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YMMV / Red vs. Blue: The Shisno Trilogy

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    In General 
  • Complete Monster: Genkins, aka a Trickster God, was part of a false pantheon of gods, the "Cosmic Powers", meant to trick other species into subservience. Desiring true godhood, he joined forces with Chrovos to remake the universe In Their Own Image. He proceeded to help manipulate the Reds and Blues into causing a Time Crash, going as far as to exploit Wash's PTSD he gained from his neck injury and generating a mini black hole to sadistically murder Huggins when she tried to interfere. After the time crash, Genkins traveled around the time stream to cause further paradoxes to further weaken Chrovos's prison. Eventually, Genkins stole Chrovos's power to devour them alive, before trapping the Reds and Blues in the Labyrinth so they could be psychologically tortured to the point of committing suicide.
  • Contested Sequel: The trilogy is very heavily debated in regards to quality. Season 15 and The Shisno Paradox both were accused by many of being the point where the series entered Seasonal Rot, thanks to its Denser and Wackier nature, reference overdose, and wasting and/or mishandling of characters in favor of humor. While Singularity was far better received in terms of story, characters, and overall quality, for a not-insignificant group of fans the proverbial damage had already been done, with many having considered this trilogy the series' lowest point until the release of the considerably more disliked Red vs. Blue: Zero.
  • Franchise Original Sin:
    • The trilogy over all received criticism for being Denser and Wackier than the much more grounded prior seasons. The Blood Gulch Chronicles however was just as wacky, having bizarre details like a bomb blowing the group into the future, Tucker being impregnated by an alien, O'Malley being a Card-Carrying Villain obsessed with galactic conquest, etc., making this trilogy more akin to Revisiting the Roots. Many noted however that the divisive nature of the trilogy is largely due to The Shisno Paradox letting it ruin the pacing and characterization in service of a joke, with Tucker being the main victim.
    • One of the major criticisms of both Season 15 and The Shisno Paradox is the overuse of references and being Better than a Bare Bulb. Both of these aspects however have existed since the beginning of the series, just to a lesser extent. The series has always been reference heavy, often making numerous shout outs to pop culture and the like for the sake of humor, and numerous characters, namely Caboose, have made meta-jokes about being in a machinima series. They were used relatively sparingly in prior seasons however, and largely reserved for comedic moments. The two seasons however used them a lot more often and during serious moments, which many fans have argued ruined the overall mood.
  • Vindicated by History: While The Shisno Trilogy still has garnered rather mixed feelings from viewers, Zero receiving a considerably more controversial reception from fans and critics led to some posthumous reevaluation that found more aspects to praise from this story arc, most notably the character arcs given to Red Team and Wash and the usage of previously under-utilized characters like Donut, Kaikaina, and Lopez.

    Season 15 
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • The Blues and Reds (except Temple). Are they like Temple and merely faking their Nice Guy personas, or are they genuine and just being used by Temple? If they are faking it, are their similarities to the Reds and Blues also part of the act? Are they really sim troopers, or are they something else entirely? By Episode 13, it is made clear that not only are all the Blues and Reds in on the plan, but their similarities are actually an Invoked Trope on the part of Project Freelancer (They were the BGC prototypes).
    • Doc. Is he in on Temple's plan? Is he naive to it and just sees the Blues and Reds as other Sim Troopers? Is he even the real Doc? If it is really Doc, has anything happened to him since the Bolivian Army Ending of Season 13? Not once did he sound like O'Malley when seen, and with the knowledge that the Blues and Reds are all in on Temple's plan, where does that leave him? Did he hit his Rage Breaking Point and have a Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal after everything the Reds and Blues put him through? Is he ignorant to all of their plans? Is he being threatened? True Colors makes it clear that Doc is himself, that he has been suppressing O'Malley, and has pulled a Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal.
    • Carolina not remembering the Blues of the Blues and Reds despite working with them. Did she genuinely forget? Did she not make the distinction due to the many similarities Sim Trooper teams have? Did she block the memory due to it being another loss to Tex?
    • Temple taunting Caboose in Episode 16. Most viewers are quick to judge him doing so because he enjoys it. However, it's arguable that Temple was taking out his frustration over the fact that Caboose refuses to accept the concept of death, which stems from the pain he suffered from having lost Biff.
  • Anti-Climax Boss: Some viewers felt that each confrontation between the Blood Gulch Crew and the Blues and Reds were written poorly, with the Blues and Reds being defeated or finished off in unceremonious ways that were more written to be humorous than meaningful.
