Red vs. Blue: Revelation

Synopsis

Revelation immediately follows Recreation as the Reds and Blues are pursued by Washington and Maine/Meta who are trying to capture Epsilon Church. Also Epsilon Church tries to remember who he is and why he was created.

For Those of You Just Joining Us...

Medical Officer DuFresne arrives in Valhalla in response to Simmons' request to Command for a medic. Doc is initially happy to see Simmons again, but Simmons insists that Donut needs his help. Doc notes that Donut is dead, and that nothing can be done for him. Simmons apologizes, and admits that he sent the request because "they" forced him to, as they needed someone with medical training. Doc turns around to see Washington and The Meta, who knocks him unconscious.

In the desert, Epsilon-Church is enjoying his new status, making up speeches while being worshiped as a deity by the aliens. While delivering a eulogy for C.T. and the human members of his team, Epsilon-Church trails off when he sees a dark figure in the distance. He follows the figure; as it walks into a building, he finds himself at the Valhalla installation. After Tucker gets his attention, he finds himself back in the desert. Realizing that he has just had another memory flash, Tucker informs the Reds that this has been happening with increasing frequency. When Epsilon-Church recalls seeing a waterfall, Grif and Caboose say that it sounds like the Valhalla base.

Drink Your Ovaltine

Sarge makes preparations to call Simmons to get his take on Epsilon-Church's visions. In Valhalla, Doc recovers and wakes up at Blue base with Simmons, who explains the situation. Washington orders Doc to give the Meta a medical evaluation. Back in the desert, Sarge uses Epsilon-Church to boost the Warthog's radio and contacts Simmons, who is forced by Washington to answer the call and claim that everything is fine. However, Sarge senses something is wrong, and through his extensive knowledge of the team and what he believes to be hints from Simmons, deduces the situation at Valhalla. As he and Grif set off to rescue them, an intrigued Epsilon-Church follows at the mention of Valhalla.

Upon Further Review

Doc informs Washington that the Meta is physically healthy, though he is having serious problems with his armor. In the desert, Tucker searches for the Reds and Epsilon-Church, and guesses they must have taken off. Caboose warns Tucker not to say anything about Epsilon-Church's absence, as the aliens would become hostile if they knew he was gone. Meanwhile, Sarge arrives in Valhalla, calling out for Simmons in an attempt to lure Washington into the center of the canyon. Washington tells the Meta to kill the prisoners if Sarge causes him any problems and moves out to intercept him. With Washington gone and the Meta distracted, Simmons and Doc plan to short circuit the Meta's armor using an overpowered charge on Doc's medical scanner.

Washington confronts Sarge and disarms him, then orders him towards Blue Base, but at Sarge's signal, Grif bursts through the canyon wall in the Warthog, landing on Washington. With the Warthog still moving at high speed, Washington climbs from under the Warthog onto the front, and attempts to shoot Grif. Grif slams on the brakes and Washington is thrown into a pile of explosive barrels as Sarge reclaims his shotgun. He fires at the barrels to ignite them, attempting (and failing) a one-liner, and Washington is engulfed in the resulting explosion. The Meta notices the explosion and prepares to kill Doc just as he starts to charge his scanner.

Recovering One

Doc hits the Meta with a blast from his overloaded scanner, knocking him back temporarily. The Meta attempts to punch Doc, but the blast causes his temporal distortion unit to malfunction, slowing him down drastically. Simmons quickly theorizes that his punch will still carry the same force as normal as they are merely viewing the Meta from a different timeframe, but Doc ignores him. When the Meta's fist connects with Doc's helmet, he is slammed into the base wall. Simmons attempts to pull him free, but is forced to abandon him when the Meta recovers. Simmons is then blasted away from the base by the Meta's weapon and manages to grab onto the Warthog turret when Sarge and Grif drive by. As the trio tries to escape, the Meta uses the grav-lift to launch himself onto the hood of the jeep, destroying it and throwing the Reds out. As the Reds prepare to fight, Epsilon-Church arrives and catches the interest of the Meta. He lures the Meta back towards Blue base, briefly pausing when he recognizes it from his memory flash. The Reds take the opportunity to flee through the hole in the wall, which leads to another canyon.

