From Stumbled Beginnings
"So, what better place to start than the beginning? Well, you could get all artsy and start somewhere in the middle. All the cool directors do that. Get you all excited. You're like, "Whoa dude! What's goin' on, man? Why's that guy shooting that other guy?" Then they all do that rewind thing. Tell the tale, lay the breadcrumbs, roll the credits. Classic! But how about we start... before the beginning?"
— Vic
Back before the Blood Gulch bases were established, Red Army rookies Grif, Simmons and Hammer are sent out to investigate a base taken by the Blues. What could go wrong?
This episode has examples of:
- Anachronic Order: Parodied by Vic:So, what better place to start than the beginning? Well, you could get all artsy and start somewhere in the middle. All the cool directors do that. Get you all excited. You're like, "Whoa, dude! What's goin' on, man? Why's that guy shooting that other guy?" Then they all do that rewind thing. Tell the tale, lay the breadcrumbs, roll the credits. Classic! But how about we start… before the beginning?
- Foregone Conclusion: Since the newly-introduced Hammer is a soldier accompanying Grif and Simmons on a mission in a prequel flashback, the fact he's going to kick the bucket is obvious, and Played for Laughs.
- Gilligan Cut: When Hammer dies, Grif suggests that he and Simmons cover themselves by claiming it was a Heroic Sacrifice. Simmons insists they can't do that. Cut to them doing just that.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Grif certainly feels that way about where he and Simmons met, asking if the place where they'll be reassigned "at least has a better name than Danger Canyon".
- Jerkass Has a Point: Red Team trainees Grif, Simmons, and Hammer are sent to investigate a base that was recently taken by a Blue Team. In an attempt to weasel out of infiltrating the base (Which Hammer wants to do), Grif wonders why three recruits were sent on such a dangerous mission. When Hammer goes Leeroy Jenkins and checks out the base alone, he finds that several bombs were placed- and the countdown's already going.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Hammer charges off to check out the base, and gets killed by the bomb the Blues left behind.
- Prequel: The first episode of the prequel trilogy.
