Pierrot take place in a large city that looks nothing like what we’ve seen before on Bebop. Most of the cities have a few skyscrapers at most, which are spread out, and all of the buildings are in decay. “Pierrot” opens in a huge city that looks more like New York or Chicago from the 1920s; it’s very dense, and Pierrot’s first victims are about to get in to a vintage car. The shadows are extremely heavy, and everything not fully lit is absolutely black. There is a scene with Spike in a dimly lit pool hall, and the only visible things are the people and the tops of the tables. But when things are lit, they are lit brilliantly, especially when the light source is one of Pierrot’s explosives. Explosions bathe the world in vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and purples, in a way not yet seen on this show.
But lighting and shadow would be pointless without things to light, and “Pierrot le Fou” has no shortage of great setpieces. The aforementioned city, pool hall, and abandoned carnival are all fantastic, but this review would not be complete without a mention of the still images or the flashback (or the still images in the flashback). As a way to help set the tone, the episode uses various still images to let the mood sink in. When Spike arrives at the carnival, it appears abandoned, and we see numerous shots of shadowy rides as we hear Spike’s footsteps in the distance. Later, a flashback to how Mad Pierrot came to be is shown in overexposed light, which is a bit hard on the eyes after the relatively dark episode. At the end, when Pierrot awakes from a sleepwalking state into the man he is today, the action suddenly ends and we see two still shots of dead guards covered in blood. The episode holds on them for a while, as the images of death and gore are burned into our minds.
The episode does forward some character arcs, notably Faye’s not-so-hidden affection for Spike. She tries her hardest to prevent Spike from going to meet Pierrot for a rematch after Spike barely made it out of their first encounter alive, and she physically comes to his rescue (although doesn’t really succeed), while all Jet and Ed do is find info on Pierrot. This is obviously important, but Jet talked Ed through the hacking process while he was in Hammerhead, so I don’t see why he couldn’t have flown to meet up with Spike and Faye. Regardless, this is a fantastic episode, and certainly one of the best of the series.
Up next: We see Jet with a young girl as Spike and Faye insinuate that the two are dating. Faye even says she is starting to think less of Jet. However, Jet has no idea what they’re talking about, then complains that he didn’t get to do anything throughout the whole preview.
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