Web Animation / Red vs. Blue: Restoration

The nineteenth season of Red vs. Blue is the Grand Finale of the series, released as a standalone film. The film sees the Reds and Blues reunited for one last adventure following the events of the Chorus Trilogy, where they must deal with the appearance of an old, sinister foe as well as a ghost from Project Freelancer's past...

Burnie Burns and Matt Hullum return as writer and director respectively. The film released on May 7, 2024 and is the last major project by Rooster Teeth, which will close the same month.

Given that this the last and final entry in the Red vs. Blue series, all spoilers from Season 1-17 will be unmarked.

Tropes:

• Ambiguous Situation: While Epsilon confirms that the events of The Shisno Trilogy and Zero were all just simulations that he ran before his death, it is left a bit unclear if the events of the film are also a simulation or indeed the real world. He at one point comments he couldn't always get Caboose's voice right in his simulations (referencing his new voice actor) and that he can't predict what Caboose says, instead inserting "Shut up, Caboose!" at certain points, which somehow works whenever Caboose goes and says something stupid. He hesitates for a moment when Simmons asks him if they are just a simulation too, which Simmons himself points out.
• And I Must Scream: Unlike the original Meta, who was thoroughly broken into becoming a mindless extension of Sigma, Tucker is fully aware of what Epsilon!Sigma is making him do and is not happy, occasionally trying to resist the AI's control. When he does, Epsilon!Sigma puts him through ten years of uninterrupted torture to punish and mentally break him^note AI perceive time at a much slower rate as seen with Epsilon in Seasons 12 and 13.
• Anyone Can Die: Sarge and Doc. As well, Church and Tex come back one last time only to be permanently killed when Caboose destroys the memory unit to stop the fragments from being misused.
• Ascended Extra: The Epsilon AI Fragments only get so much as a Freeze-Frame Bonus in the Chorus Trilogy, briefly appearing as Epsilon records his farewell speech for the Reds and Blues in case they make it off of Chorus alive. In Restoration, they and especially Sigma play a huge role in the film.
• Badass Boast: As The Meta has Tex impaled on the Grif Shot, taunting her about her being doomed to failure:
  Tex: You're forgetting one thing, Meta. This time, I'm not based on his memories. I'm based on their's. And I always kick their asses.
• Back for the Dead: Despite having sacrificed himself by splitting into new AI Fragments, Church is alive and well^note sort of, strictly speaking the Church we see here is just a series of recorded messages made by Epsilon in the moments prior to his death on Chorus, only Church was so good at predicting how the Reds and Blues would respond to him by that point, he was able to anticipate and respond to them in advance, creating the illusion of him interacting with them even though he really wasn't. Texas is also "revived" as one of the Epsilon AI Fragments. Sadly, both die for good when Caboose follows the latter's plan to ensure the Project Freelancer AI can never be misused or cause any more trouble.
• Bait-and-Switch: At the end of the film, Caboose and the Reds use their memories to bring back Church one last time to help them free Tucker from Epsilon!Sigma. It's not until the confrontation with the Meta that Caboose reveals they didn't bring back Church; they brought back Texas.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Simmons has been dreaming of becoming the new leader of Red Team for years. He finally gets the position...as Sarge lays dying in front of him.
• Become a Real Boy: Like his Alpha AI Fragment predecessor, Epsilon!Sigma wishes to achieve metastability and become as theoretically close to being human as is possible for an artificial intelligence.
• Big Bad: Sigma, or rather his Epsilon AI Fragment, takes up his predecessor's role and is the main threat of the film.
• Big "NO!": Epsilon!Sigma is left screaming this in impotent fury and fear as the Containment Unit absorbs him and the other Epsilon Fragments.
• Bittersweet Ending: Thanks to Caboose and the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew, the Epsilon AI Fragments are locked away in the Memory Containment Unit, freeing Tucker from Epsilon!Sigma's control. However, Sarge died saving Caboose's life halfway through the film, and Caboose follows through on Texas's plan to destroy the Containment Unit, in turn killing the Epsilon AI Fragments to ensure they can never be used to cause trouble again, which includes killing Church as well.
