by Ian Pemberton RedVsBlue(RvB) continues its tradition of being the longest-running video game series on the web, and it’s one of the few shows I know that has made a successful transition from a largely character-based absurdist comedy to a serious plot and back and forth again. But its latest season took a different approach to Season 14: for the first time ever, it would be a series of shorts taking place in the series’ universe rather than a consistent narrative.
"I've been here before."
And then I got this sinking feeling of, 'I’ve been here before.' In kind of a bad way.
As a fan of the series from Episode 1, I hungrily waited all summer long, holding off on watching any of it. Eventually, the last few episodes came out, and I binge-watched most of the entire season, start to finish.
And then I got this sinking feeling of, “I’ve been here before.” In kind of a bad way.
It’s not as though the series has changed so much that it wasn’t the same comfy blanket that I love cuddling up with on the start of a new school year; all the characters have the same sparkle of sarcastic loathing that the series is known for, and all the jokes hit their marks in the same way they always have. Rather, it’s just that this season bounced ideas off of a wall to see what stuck.
Many stories to tell
Every episode begins with a narration from Vic, the saucy (but helpful) AI from Red and Blue command, but that’s about the only similarity between episodes. From there, different characters and stories get their chance to shine.
Many of the episodes are quite charming in their own ways, and provide origins for some of our beloved space-trooper idiots. Simmons, Grif, Sarge, and Tucker get their own episodes showing how they were specifically picked for being the worst soldiers that ever joined the RvB corps, allowing for a bit of one-on-one screen time. They’re put in situations where they expose their entire character in a nutshell, such as Sarge’s complete commitment to duty and ‘killing the Blues’ unintentionally killing his entire training squad, or Tucker’s interview to join the Blood Gulch squad (“[Where do I see myself in] 5 years? Ugh, hopefully I’m not dead.”).
The episodes showing Felix and Locus as bounty hunters wanting to make a difference in the world are especially of note, having some fantastic fight choreography and spectacular music choices. As well, references to other RoosterTeeth shows are plentiful for any RoosterTeeth junkies to pick out.
A little unfocused
I kind of miss that ‘RvB feeling’...Every episode has a different story to tell, and that made the focus of the entire season feel diluted and unfocused. Because of the anthology narrative and the same basic character beats every episode, it feels like the entire season is the same episode with a different flavor. Every single episode is a different genre and tone, but the characters’ lack of change makes the entire season feel weightless. And because there’s no gravity to the situation, unlike previous seasons, it takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. A lot of the charm of the show is the fact that these bumbling buffoons of soldiers are put into such dangerous positions that were out of their control. As a whole, I felt disappointed by Season 14. The bar had been set so high by the previous seasons not only in their unique sense of humor, but also by the smart narrative. Every single part of the story wrapped with every other part of the story, and nothing was taken for granted. There was always an inherent understanding of peril in the show, but none of that really impacted their shenanigans. They were trapped in war zones and still trying to kill each other instead of their actual enemies, almost in spite of the seriousness of the situation!
And all of that is still there, and I still admire the show’s willingness to experiment, but I kind of miss that ‘RvB feeling’ of having a uniquely twisted story tossed between these incompetent imbeciles. Taking out the intricate narrative makes this entire season feel like it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the show. Not to mention that a lot of the ideas for the episodes have been borrowed from pop culture (including a stop-motion episode).
While this season demonstrates the humor just as well as every other season, the humor by-and-large doesn’t really change: Grif is still fat and lazy, Sarge is still gun-ho to everyone he meets, Tucker is still a lady-killer, Caboose is still an idiot, Donut is still fabulous, etc. Yes, it’s still funny for fans of the show, and if you liked it before, you’d still like it now. But because there’s no change, it risks getting stale and predictable.
