History WebAnimation / RedVsBlueTheBloodGulchChronicles

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: In Episode 62, Simmons tries to convince Sheila that she was supposed to protect Blue Base against "space pirate cowboy monkey ninjas" who were trying to round up some cattle.

* MissionControl: Vic, who it turns out to be the MissionControl for ''both'' teams.

-->'''Tucker''': Naw. Hollywood doesn't understand apocalypse. They think that just one thing from everyday life goes away and that changes everything. Like in ''Road Warrior'' it was [[PostPeakOil gas]], and in ''Film/{{Waterworld}}'' it was land.
-->'''Simmons''': What went away in ''Film/TheMatrix''?
-->'''Tucker''': [[TheNightThatNeverEnds Sunlight]].
-->'''Grif''': I thought the missing element was plot.
-->'''Tucker''': I'm talking about Matrix ''[[{{Sequelitis}} One]]''.

-->'''Church''': We don't know anything about [the sword], though. Maybe it runs on radiation and it's poisoning him.
-->'''Caboose''': Or maybe it runs on solar power!
-->'''Church''': Wait now, why would solar power make him sick?
-->'''Caboose''': ...Is he Republican?

* WhamEpisode: The season finale ends with [[spoiler: Tex dead and Caboose grimly stating that his name is O'Malley]].

* WhamEpisode: The Season 2 finale takes the status quo from the first two seasons and completely obliterates it. [[spoiler: O'Malley steals Lopez and runs away, Vic reveals that he's working for both the Red and Blue teams, Tucker gets shot by O'Malley, Tex recognizes Donut as the one who killed her, and the teams form a temporary truce to stop O'Malley. However, the episode ends on a cliffhanger with the entire cast scattered around the galaxy due to teleporter malfunctions.]]

* WhamEpisode:
** "Make Your Time": The bomb attached to Church blows up and ends up [[spoiler:sending everyone to the future. The only exception is Church himself, who is sent to the past]].
** "The Storm": The Reds find their way back to Blood Gulch.

* WhamEpisode: As per the usual, the season finale is a bit of a game-changer, as [[spoiler: Tucker gives birth to an alien, O'Malley leaves Doc, and Donut gets crushed by a ship]].

* WhamEpisode: The SeriesFauxnale[=/=]Episode 100, "Why Were We Here?": [[spoiler:Tex betrays the others to help Omega, forcing Sarge to use Andy to blow her up, along with Junior.]]

** And Rooster Teeth themselves to a much greater degree, given the series is ultimately a [[TropesAreNotBad well-done]] Halo AU fanfic.

* {{Flanderization}}: Almost everyone, though TropesAreNotBad as this led to Caboose and Donut becoming even more popular, and funny moments becoming much more common. It also works in the sense that the characters originally started out as broad archetypes, and their Flanderization made them into more unique & interesting characters.

* BleakBorderBase: Blood Gulch seems to fit this to a T, with both bases staffed by incompetent "soldiers", constantly besieged by danger, underequipped (at least with ''basic'' equipment) and far away from most of civilisation.

** The AI O'Malley moves around through open radio channels.

* {{Bookends}}: The series began and ended with two characters observing two other characters discuss their place in the world. Which turns out to be NotActuallyTheUltimateQuestion, as they're actually talking about something mundane (Simmons is wondering why they're stationed in Blood Gulch, and Caboose is wondering why they're standing outside in the sun)

* DeconstructiveParody: Just about every first person shooter video game trope is picked apart, generally for comedic purposes.

*** TheChick: Sister is the only female soldier and will speak at length about her numerous sexual exploits.

** Donut goes from being ambiguously effeminate to CampGay.

** Simmons goes from teacher's pet to groveling sycophant.
** Tex goes from being a skilled special-ops soldier to a legendarily powerful badass.
*** Especially JustForFun/{{egregious}}, as most of this shift only takes place during the ''Recollection'' and turns her from a more powerful soldier into a super soldier to rival Master Chief.