Epsilon-Church soon regroups with the Reds, with the Meta and Agent Washington, now recovered, in pursuit. Sarge, Grif and Simmons attempt to enrage Epsilon-Church in order to activate his energy weapon, but they are unsuccessful. However, the mere sight of Washington sends Epsilon-Church into a rage, activating his energy weapon and melting the stone around the hole, sealing it. Now out of power, he mentions that they "can't let them get to her first" before passing out. The Reds retreat while Washington assures the Meta that they still have a lead. Doc, still stuck in the wall, calls out for help.

4th and Twenty

The Reds return to the desert to find Caboose being threatened by the aliens as a result of Epsilon-Church going missing. To get the aliens off his back, Caboose claims that the Reds took him. Meanwhile, as Simmons and Grif attempt to wake Epsilon-Church, Sarge is forced to lead the aliens to them; Grif, knowing that the aliens would attack if they found them in possession of Epsilon-Church, punts him far away and out of sight. When Tucker and Caboose arrive, the Reds flee in the midst of the distraction, and Caboose abandons Tucker, leaving him to face the aliens alone. The Reds and Caboose locate Epsilon-Church, who landed in the mine field after he was punted away. Grif tells Simmons, who is unaware of the mine field, to retrieve him. Simmons obliges and then hastily retreats when he accidentally activates a mine.

Towing Package

Washington orders the Meta to free Doc from the wall so he can interrogate him, as he feels questioning someone stuck in a wall to be ridiculous. Meta's attempts at freeing Doc are unsuccessful. The Meta suggests using the winch(tow cable) from the destroyed Warthog to pull him free. Back at the temple, the Reds and Caboose gather around Epsilon-Church. The Delta fragment of Epsilon's memories activates and warns Caboose that due to the encounter with Washington, Epsilon has begun searching his memories, and that some of them must remain hidden in order to prevent his insanity from reemerging. Epsilon-Church then regains control and asks Caboose to help him with a task inside the 'facility.' Caboose decides to leave the original Epsilon unit behind as Epsilon-Church insists they won't need it. Meanwhile, Washington and the Meta attempt to pull Doc free with the tow cable, only for a large piece of the wall to collapse on Doc.

And Don't Call Me Shirley

Having set the piece of wall containing Doc back up vertically, Washington again attempts to interrogate him. After being repeatedly hit by the Meta and threatened to be shot, Doc reveals that Simmons said something about a distress call, and mentioned "sand". At the desert, the Reds spy on Epsilon-Church and Caboose. Sarge believes that the Reds may be able to restore the Blues to command's database at the facility mentioned by Epsilon Church. As the Reds leave in pursuit, Tucker takes the opportunity to escape from the aliens and he makes a dash to his alien motorcycle to follow the Reds. Unfortunately, the vehicle runs out of gas and Tucker is forced to flee on foot with the aliens in pursuit.

Epsilon-Church and Caboose arrive at the entrance to the facility, hidden within a derelict factory, and find a monitor embedded in a tree. The monitor activates and a voice identical to that of Sheila is heard, explaining that they have thirty seconds to leave the facility or they will be killed. The program identifies itself as F.I.L.S.S. (pronounced Phyllis); Sheila's name before Church mistakenly renamed her during episode 50. Upon hearing Epsilon-Church's voice, F.I.L.S.S. disables the countdown, believing him to be the Director of Project Freelancer. At his request, F.I.L.S.S. opens the door to the facility, hidden in a nearby wall. Epsilon-Church requests that F.I.L.S.S. answer to the name Sheila, as it will be easier than getting Caboose to adapt to the new name.

