Shorts Review: Red vs. Blue Season 13, Episode 10 ‘The Master Key’

Spoilers Below:

After last week’s episode of Red vs. Blue, “You Better Watch Out,” I was really hoping the new installment would be called “You Better Not Cry.” It wasn’t, and now I suppose I’m the one crying.

It began with the Reds (Grif, Simmons, and Sarge) in a situation where they are “completely surrounded, severely unprepared, and reinforcements aren’t coming any time soon.” Although Sarge was excited about the challenge and potential for action, the gang decided to regroup with Wash. They & some of the other soldiers then planned to replace the crashed ship’s engine, and attempt to fly it off the planet.

Meanwhile, under the shield, our captive comrades were strategizing on an escape plan, and Dr. Grey came up with the idea of allowing Freckles to control Caboose’s gun and take down the bad guys.

In the third storyline, Felix & Sharkface arrived at the Temple of the Key, only to find that the shit-can-get-real-fucked-up-real-fast-sword was missing. Doyle had got there first.

At the end, Doc (the purple guy) was discovered in a cave, but realized that all his so-called friends hadn’t even noticed he was gone. (He was teleported away by a future cube in a previous episode. And season.)

In Case You Missed It:

1) “They got me right in the lap!”

2) Slow motion: “If it’s epic enough, life finds a way.”

3) Caboose’s (deceased) pet guinea pig was named Mr. Fiddles.

4) Felix called the Santa AI “Freddy Kruger.”

In my opinion, this is probably the best type of Red vs. Blue episode. Sure, the ones with epic action sequences, plot twists, and/or an overall intense tone can be engrossing and especially entertaining – but Red vs. Blue is much more than that, and episodes like “The Master Key” remind us all of this.

From the first scene (the hilarious “Oh my god, my lap!” sequence), I was hooked. Not only because I enjoy the show’s comedy, but because the scene was a total non-sequitur, which is a throwback to the early days of Red vs. Blue. Whenever this has come up since, I always appreciate it and take it as a good sign.

In other comedic comments, I must say Dr. Grey is growing on me. Not only because her odd balance of being a somewhat intelligent doctor and someone who sounds like a total ditz is amusingly intriguing, but also because her character comes across as one of the more endearing of the series. She, like Caboose, is absolutely devoted to her military efforts, despite coming across as having a few screws out of place. Plus, it’s funny hearing some of the Reds & Blues make jokes at her expense. (Tucker: “Wow. You really need to learn when to stop talking.”)

This installment also had a good repeater (“How do you just make something slow motion,”) and the perfect reply to the suggestion of splitting up, via Church: “Yeah okay, Scooby, let’s not make it too easy for the bad guys.” And then they split up anyway.

In topical humor, Caboose cracked, “Ugh, I know, it’s like zombies are super played out.” A much-needed commentary on today’s popular entertainment (although I’m a bit of a Walking Dead fan.)

I’m not trying to say that humor is the only reason this episode succeeded though. In fact, there was an awful lot going on in it, with three storylines, and multiple scenes for each one. Sure, a little more action and little more plot progression would have been nice, but we got to see Felix outsmarted (or at least outlegged) by Doyle, the master key is now on the move, and Doc suddenly came back (whether or not you noticed his absence), so that counts for something.

Although it may have lacked the intensity of some of the great Red vs. Blues of the past, it still felt like it had a little of everything, which was the strongest feature of the early episodes. The ones that were about nothing were amusing, and the dramatic plot-heavy ones were impressive and creative, but a good balance is what works best.

And hey, we got to see almost every character that’s still even slightly relevant to the show in one ten-minute video – and that’s pretty awesome.