* FriendshipMoment
** "[[spoiler:CABOOSE]]! [[BigNo NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!]]"
** Also happens when Grif saves Sarge's life from a [[BoomHeadshot headshot wound]] in Season 1... by using CPR.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Project Freelancer Command, the people who order the Freelancers around from behind the scenes and for whom Omega/O'Malley, Wyoming, and Gamma/Gary are manipulating the main cast for so as to end the Human-Covenant War.]]

* HopelessWar: PlayedForLaughs due to the fact that the teams are in a never ending game of Capture the Flag. The creators state that one side exists because the other side exists.

* IntroductoryOpeningCredits: The first five seasons, at least on their film-like presentation on Netflix, have an extended introduction to start each series off, complete with name-presenting freezecams and camera sweeps.
%%* IronicEchoCut: Both played straight and played for laughs many times.

** MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: Vic is also quite clearly crazy and incompetent, and is even implied to [[spoiler:not actually be human in the later seasons]].

* OnlySaneMan: Church, who is usually the only person to both understand when a crisis is happening and be motivated enough to do something about it. Most of the other characters are either one but not the other, or neither. Tex might qualify in some episodes, but she has a habit of going AxeCrazy, and often pursues her own agenda to the detriment of the others.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Church and Tex as of the end of Season 1 onward. [[spoiler:Then it turns out they aren't ghosts at all. Washington is incredulous at everyone's belief that they are- reacting in much the same way a person would in RealLife.]]
* TheRemake: For the tenth anniversary Blu-Ray box set, the entire ''Blood Gulch Chronicles'' were re-done in the PC ports of ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''Halo 2''. Along with the cleaner visuals, the most noticeable changes are full screen (the originals had to [[EyedScreen add black bars]] to crop the HUD and player's gun) and the lack of a targeting reticle, given the Xbox originals lacked the "Theater Mode". The remasters eventually found their way to Netflix, the official ''Red vs. Blue'' Website/YouTube channel, and Rooster Teeth's website during their 2018 revamp (the originals are still found in the RT Youtube channel).

-->'''Donut''': It's not pink, it's ''[[InsistentTerminology lightish red]]''!

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Tex is the only girl in the show for quite some time, though in a case of PositiveDiscrimination, she's definitely the best fighter on either team.

** In Episode 45, Doc cheerfully describes having a blog as "Like being a ''real'' journalist, but without all the hassle of liability and accuracy!"
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Given the high amount of swearing, this one inevitably crops up [[strike:once in a while]] quite a bit.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Subverted in Episode 81. Sister knows it and tries using it early on, but the others don't understand her, with Church citing it as outdated.

'''Tucker''': Caboose! What did I tell you about that?
* MultipleEndings: In addition to the canonical ending, there are ''six'' alternate endings to Episode 100, "Why Were We Here?" (two were on concurrent downloads along with the official one, the others in the home video)
** "[[KillEmAll Fight! Fight!]]": A [[TooSoon poorly timed comment]] from Sarge prompts a free-for-all that ends with everyone dead.

** "[[AlienInvasion Invasion]]": Starts the same way as "Fight! Fight!" but before Sarge can finish mocking the Blues, he is blasted by a Banshee. Everyone is killed by Aliens, who then proceed to take over the bases and act out the events of Episode 1.
** "[[AllJustADream Ruby]] [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Slippers]]": It's revealed that the entire series was a dream being had by Church back during Season 1, having only been knocked unconscious by Sheila's cannon fire. He describes his dream to Tucker, Caboose, and Jenkins, who he apparently forgot about, before Simmons and Grif show up. Church tries to speak to them about the events of his dream, but they just hose the Blues down with [[MoreDakka machine gun fire]], killing them all. The Reds (complete with Sarge's original, nasally voice) then prepare to move on to the next zone.

* PrecisionFStrike: Sarge gives only one F-bomb in the first five seasons, in Episode 92.

--> '''Sarge:''' Grif doesn't know what he's talking about, eh? Stop the fuckin' presses.

* {{Bookends}}: The series began and ended with two characters observing two other characters discuss their place in the world.

