Spike and Jet are hunting bounty Asimov Solensan, a small-time dealer who's stolen a massive shipment of Bloody Eye—a combat drug that makes you faster and stronger but also extremely violent and addictive. Asimov's got his pregnant girlfriend Katerina with him, and they're planning to escape to Mars to start a new life together. The Bebop crew tracks them to Tijuana, an asteroid colony modeled after an Old West town, where Spike starts following them through seedy bars and dusty streets while Jet monitors from the ship.
Turns out the Bloody Eye is changing Asimov, making him increasingly dangerous and paranoid as he keeps using it. The whole situation escalates into a violent chase and shootout, with Katerina desperately trying to protect both Asimov and their unborn child from the inevitable. Meanwhile, Spike shows off his martial arts skills in some intense bar fights and vehicle chases. The bounty ends up going completely sideways when Katerina realizes there's no way out for them—she makes a devastating choice that turns the whole hunt from what seemed like a simple job into something way more tragic. Spike walks away empty-handed, and nobody gets a happy ending.
This is the series premiere that introduces Spike and Jet's partnership and debuts the iconic opening theme "Tank!"
"See you, space cowboy..."