  • Awesome Ego: It may just be putting on a brave face for her opponents, but Dylan's quick to show off her achievements and has rock solid confidence in her determination to see her story through. And she's got the guile, charisma, and quick thinking to earn it.
  • Base-Breaking Character: Jax continues the trend that began with Felix of the character who's voiced by the director/writer of the season being this (but while Felix became popular as he went on, Jax has yet to be vindicated in such a manner). He's usually seen as either charming or annoying for his stereotypical film student tendencies.
  • Broken Base:
    • The Temple of Procreation has deeply divided the fanbase, with many finding the idea extremely funny and in keeping with the series' general humor, and others seeing it as a deeply disturbing concept, as well as finding the jokes about Grif and Simmons being locked in a closet together to have an uncomfortable subtext.
    • The Season as a whole, with the fanbase being split into several camps.
      • The first camp finds this season comparable to a bad fanfiction with bland or annoying new characters, some of the main cast having an Out-of-Character Moment, two fan-popular ships being strongly teased, and a lot of wasted potential makes some see it as a disgrace to Red Vs. Blue given how Season 13 was seen as a perfect end-point for the series. They also find the season to be too lighthearted and not up to par with the likes of Project Freelancer or the Chorus Trilogy, instead being a huge step backwards.
      • The second camp, as detailed in Seasonal Rot, finds this season to be one of the weaker ones in the series, but still enjoyable to an extent, marking the season as So Okay, It's Average. They find that some of the jokes are genuinely hilarious, some of the new cast have their charms, and the characterization for the original cast is on point, but find problem in the execution of certain scenes, wasted potential, and lack of high stakes when compared to the more recent seasons, namely the Chorus Trilogy.
      • The third camp enjoys this season for the exact opposite reasons the Chorus Trilogy was enjoyed, in that this season wasn't as high stakes, more lighthearted, and a nice throwback to the Blood Gulch Chronicles. The characters being able to return to their more goofy origins of being a bunch of crappy soldiers fighting in a boxed canyon while retaining their Character Development from later seasons, and the Blues and Reds being the perfect Foils to what Reds and Blues once were or could have become.
    • The return of Locus has divided fans; some find it to be too late in the season to add him to the plot. Others feel that his Heel–Face Turn is unearned, and that he passed the Moral Event Horizon by participating in the attempted genocide of Chorus. And many others are just happy to have him back and hope he becomes a permanent team member.
    • The "Grimmons" moment in episode 17, where Simmons and Grif are having an intimate moment only to be interrupted by Jax (Who they then punch for insinuating he was expecting them to kiss) has been negatively received by a majority of the LGBT fanbase who feel it's mean-spirited, while many other fans (Including some who actually ship Grimmons and/or are LGBT themselves) just thought it was a funny and cute nod to the fandom-supported pairing.
    • The finale, and what it entailed.
      • First there is V.I.C.'s Heroic Sacrifice, some finding the scene genuinely beautiful and nice send off to one of the original cast. Others see it as a shoehorned in reference to Epsilon's sacrifice from Season 13 that not only pales in comparison, but is a mockery to Epsilon's sacrifice. A third party does like his departure, but would have preferred the writers not parodied a beautiful send off to Epsilon.
      • Caboose getting to say goodbye to Church. Some find Caboose actually getting to do it betrays the idea the season set up, that sometimes there are things you can't control and you need to move on from the past, also feeling that Caboose learning to move on without getting the proper closure would be more fitting. Some think the poor blue idiot deserves the chance to say goodbye after what Caboose has been through since Epsilon died and were happy he got the chance to get some closure. Some think it was a good idea, but the execution fell flat, and that the scene lost its effectiveness due to the Church he was saying goodbye to being the Alpha still at Blood Gulch on Caboose's first day, with Church's complete constant confusion over why Caboose wasn't watching the flag ruining it, or the fact that it was Alpha, not Epsilon, that Caboose was saying goodbye too.
      • The machine imploding on itself after V.I.C.'s Heroic Sacrifice. Some found it to be an Anti-Climax Writer Cop Out moment, others found it funny, and some find it the only way to actually get rid of the thing.
    • The Season being a standalone. Some are irritated that what potential the season had isn't being expanded upon into further seasons, leaving the conclusion rushed. Some are confused due to the show's penchant for Saga's (Blood Gulch and Freelancer) or Trilogies (Recollection and Chorus) and wonder why the format was changed. Others find it a good choice as the season offers proper closure at its end rather than a cliffhanger like most saga seasons due. A smaller group believes the season may be continued on further down the line, either through plot points in another arc, or if the decision to make this a standalone season is changed. However, this is somewhat mitigated by the next season, as the the time machine played a role in the Blood Gulch crew getting dragged into a time travel conflict in the following two seasons.
