Red vs. Blue (season 9)

Synopsis

This season follows two different but connected storylines. The present storyline follows Epsilon Church as he relives memories from Blood Gulch in the AI Capture Unit from Season 8, but tries to fix them when the Reds and Blues aren't acting like themselves. The past storyline is set before the start of The Blood Gulch Chronicles, following the agents of Project Freelancer in their peak against a rogue UNSC faction.

Trailer

In the past, a dropship makes an emergency landing at a medical station. On board are Director Leonard Church and Freelancer agents Washington and Maine. The latter requires emergency surgery, having been shot in the throat; an injury that will leave him unable to speak. The Director asks Washington how 'simulation troopers' were able to hurt Maine. Washington claims that he and Maine were caught by surprise. After the Director leaves, Washington talks with Agent York about his concerns regarding the directions Project Freelancer is taking. The trailer ends with several action clips from the series proper.

Rounding Error

The episode opens within the Epsilon Unit, with Epsilon Church's internal monologue being repeatedly interrupted by Tucker, who keeps calling him up to the cliff. After Church arrives, Tucker reveals that he and Caboose have been watching the Red team. The Reds have attached a rocket launcher to their jeep, and Donut is giving orders. After several rockets are fired, Church grows frustrated as the memories aren't right, like Donut giving out orders and starts walking down towards Red Base. As he does so, there is a rumbling sound. Tucker follows Church and asks where he is going. Church replies that he is going to "set things straight", and that "...it has to be done the right way, or there's no point in doing it at all...there's an order to things".

The scene segues to a Freelancer installation, many years in the past. The Counselor informs the Director that the "operatives are in position", but expresses concern about the order of the tests. The Director insists that "the system" will determine the best order.

The Twins

The Director sends twin agents South & North Dakota into a cryogenics research facility. South tries to steal data files while North tracks the guards via thermal imaging. While downloading the data, South is confronted by a guard. The guard tries to activate an alarm; South kills him, but his momentum carries him to the alarm button. With the facility now alerted, South grabs the data pod and rendezvous with North. The agents fight their way past numerous guards to get to the helipad for extraction. When they reach the pad, they find themselves surrounded, and a voice demands they stand down and hand over the data pod.

Number One

At the Director's behest, an unnamed agent in blue armor(aka Agent Carolina in later episodes) arrives to help South and North, sneaking in and providing a distraction for them to fight back against the surrounding enemies. During the battle, North is wounded while protecting South from enemy fire. The unnamed agent helps the twins to extraction, a Pelican dropship.

Back in the present day inside the Epsilon unit, the Reds formulate a plan to attack the Blues until Church shows up and attempts to talk to them, only to realize that they don't recognize him. The Reds agree to talk, but not before a bloodthirsty Donut shoots Church in the foot in exchange for five minutes to hear him out.

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla from Smosh guest star in a cameo as two soldiers arguing over one of the soldiers' rifles during the fight scene.

Evacuation Plan

Attempting to set things straight, Church tries to convince the Reds that their personalities are wrong. While he does not succeed, he does get Simmons and Sarge thinking and Donut to panic over his apparent knowledge of his diary.

Back during the Freelancer mission, the mysterious agent is revealed to be Agent Carolina and the dropship comes under attack from enemy fighters. With some evasive maneuvers and North's shield ability, the dropship manages to reach the rendezvous point, where the ship Mother of Invention destroys the attackers.

Realignment

Church eventually limps his way back to Blue Base where, during a discussion with Tucker about his attempts to fix things, Caboose heads in the base and calls Command, who has sent out a special forces member to the Blues. Back at Red Base, Simmons is briefly obstructed by Grif and his recently cleaned floor before getting Donut to help with the construction of Lopez. During this, Grif and Donut begin to revert to the personalities of their real selves, causing another earthquake.

On the Freelancer ship, the Director reveals the mission has provided new information on a Freelance target and updates the Freelance agent rankings. South is upset at moving down, but the Director scolds her for failing the mission's objective of remaining discreet and making their next mission harder.

Familiar Feelings

As Church struggles to get Caboose to remember when the special forces agent will arrive, Sarge and Simmons continue to work on Lopez. Donut interrupts and goes to talk to Sarge about their feelings while Church attempts to activate Sheila in case things get dicey when Tex shows up. His attempts prove fruitless, but it does get Tucker to start showing his interest in women and revert to his real personality.