• Book Ends: The very first lines of the series had Simmons ask Grif "You ever wonder why we're here?" The last dialogue between the two has admit they never figured out the answer to this question, before admitting they enjoyed their friendship.
• Breaking Old Trends: The first (and only) film in the entire series.
• The Bus Came Back: 479er, who was last seen in Season 10, makes a return to help Caboose and the Reds get to where the Meta is.
• But Now I Must Go: Simmons decides to grant Grif an honorable discharge from the Red Team as his first act as leader. Grif sticks with him and Caboose until the Meta has been dealt with, and once all is said and done, he leaves Blood Gulch behind.
• Call-Back: Because "Memory is the key" there are a lot of callbacks to past seasons:
  • Church leaves a pre-programmed recording of himself in Caboose's helmet, much like how Delta left a similar message in Caboose's mind during Reconstruction.
  • Just like Caboose brought back Church by telling stories to Epsilon in Recreation, he does the same to Tex with Epsilon's memory recording by remembering past adventures with Grif and Simmons.
  • In Revelation Tex got Washington's attention by shooting Church, setting off his recovery beacon. Wash deliberately injures himself so his recovery beacon will summon reinforcements.
  • When Simmons throws the memory capture device to Tex, Washington calls it, "The best throw ever. Of all time."
  • Simmons and Grif's last conversation in the series calls back to their initial conversation about why they were there, with neither of them still having figured out why they were there, but with Grif concluding that if he had to be there, he was glad to be there with everyone else.
  • In Season 10, an ODST drop pod gets called in by Washington to help the Freelancers even the odds against the Insurgency, with said drop pod containing Agent Maine. The same thing happens here with Wash using his recovery beacon, only instead of Maine, it's Carolina.
  • In Season 8, Sarge used "Shotgun" as a codeword as part of the Reds' plans to deal with Wash and the Meta, which involved the use of the Warthog. While the Warthog isn't actually part of the plan here, Caboose references the codeword as he hears Los Dos Laredos coming within earshot, right as the Warthog smashes into the Meta.
  • Once again, Caboose says, "Not my fault. Someone put a wall in my way."
• Can't You Read the Sign?: At a decommissioned UNSC shipyard, there's a sign that reads, "DO NOT FLY OVER THE FENCE (IT'S ILLEGAL)". A ship then flies over the fence.
• Car Fu: The Warthog is once again used as a blunt weapon.
• Cerebus Syndrome: While the film doesn't lose its humor, Sarge's death is when it significantly drops to the point it's barely in the film whatsoever.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Unlike Agent Maine, the new Meta actually speaks and is something of a Cold Ham, though no less ruthless than his predecessor. He also considers the Reds and Blues to be a serious threat as opposed to an obstacle, though not surprising since they defeated Maine. Furthermore, Sigma managed to break Maine so thoroughly the latter was nothing more than an extension of himself—even when Sigma was destroyed by the EMP alongside the other Project Freelancer AI barring Epsilon, the Meta was obsessed with reclaiming Epsilon and hunted him down, albeit only to power his suit. Tucker is much more mentally resistant and actively fights back against Epsilon!Sigma, though he only ever manages to stop himself for a brief moment when the Epsilon AI Fragment regains control before punishing him for his interference. The new Meta also accomplishes something Maine failed to do in his previous encounters with the Reds and Blues: successfully kill one of them.
• Darker and Edgier: While the series had its dark moments following The Blood Gulch Chronicles, Restoration is arguably the bleakest it's ever been. While it starts off with the usual comedic fanfare, the film gets progressively darker and it becomes clear Anyone Can Die: Sarge dies halfway through the film, Doc is revealed to have been Killed Offscreen saving Wash from Hargrove's men during the climactic battle on Chorus, and both Texas and Church are Killed Off for Real.
• Dead All Along: Late into the film, it's revealed that Doc actually died saving Wash's life from Hargrove's men back on Chorus. The Doc he talks to is just in his head.
• Death by Irony: Sarge, the most vocal about the Red vs Blue war and set in his ways regarding his Irrational Hatred for the Blues, ultimately dies saving Caboose from the Meta; he himself notes the irony.