    • Temple being allowed to live. Many wanted to see Temple die as catharsis for all the crap he put the Main Cast through. Others find it more fitting he is arrested so he can wallow in self pity for plans failing. Others prefer it as it leaves plenty of room for Temple to escape and return.
    • Some feel that the constant Shout Outs were too much, even by Rooster Teeth's standards. Others find it funny and accept it as a part of the season's style.
  • Captain Obvious Reveal:
    • It's easy to see Temple's true nature come from a mile away, given the way he tries to manipulate Tucker against Dylan and Jax; not to mention that he and his forces killed innocent civilians in the beginning of the season.
    • Also, it turns out that Church's SOS message from Episode 5 was faked by the Blues and Reds in order to lure the BGC into a trap, and he really is gone for good this time. No one was surprised.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Seeing the Reds and Blues take down their Evil Counterparts one by one in the final act is extremely satisfying.
    • Seeing Doc calling out the Reds and Blues on how horribly they've treated him in the past (especially when they neglected to notice his disappearance during the Chorus Trilogy, not even bothering to apologize) was also incredibly satisfying, especially for viewers who felt that said-negligence was brushed off too easily. Too bad it was ultimately short-lived.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Biff, the Blues and Reds' Grif, largely due to being a genuine Nice Guy (much like Agent York) with a cute romance life with a girl he met in high school. He also had a purely badass moment where, despite having witnessed Carolina brutally take down his teammates, refused to back down and kept fighting. It made what happened to him all the more heartbreaking.
  • Epileptic Trees:
    • Since the Reds and Blues were hand-picked by Project Freelancer for a specific purpose, there have been a lot of theories as to whether or not the Blues and Reds had a similar purpose. These theories were proven right in that they were the basis for the Reds and Blue.
    • After Temple offhandedly mentioned fearing Carolina might recognize his voice, numerous theories pertaining to his identity rose up. The most common theory is that he was a former member of Project Freelancer, either another Freelancer, or a Sim Trooper. Some notable theories include him being Agent Georgia, Agent Illinois, or being a Sim Trooper at a base Carolina trained at, much like how Tex trained at Blood Gulch. Others speculate he was part of the Insurrection, most notably the Demo Man, who was revealed to be alive in a deleted scene from Season 10. Though it is later revealed he is just another simulation trooper she was forced to work with.
    • The exact purpose of Loco's device. While Temple wanted him to just build a bomb to blow up the UNSC base on Earth, Loco claims it's better than a bomb, and would make Temple happy. After mentioning to Caboose that he could show a way to see Church again and engaging in Techno Babble involving Quantum Mechanics and Wormholes, many believe Loco's device is a Time Machine meant to save Biff, and now Church too. With Loco's genuine wish to be friends with Caboose it seems he isn't lying, however Episode 18 states the device is a sort of drill with the intent of drilling through the Earth to get into the UNSC base from the other side. Episode 19 confirms that the device is, indeed, a time machine.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Season 14 Episodes 2-4, "The Blood Gulch Prequel Trilogy," are rendered this by this season, since the tragic story of the Blues and Reds is the reason why Captain Flowers had to get specific people for the Blood Gulch Red and Blue Teams.
    • All the times that Sarge has fantasized about Grif dying horribly become this when Episode 13 has Biff (Grif's counterpart on the Blues and Reds) die horrifically and not get Played for Laughs.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • One of the more joking reasons why people were so convinced that the Reds and Blues in Episode 1 were fakes was because Caboose went backwards, which he promised he would never do in Reconstruction. Guess what the real Caboose does immediately after Dylan finds him?
    • In Episode 8, Lopez sarcastically claims that because he's not the Starship Enterprise, he can't give Sarge any information on Desert Gulch. The opening to Episode 15 is a massive parody of the opening sequence to Star Trek: The Next Generation... with Lopez's head in the role of both the Enterprise and its crew.
    • A minor Running Gag in the earlier seasons was Caboose thinking that Grif's name was spelled with two "f"s. Biff, Grif's counterpart on the Blues and Reds, has his name spelled with two "f"s.
    • As discussed above, Gene saying he’ll "Darth Maul this and come back in a shitty video game!" didn't really make any sense at the time. However, the line would fit Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), a game that came out after the season ended, was widely disliked, and happens to have Darth Maul in it.
