Red vs. Blue: The Recollection

The collection of seasons 6 to 8 of Red vs. Blue, in which the series takes more of a serious turn and focuses more on the Freelancers and The Director. The collection contains 58 episodes, as well as one miniseries, "Relocated".

Reconstruction (Season 6)
" Remember. Memory is the key.
 * AI Is a Crapshoot: This is one of the primary themes of this season.
 * Anyone Can Die:
 * Arc Words: From Reconstruction onward, "Memory is the key". Lampshaded by Caboose in Recreation:
 * Arc Words: From Reconstruction onward, "Memory is the key". Lampshaded by Caboose in Recreation:
 * Arc Words: From Reconstruction onward, "Memory is the key". Lampshaded by Caboose in Recreation:

Caboose: What? I thought we were done with that part."

"Simmons: It threw our car at us."
 * Artifact Title: Arguable for Blood Gulch Chronicles seasons 3-5, but from this season onward is really when the titular teams of Red vs Blue essentially ally to fight a greater threat (save for whenever Sarge feels there's a good opportunity at hand to betray the Blues). Every time the teams separate again, it tends to be during time taking place between seasons.
 * Badass Abnormal: The Meta.
 * Badass Normal: Washington, as he's managed to deal with a fair number of cybernetically enhanced psychopaths and come out pretty good.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: It's not seen, but strongly implied that Caboose is this in regards to how others treat Sheila. Church has to back away from Caboose twice before picks up the hint.
 * Big Bad: The Meta
 * Bittersweet Ending: Well, it does seem like the bad guys get punished, and our plucky heroes mostly get away. However,
 * Bond One-Liner: "What are you going to do, shoo-" "Yes. Good suggestion."
 * Broken Masquerade: Wash reveals that
 * Broken Pedestal: Lopez makes it clear (to the audience) that the devotion he showed to Sarge from Season 2 has all but vanished.
 * Car Fu: The Meta's first encounter with the Reds.


 * Catch Phrase: "You have got to be kidding me" quickly becomes one for Wash.
 * Cerebus Syndrome: The previous series was more or less a zany, absurd comedy throughout, all the way up until its surprising Bittersweet Ending. Reconstruction, though still very funny, has more of emphasis on a coherent plot and a dramatic storyline rather than just amusing antics. It also retcons much of the previous series (see below).
 * Cerebus Retcon: In the original series, Church comes back as a ghost after being killed off. In Episode 16 of Reconstruction, it's explained that
 * Changing of the Guard: "Recovery One" introduced Washington as a completely new protagonist. He is joined by the majority of the original cast eventually, however.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Agent South Dakota.
 * The Comically Serious: Washington.
 * Compilation Movie
 * Continuity Snarl: Most of the series thus far still makes sense within the context of Church being.
 * Darker and Edgier: Whereas the Blood Gulch seasons were light on drama and action but heavy on comedy, the Recollection Trilogy (especially "Reconstruction") is the opposite.
 * Deconstruction of the parodic nature of "Blood Gulch Chronicles". All the wacky hijinks they had in the previous series, they get punished for and are now dealing with a more realistic military. There is an actual reason for all those robots and AI programs that kept popping up all over the place. Even the pointlessness of fighting a base in the middle of a box canyon is addressed. The parodic personalities of the Blood Gulch team meeting the more serious military personalities only made it even funnier.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Memory is key.
 * Doing in The Wizard

"Washington: "We don't need him to believe... until the next time we encounter the Meta."
 * Epilogue Letter: The last episode of "Reconstruction".
 * Evil Overlord: Washington claims the Director is one of these, and that the teams' ultimate goal is to defeat him.
 * Flanderization: Flag Zealots aside, Caboose only killed his teammates twice, once with a malfunctioning tank, once while the teammate was possessing an enemy Red. Now telling him to help his allies is a surefire way to get them shot.
 * Funny Background Event: While Church is questioning Delta about Wash's sanity, Wash is in the background shooting  body, dropping a grenade on it, roasting it with a flamethrower, and finally rolling a bunch of Fusion Coils up to it and detonating them.
 * Gainax Ending
 * Genre Savvy: Most of the major characters have levels of this, except, surprisingly, Washington.

(A loud thud is heard above them on the roof.)

Washington: "What the hell was that?!"

Sarge: "Come on! Do you even need to ask?""

"Grif: You should explain what's going on, and I could make an educated suggestion.
 * Gotta Catch Em All: The Meta wants to collect all of the secret tech and AIs from the Freelancers.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: The Director of Project Freelancer is never shown and his subordinate, the Councilor, is only ever seen as a shadowy outline in the first episode.
 * Hollywood Hacking: Hilariously discussed and averted by Grif and Simmons:

Simmons: 'Educated'...? Okay, fine. This computer is a dedicated interface with a highly developed security protocol. The information we are accessing is stored on a separate database with its own dedicated hardware. That system has its own distinct layer of security. From what I can tell, the two systems verify their identities by trading randomly generated 2056-bit encryption keys. I'm trying to spoof one of those keys now. So, I'm all ears, any suggestions?

Grif: Oh yeah, I've seen that before. You should try uploading a virus to the mainframe.

Simmons: Jesus!

Grif: I find that viruses which feature laughing skulls tend to work the best.

Simmons: Shut the fuck up and let me work!"

"Washington: You have got to be the most immature soldiers I've ever met.
 * I Can't Do This By Myself: Agent Washington repeatedly uses this phrase, so much so that it's parodied in the first Rooster Teeth Shorts, where a fake recording session of Washington's voice actor Shannon McCormick shows him saying this, along with several other satirical versions of Wash's frequent statements.
 * I Resemble That Remark

Grif: Your face is immature."

": Oh, come on Wash, what're ya gonna do? Sh- *headshot*
 * The Juggernaut: The Meta.
 * Killed Mid-Sentence:

Wash: Yes."

"Wash: "How do you ever get anything done if all you ever do is argue with each other??"
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Kill Him Already: Averted...
 * Lampshade Hanging:

Church: "We don't! That's part of our charm! Quit fucking it up!""

