Why Julia From Netflix's Cowboy Bebop Looks So Familiar
In the original "Cowboy Bebop" anime, protagonist Spike Spiegel's affection for a woman named Julia is one of the cornerstones of its overarching story, apportioned sparingly throughout its largely stand-alone episodes before becoming the focus of its ending. While Netflix's live action adaptation of "Cowboy Bebop" retains certain aspects of its source material wholesale, Julia is one example of a major story element significantly altered by the Netflix series.
While Julia remains a love interest from Spike's past, she's granted greater agency in Netflix's adaptation, most notably appearing as a central character in Episode 9, whereas in the original anime she acts as little more than a glorified plot device. For Polygon, Toussaint Egan wrote that "if there's anything certain about who Julia is now versus the character in the anime, it's this: she's more than just someone's dream girl."
In the Netflix series, Julia is portrayed by Elena Satine, who may look familiar from her appearances in a variety of TV series that aired throughout the 2010s.
Satine was one of the stars of Magic City
Original Starz series "Magic City" is one of numerous mob dramas to premiere in the wake of the success of "The Sopranos." Whereas "The Sopranos" chronicles the misadventures of a New Jersey crime syndicate, "Magic City" takes place in Miami, Florida, and revolves around the relationship between the owner of a luxury hotel called the Miramar Playa and members of the local Jewish mafia.
In "Magic City," Elena Satine portrays an escort named Judi Silver. She's close with Miramar Playa owner Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), both as a friend and a business partner. Since some of Judi's clients are influential figures in the Miami underworld, she sometimes provides Ike with incriminating details about his rivals, serving as a powerful information broker as a sort of side hustle. Satine's tenure on "Magic City" lasted for the entirety of the series' two-season run, which concluded in 2013.
Satine was Lorelei in Agents of SHIELD
Marvel TV series "Agents of SHIELD" famously exists in a state of canonical uncertainty, given that, despite characters crossing over from MCU films, it notably fails to address the universe-altering snap in "Avengers: Infinity War." Prior to any of this canonical confusion, "Agents of SHIELD" introduced an Asgardian named Lorelei, portrayed by Elena Satine, in a pair of Season 1 episodes titled "TAHITI" and "Yes Men," both of which aired in 2014.
Lorelei is a character unique to "Agents of SHIELD," escaping imprisonment in Asgard and traveling to Earth in hopes of enslaving humanity with her unique ability to seduce and influence the minds of men. The threat she poses to Earth necessitates the involvement of Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), another Asgardian introduced in "Thor" and reprised in a number of subsequent Marvel properties. Though unique to the series, Satine's Lorelei therefore begets one of the numerous links between "Agents of SHIELD" and the primary MCU continuity, while posing a formidable threat to humanity herself.
Satine joined the final season of Revenge
ABC drama "Revenge," which is currently available to stream through Hulu, is a loose adaptation of the classic French novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" set in the present day. Its principal character uses the pseudonym Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) after moving to the Hamptons in order to get acquaint herself with local socialite Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe). Years prior, the Grayson family was responsible for the imprisonment and subsequent murder of Emily's father, and her move is motivated entirely by enacting revenge on them, hence the series' title.
Elena Satine portrays a character named Louise Ellis, who Victoria meets in a psychiatric hospital at the start of the series' fourth and final season. Over the course of the episodes that follow, Louise becomes a central figure in Victoria's life, though their relationship with one another teeters between friendship and enmity depending on their circumstances. Satine remained a cast member of "Revenge" until the series' finale in 2015.
Satine appeared in multiple episodes of Strange Angel
"Strange Angel," which is among the best shows available since day one on Paramount+, is a fictionalized account of the real-life story of Jack Parsons, a JPL rocket scientist and notable occult practitioner. In "Strange Angel," Parsons is portrayed by Jack Reynor of "Midsommar" fame (via IMDB). Elena Satine debuts in the series' fourth episode as a Hollywood costume designer named Maggie Donovan. She's the wife of Parsons' friend and confidant Ernest (Rupert Friend), who guides Parsons in his explorations of the occult throughout the series.
While Ernest acts as one of the show's central characters over the course of its two seasons, Maggie is merely a presence in it first, serving as an accomplice to Ernest's misadventures in four Season 1 episodes. Her role, then, is more-or-less to become something of a byproduct of her husband's and Parsons' involvement in the occult as she's increasingly drawn into their practices.
"Strange Angel" was Satine's last TV role before "Cowboy Bebop," concluding in 2018. Should "Cowboy Bebop" return to Netflix for a second season, Satine could likewise return to the role of Julia once again.