History YMMV / RedVsBlue

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: During the DVD commentaries for the first five seasons, Burnie notes whenever a spare topical references appears, he tended to avoid them due to believing that those gave a high risk of dating the product. And indeed, there are a few writing moments even more mid-2000s than the ''Halo'' games being used, such as references to ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and Sister mentioning Website/MySpace - says something about the show's longevity that later seasons mentioned ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and Website/{{Facebook}}. However, one line, "Can you hear me now? Can you hear me? Stupid 4G network.", manages to age well and not limit itself to the days where 3G was the norm — and in fact, the joke still works, with 5G only beginning to take off in 2019, more than a decade after the episode the joke came from.

** The Season 13 PSA about trigger warnings resulted in a pretty instant, pretty messy split between three camps: Those who felt the episode was hilarious for lampooning the PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad tendencies of some trigger warning users (As well as pointing out how these people make it hard to take real triggers seriously thanks to their overusage of them for mundane things), those who don't find the jokes funny due to the reason behind trigger warnings in the first place[[note]]to give a heads up to PTSD-sufferers about content that might induce an episode[[/note]], and those who didn't care either way for the episode, but found it in poor taste to release something so controversial despite knowing and lampshading the backlash it would cause, given RT's own very anti-politics-on-site nature. Then there's the smaller camp who found the intense reactions from both sides ridiculously over sensitive or hypocritical, regardless of if they themselves liked or disliked the video ''and'' regardless of their own opinion on trigger warnings.

* ContestedSequel: Following Season 13, the next three seasons have unfortunately developed this reputation, though for varying reasons: Season 14 dropped continuing the plot [[AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent in lieu of exploring other stories through an anthology]], Season 15 was criticized [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot for wasted]] [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter potential and such]], and Season 16 got a controversial reception for going on a far DenserAndWackier route than any of the prior seasons. Season 17 seems to have avoided this for the most part due to a mix of better pacing in its narrative and CharacterRerailment (among other factors). But then Season 18 again split the fans, some liking the [[ActionizedSequel non-stop barrage of flashy fights and chases]], and others criticizing the writing, with rushed plotting and characterization while lacking on the comedy that always drove the series.

** Way back in the beginning, Rooster Teeth were surprised to learn that the show had a sizable fanbase among women along with the traditionally masculine "video game nerd/geek kind of market" that was the target audience. While the creators [[SelfDeprecation have joked that]] [[BlatantLies it's because they're]] supposedly {{Hollywood Nerd}}s, the general consensus seems to be that good comedy transcends all boundaries and having the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple sole female character]] Tex also be the only truly capable one helped. Later seasons helped further by having continuously improved writing and representation regarding women, while also happening as the existence of women in "geek culture" in general became less marginalized and dismissed.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:

* GatewaySeries: Expect most people to mention ''Red vs. Blue'' as the series that got them into {{Machinima}}, Rooster Teeth, or both.
* HarsherInHindsight: Early in the series, Grif saves Sarge from a bullet wound to the head with CPR, and Sarge ([[ItMakesSenseInContext unfairly]]) chews him out for such a stupid choice of medical attention. Years later, when mass shootings became a major hot button issue in 2018, Rick Santorum got into hot water for suggesting students learn CPR.

* ValuesDissonance: A ''lot'' of the series' earlier humor has fallen out of favor as time has gone on, with ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles'' easily suffering from this issue the most out of the different story arcs since it aired during the mid-to-late [=2000s=]. As an example, while Sarge in Season 2 describing Lopez's [[HollywoodToneDeaf "love song"]] to Sheila as "[[CrossesTheLineTwice the feral cry of a retarded Mexican Sasquatch]]" is darkly hilarious, it also utilizes what is increasingly seen as an ableist slur (namely, "retarded") as part of its punchline.

