The heart of Session #3 in Cowboy Bepop is the extreme coincidence's perpetuated by misunderstandings and the Bepop crew just having the shittiest luck in the galaxy.
Opening with the introduction of Faye Valentine, on first viewing I initially worried about another egregiously sexualized character who was there to be ogled at or simply turned into a romantic interest. There are few times I've been so wrong. We start by seeing the sex appeal of the character, with a shopkeep even commenting on her physical appearance. She then inverts all my worried expectations by emptying her weapon into a crowd of enemies.
These particular enemies have something to do with her past. A mob boss ponders whether or not Faye Valentine is the original "Poker Alice" who by his calculations would be over 200 years old. But that would be impossible, right? Faye is courted to use her specialties and clean someone out at a casino, where she would be given a single chip in return. This chip is capable of breaking any digital encryption.
Faye Valentine is what a large group of anime shows are missing. She's not sexualized for the sake of a male-power fantasy. Faye is empowered by her sexuality by letting her grow a hold over men through their most primal desires. We come to understand what the character is capable of throughout the episode, but like Jet and Spike, her past is an enigma. We don't see the pain yet. She describes herself as a gypsy who needs to move from place to place or else she'll die. Death comes in many forms, so an emotional dropout from being stuck in a single locale sounds like a nightmare for Faye.
Jet and Spike are living a nightmare everyday. No matter what they do, they can't catch a break. At this point in the series, we've spent only 2 Sessions with the duo and we know they deserve some downtime. Hitting up a casino can't possibly go wrong, unless Spike is dressed up as the guy Faye intended to clean out. Spike ends up accidentally stealing the chip after (literally) bumping into the man Faye initially meant to cheat the chip out of. It's another instance of the "Wrong place, wrong time" from an endless amount of other noir stories. The element of chance all ties together in a nice little bow for this episode, while totally falling apart for our protagonists (perfect for an episode revolving around a casino chip).
Faye doesn't get as much to do once she's captured by Spike and Jet as they try to get a grasp on what the hell was happening. It paints the mysterious character as more than just an advanced femme fatale, showing her be somewhat of a klutz (but certainly not ditzy). By the end of the episode, she once again breaks expectations.
As Jet and Spike prepare to make a deal with the mob boss after the chip, Faye breaks out of the Bepop without opening the bay doors (Faye doesn't give a single fuck). Here is an example of a great action scene. Spike and a goon fight on the outside of a ship as they're held down by gravity boots. As the mob boss fires missiles at everyone (GORDON! Now I remember his name), Faye reverses polarity on one of the missiles effectively saving the Bepop, but running off with the money Gordon planned to give Jet and Spike. The use of the space environment is rarely used to full effect and here it's ever present with a well-choreographed hand to hand combat sequence ending with a goon getting spaced. Just great stuff all around.
Jet and Spike head back to that casino in an attempt to try and win some money back with the chip, deciding it's of no use to them. It's a reminder that these two aren't criminals. They just struggle to make ends meet and hunt bounties from planet to planet. Jet and Spike float through space on solar winds without a care in the world. Sometimes that's enough. Maybe next time, they'll have better luck.
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