Surprisingly, there aren’t a ton of fan theories surrounding Cowboy Bebop, which kind of makes this day’s challenge a little difficult – and I have tests to study for! This show leaves a lot up in the air, so I think I’m going to go with a fairly interesting take on a simple concept: is Faye in love with Spike?

The main theory is that she is but just can’t express it or understands that Spike is just too focused to return her feelings, but there’s another read that says she definitely isn’t in love with him. I’m more on this side of the debate, for a couple reasons:

1. Faye’s entire story arc is about her figuring out where she belongs, and the writers I think are savvy enough to realize the love story is a platonic, familial love between Faye and the rest of her shipmates.
2. Her demeanor doesn’t change when they’re alone; she’s not nervous or flirtatious or however you’d expect someone to act when they’re around someone they’re attracted to. You could argue that she just doesn’t know, but I feel like Faye is someone who definitely knows when she has romantic feelings for someone.
3. Their relationship seems to be more like siblings than partners, and I think that suits both of them just fine.
4. Going back to #1, I’m pretty sure the writers would have included that storyline if it was supposed to be in there.

I actually prefer movies where men and women aren’t automatically placed into romantic relationships just due to proximity, and I feel like Cowboy Bebop was more going in that direction. Damn, I feel like this should be longer, and I’m a little disappointed there aren’t any juicy fan theories that I can debate with myself. Oh, well, just means I can go study now.

Art Credit: PennLive, Inverse