* ''YMMV/RedVsBlueZero''

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[[folder:Series-wide]]

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[[folder:''Zero'']]

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* AssPull:
** Phase being able to activate Tucker's sword. Tucker's sword is a "Great Key", and as established throughout the series, Great Keys can only be used by whoever claimed them, and for someone else to use it, the previous holder must first die, otherwise the Great Key will be unresponsive. [[spoiler:While Phase ''did'' stab Tucker, he didn't ''die'', yet Phase is able to activate it herself, [[SeriesContinuityError completely ignoring the established rules of the Great Key.]]]]
** Phase's [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]]. One minute she's in the middle of beating the ever loving shit out of West [[spoiler:for seemingly abandoning her to Starlight Lab's experiments]], the next she's running to join the fight [[spoiler:against]] Zero. While there ''is'' a single scene of her questioning whether or not Zero knows what the "Ultimate Power" actually is and expressing doubt in him, it's a stark contrast between her [[spoiler:suddenly switching sides.]]
* BadassDecay: All of the returning characters are hit with this.
** [[spoiler:Tucker gets stabbed and loses his sword, while also not doing anything to battle Viper outside of a brief moment.]]
** Wash is on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle from Diesel, and spends the rest of the season hospitalized.
** Carolina gets her ass kicked by Viper, but is at least able to [[spoiler:kill Diesel]] and fight East and One simultaneously and win, which is more that Wash or [[spoiler:Tucker]] managed to do, but then gets easily taken out by Zero during the final fight.