* SurpriseDownerEnding: "Why Were We Here?". [[spoiler:Tex performs a FaceHeelTurn and reunites with O'Malley to help stop the Great War with Junior, but she, Sheila (who was downloaded aboard Sister's Pelican that she was using), and Junior are all blown up by Andy, killing off a large portion of the series' cast and making it so that [[ShaggyDogStory Church's desperate struggle to save his girlfriend throughout the whole series was utterly pointless]].]]

** The Battle Creek Reds and Blues, who are two large, deeply idiotic, [[DoesThisRemindYouofAnything constantly respawning armies]] [[{{GIFT}} of jerks]].

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: One Wyoming: major threat. An army of Wyomings time-duplicates: Cannon Fodder for the Reds, even giving Simmons of all people a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. Granted, the GroundhogDayLoop explains how Tucker could handle them, but not the Reds. Or CHURCH, who can be seen sniping a few while the Reds are observing from Blue Base. Notably, when there is only one Wyoming left, the negative effects of the trope apparently haven't worn off, as he is easily interrogated [[spoiler:and [[KilledOffForReal executed]].]] That said, the battle is [[PlotTailoredToTheParty coordinated between the Reds and Blues]], and Wyoming is more of a ProfessionalKiller than a straight up combatant.
** Possibly justified as it's basically stated that the reason Wyoming is so boss is because he spams time rewinds. Obviously in the last battle he had already made at least a dozen or two attempts, and one can assume that's normal for him. It can also be assumed that the reason they went down so easily in the final battle is that they didn't get the chance to rewind that time.

* DeathIsCheap: By way of a NearDeathExperience in one case, and ghosts in two others. [[spoiler:[[DoingInTheWizard Subverted]] in ''The Recollection''.]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: Just about every first person shooter video game trope is picked apart, generally for comedic purposes.
* DeusExitMachina: Circumstances continually keep Sheila and the Warthog from being fully operational or otherwise able to affect the conflict. Both vehicles get totaled early in Season 1; Sheila is fixed and re-totaled; the next season has a huge amount of time dedicated to the vehicles being repaired, only for Sheila to begin exhibiting more independent action. Sheila is then unable to accompany the teams on their teleports out of Blood Gulch, and has to have her personality moved out of the tank in season 5. The Warthog stops getting this treatment after season 2, once the conflicts scale up to the point where it can't tip the balance.

** This is possibly explained later in the series [[spoiler:when Vic meets Dylan Andrews, offering her the files and recordings he had on the Reds and Blues during their stay in Blood Gulch. It's implied that he is the curator and editor of the original five seasons worth of footage, having created a hundred five minute episodes to get her up to speed presumably from a fractured, dying database that seems to be slowly turning him insane, which could explain any oddities in their early appearances.]]

** [[invoked]] Sister, whose real name is Kaikaina. Kaikaina is the Hawaiian word for "Little Sister", or, more accurately, the Hawaiian word for "[[UnfortunateImplications younger sibling of the same sex]]".

* {{Expy}}: According to WordOfGod, the dynamic between Doc and O'Malley is heavily based after the similar "relationship" between [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sméagol and Gollum]].
* TheFaceless: Everyone, by necessity, as the Halo games give everyone helmets; The exceptions are the alien, "Junior", and Vic. Semi-[[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Church asks Tucker if he's black, after learning his first name (Lavernius).

** Also happens when Grif saves Sarge's life from a [[BoomHeadshot headshot wound]]... using CPR.
** [[spoiler:When Wyoming is stabbed by Tucker, Gamma cries out "Reggie!"]]

* GambitRoulette: By the end of the series, it appears that [[spoiler:everything O'Malley, Wyoming, Gamma/Gary and Vic did was for the purpose of acquiring an Alien child and the sword that would elevate him to the status of leader of his race, so that O'Malley could possess the Alien and use his race as a weapon to win the war. The degree of planning and precision this would require, and using Wyoming and Gamma's time-bending powers to send them to the past [[strike: and future]] in order to further manipulate them, is implausibly ridiculous, thus keeping with the tone of the series.]]

* HiredGuns: Tex and Wyoming.
** BountyHunter

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Used when Church was insisting on using "Doc", and Dufre insisting that it wouldn't catch on. Cue a cut to his character intro for the opening labeling him as "Doc".