• Deliberate Injury Gambit: Washington jumps off a cliff at Blood Gulch and breaks his leg in order to trigger his own recovery beacon, so Carolina will come to Blood Gulch and help fight the Meta.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: While Church and Tex are rendered permanently dead at the end of the film, the former finally manages to reunite with his girlfriend, especially after he "forgot her" back in Season 9.
• Everything Is Online: A plot point. It's theorized that Epsilon hid the last pieces of himself inside of Caboose's helmet is because it's obsolete. The current model of helmet are linked to Command's computers to receive and provide tactical intel. Since Caboose's helmet isn't linked, the Meta wouldn't be able to remotely steal the last fragment remotely via hacking.
• Foregone Conclusion: It's heavily implied by Epsilon in the Prologue that the events of Restoration are guaranteed to happen in some capacity, as the Meta asks Epsilon what he's learned after running millions of simulations.
  Epsilon: That I have to do what I'm about to do. But if I do it, we always end up in the same place.
• Godzilla Threshold: It's all but stated Epsilon breaking himself off into the new AI Fragments was this, with him sadly noting in Prologue that he has to do it. This sacrifice also has the side-effect of "resurrecting" Sigma, who picks up where his Alpha AI Fragment predecessor left off. Epsilon recognized this possibility and left behind a series of pre-recorded messages for the Reds and Blues in order to try and stop him before he succeeds.
• Grand Finale: Of Red vs. Blue, being its last season and all.
• Groin Attack: During the final battle, Tex at one point kicks The Meta right in the crotch, causing Simmons, Caboose and Grif to wince. Grif comments on it, glad to not be on the receiving end for once.
  Grif: That is so awesome when it happens to someone else!
• Had the Silly Thing in Reverse: Caboose tries to help with a rocket launcher. Unfortunately, he fires it while holding it backwards.
• Hero Killer: The new Meta stabs Sarge in the back after the latter rescues Caboose from him, which proves to be a fatal injury.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Tex, knowing that she will share the same fate as the other A.I., activates the Containment Unit to absorb Epsilon!Sigma and the other fragments out of the Meta's armor and save Tucker. Though considering how she had planned for all of the fragments—herself included—to be destroyed to prevent them from being misused again, she is perfectly fine with this (especially since she'd finally be Together in Death with Church).
• He's Back!: Or rather, she's back; Instead of Caboose bringing back Church, he uses Epsilon's last fragment to bring back Agent Texas. Lampshaded when Tex uses the teleporter and gets her armor coated in the black stuff, putting her back in her iconic color. "She's back! In black!"
• I Choose to Stay: After Simmons is named the new leader of Red Team, his first order is to dismiss Grif from the Red Team. Grif happily accepts his resignation, but elects to stay with the group to see things through to the end. He does leave after all is said and done, though.
• Killed Off for Real: Doc died offscreen, Sarge dies after saving Caboose, and the Epsilon AI Fragments are destroyed by Caboose at the end of the film, putting the last remnants of the Project Freelancer AI to rest.
• Killed Offscreen: Doc is revealed to have died sometime after saving Wash's life on Chorus. The one he's been talking to all this time is actually an Imaginary Friend born from his guilt, which he struggles to come to terms with throughout the film.
• Knight of Cerebus: The film has a light-hearted tone for a fair portion...at least until the Meta shows up. When Sarge dies, there's little in the way of humor.
• Meaningful Rename: Sometime after the Chorus Trilogy, F.I.L.S.S. decided to stay with Caboose at Blue Base and took up her smart AI counterpart's name "Sheila".
• Medium-Shift Gag: Epsilon's video expositing how the Meta came back, and how dangerous it is, is done in 2D animation.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Epsilon splitting himself off into new Fragments is the catalyst for the film, as Epsilon!Sigma reveals himself to be just as much of a monster as the original Sigma was by taking control of Tucker's body. The worst part is that this was the Epsilon's Godzilla Threshold. Thankfully, Epsilon at least recognized this would happen and leaves behind a series of pre-recorded messages for the Reds and Blues.