A few hours later, Simmons checks up on Donut and Sarge. Donut's extended conversation on feelings ends up draining Sarge of his desire to do so, turning him back into his regular gruff personality.

Case File 01.045

The episode begins with Washington and another Freelancer named Connie returning from a failed mission. Washington tries to cheer up Connie by saying that the mission failure was not her fault, but she angrily replies that he is just making excuses. Connie points out that the ranking system the Director has put in place has started a rivalry among all of the Freelancers, drawing lines between them. She continues by telling Washington that he will eventually have to pick a side. Connie then leaves, telling Washington to call her "C.T." from now on.

Back in Blood Gulch, in order to prepare for Tex's arrival, Tucker sets up a training session to teach Church and Caboose on how to interact with girls. Church and Caboose are then forced to roleplay, with Caboose taking the role of the girl.

Shaking The Foundation

At Red Base, construction on Lopez has finished and Simmons begins to show signs of his real personality, demonstrating his love of math and organizing and kissing up to Sarge. An earthquake hits briefly, followed by Lopez activating and speaking Spanish. Sarge explains this is adding culture and learning the language as a unit bonding activity, and as he and Simmons acknowledge just how out-of-character that is, another earthquake hits.

At Blue Base, Church attempts to explain the situation to Tucker and Caboose, specifying that the earthquakes are caused by the failing capture unit and the point of this is for him to try and figure out about himself.

Captive Audience

At Red Base, Lopez notices that the earthquakes are getting more frequent, and tries to warn the Red Team that they are in danger. However, the Red Team can't understand him and they assume Lopez is making jokes. Simmons, jealous at the attention Lopez is receiving from the Reds, storms off to prove to Red Team that he can be "likeable, funny, and people-like".

Meanwhile, at Blue Base, Church continues to try and explain the situation to Tucker and Caboose, and tell them that the simulation they are experiencing is a form a recursion taking place within the Epsilon unit, where the computer tries many different iterations of the same scenario to find a solution. He also reveals the fact that he is actually an AI based on the memories of Alpha and the Director. Tucker then likens Church's search for Tex to a stalker's actions. Suddenly, they notice a grenade lying on the ground between them, and realize too late that somebody must have thrown it at them before it explodes.

At Project Freelancer, Washington and North get into a discussion about how North was able to use his armor ability in the field without a direct pipeline to Project Freelancer's mainframe. However, their conversation is interrupted when a group of guards run past saying that a new recruit is facing off against Maine, Wyoming, and York in a three versus one sparring match. The final scene shows all three Freelancers being knocked away by a single individual wearing black armor. The small part in the end is the first appearance of Agent Texas in the 9th season.

Introductions

The episode begins where the last one left off, with Washington and North Dakota heading to a training match featuring a new Freelancer. In the match, the new Freelancer, Agent Texas, spars with Wyoming, Maine, and York. Meanwhile, Freelancers Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Carolina, and C.T., overlook the battle from above. During the match, using her strength and agility, Tex easily defeats her three opponents, winning Round one. As Round two begins, York tries to coordinate a plan with his teammates. However, Maine and Wyoming, attack by themselves instead, leading to all three having many repeated failures. The three then start attacking Tex from all sides. Tex, however, easily kicks and punches them around, impressing the other Freelancers overlooking the battle. York tries again to regroup his team, but continues to be ignored by Maine and Wyoming, leading to further defeat.

In round three, the arena is reconfigured to feature raised cover, and the four Freelancers are given guns to use, which fire a special immobilizing paint that makes their armor stone hard. While York, Maine, and Wyoming look for Tex in the arena, Tex quietly uses her surroundings to get the best of them. Tex continually outsmarts her opponents, eventually winning rounds three to eight. In round nine, Maine and Wyoming purposely load their pistols with live ammunition, shocking York, C.T. suspecting it secretly ordered by the Director. As the two start firing, York tries to protect Tex, but she refuses his help, telling him "Never abandon your team." As the battle becomes more intense Maine throws a grenade towards Tex, which she easily dodges. Unfortunately, the grenade lands near York, but before it explodes, Tex shoots him with the immobilizing paint, to try to protect him. The grenade explodes as the episode ends, alarms are heard, and a medical team is sent to the training room.

