After sitting on the last two weeks, I’m back (practically immediately) to talk about my thoughts and theories for #RvBZero because that really was some episode. I’ll remind y’all that I’m going to be discussing spoilers for the episode (that’s why I checked the box) but I’ll also be digging into all sorts of RvB data and implications. It’s the first time I really think a “potential spoilers” claim is really required. I’ve got big things to say because big things happened this time. Starting with Tucker was pretty good. Seeing another classic RvB character in the new style was really fun. (A quick note, it could just be the angle of the shot but I think we just got a new height reference for all you artists. Tucker is taller than Carolina & the younger members of Shatter Squad by a touch. I could be the armor. We also know Alison/Tex is canonically short, so that could explain Carolina… I’m really getting in too deep on the lore for the first paragraph.) The handling of Tucker this episode fit his character well. Funny, easily distracted, but always a good soldier. I also liked the backtalking soldier bit with a surprise Kdin. But attention is quickly pulled back to the plot, so we’ll get there too. Like I asked for last week, we got more of those orange alien henchmen (and I know that these episodes are made far in advance so my questions really are of no consequence to the production). The whole fortress attack was great. Fun action in a new space. Some unexpected pay off to the Newfield story in Duo. I love the idea of the sword fighting its own fight while Zero takes care of more personal matters. I’d love to see a deeper look into how it works. Raymond sums up my opinion of the mongoose fight. The line was cool and the fight was super well done. And because we all know these are the more important parts of the episode, Phase and East are back together (and I have words) and the KILLED TUCKER (and I have words). Before I get into all of that, this episode was another well-paced self-containing episode. Everything flowed together. I also loved the “Go get’em Shatter Squad moment.” Very Saturday morning cartoons, very awesome action movie (like all the fighting and chasing this episode especially), and very efficient at showing a growing bond between them. One more for the “Zero is a cool badass” column she was ready to fight off Phase on her own so Tucker and East could escape. Okay, let’s do the big things one at a time, right? --------- Phase 2 ----------- I am so hype about Phase 2. That’s what I’m calling her until we get an official distinction. And maybe even after because I like the pun. Getting her now, at the beginning of the second half means we have plenty of room to explore the second/whole form of these characters and there’s also plenty we can finally learn & piece together about Phase, East, and a few other elements of this season’s lore. Holo-echo, that’s what this scenario/technology is called. I’ll admit that I was wrong that they were a full Human/AI relationship like we’ve seen before, but they still might sort of be AND I was right that Phase is the “main” one. It’s also clear that this is a theoretical technology because Ray knows about them, but he claims they haven’t been successful. What it seems to be is, rather than my theory of an AI operating another android body, the ability to project a mostly autonomous duplicate of oneself that has a solid form. Unlike the Project Freelancer holographic armor enhancement, this is made up of a hardlight capable of making physical interaction which is different from but potentially similar to what the weapons and guardians are made of (remember this). The duplicate can be slightly different than the original in physical representation and voice. If this can be done intentionally is likely but unconfirmed (I couldn’t tell if East’s voice changed to Phase when she said “time’s up”). They also seem capable of developing independently, implying a level of AI that can have memory and complex reactions. It reminds me a bit of Black Box from the Halo novels. When he split himself and the versions could not communicate, he essentially had two versions of himself, and only upon absorption of the copy did he have access to the memories, though there was also a complication of gaining all these new feelings. Her calling Shatter Squad “friends” has me thinking she may not be on Zero’s side forever, however mocking it was at the time. She seems to be a bit more disenfranchised after the episode’s final revelation (but we’re not quite there yet, are we?) This would also fit the “Fast and Furious” tone and theme of family the crew has said they’ve taken inspiration from. This season’s bad guy is next season’s friend (See this week’s Off Topic for more). Something else we can learn from the revelation of Holo-echos is potentially the technology’s origin and how the guardians and the orange hench-aliens operate. Phase said it took Zero to make a Holo-echo possible. This is where timelines and truths get murky, but we can at least assume that Starlight Labs has been using some of the Ancient Alien tech to create the enhancements we’ve seen and everything else they’re implied to have created (I have a further deep lore theory I’ll save for the end of this post). Now, if it is that Starlight Labs failed and Zero’s acquisition of the alien tech and powers allowed him to make Phase/East actually work or if he is just taking credit for what Starlight created and his capabilities just let him work it better is hard to say because we haven’t seen the literal origins of East yet to place her in the timeline. But what we do know is Phase and Zero have fought and against the guardians and along side the orange things which both can physically effect the world, reacting in real time t what goes on around them, yet upon defeat disappear as if they have been shut off. I’m not saying these are the same as holo-echoes, but the definitely seem to work on the same principals. Coincidence is always possible, but in a story like this, the creators have to intentionally create every element. I also love the design of Phase 2. I really hope we get reference images at the end of the season to parse out all the little details, but giving her Phase’s visor but a full color uniform really brings home that East and Phase make up the whole person. The gold bits look sweet too, though I wonder where they came from and how Phase’s suit was physically altered by dissolving a hard-light hologram, but I’m fine chalking that up to Ancient Alien Magic Tech and the rule of cool. -------Did they just kill Tucker?