Perusing The Archive

Upon entering the facility, Epsilon-Church has F.I.L.S.S. run the tutorial for Caboose's benefit. As they explore the facility, F.I.L.S.S. explains that it is a backup storage site, intended to allow the operations of Project Freelancer to continue if its primary site was lost. She further explains that the bunker stores equipment used in the combat simulations, noting that her record of Blue team is missing. When they arrive at a locked door, F.I.L.S.S. refuses to allow Caboose to enter, claiming that only the Director is allowed in. At Epsilon-Church's insistence, she relents and allows both to enter. Outside, Grif and Sarge catch up with Simmons, who had seen Epsilon-Church and Caboose entering the facility. The three make plans to gain entry by posing as Freelancer agents.

In the desert, Washington tracks a recovery beacon while the Meta drags along the chunk of wall containing Doc. Finding the source of the signal, Washington orders the Meta to dig. The Meta uncovers the body of C.T., whom Washington reveals was a Freelancer agent and was actually female. As he orders the Meta to scavenge her equipment, the Aliens confront them. In the facility, Epsilon-Church and Caboose find a room containing numerous suits of armor, which Caboose believes to be duplicates of Church. Epsilon-Church flies past these, stopping at a large pod at the back of the room, revealing that it is what he is really looking for. As the episode ends, the pod begins to open.

Backup Plans

In the desert, Washington and the Meta free Doc from the concrete block he was trapped in using grenades and the Meta's weapon. Doc tells the ex-Freelancers that the aliens are drawing a map to where Epsilon went to, though his translation may be incorrect. The aliens finish drawing the map, but it turns out to be a picture of a dead human with the word "Shisno" next to it. Rather than waste any more time, Washington decides to simply kill the aliens and leave one alive to talk, resulting in the Meta leading an attack.

Back at the Freelancer facility, the Reds gain entry when Sarge shoots the computer after Simmons's plan failed, due in part to Grif using the name "Agent Pluto". After hearing a ruckus from inside the facility, they quickly find a frightened Caboose outside a door with Epsilon-Church shouting at an unknown individual on the other side. Caboose begs F.I.L.S.S. not to open the door, but she reports that if the "Director" requests it she will have no alternative. The Reds demand that Caboose let them in, but he slowly and silently walks away from the door when something begins breaking the door down piece by piece. The Reds prepare to ambush whatever it is, only to receive a frightening surprise when the door goes flying past them, revealing a resurrected Tex on the other side.

This One Goes To Eleven

As the Reds make a hasty retreat, Caboose asks F.I.L.S.S. for help, who declines, stating that she cannot interrupt a simulation test. Tex ambushes the Reds and starts to attack them while Simmons flees to find a better weapon. After finding a rocket launcher, he runs into Tucker, who he asks to help fight Tex.

The four soldiers then try to take Tex on all at once, but are easily and hilariously overpowered. After much fighting, Simmons finally gets a clear shot with the rocket launcher, only for Tex to use the teleporters lying around the room to direct the rocket back at the Reds and Tucker, who are incapacitated in the resulting explosion. Victorious, Tex walks away when the now-vacant shell of Epsilon-Church hits her in the head; she turns to see Epsilon-Church, now with a body resembling Alpha-Church's, holding a sniper rifle.

Restraining Orders

Tex begins beating Epsilon-Church with his previous shell as the Reds stand by and discuss the situation. Caboose asks F.I.L.S.S. for help again; she suggests the armor lockdown safety protocol, which she didn't mention since she assumed Epsilon-Church already knew about it. Caboose has her activate it, which immobilizes Tex but also affects everyone else, except Caboose because his helmet does not have the lockdown protocol.

In the desert, Washington and the Meta have apparently killed all the aliens, which has ruined their plan to interrogate a survivor. Wash orders Doc to check the aliens' pulses while the Meta goes off to check for clues in a nearby cave. While waiting, Doc and Washington have a lighthearted discussion about job benefits (where Washington is surprised at the overtime salary that Freelancers don't have), until Washington hears a noise from the cave. He goes to investigate, but after a near-miss with a grenade tossed from within the cave, he tells Doc to go in and check on the Meta. Doc protests, claiming that he has bad luck with caves.

