Review: Red vs Blue “Walk and Talk”

Time paradoxes.

Overview:

Carolina and Washington visit the time travel expert: Jax.

Our Take:

It turns out that the time travel expert is Jax of all people– which I suppose is fair. As outlandish and weird as Jax is, he has a surprising amount of knowledge of fiction and cinema, so he is well versed in being able to talk about fictional time travel. It doesn’t make him an expert on the subject, but it is more than enough for this universe, as he is able to properly discuss the differences when it comes to choice and time travel.

Jax differentiates between three kinds of time travel: closed loops, alternative realities, and flexible.  Alternate Reality theories rely on the creation of other realities, where anything messing with time will spawn a new reality. Second is the flexible one, where it’s possible to create paradoxes, but it’s also equally possible to reset your wrongs… Last is the Closed Loop, where everything you do in the past is part of the timeline. This is heavily implied to be the type of universe that Red vs Blue exists in. No matter what happens, ridiculous or not, that’s already been ordained by fate and is accounted for. In other words, free will doesn’t exist, as it has already been decided by the gods or fate what will and will not come to pass. Even time travel and the consequences that come with time travel has already been accounted for and won’t disturb the major fabric of space and time. While this is the most logical for their universe, it’s the most troubling for the characters, as that means destiny is completely fixed.

From what Huggins tells Grif, it seems to be the latter. Atlas and his followers are all gods, with Atlas standing at the peak of power. There seem to be two factions of gods: those under Atlas and those against him, and Huggins seems to be a messenger from those against. Atlas’ goal seems to be domination, and the Reds and Blues are the only things that can stop him. The other gods can’t manage to do so, so they have to employ Huggins to guide them on the right path. Since Huggins is very excitable compared to the toned down and cynical Grif, this might not be the best combination.

Overall, this episode is pretty informative about the world that they live in, and how time travel functions. If you aren’t familiar with time travel or multiverse theories, this is a good way to understand it. It sets up things going forward, and we get some comedy too. Altogether, pretty enjoyable.

Score
8.0/10