** [[spoiler:Crunchbite]] in Season 4.

** [[spoiler:Captain Flowers and Wyoming]] in Season 5.

-->'''Sarge:''' "Simmons, what're they saying?"
-->'''Simons:''' "I have no idea. I can't find the volume on this monitor. And without any sound it just looks like a bunch of helmets bobbing up and down."
-->'''Sarge:''' "Is that how they talk? [[TakeThatUs They look ridiculous!]]"

* LoveTriangle: Sheila to Lopez and Caboose. [[TriangRelations Type 4]].
** For Caboose, this is also a case of RoboShip.

** Grif may be the patron saint of this, given his state as the physical ButtMonkey and Sarge's constant attempts to put him in harms way. At one point he takes a shotgun round point blank to the chest, and shortly after takes a FiveRoundsRapid to the face, twice. He is fine.

** MissionControlIsOffItsMeds

** "What happened to Georgia???"

** Church's [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy horrible aim]], especially with the sniper rifle. He usually only hits people by accident, or when the RuleOfFunny makes it possible. In Reconstruction this gets Flanderized to the point that he fires an entire clip at an enemy two feet away and [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments misses every time.]]

*** People being possessed say "HEEGAKURGURK".

* PapaWolf: A good indicator of Tucker's future CharacterDevelopment and him later [[TookALevelInKindness Taking A Level In Kindness]] is how quickly he starts to dote on and care for Junior (at least in his own way). [[spoiler:Most notably, he ''kills a Freelancer'' once he learns that they plan to kidnap his son and have him possessed by an insane [=A.I.=]]].

* SeriesFauxnale: Episode 100 "Why Were We Here?", the GrandFinale of the Blood Gulch Chronicles.

* CurbStompBattle: Usually any fight that Tex is involved in, including killing Church's teammates in a flashback in Episode Ten, and killing the Battle Creek Zealots in Season 4. Caboose also effortlessly devastates the Zealots once his BerserkButton is pressed. And then there's the Reds vs. the Wyomings in Episode 99.

** Sister, whose real name is Kaikaina. Kaikaina is the Hawaiian word for "Little Sister", or, more accurately, the Hawaiian word for "[[UnfortunateImplications younger sibling of the same sex]]".

** Red Team

*** Justified, however, as there is a notable shift in his intelligence after Church, Tex, and O'Malley had an explosive firefight in Caboose's mind.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Blue Base in Blood Gulch is referred to as "Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha." Later on, [[spoiler:in Season 6, we find out that Church, the leader of Blue Team, is actually an AI designated "Alpha."]]

* HopelessWar: Played for laughs due to the fact that the teams are in a never ending game of Capture the Flag. The creators state that one side exists because the other side exists.

%%** Also, Tucker himself and his "striking metrosexual good looks," as noted by Captain Flowers.

%%* KilledOffForReal:
%%** The Red Zealot in Season 3.
%%** [[spoiler:Crunchbite]] in Season 4.
%%** [[spoiler:York]] in ''Out Of Mind''.
%%** [[spoiler:Captain Flowers and Wyoming]] in Season 5.

** For Caboose, this is also a case of RoboShip.

*** After this, Tucker's obsession with using the sniper rifle died down significantly. The fact that he found his own badass weapon (the Sword) also had something to do with it.

** Tucker gets covered in "black stuff" whenever going through teleporters.

* ShoutOut: [[ReferenceOverdosed So many]] that it's probably not feasible to list all of them.

** Most famously, Episode Two's "You mean like a puma?"

** A surprise political joke in Season 4.

-->'''Caboose''': Is he Republican?

* TwoActStructure: The second half of the ''Chronicles'' is far more plot-oriented (going so far as to induce a {{revision}} of some of the sillier gags from earlier in the series) and ends on a relative downer.

* AndShowItToYou: A variant in Episode 10, where a man is killed with his own skull being used to beat him to death. Except the way [[OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement Tex is said to have done this (tearing out the skull of the victim)]] doesn't seem physically possible. (Which were essentially the victim's last words.)