Lifting the Veil

The episode picks up right after Maine's grenade explodes and greatly injures York. As the medical team arrives, Washington comments that a Freelancer's armor hardens after it locks down, explaining Tex shooting York with the hardening paint shortly before the explosion; something that may have saved him from worse injury. The Director then arrives and berates Washington for following the rules of the training floor, saying that the enemy won't fight according to protocol on the battlefield, and that Wyoming and Maine showed initiative and creativity for using live ammunition and will therefore not be punished. The Freelancers are left confused by the Director's statement, with Carolina becoming suspicious of Tex.

Back in Blood Gulch, the Blues are disoriented by the grenade explosion, which turned out to be a flashbang grenade. Blinded and partially deaf, they begin to open fire in random directions while Tex (just arriving to Blue Base) watches on, commenting on their incompetence. Meanwhile, at Red Base, Simmons lures Lopez to the caves near the base. There, he plans on tricking Lopez into walking into a puddle of water that he electrified with a battery. Lopez overhears Simmons' plan to kill him and tells him that he will go around to another entry to the cave. Simmons attempts to catch up to him, only to step into the water and get electrocuted.

Mid-Game Substitution

After accidentally shocking himself, Simmons wakes up to find himself chained up in front of Lopez, who is now disguised as him. Lopez tells Simmons that he is going to pose as him so he can get access to the equipment he needs to investigate the earthquakes. However, Simmons mistakenly believes that Lopez is trying to replace him to become popular. Leaving Simmons in the cave, Lopez manages to fool Sarge and Grif into granting him permission to use their equipment, despite the fact that he is still speaking Spanish. Meanwhile, a curious Donut decides to investigate what the disguised Lopez is up to, while the real Simmons manages to break free from his bonds and leaves to confront Lopez.

At the Blue Base, the Blues finally recover from the flashbang and angrily ask Tex why she would attack them. Tex replies that she was merely reacting to an unexpected situation, as she was told she was sent to replace a Blue Team member who was killed but sees no evidence of a death. Church quickly lies to Tex, saying that their teammate "Andersmith" was killed and that they had removed his name from the roster. While Tex goes to make a call to Command, Church tells Tucker and Caboose that he lied to Tex so that she would stay in Blood Gulch a little longer to investigate the nonexistent death. Tucker is skeptical about the plan while Caboose is completely fooled by Church's lie and genuinely believes that "Andersmith" used to be a part of their team. Tex then returns and says that they're going to "even the teams" by killing one of the Reds so that she can leave Blood Gulch as soon as possible, much to Church's dismay.

Planning the Heist

On the Project Freelancer ship, "Mother of Invention", the Director speaks with the Alpha AI before quickly dismissing him when Carolina appears. They both join the other Freelancers and the Pelican pilot Four-Seven-Niner and begin briefing on their next mission. Members of the UNSC loyal to the Insurrection have acquired a high level asset and are holding it in a secure building. The asset, codenamed the "Sarcophagus", can only be accessed by a key code held by an official of the program that created it, who will be arriving by car to inspect the asset. Because the building will be locked down at the first sign of trouble, both targets must be attacked simultaneously, meaning there will have to be two teams.

The first team - Carolina, Washington, and Maine - are tasked with infiltrating the package storage facility. They are unexpectedly joined by York, whose quick recovery from his injuries surprises the other Freelancers. The second team, composed of North, Wyoming, and C.T., will act as recon for the first team until they infiltrate the building. After that, the second team will then ambush the official and obtain the key code. Also, as a result of her poor performance in her last mission, South is barred from participating in this mission.

When Carolina asks if Tex will be joining the mission, the Director asserts that enough questions have been asked; C.T. then quietly tells Washington that the Director hasn't said "no". Carolina then adds that they don't know how big the Sarcophagus is, but that it would have strange markings on the exterior; something North saw at the oil refinery. After the Director says that they know what it is, C.T. asks rhetorically how it is that they know what it is but not how big it is; she quickly dismisses the question after receiving a glare from the Director. Four-Seven-Niner also adds that since their Pelicans are being modified to be as light and fast as possible, they cannot bring any heavy weaponry or equipment with them. The Freelancers are dismissed and the episode ends with two Pelican dropships disembarking towards the planet they are orbiting.