"Grif: Oh boy. That sounds like something that's gonna keep us busy for a few months."
 * Leitmotif: The Meta's recurring theme, "(When) Your Middle Name Is Danger".
 * Mega Manning: The Meta steals his slain foes' equipment and AI and integrates them into his own armor.
 * Miniseries: "Recovery One" (four episodes).
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: The Director.
 * Mr. Exposition: Agent Washington, whenever he's not busy being secretive or blowing things up.
 * Only Sane Man: Wash whenever he has to interact with the characters from the previous seasons. His presence is the primary cause of Cerebus Syndrome. The Meta is the cause of the rest.
 * Punny Name: Might be an accident, might not be that Agent Washington, aka Wash, is the cleanup crew for the Freelancers. Cleanup. Wash. Think about it.
 * Reconstruction: All the video game tropes picked apart in the Blood Gulch Chronicles are being put back together. And, ya know, it's the name of the season.
 * Replacement Goldfish: Judging by the Director's words, probably.
 * Secret Keeper: Agent Washington, until Episode 16.
 * Sequel Hook: Lampshaded by Grif at the end of the follow-up mini-series "Red vs. Blue: Relocated"

"Caboose: Um, can you change my job title to something more important like astronaut -- oh! I know! Space Marine!"
 * Shaggy Dog Story:
 * Space Marine: With the Meta bearing down on Command, Grif asks Simmons to change his affiliation to "Freelancer". Caboose has a similar request.

"Washington: "Now I know you guys are all wrapped up in your Red vs. Blue battles..."
 * Ignoring, of course, that technically speaking, his job title already is "space marine"...
 * Surrounded By Idiots: The more time he spends around the Blood Gulch Crew, the more Washington develops this attitude.
 * Title Drop:

Caboose: " Blue versus Red. No one says Red versus Blue. It sounds stupid when you say it like that.""


 * Tomato in The Mirror: When it's revealed that . However, it's quickly subverted when.

"Grif: Come on dude, tell us more about the reality bending computer. I'm hanging on your every word.
 * This Is for Emphasis, Bitch: "Boo, motherfucker!"
 * Transferable Memory: Epsilon was created as a receptacle for the Alpha's memories, which include those of.
 * He also appears to be able to assimilate memories from those around him.
 * Trying Not to Cry: When Sarge leave Lopez, he says with a choking voice that he promised himself he wouldn't cry.
 * Unperson: The Reds try to "defeat" the Blues by deleting them from the Command database.
 * The episode also hangs a lampshade on Ret-Gone, when Caboose disappears after the Reds finish purging the database. Simmons panics, thinking he may have deleted Caboose from existence. He was just using the bathroom before the upcoming battle.

Simmons: I don't wanna talk about it."


 * Voice of the Legion The Meta's A Is all talk at once sometimes, and in the trailer for Reconstruction The Meta carves on the wall We Are The Meta.
 * Weapon of Choice: Caboose is the only member of the main cast to carry an Assault Rifle rather than a Battle Rifle or other signature weapon. Then there's the Meta's Brute Shot.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Director. His experiments were supposed to help humanity win the War against the Aliens. Even if everything he did ended in failure. And his torture of the Alpha was
 * Wham! Episode: Chapter 16, then again in the closing moments of Chapter 19.
 * All with one simple closing
 * Wham! Line: A particularly large one on the series as a whole.


 * Also, the closing line of the series, as seen under Wham Episode above.
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Averted due some surprisingly progressive legislation concerning Artificial Intelligences - it is implied in the Director and Chairman's memos that AIs are citizens, and have strict moral guidelines in place for dealing with them,.
 * Also averted in how the other characters react to A Is (and discovering that ). For the most part, the Reds and Blues treat A Is just like any other person. In contrast, Freelancers treat them more like tools, because that's all they were for Freelancers, although this seems to change if they've been together for a long time (York/Delta, Wyoming/Gamma, even Tex/Omega, although that doesn't mean they like each other)
 * Where They Were: Everyone in Blood Gulch was reassigned to new locations, except for Sister, Sarge and Lopez (though Sarge's continued presence is due to him deliberately ignored his relocation orders, believing Blood Gulch "Not yet won"). The locations of Donut, Tucker, and Doc are left ambiguous until the next season.
 * Word of God:
 * Worst Aid

Recreation (Season 7)
"Grif: Why are there only four pedals when there's six directions?"
 * Atomic F-Bomb: Simmons gives one
 * Back From the Dead: Technically speaking,.
 * Badass:
 * Badass Decay: Arguably, the Meta, who was the most dangerous thing around in Reconstruction now reduced to being Washington's lackey with most of his powers stripped away.
 * Bavarian Fire Drill:.
 * Breather Episode: In the context of the Recollection Trilogy, at least; this season is considerably more lighthearted and has a slower pace than "Reconstruction" and "Revelation".
 * Car Fu: Subverted when Tucker tries to take out an enemy Warthog about to attack Sarge and Caboose's jeep by hitting it with his Chopper ramping off a hill (complete with gratuitous yelling during the entire very long time he spends in the air), but overshoots and misses them completely. However, this did give the jeep's gauss gun enough time to charge and attack the enemies while they were distracted.
 * Simmons also attempted this in an earlier episode against by firing a rocket launcher at a Mongoose to make the Mongoose hit the enemy. He overshoots, and all he accomplished was destroying the spare Mongoose.
 * Big Bad Ensemble: C.T. and the Meta.
 * Big "What?": Simmon's reaction in episode 15 when he hears Donut's explanation for why he didn't help when the Meta attacked him.
 * Big No: Simmons gives one.
 * Brick Joke: Sort of: A sponsor's-only ending for an Episode in Reconstruction shows that Doc was called to Last Resort by the Reds, but they were all gone by the time he arrived. A deleted scene in this season's DVD shows that, after a whole season, he's still there.
 * Continuity Nod: To Season 1.
 * Continuity Nod: To Season 1.