Snooze Button

Church wakes up in a strange blurry version of the Freelancer facility to learn from F.I.L.S.S. that he's in Recovery mode. He attempts to send Tex a message via F.I.L.S.S. only to learn that Tex has refused to receive any messages, something she should not be able to do. Church has his and Tucker's armor unlocked, but decides to keep Tex locked up until he can figure out what to do with her. The Reds also remain in lock down, believing they are dead and in some kind of Purgatory. Church tells them he will let them out if they agree not to fire on the Blues or Tex; Reluctantly they agree.

Back in the desert, Washington tries to order Doc to go inside the cave. But his continued attempts to stall forces Washington to try and call Meta out, telling him they can deal with whatever he found. In response Meta throws out the Epsilon storage unit that Caboose and Church left behind.

Battle of the Exes

Washington, the Meta and Doc gather near the Epsilon unit, which Washington realizes is empty due to the AI being moved to the eye-like body they saw in Valhalla. Doc, having not seen it, thinks Washington is going crazy from heat-stroke and tries to psycho-analyze him while the Meta begins converting the storage unit into a capture unit to retake Epsilon.

At the facility, the Reds and Blues debate reactivating Tex until Church takes AI form and inserts himself into her body. Once there, the two bicker for a bit until Church agrees to let her out and hit Tucker for making an ex-wife joke earlier. Back in his body, Church has F.I.L.S.S disable the recovery mode on Tex, who gets up and smacks Tucker. In the sponsors-only ending, the disabling of recovery mode also revives Donut back in Valhalla.

Reconfiguration

The Meta finishes configuring the old Epsilon unit into a capture unit. Out of curiosity, Doc asks Washington if they could track the Reds' trail, like heat signatures, footprints etc. Washington tells him otherwise, however, after Doc is out of earshot, Washington asks the Meta if they could track the Reds like Doc suggested.

Back at the facility, Tex fully recovers and discusses Epsilon/Church's motives on freeing her. Church claims that he needed to get Tex out of his head and even refers to her as his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the Reds decide to use the absence of the Blues to put them back into the database. Simmons and Grif decide to go together, after Simmons threatened to change Grif's job description and change his gender to a woman.

Back at the desert, Doc finds out that Washington has taken his suggestion and had Meta find the Reds successfully. Doc demands that the two give him credit for the idea.

Check Your Local Listings

Simmons and Tex begin working together to sort through Command's personnel files, only to be roadblocked by the Director's files being restricted and no record for either Tex or Church. However, Tex does pull up another Freelancer base not far from their location. As she sets off to check out the weaponry, F.I.L.S.S. asks Church to make a journal update as the Director used to. Church has the entries transferred to him and deleted from the database, an act observed by Sarge before sending Grif to aid Simmons with supplies.

After acquiring some new armor, Tex decides to set off on her own for the other outpost, with Church being the only one willing to go with her. The two leave as Simmons discovers a cache of Freelancer equipment that granted their special abilities. Despite requiring an A.I. to function properly, the prospect on being able to turn invisible and nap whenever proves too much for Grif and he requests to have an ability installed.

Standardized Testing

After dispatching the guards by herself, Tex and Epsilon-Church arrive at the Freelancer base. Church has another flash of Valhalla, and realizes he mixed the two locations up in his memories. Tex reveals that this was where Alpha was sent after the very first break in, of which she was a part. It was here more and more "tests" were run on him. Other AI were used in the torturing process of Alpha, with Omega and Gamma being used to create tests that were impossible for Alpha to win, driving him mad, and breaking him to the point he could not recognize anybody, not even Tex. When Church asks if she and the other Freelancers succeeded, Tex says no, and that she failed herself and Alpha.