Son of a Bitch

At Blood Gulch, Tex tells Church to pick a member of the Red team and kill him. However, due to both his inaccuracy with the sniper rifle and his constant attempts to stall Tex, she takes Church's sniper rifle and shoots Lopez (still disguised as Simmons) and Caboose claims he has avenged "Andersmith". As Tex prepares to shoot Donut, she instead decides to return to Blue Base upon hearing Donut's cries of anguish over Lopez, saying he will demoralize the reds; still believing him to be Simmons. Sarge and Grif discover Donut and Lopez's body, both of whom also believe he is Simmons. Just as they begin to deliver a eulogy, Simmons then arrives stating that he is alive and that Lopez was shot. Sarge ignores him and says small, unimportant things about Simmons, much to his own disappointment.

Meanwhile, the Freelancers begin their operation. Carolina's group infiltrates the target building; but just as York bypasses a holographic lock, he accidentally sets off an alarm for several seconds. This prompts the Insurrectionalist UNSC forces to detect the alarm and begins sending troops down to the vault to investigate.

The Sarcophagus

Carolina, Maine and Washington soon find the Sarcophagus (with Maine acquiring his trademark weapon in the process) and devise a plan with York to haul it out using a window-washing unit and Maine serving as the counter-weight to haul it up. After Carolina and Washington deal with a troop of guards, including a particularly persistent one with a flamethrower, the two regroup with York on the roof and find Tex there planting what appears to be a bomb. Carolina quickly suspects she is acting as a covert agent to cover the Freelancer's tracks, but the discussion is interrupted by a bevy of guards. The lead one commands York to deactivate the bomb, only for York to reveal the bomb is a transmitter for the Mother of Invention's main gun. The Freelancers quickly evacuate by leaping off the building and Tex manages to get herself, Washington, and the Sarcophagus into the dropship with a swiped jetpack. She orders the pilot to take the Sarcophagus directly back to Command before leaping out of the dropship. With the dropship gone, York and Carolina end up being saved by Maine in a Warthog as the building collapses behind them.

Hell's Angel

In Blood Gulch, Church pleads with Tucker to help him have Tex remain at Blue Base, only for Tex to announce that she would be staying longer, stating that Caboose told her about the broken tank and giving her one-hundred dollars. Later on, Church tries to have a private conversation with Tex, only for Caboose to remain with them not understanding Church telling him to leave them alone.

At Red Base, Simmons and Grif recover the equipment Lopez was using the study the earthquakes. Then in a meeting with Sarge, Donut, and Grif, Simmons explains that the planet has become unstable and will collapse. Sarge comes up with a plan to drill to the core of the planet and set off a bomb (parodying the movie The Core), much to Simmons' dismay.

Back in the Freelancer storyline, North's team is pinned down on the freeway and is unable to reach their target, prompting Carolina and her team to reach the second team's rally point and intercept the VIP themselves. Tex meanwhile calls the Mother of Invention and has them send in an equipment pod containing a motorcycle and a rocket launcher. The episode ends with Maine jumping onto the VIP's car and attacking him with his "knifle" (as the enemy soldiers called Maine's Brute Shot).

Spiral

At Blue Base, Tex continues to work on the tank when Church approaches her and asks about how she knows so much about vehicles. During the conversation, Tex reveals that she is aware that Church is really Epsilon and that she is also unaware of the Director's reasons for bringing her back as an AI. Afterwards the tank finally activates.

Meanwhile, Maine returns to Carolina and York with the VIP's briefcase and all three are then pursued by Insurrectionalist forces with Tex catching up to them. The fight eventually leads to the back of a truck with Carolina and Maine squaring off against two of the Insurrectionalists; during which Maine is shot repeatedly in the throat. Soon enough one of the Insurrectionalists gains a hold of the briefcase and attempts to escape, with Tex and Carolina, who is determined to beat Tex, in pursuit. After Carolina tackles and neutralizes the Insurrectionalist, the briefcase falls loose and Tex claims it in front of Carolina (while setting up a possible rivalry and grudge between her and Tex). After Tex leaves on her own, a Pelican dropship arrives with the remaining Freelancers and extracts Carolina. This is the first episode where Carolina's face is seen.