"Caboose: Oh God. Now I'm burning! That's much worse than other things burning!"
 * A later one comes in episode 14, when mentions they shouldn't touch the weapon he's supposed to be guarding because for all they know it could make them all sterile, a reference to the fifth season when Church speculates what the Red Team's new delivery is and theorizes a weapon that "makes anyone wearing blue armor sterile".
 * Simmons claiming he can't be racist against robots, since he's a quarter robot himself, pointing out that time Sarge turned him into a cyborg.
 * After, his memory is a little fuzzy, and what he does know is mostly based on what Caboose has told him; for instance, he calls Sarge a pirate captain.
 * Also, he thinks Grif is yellow, just like how Grif is seen inside Caboose's head.
 * And that he spells his name with two "f"s.
 * Let's just say that it's full of plot points from previous seasons making a come back and being referenced. Every episode adds at least two or three to the pile.
 * There is a human soldier with C.T. who is called "Private Jones," but the Private corrects his pronunciation. It's actually pronounced "Jo-an-nis." This is, of course, the exact opposite situation as in "Reconstruction".
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
 * Compilation Movie: While previous seasons were written and filmed one separate episode at a time, later seasons were written and filmed as a single unit, then edited into the episode-length segments.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Lopez is becoming snarkier with every episode.
 * Dynamic Entry:
 * Easy Amnesia/Who's On First? When Church accidentally turned off his short term memory.
 * A Form You Are Comfortable With: Epsilon appears to Caboose as Delta because it knows Caboose trusted Delta. Although Caboose is a little unclear on the concept, so the benefit was largely wasted on him.
 * Friendly War: By this point the two teams spend more time being an extremely messed-up family that occasionally still shoot at each other for old times' sake, than actual enemies.
 * Friendship Moment:
 * How Do I Shot Web?: The monitor robot has no idea how to use any of his functions; he doesn't even know every power that he has.
 * Ironic Echo: In "Recovery One", there was a dialogue where South asks for a moment with her dead brother, Washington coldly says she has one minute, South bitterly says she guesses she should be thankful, and Wash says he guesses she better get started.
 * Lowered Monster Difficulty / Conservation of Ninjutsu: Way back in Season 4, a single Alien was so badass it could effortlessly decimate Omega and his robot army, and could even curbstomp Tex in seconds. Now, in Recreation, we see them get slaughtered en masse by one Badass. Possibly a Justified Trope if the alien from "Blood Gulch Chronicles" was just a particular Bad Ass himself, or if the robots he was taking out just weren't that well made.
 * He probably was a severe badass, being the intended wielder of the Sword of Plot Advancement.
 * Made of Iron: Caboose survived stepping on a landmine which blew him hundreds of feet into the air crashing into a jeep without even pausing.
 * Man On Fire:
 * Man On Fire:

"Caboose: ALL RIGHT, NOW HOW DID THAT EVEN START?!"
 * The above even applies to the Rule of Funny, with Caboose's random base fires:

"Gavin: Oh... Oh. I get it. My- So I should just-
 * Meaningful Name: "Recreation" has two separate meanings. Re-creation refers to  and recreation as in fun activities refers to this being the Lighter and Softer season of Recollection.
 * Miniseries: "Relocated" (four episodes).
 * My Friends and Zoidberg: The advertisement for the DVD announces the return of "All your favorite characters (and Simmons)."
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Turns out
 * Never Trust a Trailer: Tex was shown in "Recreation"'s trailer, but never appeared in the series itself.
 * As was
 * The Not-Secret: When filling Tucker in on what happened in season 6, they reveal that Church was . Tucker had apparently already figured this out, and thought everybody knew.
 * OH FUCK!: Simmons' reaction upon seeing the Meta.
 * Percussive Maintenance: Caboose tries to fix a robot's memory issues by hitting it with his gun. And it apparently worked.
 * Pinball Projectile
 * Promoted Fanboy: Gavin Free was originally just a fan of series from the beginning, but took over from Burnie Burns as director for Relocated and most of Recreation.
 * Hilarious Outtakes: There's an audio clip of "Gavino" reading The Director's letter from the Reconstruction Trailer, before Burnie interrupts, clarifying that he didn't want him to be "The Director for the season" he wanted him to "direct the season".

Burnie: Get the fuck out of the booth, okay?"

"Grif: So embarrasing for you...
 * Self-Serving Memory: Sarge does in the first episode when he recalls how they deleted the record of the Blues from Command's computer, with his modifications including killing Grif and Simmons turning into a motorcycle. When Grif calls him out on this, citing his not being dead, Sarge tells Simmons to transform and run over him.
 * Shaggy Dog Story: The Reds vs. The Meta.
 * Shoo Out the Clowns:.
 * Surrounded By Idiots: Lopez has adopted this attitude.
 * Took a Level In Badass:, who single-handedly pwns his way through C.T.'s team of Aliens and Marines. We later learn that he's the only thing that's prevented C.T. from breaking into the temple.
 * Trailer Spoof: The trailer's beginning is more or less identical to the trailer for Reconstruction. It then changes when Caboose causes an explosion in Blue base.
 * Two-Part Trilogy: While Reconstruction has a definite ending, Recreation ends on a cliffhanger to lead into the third installment, Revelation.
 * Unfamiliar Ceiling: Subverted for laughs when Donut keeps passing out and coming to, and each time he's told strange stories about what has been happening while he was asleep, which makes him wonder and ask how long he's been out. Turns out he's only been out for a few minutes, and the stories sound strange because it's Caboose who's been telling him the news.
 * Vertigo Effect: The second episode of Relocation has this when Caboose sneaks up on Simmons.
 * Weapon of Choice: Simmons seems to have adopted the Rocket Launcher as his.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Partially averted. It's revealed that Junior somehow survived the ship crash and the events at Valhalla, and was made an ambassador with Tucker, but we never see him again.
 * Your Mom: After they lose Caboose (again):

Just go find the guy!

Grif: So sad...

."


 * A rare case of this being the actual truth.

Revelation (Season 8)
The last in the Recollection Trilogy, centering around the memories and AIs. The first showing also revealed that Monty Oum, the creator of Haloid and Dead Fantasy, is now part of the Rooster Teeth staff.

