Spike Spiegel death count
There's a running joke in Cowboy Bebop where Spike dies in one scene, and the next time we see him he's completely fine (sometimes he's comically bandaged). It's a conspicuous pattern, cause it happens a lot, and it never really happens to anyone else. I guess he doesn't really die in any way a life insurance plan would accept. But Spike seems to consider them deaths in a narrative sense: he tells Laughing Bull that he's "already died once before".
Remembering that Spike is sometimes associated with a cat, I was curious exactly how many times exactly Spike dies in the show. So here's the Spike Spiegel death count, by my best count:
Before the show, shot by the syndicate in the cold open. This is the death he tells Laughing Bull about.
Pushed through a window by Vicious in Ballad of Fallen Angels.
Bit by a Ganymede lobster at the end of Toys in the Attic. Death confirmed by Ed's narration.
Burns up in a shuttle in the atmosphere in Wild Horses.
Explodes at the end of his first encounter with Pierrot in Pierrot Le Fou.
Trampled by Andy's horse after their first encounter in Cowboy Funk.
Explodes at the top of a building in Cowboy Funk.
Explodes at the top of a building in The Real Folk Blues pt 2.
Falls down a staircase in The Real Folk Blues pt 2.
Well gosh darn it would you look at that. Just like a cat has nine lives, Spike dies nine times. Ain't that something. That's implies pretty heavily that Spike's death at the end of the show is final.
Except you could raise some pretty strong quibbles here.
First, death number 8, which you might not recall. As Spike enters Vicious' throne room, the whole floor explodes. But unlike other deaths, they keep going like nothing's happened after a few seconds. I choose to count it, because it apes death 7, before a similar duel with a Vicious cognate. But you could disregard it, for eight total deaths.
On the other hand, here are two potential deaths you could count.
First, there's a scene in the movie, where Vincent throws Spike from a train. I don't count it, because the movie is really a wholly separate entity from the show. Otherwise, it's a clear death.
Second, there's the scene from Asteroid Blues where Asimov chokes Spike. Katerina gets Asimov to release him, and Spike has the wherewithal to pickpocket him on the way down. That doesn't seem very dead. Jet seems to think Spike's just sleeping. Then again, sleep is the cousin of death (or sister or brother or whatever). And, I mean, look at him. He looks kinda dead.
The point is, Spike has eight unambiguous deaths. But there are three more you could count if you wanted to. I choose to believe in my list of nine deaths above. You could make another list of eight or even eleven deaths that's just as valid. How many lives Spike uses up is pretty much up to you.
So I guess the conclusion is: Spike definitely dies at the end of The Real Folk Blues. Whether he lives is up to interpretation.