** The decision to focus on a completely new cast of characters and not focus back on the Blood Gulch Crew. A lot of fans have cried foul and complained that this makes ''Zero'' "''Red Vs. Blue'' InNameOnly." Others have contended that it's nice to have the series focus on other characters since it will help keep the show fresh along with further expanding the series' universe.
** Even with only the trailer being released, Carolina being DemotedToExtra has sparked a lot of arguments among her fans. Many have complained that by seemingly subjecting her to TheWorfEffect and giving her a less combat-focused position on Shatter Squad, the series is repeating itself in how Carolina was previously nerfed in Seasons 12 & 15 to largely prop up the new villains. Other Carolina fans have instead argued that Carolina taking on a less action-focused role is reflective of her CharacterDevelopment in Seasons 15 & 17 about her wanting to move on past her history as just a bloodsoaked SuperSoldier, and by her taking on more of a "pure leadership" approach, more interesting facets of Carolina's personality can be explored. [[TakeAThirdOption And still others have pointed out that]], as it's just a trailer, it's too early to say for sure and so everyone should just wait for the season proper to come out and see what happens then.
** Washington's brain damage being cured offscreen. On the one hand, this effectively rendered Wash's development he received in ''Singularity'', were he came to terms with his injury and accepted it for what it was, completely pointless in favor of {{hand wav|e}}ing it away. On the other hand, removing the last remaining plot thread left from the divisive [[SeasonalRot 16th season]] makes it much easier for fans to pretend that season [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened.]]
** Once the season started, the ActionizedSequel nature split the fans who didn't like that the comedy and characterization that drove the series seemed like an afterthought, and others who were enjoying the flashy fights.
* ClicheStorm: One of the bigger critiques against the season is how "by the numbers it feels". Production statements had said it was going to feel like "Red Vs. Blue meets Film/TheFastAndTheFurious", with many noting that's what it feels like. A team put together specifically to combat a crew trying to pull off a heist so as to gain the "Ultimate Power", the team comprised of various archetypes, that culminates in the BigBad revealing himself to be the heroes predecessor and demoralizing them, until one of them gives a RousingSpeech and they have one final confrontation with the group. For many, it felt way too predictable and underdeveloped, not helped by [[ItsShortSoItSucks the short episode count]], to the point it felt like one of Jax's InUniverse cliched movie scripts rather than an actual season of [=RvB=].
* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[MyHeroZero Zero]], the leader of [[Characters/RedVsBlueZerosSyndicate Viper]], desired revenge against the Alliance of Defense for dropping the project GLASS and taking away his chance to be the leader of Shatter Squad. Desiring the Ultimate Power, Zero attacked several bases in order to steal artifacts and coordinates for temples, viciously slaughtering those who got in his way, having Washington tortured, and only sparing those who he wanted to trounce again in the future. Finally achieving his goal, Zero declared his intention to [[OmnicidalManiac "burn the world down" and "destroy everything"]], all to show off his own strength [[PsychopathicManchild out of petty spite]].]]
* EpilepticTrees: A few episodes in, fans who were deeming the season too much like an action movie (every other scene is a fight or chase, the dialogue is mostly one-liners, the characters are secondary) were already wanting it to actually be revealed as one written and directed by Jax Jonez.
* EvilIsCool: While all of Viper Squad certainly aimed for this, the one that stood out was Phase, with her show-offish TeleportSpam powers and penchant for slashing\throwing that earned her the nickname "Knife Wife".
* FanonDiscontinuity: Many fans were quick to pretend this season either never happened or wasn't a part of ''Red Vs. Blue'' due to the mediocre at best quality, and openly wish that should RVB get another season, that it ignore this season happened. It reached the point that when another ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' collaboration ad was done for [[VideoGame/{{Halo}} Master Chief's]] inclusion, many commenters expressed displeasure at the inclusion of One and Raymond for being characters from ''Zero'', not helped by their depiction as stereotypical millennials and calling Sarge and Grif [[MemeticMutation boomers]].
* FranchiseOriginalSin: Many of the initial concerns before the release of ''Zero'' (i.e., the season being focused on a different cast of characters from the Reds and Blues, an emphasis on action over comedy and character-driven drama, the quality of the new [=CGI=] animation and relatively fresh voice acting/writing talent, etc.) are practically identical to those expressed prior to the release of ''The Project Freelancer Saga'' years ago. The main difference seen post ''Zero'' is that Shatter Squad is completely new to the series and comes across as underdeveloped, whereas the Freelancers had already been introduced to the setting long beforehand, and were given time both before and ''during'' the saga to explore their characters and dynamics. Additionally, while action is a big part of both iterations of the series, ''Zero'' uses it more for spectacle in itself, whereas ''The Project Freelancer Saga'' uses it as a secondary element to the character driven nature of the story and to contrast between the elite Freelancers and the dysfunctional Blood Gulch Crew.
* HilariousInHindsight: In the ''Season 15'' commentary, the director jokes that Porkensenson, the process server, is wearing a [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Symbiote-esque]] suit of armor that grants him power. Come ''Zero'', [[spoiler:this is exactly what the "ultimate power" the antagonist seeks ends up being. They even both use the same helmet design.]]
* ItsShortSoItSucks:
** One of the major criticisms of the season is the abysmal episode count, clocking in at the lowest of any season with only ''eight episodes''. As a result, the pacing of the series is very off, some moments feeling too slow and others moving a mile a minute, with none of the characters getting the time to properly ''explore'' their characterization. Many as such feel like the season tries to cram too much into too little time.
** ''Family Shatters'' earns complaints that the bite-sized five minutes end too soon, and also that longer episodes could flesh out ideas better.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Many fans have openly admitted that they're mostly interested in ''Zero'' since they want to see Torrian Crawford bring his expertise in animated fight scenes, as previously observed in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'', to ''Red Vs. Blue''.
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: Common reaction to Episode 5, [[spoiler:where Tucker is seemingly killed by East, when his sword not igniting for others should be a clue. It's confirmed at the start of the very next episode that he survived the attack. Although not without consequences, namely, Phase stealing his Great Key.]]
* LostInMediasRes: A major criticism of the season is that the viewers are thrown into the middle of a plot line and forced to listen to exposition about what is going on, with Raymond being used as an AudienceSurrogate to [[ShowDontTell explain]] the group dynamics to, and that a lot of the "development" is ultimately an InformedAttribute as a result, not helped by things seemingly happening offscreen in between each episode and requiring more exposition to explain.
* MagnificentBitch: [[KnifeNut Phase]], real name [[spoiler:Danielle]], is a member of [[Characters/RedVsBlueZerosSyndicate Viper]] and [[spoiler: Agent West's daughter, resenting him after he gave her up to be experimented on to save her life. Saved by Zero, Phase created a [[HardLight holo-echo]], East, as a clone to join Shatter Squad, while she helped Zero with collecting the artifacts to unlock the Ultimate Power, killing many and torturing Wash to gain coordinates. Recalling East into herself to steal Tucker's Great Key, Phase eventually confronted her father and beat him unconscious before deciding to help Shatter Squad like her holo-echo used to.]]
* MorePopularSpinoff: While not winning over everyone, ''Family Shatters'' was more liked by fans than ''Zero'' for returning the focus to the comedy.
* {{Narm}}: "STORY TIME'S OVER!" was supposed to be a badass one-liner, but the overwrought delivery made it unintentionally funny.
* ReplacementScrappy: Shatter Squad (save for Axel, who was well-liked even among those who hated the season) are widely regarded as an inferior replacement for the Reds and Blues, thanks to having bland and cliched personalities and rushed or non-existent character arcs.
* TheScrappy: Zero, the titular BigBad, is not particularly well-liked by fans due to his inconsistent characterization that resulted in him alternating between being a NobleDemon, a CardCarryingVillain, or a WellIntentionedExtremist at random while always remaining generic and bland, his ultimate motivation being both utterly nonsensical and pathetic, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his]] {{Narm}}y [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking cheesy one-liners.]]
* SeasonalRot: While the season does have its supporters, most of the old fans found ''Zero'' the worst way the show could go, as besides the impressive action scenes, the writing was clichéd, lacking on the comedy and characterization that drove the series, and not handling well the old elements it carried over.
* TaintedByThePreview: Despite many fans being intrigued by the new season's action scenes, there are just as many who feel as though the new season is ''Red vs. Blue'' in name only as, with the exception of Carolina and Washington, the previews and promotional material have said nothing about the Reds and Blues or implied they will have anything to do with the plot. Many of Carolina's fans were also unimpressed/annoyed at the trailer seemingly confirming that she'd be going through TheWorfEffect again, [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks after similar instances in Seasons 12 & 15]] of her being made to look weaker than she was to prop up new villains. Although the real "trailer that didn't get fans behind it" was the announcement of spinoff [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CRJtjMDLS9o/?utm_medium=copy_link Family]] [[https://twitter.com/RoosterTeeth/status/1413268035390091264?s=19 Shatters]].
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: One of the biggest critiques of the season is how it ultimately feels like "Red Vs. Blue" InNameOnly. The only members of the original cast that return are Carolina & Wash [[spoiler:and later Tucker]], but only Carolina has any real importance. The series' staple sense of humor and character driven drama is either dropped or replaced with moments that fall flat, Shatter Squad is considered severely underdeveloped even by the season's conclusion, and the season is more focused on nonstop action scenes over actually exploring character dynamics, causing many scenes claiming the cast underwent development to feel like an InformedAttribute. And in a bit of irony, a reaction after the preceding and divisive story arc was some fans asking if the show could go different and without the old characters... [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor getting exactly that, only not in a way they liked]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Exactly what the Alliance of Defense is and why Wash and Carolina signed up to work for them is never adequately explained. While Wash has the excuse of "wanting to help where he can" and Carolina stood by him, nothing is ever explained about why ''this'' organization in particular rather than, say, the UNSC. Implications are made that the group is connected to Starlight Labs via East's background and that it was another "magic bullet" project similar to Project Freelancer, but outside of that, nothing gets elaborated on.