In the desert, Washington asks Doc if he can comment on the Meta's current condition. Doc only reiterates that the Meta has too many pieces of equipment that he cannot operate properly anymore. Upon asking Washington what would happen if somebody attempted to use armor enhancements without an AI, Washington responds that there are negative side effects. At the first Freelancer facility, Simmons finally installs Grif with one of the armor enhancements. This turns out to be a super-speed ability, causing Grif to become highly energetic and run around at extreme speed, ultimately running into a wall. The timer runs out as the episode ends and Grif, exhausted, takes a nap.

Tenth Percentile

Informed by F.I.L.S.S. that the storage facility contains backups of Project Freelancer data, Simmons has her restore the Blue Army data. Grif and Simmons then look at the records, and they reveal that all of the Red and Blue bases are merely training grounds for Freelancer agents, and are staffed with the army's worst soldiers based on poor test scores and poor field performance. Furthermore, all of the strange events the Reds and Blues had encountered during The Blood Gulch Chronicles, including being seemingly blown into the future, meeting the Alien, and Tucker's pregnancy were part of just one of several scenarios that may be run at simulation bases (confirming what they were told by Washington in Chapter 12 of Reconstruction). Sarge is shocked by these revelations and walks off to construct a base from junk. He insists that Simmons and Grif stop calling him "Sir", and then announces that he quits.

At the Freelancer base, Tex reveals that she is looking for the Director. She suggests that Washington and the Meta may know who the Director is. In the event they do not know his identity, Tex states that she will simply kill them, and that if she cannot find the Director, she will settle for destroying everything he built. When Epsilon-Church asks how Tex will get in contact with Washington and the Meta, she shoots him, triggering his recovery beacon. She explains that the beacon would not have activated until they left the storage facility. Church insists that he would have helped her. She states that he cannot even help himself, which is why he made her. Church asks her why she is doing all this, and she says that she intends to find out herself.

In the desert, Washington and the Meta pick up Epsilon's recovery beacon. Washington has the Meta grab the storage unit and Doc acquire a vehicle, stating that they are "going to the only place that's left."

Rally Cap

Washington, Doc and the Meta arrive in a jeep to find Church lying in the snow unguarded. Washington quickly guesses it is a trap set by a Freelancer sniper. Doc suggests that the sniper would anticipate the trap being recognized and would set up a different trap, which is soon proven correct when a series of mines under their Warthog explodes.

Back at the facility, Caboose informs the others of Church's beacon and tries to get them to help. However, Grif, Simmons, and Tucker are reluctant to aid him. Sarge volunteers to go by himself. When asked why, Sarge gives a rousing speech to the others, referencing the very first episode, asking them all why they're all here and decided to be more than just cannon fodder for the Freelancers. The others decide to go and Simmons shows them a new transport to get them there in time and nominates Grif to drive it.

Reunion

Washington regains consciousness from the land mines and is immediately interrogated by Tex about the Director's location, but is attacked by the Meta. She uses several hidden weapons as well as explosives as Wash and the Meta attempt to use the capture unit on her. While she at first appears to be winning, Tex slowly loses ground. During the fight, the explosives collapse part of the ground they are fighting on, and Washington narrowly escapes death when Doc saves him. Eventually, the Meta manages to stab the storage unit into Tex's visor, capturing her.

Epsilon demands that they release her, but Washington explains that the unit is failing, and that Epsilon will be leaving with them. Epsilon resolves to fight them. Washington asks the Meta for the memory unit, but the Meta attaches it to his own armor, allowing him to cloak. Washington tells Doc to protect Epsilon, and is forced to fight with the Meta. Before Washington is about to be killed by the Meta, the Reds and Blues suddenly arrive in a Pelican dropship. The ship crashes due to Grif's inept piloting, almost knocking Doc off a cliff.

Epsilon asks if anyone has seen Tex, but Washington repeats that she was captured. Epsilon spots the capture unit lying in the snow, and asks that Tex be released. Washington tells him that the unit was rigged to be one-way, lest Epsilon — the intended target — escapes again. Washington explains that the unit will not survive being transported to a facility without sufficient means to do so. Washington says that if he lets her out, Epsilon will have to come with him. Epsilon agrees to this, and Washington sends the Reds and Blues to scour the base for equipment to aid in restoring the capture unit.