--> '''Tucker''': That doesn't seem physically possible.
--> '''Church''': That's exactly what Jimmy kept screaming.
--> '''Jimmy''': ''This doesn't seem physically possible!''

** The first episode directly references ''Halo'', with Grif complaining about being stuck in the canyon after Master Chief brought down the Covenant on his own. The connection to the source material was quietly downplayed once the series started developing its own mythos.
** When Vic appears in Episode 10, he's a more stoic character, voiced by Randall Glass of Warthog Jump. Vic's return in season 2 had him as the quirky and unhelpful MissionControl voiced by Burnie.

'''Caboose:''' I think you are a mean ghost.

-->'''Caboose''': I think it would be ironic if we were all made of iron.

* EvilTastesGood: Averted:
-->'''O'Malley/[[spoiler:Doc]]''': I will devour their hearts and crap out their souls! They will all taste oblivion!... Which tastes just like Red Bull... Which is disgusting!
* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler:Caboose getting possessed by O'Malley.]]

* OddNameOut: The two robots [[spoiler:Sarge builds for the blues]] in Episode 38:

* TheSlowPath: In season 3, Church becomes trapped in the past and must wait until he catches up to the present...which takes about a thousand years. Fortunately, he has a robot body, which still somehow grows a beard. [[spoiler:However, it could've been from Gary's deceit, since the whole time loop for Church with the bomb really didn't happen.]]

** "Make Your Time": The bomb attached to Church blows up and ends up [[spoiler: sending everyone to the future. The only exception is Church himself, who is sent to the past]].

'''Tucker:''' [[CatchPhrase Bow Chika Bow Wow]].\\
'''Tex:''' Never mind, Tucker's in front.\\

-->'''Church:''' Dude, I can't! Your sword only works for- [[EurekaMoment Wait a minute.]] ({{Beat}}). There's no ''possible'' way he understands that. Fuck it, give me the sword.

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:The aliens revive Butch Flowers only for him to be infected by Omega shortly after.]]

* DeadlyDeferredConversation: Blue Team Captain Butch Flowers explains to Church and Tucker that he will tell them the secret of beating the Reds tomorrow... only to die of an aspirin overdose that night. Though as Season 10 reveals, [[spoiler:[[HarsherInHindSight what Flowers might have been trying to tell Church and Tucker was more important than they thought]]]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The fact that Church wasn't affected by O'Malley possessing him is strange until you realize in hindsight that [[spoiler:it just was a case of the fragment returning to the whole.]]

* MythologyGag: It's heavily implied in the "Fight! Fight!" alternate ending that the story of [[CloudCuckoolander Caboose's life]] was used by {{Creator/Bungie}} as their inspiration for the ''Halo'' franchise.

* PrecisionFStrike: Sarge gives only one F-bomb in the first 5 seasons, in Episode 92.

* TheReveal: Most of the season is spent trying to locate O'Malley after he jumps from Doc until he turns out in "The Wrong Crowd" to have infected [[spoiler:Butch Flowers]].

* SeriesFauxnale: Episode 100, the finale of the Blood Gulch Chronicles.

* WhamEpisode: The Series Finale (SeriesFauxnale?) and Episode 100, "Why Were We Here?": [[spoiler: Tex betrays the others to help Omega, forcing Church to use Andy to blow her up, along with Junior.]]

** Also, Tucker himself and his "striking metrosexual good looks," as noted by Captain Flowers.
* IronicEchoCut: Both played straight and played for laughs many times.

* KilledOffForReal:
** The Red Zealot in Season 3.
** [[spoiler:Crunchbite]] in Season 4.
** [[spoiler:York]] in ''Out Of Mind''.
** [[spoiler:Captain Flowers and Wyoming]] in Season 5.

* AndShowItToYou: A variant in Episode 10, where a man is killed with his own skull being used to beat him to death. Except the way Tex is said to have done this (tearing out the skull of the victim) doesn't seem physically possible. (Which were essentially the victim's last words.)

