Cowboy Bebop/Recap/Session 2 Stray Dog Strut

The episode begins with a figure in a restroom stall unwrapping bandages around his head. To his side is a suitcase thats wriggling, obviously containing something alive inside. Just as the man finishes, three men in white labcoats brandishing guns order him to come out, calling him Abdul Hakeem. Hakeem kicks the stall door open and quickly drops all three with a series of punches and kicks before grabbing the case and heading off.

We then go to the Bebop whose arriving on Mars. Spike, after some difficulty with his monitor, tunes into Big Shot. A show that showcases daily bounties across the solar system. Its hosted by two people named "Punch" and "Judy" in ridiculous stereotypical western wear. They showcase the day's bounty, Hakeem, who looks radically different from who was seen earlier as well as lay out the ground rules of bounty hunting, the target much be brought in alive otherwise the reward is forfeit. Jet comes back after having no luck fixing something on the ship before the two get a call from someone named "Doc", an elderly bloke. He comes bearing info oh Hakeem with the condition they cut him in on bounty. Spike manages to haggle Doc down on the price but only if Spike punches out Hakeem for trampling him while rushing out of his lab. As the Bebop arrives on one of Mars' terraformed cities, Hakeem contacts someone on getting "the goods" and promises to meet up with them in six hours. Back with the Bebop, Doc showcases Hakeem's new face and tell the bounty hunting duo about the case he was closely guarding. Meanwhile Hakeem has stopped off at a Chinese bar for a drink. Two rather unscrupulous men spot the case he's carrying as he waiting for his order. One of them "bumps" into Hakeem to distract him which Hakeem responds by killing a cockroach crawling by, dropping it in his drink and forcing him to chug it.

However the man's younger partner snatches the case and rushes off. Hakeem follows but loses him around a corner unaware that he jumped onto a passing truck. The boy opens the case to see whats inside but quickly closes it when the contents start growling at him. On the Bebop, Spike heads off to find Hakeem while on street level some more men in white coats are also looking for Hakeem, or rather the case he was carrying, as well. Spike gets some information that his target might be at a pet store called Animal Treasure. Right at that moment, the boy is there trying to sell his suitcase's content to the elderly female owner. As he's waiting for her to open the case, Spike arrives and holds him at gunpoint, claiming him to be Hakeem. He forces the store owner to open the case to reveal...a Welsh Corgi. While the owner finds it cute she'll only take it for two wu longs as they're very common pets. Spike apologizes to the boy for the mix up and starts to head off, not noticing the real Hakeem passing him. As the boy tries to get the owner to give him a higher price, Hakeem finds him and holds him at gunpoint. He reaches for the dog but it bites him and runs away. Hakeem gives chase knocking over the shop's cages and freeing some of the animals. This gets Spike's attention and he sees Hakeem running off as do the men in white in from before. A three way chase commences with Hakeem chasing the Corgi, the men in while chasing him and Spike tailing after all three.

Spike manages to get ahead of the scientists after they're forced to continue on foot and have to drop out after coming across some angry patrons whose board game Spike has interrupted. Hakeem starts to close in on the Corgi when they reach a bridge but Spike appears from the other direction. The two fight while the Corgi rests on the sidelines before jumping for a boat. Hakeem jumps after it with Spike jumping after him. But the Corgi jump off at the last minute and onto Spike's face causing him to land in the river. Hakeem winds up in a crab tank on the boat to his annoyance. Spike takes the Corgi back to the Bebop while he dries off. Jet fits the Corgi with a collar as Spike grumbles about it being useless (also bringing up his dislike of pets and kids) but Jet convinces him the Corgi will lead them to Hakeem. Speaking of whom, Hakeem emerges from the river and realizes he has two more hours to make his deadline. The men in white are also continuing their hunt, mentioning that the Corgi is a "Data Dog". Spike heads back out walking the Corgi on a leash in hope flushing out Hakeem while Jet keeps tabs on them with a tracker on the dog's collar. Hakeem makes a call to his contacts in hopes of rescheduling but they refuse him to his adding frustration. As he walks the streets, a street vendor calls out to him, claiming that his pet bird can find what he's looking for. Having nothing to lose, Hakeem goes along with it. The men in white meanwhile, having no other options, activate "the dog whistle" a high pitch frequency emitting from their van.

It works, a little too well as not only does the Corgi hear it but so does every dog in the area. Spike is forced to chase after the Corgi and, not surprisingly, they pass by Hakeem in the process who joins in the pursuit after hijacking a car during a wedding ceremony. He nearly runs down Spike who manages to leap out of the way. The men in white manage to pick out the Cogi in the parade of dogs chasing them but it moves clear when they try to shoot a net at it. Hakeem manages to grab the Corgi and spray it with a sleeping spray before driving off ahead of the men in white. As this goes on Spike has gotten on his Swordfish to give chase, helped by the collar tracker. He catches up as the chase moves onto the freeway, trying to get Hakeem stop the car by weighing his ship on it. However the Men in White open fire in their own efforts to stop it before shooting a harpoon at the car. As Hakeem tries to shake off his pursuers, the Corgi wakes up, jumps onto the steering wheel and opens the car door. It jumps out but bounces off the side of the freeway bridge and down below. Spike reluctantly gives up the chase to save it while Hakeem and the men in white lose control of their vehicles and crash over the bridge and, ironically, into a police station.

A week later, Big Shot reports of this oddball occurrence as well as the missing "Data Dog". The pet shop owner see this but brushes it off while the men who tried to steal from Hakeem are working to pay off the damages to her store. Back on the Bebop, Spike gripes about being stuck with the dog, though Jet counters he was the one who brought it to ship, and now having to deal with ticks. He makes the suggestion of just eating the mongrel as the episode comes to a close.

See You Space Cowboy

This episode has the following tropes:


 * Ambiguously Brown: Hakeem after the plastic surgery.
 * Brick Joke: The shop owner makes the suggestion of eating the dog when the boy thief tries to get her to raise the price. Spike makes the same suggestion at the end of the episode.
 * Car Chase: Near the end of the episode
 * Fridge Logic: Uh Spike, Doc showed you a picture of Hakeem before you set out. How could you mistake the kid for him?
 * Gonk: The pet shop owner.
 * Head Pet: The shop owner has a pet turtle resting on her head.
 * I Meant to Do That: When one of the men in white tells his subordinate to activate the dog whistle. He does and said man claims he can't hear it. When told only dogs would be able to, he quickly proclaim "that he was testing him."
 * Lean and Mean: Hakeem's a rather tall fellow.