As the others leave, Epsilon says that he can get Tex out, but Washington refuses, stating that he needs Epsilon to get him out of all the trouble he is in; if Epsilon becomes stuck in the unit, the authorities will never believe Washington and he will never be cleared of the charges set against him. Epsilon states that he has to help Tex, as she is there because of himself, the Alpha and the Director. He explains that he learned from the Director's journals that Tex was a by-product of the creation of Alpha, and was a memory of the Director's lost love, Allison. Because all the Director could remember of Allison was her death, Tex is forever doomed to fail just when victory is within her grasp. As Epsilon asks Washington if he can imagine what that must be like for Tex, the storage unit suddenly raises from the snow, and the Meta decloaks, revealing that the unit is still attached to his back.

N+1

As the Reds are looking for power sources to keep the capture unit running, they hear a large explosion, which leads Simmons to arm a rocket launcher as they all go to investigate. They run outside to see Washington and The Meta in battle; the Meta quickly gains the upper-hand and takes Washington out of the fight. As Caboose and Doc stay with Epsilon, Sarge, Simmons, Grif, and Tucker attack the Meta, and they inflict some damage despite the Meta's power. The Meta is goaded by Sarge into coming towards him and grabs him by the throat. Sarge says "shotgun" three times and Grif, remembering the codeword from earlier, gets Simmons to help him push the jeep off the cliff. Sarge then attaches the tow hook onto the Meta's armor - which was given to him by Washington during the fight - and references his arguments about the jeep with Grif early in the Blood Gulch Chronicles by saying to the Meta "Hey Meta settle an old bet would ya? Does that thing look like a big cat to you?" The Meta drops Sarge and the capture unit falls from his back as he is dragged over the cliff to his death, swiping at Grif's legs in the process. Simmons tries to stop Grif from slipping over the edge, but Grif falls. However, he manages to survive by lodging the Meta's weapon — which he had stolen earlier — into the cliff face and holding on.

With the capture unit close to failure, Epsilon prepares to enter it to find Tex. He tells Caboose that if he does not come back, then Caboose will be in charge of remembering him. Leaving his body, he enters the unit. Doc goes to check on Washington, and Simmons tries to stabilize the unit to no avail. The unit fails before Church and Tex can emerge.

Later, UNSC recovery forces arrive to investigate, and the Red and Blue teams are questioned. After the questioning is finished, the soldier that interrogated them tells them they can return to their training bases. He expresses surprise at the teams having killed three Freelancer agents, but says that the Chairman will be disappointed at not being able to debrief Washington. The members of Blue team comment on Washington's supposed death, including Washington himself, who had faked his death and is now wearing Church's armor but with yellow trim. Washington joins the Blue team, while the Reds, not wanting to walk back to base, hijack a Hornet. The interrogator tells another soldier to throw the capture unit in evidence, as "it's all a bunch of junk now anyway".

The camera closes on the inside of the Epsilon unit. Narrating the epilogue, Epsilon says that he did not find Tex right away. However, he has learned from the Director's mistakes. Instead of trying desperately to find Tex, and pushing her away in the process, he'll stay in a place where she could find him and be patient. He decides to wait in his memories of Blood Gulch. The canyon is a bit different from what he remembers (as the series now shifts to Halo: Reach), and he hopes that things can be different for him too. As Epsilon stands in front of Blue base, Tucker comes and tells him that the Reds have got a new vehicle, and then goes to check on it with an eager Caboose. In closing, Epsilon says "I mean hell, if you have to live the rest of your life in a memory, you might as well make it a good one."

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for season 8 of Red vs. Blue, titled Red vs. Blue: Revelation Soundtrack, was released by Jeff Williams on November 21, 2010. It also features the cast of Red vs. Blue, Sandy Lee Casey, and Lamar Hall. The soundtrack is available on iTunes, Amazon and the Rooster Teeth website store.