** Wash's brain damage is fixed completely offscreen with robotic implants, negating pretty much any potential storylines it set up.
** The penultimate episode before the final confrontation with Viper has One give a RousingSpeech about how they went from a RagtagBunchOfMisfits into a genuine team and that they will protect their own, even East[[spoiler:/Phase]]. However, this is largely an InformedAttribute due to Shatter Squad spending most of their time either bickering or fighting Viper. No actual bonding or development is shown, making One's proclamation they had CharacterDevelopment ring hollow, despite how important to the group's characters such development would be.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** While Shatter Squad as a whole are lacking in characterization, Axel ends up suffering the worst due to a plot line seemingly being set up, but never followed up on. Axel is established in the third episode to have had history with Zero, even being there the day Zero seemingly died, and numerous points are made of Zero trying to tell Axel "the truth" or that he's hiding things from the rest of Shatter Squad. While this would seem to be set up to have Axel have a more personal dynamic with Zero, even revealing their shared history to the rest of Shatter Squad, Axel instead falls to the background, with ''West'' being the one to explain Zero's background, and One and [[spoiler:Phase]] being the ones to defeat Zero.
** [[spoiler:Tucker]] being brought back and not doing much against Viper, instead [[spoiler:just getting stabbed then having his sword stolen from him, but not only the weapon itself but also its ownership]], has understandably annoyed and disappointed quite a lot of fans. Not helping matters is the seeming ignoring of his development last season, making him seem derailed ''yet again'', and that [[spoiler:no explanation is ever given for why he too is working for the Alliance of Defense when the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew are in retirement.]]
** While Carolina has a big role, Wash is beaten up early in the season and spends whatever little screen time afterwards hurt or recovering.
** Of the Viper crew, Diesel has [[FlatCharacter little actual characterization]] outside of being the sadistic brute, and unlike Phase, no reason is ever given for ''why'' he was following Zero. [[spoiler:To top it off, he's quickly killed by Carolina with little fanfare.]] All of this makes it seem like he exists just for the sake of Viper having a third member.
* UncertainAudience: The season certainly aimed to be accessible to newcomers (something pointed out by star Fiona Nova, who says she was never interested in the original show to begin with) with its plot unrelated to previous events, barely any returning characters, and focus on crowd-pleasing action, while still following the formula enough to still please the fanbase. Of course, it backfired, specially in regards to being an entry point - [[https://youtu.be/wzT_8QRYWTc?t=926 a Youtuber fan of Rooster Teeth watching Zero with no RvB experience]] finished the season noting how much of a bad first impression it passes.
* WinBackTheCrowd: Considering how badly received the trailer\opening sequence was upon release, the first episode of ''Family Shatters'' got a somewhat positive response, mostly feeling the spin-off improved on ''Zero'' by returning the focus to comedy.
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[[folder:Series-wide]]
* AcceptableTargets: Don't expect the military to come across well in this web series, especially given that ArmedFarces is one of the main sources of comedy.
* {{Adorkable}}:
** He's very good at hiding it most of the time, but Church can be a ''massive'' dork. Easily the most noteworthy example of this is [=Epsilon-Church's=] {{Squee}}ing in the [="MIA"=] miniseries when he gets an annoyed Tucker to say that ItsQuietTooQuiet.
** Carolina occasionally gets a chance to display an endearingly dorky side.
*** When she tries to loosen up in Season 13's "Along Came A Spider," and [[EpicFail fails miserably]].
----> '''Church''': (after Tucker's filled up their Warthogs with gasoline) Oh, that was fast. You filled up our car too?\\
'''Tucker''': Yeah, I gave it to both of them. [[CatchphraseInterruptus Bow-chicka bow-]]\\
'''Carolina''': (at the same time as Tucker) [[BorrowedCatchphrase Bow-chika-bow...]] [[MangledCatchphrase what?]] That's the joke, right?\\
'''Tucker''': Did she just say my thing?!\\
'''Caboose''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Um, no Tucker. It's]] [[RunningGag "Hey chicka bum bum."]] ''Awkward.''\\
'''Carolina''': (to Church) You ''said'' to loosen up!\\
'''Church''': Just a little...''too'' loose. Just... ''tighten'' it back up a little there.\\
'''Tucker''': (off-screen) [[HypocriticalHumor I feel violated!]]
*** Comes back in "Previously On" during Season 15. In a period of time that included Caboose getting trapped in [[Series/StrangerThings the Upside-Down]], an army of evil robots attacking dinosaurs, the rest of the Reds and Blues constructing a water park (and Donut then burning it down), and Sarge's "War on Gravity" among other shenanigans, Carolina thought that Wash growing a beard and Grif convincing Simmons that ''Series/GameOfThrones'' really happened were the most noteworthy things to happen since they arrived. Additionally, she [[DreadfulMusician joined a band with Tucker, Grif, and Caboose,]] and did it [[{{Troll}} just to watch them squirm]] [[HollywoodToneDeaf at her awful singing voice]]. She also wanted Grif to teach her how to become "the best at being lazy."
** The way Felix makes a joke about armor to Wash. Before Wash even reacts to said joke, Felix just apologizes and sheepishly says he was only trying to lighten the mood. The way he shows off his light shield also fits neatly under this, along with him sticking his tongue out at Tucker [[DidntThinkThisThrough while wearing his helmet]] and then awkwardly telling Tucker to shut up when the latter points this out to him. This drops quickly once he turns out to be EvilAllAlong, however, suggesting it to be part of his facade. It was likely an InvokedTrope, to make himself appear less threatening. Later scenes imply that those previous moments were ultimately just extensions of his actual PsychopathicManchild personality.