"Tucker: You just read the instructions off our printer.
 * And the Adventure Continues: After all the shenanigans, damage, lies, victories and defeats of the last 8 seasons, they decided . The fact that technically they had shown to be the biggest badasses in the entire series , literally surviving and defeating one One-Man Army after another while thousands of others didn't, make it all the more intense.
 * Affably Evil: shows qualities of this and Evilly Affable at various points, showcasing what happens when The Comically Serious loses patience and goes to The Dark Side.
 * A God Am I: Church takes a little too well to the aliens worshiping him.

Church: Yeah, they eat that technology stuff up. You gotta know your audience, man."

"Sarge: Hey Meta, *click* settle a bet, would you? Does that thing look like a big cat to you?"
 * Almighty Janitor:
 * And I Must Scream: Arguably a subversion.
 * Animation Bump: Thanks to Monty Oum, fully animated CGI sequences are inserted into the standard Halo game-engine Machinima.
 * Anti-Villain:  has a degree of this, especially after you realize that the reason   is after the BG crew is because he was sent to prison because they didn't hand over Epsilon like he told them to.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In the first episode of "Revelation", the others try insulting Church to make him angry enough do the 'laserface' again. The insults are that 'he's ugly and nobody likes him,' 'he's annoying and his team sucks' and 'he's round and can't wear pants.' While none of them make him angry, the last one is the only one that manages to depress him.
 * Art Evolution: With Monty Oum of Dead Fantasy fame helping out in the latest season, the production values have taken a noticeable upswing.
 * Art Shift: The creator of Haloid and Dead Fantasy is now working with Rooster Teeth, leading to sequences where, though high quality, the shift is noticeable.
 * Autobots Rock Out: "Red vs. Blue", used in at the end of "Revelation" with the Reds and Tucker vs. the Meta
 * Badass: Several characters throughout the series, most notably Tex and the Meta.
 * Badass Normal: Agent Washington seems to be this. A close examination of his performance in the big fight in Episode 19 indicates he's not in the same superhuman league as Tex or the Meta, but he still manages to hold his own and while he's not the melee powerhouse that the Meta is, he's still a more competent fighter than any of the Blood Gulch crew as well as a damn good shot (all after being blow up and visibly injured by a bunch of landmines, I might add).
 * Episode 20 seems to confirm it, As Wash finally hits his limit, and can't keep fighting. He did take an explosive round at point blank.
 * Grif as well, when you get down to it.
 * Barrier-Busting Blow: Done to Simmons near the start of episode 10.
 * Bat Deduction: Sarge's piecing-together of the situation at Valhalla quickly devolves into this, after starting out as a basic Sherlock Scan.
 * Behind the Black: The Meta somehow fails to notice that  until the camera pans down for The Reveal.
 * If you listen closely Sarge is actually only attaching the hook at the moment he mentions this to the Meta.
 * If you listen closely Sarge is actually only attaching the hook at the moment he mentions this to the Meta.

": I would say that was the cavalry... but I've never seen a line of horses crash into the battlefield from outer space before..."
 * Berserk Button: In an attempt to seal themselves from the Meta, the Reds try to make Church angry so that he activates his "laser face" in order to block the entrance by causing the wall to collapse. None of their insults have any effect beyond just mildly ticking him off. Then he sees
 * Big Bad Duumvirate: Washington and the Meta.
 * Big Damn Heroes: "How about you pick on someone your own size?!". Immediately subverted at the start of the next episode, when the hero just gets a beating for his trouble. Further subverted in that  was kicking everyone's asses for a good seven minutes beforehand.
 * Then played straight in episode 19, when.

"Tucker: Swish. Swish. Stab!"
 * Big No: Church, when the Meta.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Even though
 * Book Ends: Reconstruction began with a soldier looking at the dead body of a Freelancer as the camera panned up in Valhalla, showing a huge number of characters (so many that the creators actually had to run several games and use splitscreen to get that many). Revelation ends with a soldier looking at  in Avalanche and the camera pans up to show a similar shot.
 * The final scene of the season is a bookend
 * Similarly, the first and final Halo 3 maps which are used before the show presumably goes on to be filmed in Halo Reach match the first and final maps used in Halo 1 before they moved to Halo 2. When filming in Halo 1, they started with Blood Gulch and finished with Sidewinder. With Halo 3 they start with Valhalla (spiritual remake of Blood Gulch) and end with Avalanche (spiritual remake of Sidewinder).
 * Brick Joke: Episode 4. "Private Jimmy was here." In episode 10 we get almost a literal translation of the original brick joke when four characters are thrown into the air by an explosion. Sarge, Tucker, and Simmons land at the same time, and then Grif comes down after a lengthy delay. And lands in a much less comfortable position.
 * Episode 10: Tucker coming out of the teleporter covered in black gunk.
 * Episode 11: "That doesn't seem physically possible!"
 * Episode 18: "You ever wonder why we're here?"
 * Episode 20: "Hey Meta, settle a bet, would ya? Does that thing kinda look like a big cat to you?"
 * In that Same Episode: "Shotgun, "Dammit!"
 * Broken Faceplate:
 * Butt Monkey: Grif and the other previous Butt Monkeys seem to be getting off relatively light this season. Then episode 10 comes along and turns everyone into the butt monkey for seven minutes. Strange though it may sound, Wash is actually the Butt Monkey for this season. He's been kicked around and stabbed in the back for pretty much his whole life, so he decides that enough is enough and . What's his reward? Endless hassle, bickering, humiliation, and a surprising number of ass kickings.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Tucker was providing his own sound effects for his sword way back in season four, and again briefly in "Recreation", but it is only in episode 10 that they start to qualify as this.

"Sarge: You just got-- fires shotgun, setting off an explosion Goddammit, I messed up my one-liner!"
 * Captain Obvious: Episode 10.
 * Car Fu: In the first new CGI scene,
 * Catchphrase Interruptus: Done by Sarge, to himself.

