Spoilers Below

Man, am I sick. Sick with some sort of summer cold, that is, not mentally sick – although I suppose the jury is still out on that one. Whenever I come down with something, I curse myself for not enjoying the healthier days, where I could frolic freely without hacking up a lung or needing a box of tissues within reach. I always resolve to turn that all around, and never take my day-to-day health for granted again. Of course when I actually am healthy, I don’t remember any of this, and go back to abusing my body with crap food and booze like I just escaped from being held captive in a basement dungeon for 10 years.

But how bout that Red vs. Blue, right?

Episode 6 of the Machinima legend began with Caboose finally fixing the mystery object he was tinkering with. Without it being revealed, the scene shifts to the Blue base, where the Reds arrive to offer their assistance in fixing the communications dish. As they bicker back and forth and insult Lopez Dos.0, he takes it upon himself to just fix the thing. As per usual, nobody noticed that he’s the one responsible for the repairs.

Washington radios a distress call for the Reds and Blues as members of a crashed ship. When someone finally answers, the voice on the other end is revealed to be Donut.

 

Wash: “And he’s competent enough to trust with our lives?”

Donut: “Sorry, did you say five or nine?”

Sarge: “I said eight.”

Counting their chickens before they hatch, the soldiers – save Wash – celebrate that “everything is going to be good forever!” Sarge suggests the teams “eat all of our food rations tonight and then fire all of our excess ammunition indiscriminately into the air to celebrate!” despite Washington reminding the team that it could be days before they are rescued.

Donut rejoins everyone, also declaring that everything is going to be good forever, and introduces Freckles, an AI-equipped Mantis. Off in a swamp somewhere, a mystery soldier is revealed to have also heard Wash’s mayday call.

It’s nice to see Red vs. Blue begin to spice up this season’s plot, with two new storylines – one bringing back an old character, and another introducing a new one. The humor is still there, and this episode was no exception. Each of the players managed to get in on the action, and Tucker even slipped in his catchphrase. If you were waiting for RvB to return to vintage form over the past few seasons, wait no further.

 

(7.5/10)

 

@Gonzo_Green