** Jax is an excitable movie nerd, and really wants to use cinematographic shots to tell the story. Not to mention, he gets depressed easily. Even Dylan feels she should be nicer to him after hurting his feelings when she yelled at him.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Church gets this on several levels.
*** How does he really feel about his teammates? Despite his repeated declarations of hatred towards all of the Blood Gulch Crew, he does seem to care about Donut and the other Blues at least a little bit. Notably, when Caboose gets shot twice in Season 5, he lets out two anguished {{Big No}}s, and he seemed to despise him the ''most.''
*** Did Alpha-Church really die not believing himself to be an [=A.I.=]? Perhaps, or it's possible that he knew it to be true, but was simply in [[FiveStagesOfGrief denial.]] [[EpilepticTrees Or perhaps he fully realized this]], and his last words were simply an attempt to calm himself down before pulling off a HeroicSacrifice, or even just a grim joke?
*** While this is something of an existential question, how much does Epsilon have to do with Church's previous incarnation as the Alpha? Is he a legitimate reincarnation, or is he just someone who started to strongly resemble Church after letting some of his memories sink in?
** Surprisingly enough, ''Donut'' gets some of this. How many of his {{Double Entendre}}s are InnocentInnuendo, and how many are him {{Troll}}ing his teammates? Additionally, a lot of his seemingly ditzy comments can come across as him playing pranks on his friends, such as him cheerfully volunteering Simmons to become Red Team's {{Cyborg}} in Season 2.
** Is Caboose [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} the way he is]] because he was born with some sort of AmbiguousDisorder, or because he's received brain damage after arriving in Blood Gulch[[note]]Some examples include his life support turning off when he was critically injured which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain and when continuously kept drinking gasoline all the way up till ''The Chorus Trilogy'' because the other blues tricked him into thinking it was lemonade[[/note]]? [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Or did he start off with a disorder and the brain damage happened to increase his stupidity.]]
** Are [[SociopathicSoldier Felix and Locus]] just [[BadassNormal regular UNSC recruits who were good enough to get "space-marine" armor like Carolina and Wash]] or are they actual [[Characters/HaloSpartanIIProgram Spartan II's?]] This would mean that they were [[FreudianExcuse abducted as children from families they'll never know, and horribly brainwashed and experimented]] on to be the perfect [[SuperSoldier super soldiers.]] The only evidence against this is that Felix has a regular-sounding name, but Spartans were infamous in canon for their [[LackOfEmpathy sociopathic]] and [[NoSocialSkills anti-social]] tendencies, which describe the duo fairly well. It would also explain their demonstrated inability to adapt to civilian life, Felix's confidence in being able to beat all the Reds and Blues and Agent Carolina, and color his comments about being "stronger and faster than you" in a whole new light. While [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse this would not justify their crimes,]] it would make them effective [[EvilCounterpart dark foils]] to Master Chief, showing what he could have become if he never learned responsibility or compassion on the battlefield.
* AmericansHateTingle: The series has had a noticeably difficult time breaking into Asian markets. Japanese audiences in particular have been slow to accept Grif, as his laziness and irreverence for authority is very much out of sync with modern widespread Japanese culture.
* {{Applicability}}: The PSA "Snowed In" was written several months before being released and handles the topic of dealing with a blizzard and the resulting need for supplies and cabin fever. Many however note that a lot of the advice given could easily be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic plaguing the world at the time of the PSA's release.
* ArchivePanic: Every episode - plus the miniseries and many of the [=PSAs=] - is available on Rooster Teeth's website and the series' own Website/YouTube channel! Of course it's over 300 episodes, resulting in at least ''one whole day'' of footage, so [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBVPK8x-XMjLwdUZdZzGBk2XZBJvJK7V binging all at once is not recommended.]]
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Vic's quirky and bizarre nature makes viewers find him either utterly hilarious or unbearably annoying.
** Agent Carolina. One sides sympathizes with her, pointing how she was the victim of the Director's manipulations as well as betrayal by her teammates. They also appreciate her relationship with York and [[spoiler: were saddened that they were never able to get together]]. The other side hates her for being a {{Jerkass}} in [[spoiler:the present day to the Reds and Blues]] and blames her for everything that went wrong with Project Freelancer, even though all of it wasn't her fault. The later seasons have made her [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap much more well-loved]], however, as she TookALevelInKindness, seeing the Blood Gulch Crew as her [[TrueCompanions new family]], and outright fears them dying ([[TearJerker and even saw them]] [[NightmareFuel die in Santa's vision]]). And in Season 15, she seems to have become [[GoingNative just as crazy]] as the rest of the crew.
** Jax Jonez in Season 15, with fans being split over him being either an {{Adorkabl|e}}y kooky and hilarious film geek, or an annoying TagalongKid who often unnecessarily took the air out of dramatic scenes with obscure movie references. That being said, he was [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap significantly better-liked]] in ''The Shisno Paradox'' when he became a PrimaDonnaDirector with a HairTriggerTemper and a streak of ComedicSociopathy a mile wide, to the point where he's seen as one of the better parts of Season 16.
* BetterThanCanon: Many fans consider the [[CerebusSyndrome increasingly dark]] and [[RewatchBonus intricate]] plots to be better than those of ''Halo''.
* BrokenBase:

* MorePopularSpinoff: While not getting rid of all dissers, ''Family Shatters'' was more liked by the fans than ''Zero'' for returning the focus to the comedy.

* ValuesDissonance: A ''lot'' of the series' earlier humor has fallen into DudeNotFunny territory as SocietyMarchesOn, with ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles'' easily suffering from this issue the most out of the different story arcs since it aired during the mid-to-late [=2000s=]. As an example, while Sarge in Season 2 describing Lopez's [[HollywoodToneDeaf "love song"]] to Sheila as "[[CrossesTheLineTwice the feral cry of a retarded Mexican Sasquatch]]" is darkly hilarious, it also utilizes what is increasingly seen as an ableist slur (namely, "retarded") as part of its punchline.

* ItsShortSoItSucks: One of the major criticisms of the season is the abysmal episode count, clocking in at the lowest of any season with only ''eight episodes''. As a result, the pacing of the series is very off, some moments feeling too slow and others moving a mile a minute, with none of the characters getting the time to properly ''explore'' their characterization. Many as such feel like the season tries to cram too much into too little time.

** Wash and [=C.T.=] had a romantic relationship, despite them only interacting ''twice'' in the show (though in fairness, both times implied they ''were'' closer than most Freelancers, but he still doesn't even react when [[spoiler:she turns traitor... or when the Freelancers attack Charon Industries to capture/kill her]]). Alternately, [[FanPreferredCouple Grif/Simmons]]. While Tucker does make a remark about them being in love during ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles'', their relationship in the show is overall closer to being HeterosexualLifePartners.

* FanPreferredCouple:
** Pick a Red vs. Blue fanfiction, any Red vs Blue fanfiction; If it even vaguely involves romance in some way, chances are good that [[PortmanteauCoupleName Grimmons]] (Grif/Simmons) will either be the main, secondary or supporting couple of said fic.
** Tuckington (Tucker/Washington) also become pretty popular in the fandom after the events of ''The Chorus Trilogy''. It helps that the two spend almost all their time together during that story arc [[spoiler:and at least some of Tucker's motivation to become a better soldier is to rescue Wash after he's kidnapped at the end of Season 11]].
** If Doc and Donut are present in the same fic, odds are that they're dating. This ship is far and away the most popular ship involving either of these characters thanks to the HoYay between the two in Seasons 10 and 11.
** Carolina/York is very popular thanks to their interactions, even though the latter died before anything could truly become out of it. [[PortmanteauCoupleName CarWash/Washolina]] (Carolina/Wash) has also gained a lot of popularity after Season 15 Episode 10 and the copious amounts of ShipTease the two characters get during both ''The Shisno Paradox'' and ''Singularity''.
** After the surprising amount of chemistry shown between Dan Godwin and Shannon [=McCormick=] during ''Singularity'', Donut/Wash ([[PortmanteauCoupleName "Washnut"]]) became ''significantly'' more popular and is now often a runner-up to both Tuckington and Carwash in the fanbase in terms of ships involving Wash.
** A platonic case - Despite the fact that the two characters don't interact that much in the actual show, Grif & Carolina is a popular friendship in fluff fanfics after she became his apprentice in terms of learning how to be lazy in Season 15.