"Grif: Why won't you just kill me?"
 * Character Development: After Sarge snaps out of his Heroic BSOD. He softly leaves his hatred against the Blues behind him, gives a rather epic Rousing Speech that even drives Grif to help him, and sets out with the rest to make everyone from the Project Freelancer pay for what they did to them.
 * Simmons is more willing to challenge Sarge's authority after the rift in their relationship in the previous season. Conversely, this has caused Grif and Sarge to develop a closer relationship.
 * Chekhov's Boomerang: The Tow cable was first established to get Doc out of the wall, and then it's used by Doc to rescue Washington. You think it's over, but then Washington hands the hook to Sarge...
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Caboose's outdated armor.
 * In Chapter 12, we learned that Recovery Beacons won't activate inside the backup Freelancer facility. The immediate crisis is resolved and Tex and Epsilon-Church head off to a mysterious snowy facility alone. In the remote location,
 * When "Revelations" first started, the series' main cover was an image of Tex's helmet with the faceplate shattered.
 * The Meta's Brute Shot is almost literally one, albeit in a bit of a strange fashion.
 * And finally, the towing cable on the Warthog.
 * Chekhov's Skill a Meta Example when the Meta gets his AI abilities back (invisibility, shield dome etc.) to fight the Reds and Blues. These abilities are very similar to the armor abilities in Halo Reach (the next game after Halo 3) also Washington uses a knife, which is also something new to Halo gameplay in Reach.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: What's that?
 * Compilation Movie
 * Conspicuous CG: Just a little. The textures are a little too shiny, and ironically, the CG is a little too fluid compared to the jerky movements of the game engine. Still awesome, but you can always pick out a CG character in a shot before they've even done anything impossible within the game engine.
 * Continuity Nod: Bernie Burns has said that "memory" is a key theme of the Revelation season, and thus it is full of them to reinforce that:
 * The CGI Warthog has six pedals.
 * The aliens calling Washington "Shisno."
 * Tucker is the only one to get black stuff on his armor when going through warps, then gets punched so hard, that the aforementioned black stuff completely comes off, leading Sarge to make the comment that the punch "knocked the black right off of ya!" Tucker responds with "That's racist!" perhaps referencing his brief conversation with Church where the possibility came up that he could be black.
 * Grif forgetting to bring the squad's ammo. Ironically, this actually saves his life.
 * Sadly,, and make him smash into Simmons.
 * Tucker's sword doesn't work for anyone else.
 * "That doesn't seem physically possible!"
 * That flashback in season one when Tex attacked Sidewinder/Avalanche? Tex brings it up when they go back there, and you realize
 * When Tex is mentioning that Gamma was one of the A Is that tortured Alpha, the computer terminal that housed Gamma can be seen on a nearby wall.
 * The Freelancer training facility's A.I..
 * Sarge (along with Grif and Simmons) end up in a grainy, black-and-white version of reality (just like when Sarge was shot and near death back in Season 1), and once again believes it to be the afterlife. It's actually revealed to be a recovery buffer for Project Freelancer units awaiting retrieval by a Recovery Agent, further Doing in The Wizard of the series more nonsensical elements.
 * Crazy Prepared: in Episode 19, we see that
 * Curb Stomp Battle / No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Tucker and the Reds are utterly decimated in episode 10. And it was beautiful.
 * Deadpan Snarker: The Meta, which is really impressive as he doesn't technically talk.
 * Death Cry Echo:
 * Defiant to The End: Tucker in episode 10 continues to fight and keep up his Deadpan Snarker routine even while getting his ass kicked, and by doing so manages to retain his Level In Badass even when it becomes clear he's out of his league.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Even the entire armed forces of the UNSC couldn't take out the Meta. Compared to the Reds and Blues, he might as well be a Physical God.  and it's Awesome.
 * Disney Death:.
 * Disney Villain Death:  He was   and the response unit certainly sounds sure that he's dead. However, it's unknown whether the UNSC forces found a body.
 * Downer Ending:
 * The Dragon: The Meta and its partner.
 * Dumbass Has a Point: Shortly after making fun of one of Doc's suggestions for tracking the protagonists to the point of making him walk away in frustration, Wash quietly tries it out. Doc calls him out on it later.
 * Dynamic Entry: Project Freelancer's secret weapon punches a sealed metal door off its hinges. Bad. Ass.
 * Easily Forgiven: In Episode 19, the Reds and Blues are surprisingly amicable towards Washington when they finally catch up with him and Church, especially when you consider the fact they weren't around to witness his Heel Face Turn following the Meta's betrayal.
 * Epic Fail: Technically what it becomes of Blood Gulch teams. . Say what you will about the idiots, when they go down, they go down spectacularly.
 * Even Evil Has Standards:
 * Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Hey, it's just what happens when you get Monty Oum involved.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In Revelations 17, Sarge reveals that this trope has been
 * Evil Is Not a Toy:
 * Failure Is the Only Option: Tex reveals that Omega and Gamma broke down Alpha-Church by repeatedly putting him through situations in which he was unable to do anything except constantly fail to protect the people he cared about.
 * Fake Trap: notices that  is lying injured in the middle of a perfect ambush position. He knows this must be a trap set by a freelancer, but it turns out the trap was set for the exact place they had stopped when they realized this.
 * Faking the Dead:
 * Family-Unfriendly Death:
 * Nearly taken even further when it was revealed that  Makes me shudder thinking about it.
 * Five-Man Band: The
 * The Hero:
 * The Lancer:
 * The Big Guy:
 * The Smart Guy:
 * The Heart:
 * One could argue that  is more of a Big Guy, while   is more of The Heart;
 * Flat What: Simmons uses one of these when he reflexively grabs onto the jeep that Grif and Sarge are riding in while flying through the air at high speed to escape an explosion.
 * Flip-Flop of God:
 * With some Retcon thrown in as well, since . It's possible Rooster Teeth planned this, and were intentionally misleading in that commentary so as to preserve the secret.
 * Foe Yay: Invoked Trope. The Meta really doesn't want to pull Doc out of the wall by his codpiece. It'd just be weird.
 * For Science!:
 * Friendship Moment: After all the abuse Sarge has given him, Grif still instinctively pushes Sarge out the way of the wrecked Warthog as it comes flying at them.
 * Debatable, but Doc  could've been this.
 * When  points a shotgun at Grif's head, Simmons cries out in genuine concern.
 * When Grif jumps on the Meta and tries to grapple it, Sarge holds his fire despite having a clean shot at the Meta so as not to hit Grif. Especially touching when you realize that it's the one time in the entire series when shooting Grif (in order to hit Meta) would actually have been a legitimate strategy.
 * At the end of the final fight, Simmons dives forward trying to grab Grif's hand before the Meta can drag him over the edge.
 * The final exchange between Epsilon-Church and Caboose where Church says goodbye to Caboose for the last time.
 * Hell, by the end the two teams are practically a rather vitriolic Nakama.
 * Gatling Good: pulls out one in the Reunion episode out of the snow in order to fight !
 * Gainax Ending:
 * Although there is one thing that comes of it all, as Wash said earlier in the season, it was just evidence, no matter the condition the unit was in, and would be used as such.
 * Goomba Stomp: The Meta does this to the Warthog.
 * Gone Horribly Right: For the director, . Blood Gulch proved to be highly incompetent and efficient at the same time in this regard beyond his wildest expectations.
 * Grievous Harm With a Body: Tucker, Grif, Simmons, and Sarge are ALL used as weapons against each other during the the epic fight scene in episode 10.  Which doesn't seem physically possible.
 * In the Finale
 * Groin Attack: This happens to Grif over and over and over and over and over again...
 * Seven times.
 * Gone Horribly Right: For the director, . Blood Gulch proved to be highly incompetent and efficient at the same time in this regard beyond his wildest expectations.
 * Grievous Harm With a Body: Tucker, Grif, Simmons, and Sarge are ALL used as weapons against each other during the the epic fight scene in episode 10.  Which doesn't seem physically possible.
 * In the Finale
 * Groin Attack: This happens to Grif over and over and over and over and over again...
 * Seven times.