Labor Pains

The episode begins in Blood Gulch, with Grif yelling at and insulting the Blue Team; in the hopes that he'll make them mad enough for them to send a bomb to the Red Base to use in Sarge's plan to stop the planet from destabilizing. He eventually succeeds and Tex builds Andy the bomb.

At Red Base, the Red team prepares to begin their voyage to the center of the planet with the drilling machine Sarge built with a massive excavator he ordered online; both which Grif points out that no one noticed until Sarge pointed them out. Afterward, Tex drops off Andy and he begins to count-down to his explosion, something Grif forgot to think about.

At Project Freelancer, the Director and the Counselor speak with a disoriented Delta; whom they say was just recently created. Delta initially believes that he is Alpha but the Director quickly corrects him and directs Delta's attention away from the issue.

Whole Lot of Shaking

The episode continues with the earthquake which everyone believes is the end of the world, during this time the Reds panic. Since they are all about to die, Simmons takes the time to admit that he had always utterly despised his teammates. However, Andy turns out to be a dud and fails to explode, sparing the Reds. Meanwhile, the Blues get Sheila running and try to use her to get out of Blood Gulch before the cataclysm. Church however decides to stay and tells them that if they find Agent Washington they tell him that "Memory is the Key". Instead of leaving with Caboose and Tucker, Tex decides to stay behind with Church, saying that he's never let her down yet. Church tells her that it had taken several versions of him to finally realize that in order get what you wanted, you sometimes have to let go of it first. Tex muses that she just proved the theory right and both she and Church stand together to watch the end of the world.

Back at Project Freelancer, York and North discuss the changes they've had recently. York notes how they've recently been fighting cops and UNSC soldiers and asks a question that has been bothering him especially since Tex arrived, "are we the good guys?" While North says that they are, York tells him that he didn't sound so sure, a statement with which North agrees with. Outside, South looks at the Freelancer rankings and turns away in disappointment when Tex becomes the new top ranking Freelancer, knocking South out of the top 6. Later, Washington catches C.T. finishing a transmission to an unknown person, saying that she needs "more time". Seeing Washington, C.T. tells him to mind his own business before storming off.

Hate to Say Goodbye

At Red Base the team awaits the end of the world. Grif decides to take a nap, figuring it would be best to die the way he lived. At Blue Base Epsilon-Church begins to explain to Tex that he figured out what the Director and Alpha could not. Tex was a by-product of the Director's longing to see Allison again, so strong in fact, that she was what drove him: her memory. After all they've been through Church tells Tex, "I forget you," finally allowing her to leave his memories and letting go. At peace, Church tells the world to do its worst. However, as the sky rips open further, Caboose calls into the Epsilon Capture Unit to Church, amazed that he is still alive. The Reds look on in confusion as Caboose, whom they believe to be God, calls out to Church, then Sarge suddenly appears next to Caboose to help, further confusing them. Realizing that the world is not ending but he is being rescued, Church despairs loudly and begs to be left here.

In the past, Carolina is seen looking over the updated rankings, as she is dropped to second behind Tex. The Director approaches her and tells her that things are going to change and he needs her to do "a great many things", some of which might be questionable. Carolina obliges, saying that he gave her everything and would do anything for him.

Epsilon comes out of the capture unit, furious with Caboose and Sarge and questioning why they came to get him and risked so much. Caboose informs Church that they and the others fought through many soldiers to rescue him, and did it for "her", who knew how to get Church out, whom Church assumes to be Tex. Caboose corrects him that it is not Tex but the "new lady." A nearby door opens revealing an alive Agent Carolina - long believed to be dead - who tells Church (whom she believes to be the Alpha) that now that she has him, he's going to help her to do what she should have done years ago: kill the Director.

Cast

Present

Past

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for season 9 of Red vs. Blue was released by Jeff Williams on December 7, 2011, and is Williams' second soundtrack for the show. It features the cast of Red vs. Blue, Casey Williams, Sandy Lee Casey and Lamar Hall.