• Nobody Here but Us Statues: When the Reds and Blues investigate the trophy room, the Meta hides in the compartment that held his armor, pretending to be the unworn suit
• No Man Should Have This Power: The general consensus regarding the Epsilon AI Fragments. Wash suggests they seal the AI away someplace where no one can find and abuse them as the Director did with the Alpha, whereas Texas advocates destroying them to ensure no one will misuse them. Caboose follows her plan and destroys the Memory Containment Unit housing them, including Tex and Church.
• No One Gets Left Behind: When the Reds try to escape from the Meta before he can come after them, Sarge realizes that Caboose is one of them and goes back to save him from the Meta, which ultimately results in Sarge being fatally stabbed.
• Not Quite Dead: Although Epsilon effectively killed himself by breaking apart into new AI Fragments based on the original Alpha AI emotional cores, he's technically still alive as bits of his code were stored inside Caboose's old helmet. The end of the film sees him fully dead as what remains of Epsilon is destroyed by Caboose inside the Memory Containment Unit to ensure the Project Freelancer AIs can never be misused.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Washington escapes from the hospital he was staying at off-screen in order to help Caboose and the Reds stop the Meta. The reveal later in the film that Doc, implied to have helped bust him out, was just his Imaginary Friend, means that Wash escaped entirely on his own.
• Pet the Dog: After Sarge promotes him to Red Team leader, Simmons' first order of business is to dismiss Grif from Red Team and has the paperwork all ready to go. Grif, who has been looking for just about any excuse to leave Red Team behind for years, chooses to stay on with Red Team until they free Tucker from Epsilon!Sigma.
• Put on a Bus: Donut is all but absent, as he's apparently now an admiral on Chorus.
• Rapid-Fire "No!": The Meta/Sigma's last words after Tex stabs him with the containment unit is a series of increasingly terrified small "no's" capped off by a roaring Big "NO!".
• Retcon: While Season 14 (an anthology series with little to no connection to the main series) and Family Shatters (a comedic non-canon spinoff of Season 18) are ignored, the Prologue reveals that The Shisno Trilogy and Zero were just simulations created by Epsilon, who was running millions of other simulations to try and find a solution to save everyone.
• Running Gag: Once again, Texas kicks somebody in the balls. Fortunately for Grif (and unfortunately for Tucker), it's the Meta who suffers the Groin Attack this time around.
• Sequel: To the Recollection trilogy and the Project Freelancer saga, with the Reds and Caboose now having to deal with the last remnants of the Freelancer program after Epsilon unintentionally "revives" Sigma who is now hellbent on succeeding where his Alpha AI Fragment counterpart failed.
• Ship Tease: There is a bit with Carolina and Washington towards the end. When she is comforting him over Doc's death from the final battle on Chorus, she assures him the two of them made it though every struggle and that she's not going anywhere and will always be there for him.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: As Sigma is mocking Tex for being just a shadow of a woman who failed, Tex responds with the Badass Boast above, saying she isn't based on the Director's memories of her this time, but the Blood Gulch Crew's, and is therefore no longer doomed to failure.
• Stating the Simple Solution:
  • After stopping the Meta and trapping the A.I.s in the Memory Unit, Carolina asks Caboose if Tex had a plan to resolve the issue they keep coming back around, after numerous attempts and potential solutions to prevent their misuse, to which Caboose says yes: by immediately stepping on the Memory Unit and destroying it permanently, killing all of the AI for good so they cannot be misused again. Ironically, the only one who even remotely objects to this is Wash, the one with the most insight from first-hand experience how dangerous and damaging to the psyche an errant AI fragment can be
  • After Wash's Deliberate Injury Gambit to trigger his recovery beacon, Doc says he could have just triggered it for him manually. This is subverted when it is revealed "Doc" is just a memory for Wash and not actually there, then Double Subverted when Carolina tells him the next time he wants her attention he can just call her instead of jumping off a cliff.
• Suddenly Voiced: Apparently, despite not having said a word after his voice disabling injury in the Freelancer saga, the Meta can straight up talk again, now with paragraph filled sentences! It turns out this is because he's not the original Meta but Tucker.
• Take That!: In the Prologue, the Meta mocks Epsilon as he runs through his simulations, trying to find at least one possible solution where the Reds and Blues will make it out okay. In particular, he mocks the simulation representing the highly contentious eighteenth season.