"Sarge: I feel defeated. Yet inexplicably rejuvenated!."
 * Healing Shiv: Well more like a healing explosion at the end of "Up to Eleven". It causes a whole bunch of health packs to fall on the Reds.

"Wash: Stop lecturing me, or I will shoot you, and feed you to the Meta.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door - By the end of this season you'll realize the saddest part of the Freelancer existence: the only side they are reliably and consistently on is their own.
 * Heroic BSOD: Sarge experiences one after he learns the true nature of the Red vs. Blue battles in Episode 17. In Episode 18 he snaps out of it in style.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Episode 19. Washington looks like he's about pull one off
 * Hope Spot:
 * Humiliation Conga: This.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: The Meta. Maybe.

Doc: ...Does he eat people?

Wash: Do you really want to find out?

Doc: No. Maybe. If we use another person, sure. It sounds kinda interesting."

"Caboose: It's not fair! I worshiped Church way before it was cool to worship him.
 * Impaled With Extreme Prejudice:.
 * Interesting Situation Duel:  beatdown on the Red's and Tucker in the Freelancer base filled with teleporters and her fight with   on Avalanche utilizing timed explosives and collapsing ice.
 * Ironic Echo: Sarge gives one to one of the first one-liners of the series... before going into a fantastic Rousing Speech centered around that one line.
 * It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it?
 * A possibly unintentional example: at the end of Blood Gulch Chronicles, Church asked Tex what would happen after she helped O'Malley in his plan, and her response was "I guess we'll find out." In Episode 17 of this season,, her response is "That's exactly what I plan to find out."
 * It's Popular, Now It Sucks: Don't panic, it's an in-universe example. Namely, how Caboose feels about the aliens taking to worshiping Epsilon Church.

Grif: Hey, I already told you, that's still not cool. That will never be cool. Ever."

"I mean hell, if you have to live the rest of your life in a memory, you might as well make it a good one."
 * Jossed: For a while, fans had speculated that Sarge and (after Recreation) Tucker might be able to match Tex in terms of combat skill. Then she returns in Episode 10 and utterly curbstomps the both of them without taking a hit or breaking a sweat. Episode 19 further implies that Sarge's early takedown of Tex back in Season 1 was a result of Worf Had the Flu.
 * Karma Houdini:
 * And in his own words, he has brought a great deal of suffering down upon himself, even if the law won't recognize it as punishment.
 * Washington gets off scot free even though he.
 * Well Lopez was a robot, and even specifically said earlier that he had made backup copies of himself. And
 * Lampshade Hanging: While a flailing Simmons tries to grab onto the moving Warthog during one of the show's fancy new CGI scenes, Sarge tells him to stop showing off.
 * Simmons comments on the role of both teams in the continuity; Blue Team is generally much more involved with the plot, while Red Team tends to only be there for comic relief, or as Simmons points out, "talk about food and guns."
 * F.I.L.S.S. pointing out 's most glaring and obvious characteristic.
 * When Grif is hanging over a cliff, Sarge mentions a hatred of Cliff Hangers.
 * Last Stand: Episode 19. Although she fares very well against them, even going so far to give the impression she could have beaten them individually,.
 * Let's Get Dangerous:
 * Licked By the Dog: Despite being kidnapped, coerced, held hostage and verbally abused by, Doc still tries to save him in Episode 19; with 'try' being the key phrase.
 * Literal Cliff Hanger: In the finale
 * Lotus Eater Machine: Inside the