------- It looks like it! And on its own, what a way to move on from the past of Red vs Blue. I’m not getting on here to be an old-school fan saying he was done dirty and complain about that. If this is how the story moves on I’ll respect it because the story seems to be going in a good direction. I think that the old characters shouldn’t just be protected just because they’re old favorites. It’d be great to see some of them interacting with the new characters in a Star Trek: The Next Generation fashion, but I also ultimately want that to serve the story. It was very quick, but if this is Tucker’s end at least he got in one final bow-chica-bow-wow. But this might not be the final bow-chica-bow-wow. There was an awful lot of attention on the sword being off. No one tried to turn it on, but that is just another instance of how intentional animation is. They don’t have to show anything so what they do show is important. Now, I see 3 complications/potential directions coming from all this. 1) The RvB crew is intentionally screwing with us old fans. If you’ve just tuned in to Red vs Blue with us, allow me to give you a breif primer. In Red vs Blue, the energy swords serve as both weapons and keys to certain powerful locations and artifacts in the Redvsblueniverse. The very presence of these keys can operate teleportation networks, power entire constructs, & even open the seal on a world-killing-plague. (It can also release a highly-potent aphrodisiac onto a whole world, but we don’t talk about that.) The check on the power of these keys is they only are put into the hands of certain individuals. When possible they are presented to True Warriors of Clear Minds, those not weighted down by things such as fear of failure, self-doubt, and several-times-increased gravity. So far the only True Warriors determined by these methods that we have seen are Tucker and Caboose. The weird standards of the Ancient Aliens may not line up with ours all the time. More on that later. The OTHER method of selection is a bit more… “merit-based.” The swords map to the individual to weild them, only activating for them. If you want a sword to work for you, YOU have to kill it’s owner or potentially just be the first person to turn it on next. Only a better warrior can kill a True Warrior. I would not be surprised if the RvB Team is just playing off of this knowledge and intentionally not turning on the sword despite Tucker being dead for some good good tension. This would work with the end of the episode to, they might not have turned the sword on yet because Viper doesn’t know how things work. But, if the team behind the season isn’t just playing with us that means… 2) Tucker isn’t dead and the sword won’t work for anyone on Viper. In this scenario we’re in than that gives us the first real obstacle for Viper to overcome. So far the game has always been in their favor, and this could be the start of Shatter Squad’s victory by the end (partial or complete*) of the season. And yes, as a long term fan I’m glad Tucker survived but that’s an added bonus of a good story. This option is fairly straightforward. -------- *At this point of writing this (midday on Tuesday), Fiona has tweeted saying that the team has seasons roughly planned out for their RvB story. 1) I’m all in, and 2) if that’s the case we can likely expect some sort of open thread or stinger/cliffhanger after this season (even a “And Shatter Squad’s career had just started” type thing). -------- 3) Tucker’s dead, but the sword isn’t up for grabs. Given Phase 2’s more interesting reactions since becoming whole, I think it would be really cool if we have a bit of an Elder Wand situation here. Phase 2 killed Tucker &/or turned the sword on first, locking it to her. Her tossing it up and down on the drive back to Viper’s base (wherever that is) and looking intently at the blade makes me think she was thinking about something particular. And since Zero didn’t turn the sword on yet, he may be waiting until he’s at the final temple, but it won’t work for him. Realizing what’s up he’ll try to kill Phase 2. That betrayal paired with the integration of her East persona and its memories will flip her from Viper to Shatter and cause a duel of Zero vs Phase 2, Sword vs Sword. That duel will last until Shatter Squad catches up with Viper Squad and we get our final confrontation, probably within whatever chamber holds the Ultimate Power. This is all theoretical, but I feel quite likely for a fun twist. Hey, I warned you of potential spoilers at the start. -------The Ultimate Power------- What is it? I don’t know, I just thought Zero and the rest of Viper did know and didn’t explain it because they didn’t need to. This revelation though, that they don’t know, is awesome and hilarious. Since we don’t know I’d say we have an equal chance that it’s something funny Zero wasn’t expecting at all* or it is literally the ultimate source of power that could allow anyone to take over the universe. We’ll see. Either way this is a great move as it shows Zero as fallible. Knocking the big villain down a peg is one thing but completely undercutting his plan like this is a bold choice I wasn’t expecting but am pleasantly surprised by. Not knowing what the Ultimate Power is also tracks with Red vs Blue. This wouldn’t be the first time the Ancient Aliens / Cosmic Powers have been vague with communicating what they left behind for mortals. Tucker is the Great Hero from the Great Prophecy wielding the Great Weapon against the Great Destroyer. Maybe it’s a translation issue. The Keys are never really clearly specified in the texts. The Dumbest Being in the Universe and a True Warrior having a clear mind are both interpretations of descriptions for the same sort of person. Translating eons old languages is hard. It’s why Shisno is such a dirty word but in the modern sense has strayed from the original meaning of “One so despicable they would alter time for their own means and screw it all up**” and now is the discharge of the leavings of something akin to skunks. We’ve had callbacks this season and a few things that flow naturally from the past seasons, but this is a deep cut and I love it. -------- *I’d risk even saying it is the sort of thing where you get into the final chamber and it says “The ultimate power is in the person able to get here on their own.” I like that sort of twist. Yes it has been done before, but there’s nothing wrong with that moral. **No, that is not a direct quote from a previous season, but a “concise” version of what we learned during the Pizza Quest arc. Now you see what I mean about translation issues. -------- Oh, and it is a further thing contributing to the division of Viper Squad and failing of Zero’s Plan. As someone rooting for the heroes, I appreciate this. --------------------------- Here at the end of another post, I’ve gotta say this is easily my favorite episode so far and I feel like I’m saying that most weeks which is a pretty good sign. I can also safely say that by this point yes, things are new and different but it FEELS like Red vs Blue and I can’t wait to see what that means for the rest of the season. Thanks again to everyone involved in the production of my favorite webseries ever, of all time.