  Meta: You really think this is possible?
  Epsilon: Well, that one's just cool...
• The Cameo:
  • Grif's sister Kaikaina shows up during the 'Retro Convention" scene.
  • One appears briefly in the ending.
• The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Similar to what Delta did for Church back in Reconstruction, Epsilon is revealed to have left various recordings for the Blood Gulch Crew in the seconds before he died that respond to them as if he was actually there. He claims he analyzed them enough he was able to accurately predict what they would say. He claims he couldn't do this with Caboose though since he was literally unable to predict anything for him, so he just recorded himself saying "Shut up, Caboose!" at random intervals, which somehow still works.
• That's All, Folks!: After the credits are done rolling, Tucker breaks the fourth wall to talk to the viewers.
  "What are you doing here? The show's over. Red vs Blue is over. Get outta here. Bow chicka bye now!"
• Time Abyss: Not only can the A.I. fragments experience time at faster relative speeds, but they can also make their host do so as well. Specifically, Sigma subjects Tucker to ten years of constant, uninterrupted torture in the span of a few seconds, to make him stop resisting.
• Together in Death: Church finally reunites with Texas inside the Containment Unit. He's also aware of her and Caboose's plan, and accepts his imminent (and final) death since she's right there with him.
• Took a Level in Badass: Downplayed. Texas has always been a badass, but due to being based on Dr. Leonard Church's memories of his late wife, she was always doomed to fail when it looked like she was about to achieve her goal. When Caboose brings her back, she's based on the Blood Gulch Crew's memories of her, thus lacking the original Beta and her prior Epsilon iteration's weakness. She even points this out to Epsilon!Sigma, stating she's always kicked their ass.
• Tough Love: In his dying moments, Sarge confesses this is why he bullied Grif so much. He knows Grif is capable of great things, but since the tub of lard is so unmotivated, Sarge felt this was the only way he could get Grif to realize his true potential.
• Trailers Always Spoil: While the Prologue teases who the Big Bad of the season would be, the official trailer reveals it to be Sigma, or rather the Epsilon AI Fragment of him created at the end of the Chorus Trilogy. The trailer also spoils the fact that Tucker has been made the new Meta.
• Trauma Button: Sigma. Even as an Epsilon AI Fragment, his very memory scars Wash and Carolina, with Wash being the most horrified when he learns the Meta is back, this time using Tucker as his newest meat suit.
• True Companions: While this was already the case as far back as the end of the Reconstruction trilogy, Restoration firmly establishes the Reds and Blues as this. Halfway through the film, Sarge doubles back and goes to save Caboose from the Meta, an act that ultimately costs him his life as he's stabbed in the back by the Meta. Sarge finds it ironic he died saving a "Blue" of all people, but he sees Caboose as a dear friend and doesn't regret his decision at all.
• Villainous Breakdown: Only having just enough time to realize his plans have been foiled for good, Epsilon!Sigma has a brief but powerful moment of this as he is absorbed into the Containment Unit, screaming his head off in impotent rage and fear the whole time.
• Wham Line: "Doc saved you because that was his job. It's not your fault he didn't make it out of there."
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Lopez briefly appears at the beginning when he discovers Epsilon's recording in Caboose's helmet, but does not appear afterwards at any point, even back at Red Base both before and after the final fight.
  • Similarly to Lopez, Sheila/F.I.L.I.S.S. appears briefly at the beginning when Lopez discovers Epsilon's recording, but disappears after the team leaves to follow Epsilon's plan. She doesn't even appear at Blood Gulch for the Final Battle.
  • Donut is absent from Red Team, and only gets a brief cameo appearance as a random thought Simmons imagines. Dr. Grey refers to him as 'Admiral Donut', implying he got promoted after the events of The Chorus Trilogy.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: In Season 17, Doc went through one hell of a character arc where he managed to come to terms with his evil personality. Restoration reveals Doc actually died saving Wash's life on Chorus.
• You Are in Command Now: As he's dying after being fatally stabbed by the Meta, Sarge officially instates Simmons as the new leader of Red Team.