"Epsilon-Church:
 * Made of Iron: The Freelancers in general, but Meta makes the other two look like plasticine with his endurance. Seriously, watch the last two episodes and see just HOW much damage he takes within a 20 minute timeframe. Kinda makes one wonder.
 * Meaningful Name: Sarge's real name is revealed in Chapter 17 to be:
 * Recollection, the name of the trilogy, has multiple meanings. The whole Freelancer project was a result of The Director attempting to bring his memories to life. Recreation and Revelation center around Epsilon, the embodiment of Alpha's memories. And, at the very end, when Church leaves the world for the last time, he tells Caboose that he'll now be in charge of keeping his memory alive. This is in addition to the fact that it is a collection of seasons whose titles begin with "Re".
 * Misfit Mobilization Moment: After finally coping with the knowledge that the Red and Blue armies are just disposable target dummies for Project Freelancer, and learning that Church and Tex are in danger from Meta and Washington, Sarge gives a Rousing Speech that rallies the Reds and Blues together to take the initiative for once in their lives and show the Freelancers "just what a big fight is all about".
 * Misguided Missile: Double subverted in episode 10, a rogue missile heads towards the Reds and Tucker, and it is heavily implied that it will collide with Grif's... er... Southern Regions, but it
 * Mundane Utility: Simmons discovers the equipment that Project Freelancer used to give their agents superhuman abilities. Grif immediately decides he wants invisibility...
 * Mythology Gag: The pistol isn't quite as effective as it used to be.
 * And the older rocket launchers have heat seeking.
 * Nigh Invulnerability: In the final episodes, the Meta proves to be even more unstoppable than before.
 * Continuity Nod to Reconstruction. In this and Recreation, the lack of
 * Not Quite Dead: Simmons thanks Doc for his willingness to be left behind to the Meta, even while Doc frantically tries to convince him he isn't willing.
 * Not So Different: Way back in Season 5, Wyoming and Omega's plan was to take control of the aliens' god and use it to corrupt their religion, which Church finds absolutely disgusting. Now, Church is controlling a powerful Forerunner monitor that the aliens worship, and is nonchalantly keeping them entertained with "parables" that he made up. It is a matter of degree, however -- Church has no intention of enslaving the aliens. He is just playing with their ignorance.
 * One of the DVD's deleted scenes shows that the aliens are facing almost the exact same language barrier issues as the humans. While humans perceive the alien's language as "Blargs" and "Honks",
 * Not So Harmless: After curbstomping the Reds and the Warthog early on, The Meta has spent the rest of Revelations pretty much as Washington's comic sidekick. Then in Episode 19
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: Near the end of the battle between, this occurs. The chant is "Plagam extremam infilgere," which roughly translates to "violent murder."
 * I suspect they intended the translation to be "bloody murder" and thus a callback gag to the Sidewinder troop who ran around literally screaming "bloody murder".
 * That would make sense if there a humorous nature to what happens during the song, but considering what happened, that's unlikely.
 * Painfully-Slow Projectile: The Meta's time stopper backfires, leaving him slowed down relative to everyone else. It happens right as he's about to punch Doc. Unfortunately for Doc, Simmons calculates that his fist, though appearing slow relative to them, still has the same actual velocity and force. And he is right.
 * Plot Tailored to The Party: Sort of.
 * The Power of Friendship - On the DVD commentary, Burnie Burns says the only reason the teams can is because they know each other so well and can communicate in ways that can get them around their obvious disadvantages.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In Chapter 17, Tex delivers one to Epsilon-Church.

Tex:"

"Sarge: I'm not telling you to go. I'm not even asking.
 * Required Secondary Powers: Subverted. When someone catches a large crate, the metal floor underneath them buckles. When the crate is thrown, we also see two dents where it was held up.
 * Restraining Bolt: The armor for the Reds and Blues have a remote lockdown ability to control rogue elements.
 * Rousing Speech: In episode 18,

Grif: You're not?

Sarge: Nope. I'm going. That's it. You want to come? Come on. But I don't expect you to. Simmons will probably tell you that statistically some of us will probably die.

Simmons: All of us.

Sarge: All of us. All of us will probably die. But that's not what's important. Let me ask you two a question... you ever wonder why we're here?

Grif: (both look at each other) Umm... it does seem to be one of life's great mysteries...

Sarge: No, I mean you! What are YOU doing here?! You always act like you want to quit. You could have left whenever you wanted, nobody would have stopped you! So why are ya here? And you, Simmons!

Simmons: Me?

Sarge: You say you want to be in charge. They would've given you your own squad a dozen times over! You know it, and I know it. And you, Tucker. As much as I hate to say it, you're actually good at being a soldier!

Tucker: I am?

Sarge: I know you like to make yer' rude comments and pretend like it doesn't matter! But an entire alien RACE chose to make you their hero! So why are YOU here? And Caboose... ummm... it's good to see you?

Caboose: Thanks. I'm loving the whole speech so far.

Sarge: Maybe you're all here because this is the only place you fit in. Maybe you're here because you don't have anywhere else to go. Maybe you're here because you want to be here. The reason doesn't matter! What matters is that you're here. For all we know, Tex and Church are dead. That means we're the only ones who know what's happened, and the only ones who can prevent them from covering it up! The way I figure it... these Freelancers guy want to use us, take us away from our families, and send us all over the daggone galaxy just to test if their agents are ready for the big fight? Well... guess I'm interested in showin' em just what exactly what a big fight is all about! Time to clean a slate! I'm not orderin' ya too! I'm not even asking ya. You do... what ya GOTTA do, Private Grif."