* ShoutOut: To the then recent ''Halo'' ad campaign - when Simmons and Grif begin arguing about the plausibility of an ancient race being technologically advanced, Simmons exasperatedly exclaims, "Let's finish this fight later!"
** Church brags about feeling like a [[Franchise/StarWars Jedi]] when using Tucker's {{Laser Sword}} in Caboose's mind in Episode 100.
** The "{{All Just A Dream}}" alternate ending to Episode 100 is called "[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Ruby Slippers]]."
** The backstory given to [[VoodooShark Yellow Church]] by Caboose is essentially the plot to ''{{Series/Lost}}.''

* FiveBadBand:
** BigBad: O'Malley/[[spoiler:Omega]]
** TheDragon[=/=]TheBrute: Wyoming
** TheEvilGenius: Gamma/[[spoiler:Gary]]
** TheDarkChick: Vic
** SixthRangerTraitor: [[spoiler:Tex [[EleventhHourRanger in Episode 100]].]]

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: One Wyoming: major threat. An army of Wyomings time-duplicates: Cannon Fodder for the Reds, even giving Simmons of all people a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Granted, the GroundhogDayLoop explains how Tucker could handle them, but not the Reds. Or CHURCH, who can be seen sniping a few while the Reds are observing from Blue Base. Notably, when there is only one Wyoming left, the negative effects of the trope apparently haven't worn off, as he is easily interrogated [[spoiler:and [[KilledOffForReal executed]].]] That said, the battle is [[PlotTailoredToTheParty coordinated between the Reds and Blues]], and Wyoming is more of a ProfessionalKiller than a straight up combatant.

** Church's [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy horrible aim]], especially with the sniper rifle. He usually only hits people by accident, or when the RuleOfFunny makes it possible. In Reconstruction this gets Flanderized to the point that he fires an entire clip at an enemy two feet away and [[CrowningMomentOfFunny misses every time.]]

* HaveYouTriedRebooting: The Blues try this on Sheila due to her erratic behavior. They also tried it to Caboose's armor once, which probably didn't help his mental state.

** "[[AllJustADream Ruby]] [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Slippers]]": It's revealed that the entire series was a dream being had by Church back during Season 1, having only been knocked unconscious by Sheila's cannon fire. He describes his dream to Tucker, Caboose, and Jacobs, who he apparently forgot about, before Simmons and Grif show up. Church tries to speak to them about the events of his dream, but they just hose the Blues down with [[MoreDakka machine gun fire]], killing them all. The Reds (complete with Sarge's original, nasally voice) then prepare to move on to the next zone.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early characters lacked most of their later [[CharacterTic Character Tics]], for example Caboose wasn't nearly as dumb as he is now and was even a bit of a DeadpanSnarker. Donut was basically a red Caboose at the start before he ended up in "[[InsistentTerminology lightish-red]]" armour and started developing his fey personality. Sarge wasn't nearly as nuts, Grif wasn't nearly as much of a disgusting pig, Tucker was kind of girl-obsessed but not to the extent he is now, etc. Also the Church/Texas dynamic hadn't been fully established yet and there's a lot of the early stuff that seems at odds with subsequent revelations as to both characters' true natures.

* TheRemake: For the tenth anniversary Blu-Ray box set, the entire ''Blood Gulch Chronicles'' were re-done in the PC ports of ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''Halo 2''. Along with the cleaner visuals, the most noticeable changes are full screen (the originals had to do LetterBoxing to crop the HUD and player's gun) and the lack of a targeting reticle, given the Xbox originals lacked the "Theater Mode". The remasters eventually found their way to Netflix, the official ''Red vs. Blue'' Website/YouTube channel, and Rooster Teeth's website during their 2018 revamp (the originals are still found in the RT Youtube channel).

* MultipleEndings: In addition to the canonical ending, there are ''six'' alternate endings to Episode 100, "Why Were We Here?"

* [[spoiler:RoboticReveal]]: Lopez is revealed to be this in Episode 16. Grif is humorously slow to catch on, despite obvious signs that would indicate it.
* [[spoiler:SamusIsAGirl]]: Tex, as revealed in Episode 12.

*** Especially {{egregious}}, as most of this shift only takes place during the ''Recollection'' and turns her from a more powerful soldier into a super soldier to rival Master Chief.