* WinTheCrowd: The animation for the fight scenes in ''Zero'', from what little had been shown, immediately garnered a lot of attention and excitement from fans. However, this was '''MASSIVELY''' averted by the time of the season's release.
* JustForFun/XMeetsY: [[https://np.reddit.com/r/RedvsBlue/comments/hbohhb/lots_of_rvb_zero_details_shared_on_the_fing/ According to]] WordOfGod, the season's premise is basically "''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' meets ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious''."

** Despite this being jokingly referenced, Seasons 9 and 10 became much more popular than the previous seasons ever were, and the Chorus Trilogy is beloved by many fans for taking the series in a fresh direction. However, then came three divisive seasons, as noted above under ContestedSequel.

** Nowadays, ''The Chorus Trilogy'' is another contender, with its back to basics approach that set out to have a new plot that had little to do with Freelancer agents, giving a fresh direction that blended drama and comedy seamlessly.

** Way back in the beginning, Rooster Teeth were surprised to learn that the show had a sizable fanbase among women along with the traditionally masculine "video game nerd/geek kind of market" that was the target audience. While the creators [[SelfDeprecation have joked that]] [[BlatantLies it's because they're]] supposedly {{Hollywood Nerd}}s, the general consensus seems to be that it's due to the series' significantly improving its writing standards and representation regarding women as it's gone along, the existence of women in "geek culture" in general becoming less marginalized and dismissed over time, and that good comedy transcends all boundaries.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Sigma]], [[spoiler: [[YMMV/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy Malcom Hargrove, Felix]]]], [[YMMV/RedVsBlueTheShisnoTrilogy Genkins]], and Zero (see ''Zero'' folder above)

* MST3KMantra: Despite the obvious CerebusSyndrome, ''Red vs. Blue'' is still a show that largely runs on RuleOfFunny, and it's pretty safe to repeat this to oneself if you start trying to reason one's way through ''all'' of the FridgeLogic in the background.

* TaintedByThePreview: Despite many fans being intrigued by the new season's action scenes, there are just as many who feel as though the new season is ''Red vs. Blue'' in name only as, with the exception of Carolina and Washington, the previews and promotional material have said nothing about the Reds and Blues or implied they will have anything to do with the plot. Many of Carolina's fans were also unimpressed/annoyed at the trailer seemingly confirming that she'd be going through TheWorfEffect again, [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks after similar instances in Seasons 12 & 15]] of her being made to look weaker than she was to prop up new villains.

* InternetBackdraft: When it was announced that Eddy Rivas, someone who had worked alongside Burnie Burns during [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheProjectFreelancerSaga The Project Freelancer Saga]], would be returning to write for [=RvB=], many who has subjected Zero to FanonDiscontinuity hoped this meant it would reach CanonDiscontinuity, or that at least it would be the return of the Blood Gulch Crew in a bigger capacity. Instead it was revealed he'd be writing a non-canon SliceOfLife spinoff staring Shatter Squad, and ''only'' them, with no sign of Carolina, Wash, or [[spoiler:Tucker]] despite all being in Zero. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment To say the response was negative is putting it lightly.]]

** Though that one pales compared to the massive outrage at the reveal of [[https://twitter.com/RoosterTeeth/status/1413268035390091264?s=19 Family Shatters]], showing that even if doing what ''Red vs. Blue'' was supposed to be, a comedy, no one wanted to see the cast of ''Zero'' again.

* Machinima/RedVsBlue