"Epsilon:"
 * Samus Is a Girl:
 * Sapient Ship: Sheila, the AI that inhabited the Blue Team's tank before being transferred to the CPU of a spaceship. Another AI by the name of Phyllis (later renamed Sheila by Church since Phyllis' voice sounds identical) was encountered later on, but Phyllis wasn't in a ship.
 * Say My Name:
 * WASHINGTON!!
 * Sherlock Scan: Sarge goes from this to Bat Deduction when he contacts Simmons.
 * Shout-Out: When Caboose convinces the aliens that the reds have taken Church, Sarge responds with a worried "Ruh-Roh."
 * In episode twelve, Doc's shout echoes one of another surprised doctor.
 * The opening to chapter 19 seems very similar to one of the Halo 3 trailers.
 * Actually it looks more like several parts from a PSP MiniS Game by the name of "Hysteria Project" to me.
 * Yeesh. Am I the only one who completed the campaign mode for Modern Warfare 2?
 * When the rest of the Blood Gulch crew shows up in a pelican to try and save Tex and Church, what else would happen but they crash it, as almost every single Pelican in the actual Halo games seem to.
 * In episode twenty, a soldier mentions they actually have a budget of one crashed Pelican per mission, in Halo 3 it seems at least one crashes per mission.
 * Washington's "..but I've never seen a line of horses crash into the battlefield from outer space" line as  could be referencing the way the Flood invaded the Ark in Halo 3.
 * When Doc gets stuck in the wall he looks like Han Solo frozen in carbonite.
 * Episode 10 involves a fight in a seemingly abandoned test facility overseen by a potentially evil female computer, featuring linked teleporters flinging people around the room.
 * Spanner in The Works: The bad guys needed a medic. They got Doc. What could possibly go wrong?
 * Stealth Pun: The episode "This One Goes To Eleven" (aside from the obvious lampshade) is Chapter 10... which leads into Chapter 11.
 * Stockholm Syndrome: Lampshaded by Doc, who wants Wash to know that he is NOT suffering from this.
 * Strange Minds Think Alike: Sort of. When radioed, Simmons doesn't get a chance to let Sarge know that they're being held hostage. After the end of the transmission, Sarge casually announces the exact situation at Valhalla, then goes on to justify it using increasingly convoluted reasoning.
 * Also, when Washington spots a trap, and notices that it must be a Freelancer since they had run that exact situation in several drills, Doc asks "But if they're a Freelancer, wouldn't they know you'd realize this?" Washington thinks he's overthinking this, then mines activate all around them.
 * Super Speed: Grif, after Simmons tried to upgrade his armor with Freelancer attachments.
 * Taking You With Me:
 * Last Words:
 * Super Speed: Grif, after Simmons tried to upgrade his armor with Freelancer attachments.
 * Taking You With Me:
 * Last Words:

"Sarge: There they are! Land right next to them!
 * The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: Kind of. The final episode of "Revelation" came out the day before Reach did.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: Said by Tucker in Episode 19 :

Grif: Land. Right.

Sarge: You do know how to land this, don't you?

Grif: Sure. That just means "Stop flying", right?

Sarge: BRACE FOR IMPACT!

Tucker: Oh shit, this is gonna suck!

Caboose: I still haven't gotten my peanuts yet."

"Sarge: "Attack!"
 * Also:

Simmons: "Get 'im!"

Grif: "We're gonna fucking die!""

"Doc: What does it say?
 * Took a Level In Badass: Grif and Sarge. Oh dear God, Grif and Sarge. Hell, even
 * Too Kinky to Torture: Doc is so cheerful and wants so badly to be friends that he completely fails to act appropriately frightened, despite being held hostage, threatened, and beaten by an over-the-edge special forces soldier and a nigh-unstoppable insane killing machine.
 * Tranquil Fury: When the aliens draw an image of Washington in the sand, with the word "shisno" next to it.

Washington: It says... peace talks have broken down. Now we do it our way."

"Simmons: We'll always remember you. Bye!
 * Unflinching Walk: Sarge has one in Chapter 20
 * Up to Eleven: Lampshaded by the title of episode 10 for good reason.
 * The Unintelligible: The Meta is making... some sort of noise. I guess it's speech? Kind of?
 * Intelligible Unintelligible: Wash seems to understand what he's saying, although that's often Rule of Funny in effect.
 * It's possible that the Meta uses the same voice modifying technology that Tex and C.T. use to mask their gender. Conceivably the same technology could also serve as a translator by working in reverse, which would explain why only Freelancers can understand him.
 * It's revealed in the trailer for season 9 that the Meta was shot in the throat while he was still a normal Freelancer. Also Wash was a friend and was with him when it happens, so it is likely that Wash has just heard it long enough to grasp the basic meaning.
 * Episode 11 of Season 9 has a blink-and-you-miss-it moment where you here the Meta clearly say "Get off me" to a medic. Then in Episode 15 you can hear him respond to Carolina with "Too high" before he is kicked out of a window. His characteristic growl is present up to this point, so maybe it's some sort of preference or meant for intimidation.
 * Versus Title
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Doc was not at all pleased that Simmons left him stuck in the wall, whilst at the same time, "volunteering" him to stay behind and "sacrifice" himself.

Doc: Start by remembering me now! Simmons!"

"Simmons: You ratted me out, you son of a bitch!"
 * When Caboose accidentally ruins Tucker's plan to distract an enemy whilst Simmons prepares an ambush, Tucker calls out to Caboose, stooging off Simmons' position.

"Grif: What do we do Sarge?!
 * War for Fun And Profit: The roots of the Red vs. Blue conflict are revealed to be:
 * Why Are You Looking At Me Like That?: Grif gets this treatment at the end of episode 18, when he wonders who they're gonna get to drive the mysterious vehicle they'll be using to save Church, Tex and take on the Freelancers.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Invoked during the team's fight in episode 10.

Sarge: I don't know! I've never hit a girl in my life!

Simmons: Yeah! I noticed! Try harder!"

"" We always seem to find each other, for better or for worse. I don't know why the Director did what he did. I don't know if he was trying to revive a memory from his past, or if he was just trying to get it out of his head. But I figured out something that the Director didn't. It took Alpha, Delta, and the rest to help piece it together for me, but what I've learned is that a great love is a lot like a good memory. When it's there, and you know it's there, but it's just out of your reach, it can be all that you think about. You can focus on it, and try to force it, but the more you do, the more you seem to push it away. But if you're patient, and you hold still, then maybe... Just maybe... It will come to you. I just need to make sure I'm somewhere she can find me. I think this place is a little different than it was before. See, out there, everything is based on the Alpha, but in here, I guess I'm the Alpha. And maybe this time through, things will be a little different for me as well. I guess I'll find out. And I mean, hell, if you have to live the rest of your life in a memory... you might as well make it a good one.""
 * Wrestler in All of Us: A German suplex is used in episode 10. Later, something resembling a backbreaker is thrown into a fight.
 * Worf Had the Flu: In the second-to-last episode, it's revealed that Tex is destined to always fail at the last moment, because This explains how, throughout the series, Tex always managed to get captured, killed, or knocked-out at a critical moment without accomplishing anything of actual importance despite being the series' biggest badass.
 * World of Cardboard Speech: delivers one in the final scene of Revelation


 * Worst Aid: While still not great at any medical matters, Doc has definitely improved since Blood Gulch Chronicles.