    • In a case that shouldn't be funny but still is, Donut causing a water park to catch fire somehow happened when a tube slide in Belgium caught fire in 2019.
    • As soon as the trailer for Roland Emmerich's 2022 film Moonfall dropped, a fan decided to warn Joe Nicolosi about this Defictionalization of Jax Jonez's Moon Doom script.
  • Ho Yay: Aside from the usual between Grif and Simmons, there's the friendship between Temple and Biff. It really doesn't take that much effort to see their relationship as something more, especially because Biff's death is played more like the loss of a lover as a motivation for Temple's Start of Darkness than the loss of a friend that it really is.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Believe it or not, Temple. With the horrific and tragic reveal in episode 13, it's hard not to sympathize with him to some degree. At the very least, the reveal gives his Revenge some context.
    • Doc. Sure, he betrays the BGC, but considering everything they put him through, like treating him as an outcast, abandoning him to the Meta, and especially when they forgot all about him during the Chorus Trilogy, can you really blame him? And worst, the BGC still refuse to acknowledge how they mistreated him.
  • Like You Would Really Do It: Common reaction to the end of Episode 17: No way is Joe killing off Wash, especially in a season that barely gave him any character focus.
  • Misblamed: The writer of this season, Joe Nicolosi, came under fire for certain lines that were seen as out-of-character (like Sarge saying “YOLO”) or factually inaccurate (like Gene saying he would “Darth Maul this and come back in a shitty video game”). The DVD Commentary revealed that these two lines, among others, were actually voice actor improv.
  • Moral Event Horizon:
    • The Big Bad, Temple, goes flying over this when it's revealed he's been killing the Freelancers, and locks Carolina and Wash in armor lock in a room with his other Freelancer victims so they can die of thirst/starvation. Though interestingly enough, his tragic backstory is revealed after we learn how depraved he is.
    • Temple crosses another line when he reveals the truth of Church's message: It's nothing more than edited recording from all the way back in Blood Gulch to lure the Blood Gulch Crew. Temple gleefully rubs it on their faces, especially towards Caboose, who is completely crushed from learning the harsh truth that Church is truly dead. It says a lot when the fandom is calling for Temple's head after revealing the truth like that. Though another portion believes it may have been Temple's way of taking out his sorrow from having lost Biff, being forced to accept that he's gone.
  • Narm:
    • The FOTUS-armored soldier's giant unicorn horn can come off as more goofy than intimidating, as does the constant lightning storm that seems to follow him around. Given that it turns out he's a civil servant, this was probably an Invoked Trope.
    • Biff's impalement on a pole with a pair of briefs taped to one end, which is a hilariously Undignified Death that is completely in keeping with the series Black Comedy, but Played for Drama. Possibly also an Invoked Trope, given how reference heavy this season is.
    • Carolina's attempt to not get revenge on Temple and have a conflict end in bloodshed comes as this when 1) She clearly wasn't concerned about the deaths of the many Mooks they had fought earlier, and 2) The last person they dealt with, Chairman Hargrove, had already been resolved without his death. Especially narmy considering it's set up as if this was the first time such a thing would happen.
  • One-Scene Wonder:
    • A lot of people really liked Frank for his witty retorts and being an Only Sane Man compared to Dylan, to the point that finding out he quit after Episode 1 disappointed a few of them.
    • Any past characters that only show up for one episode (Sister in Episode 2, the Chorus residents in Episode 4, and the members of Project Freelancer in Episode 13) are bound to get this reaction.
  • Seasonal Rot: While few would claim the season was flat out bad, many would agree it's one of the weakest seasons yet.
  • Squick:
    • What Temple does to any Freelancers he finds. He activates their Armor Lock, then leaves them till they either starve or dehydrate to death. He then proceeds to keep their bodies on display as a sick form of trophy collection, their rotting flesh creating a revolting aroma.
    • On a less visceral note, the Director arranging the "Capture the Flag" game so that it would be Carolina - his own daughter - fighting against Tex/Allison - the A.I. memory fragment of his deceased wife - is pretty disgusting.
    • The spray of blood that hits Temple's face when Tex pulls the Blue Team Flag out of Biff's torso is repulsive.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Many viewers were disappointed with the Epsilon AI fragments not making an appearance (having apparently died after Tucker finished using the Meta's suit), with many hoping for fan-favorites Delta and Theta to return. Some have even decided that they're still out there somewhere (which, considering this series, is actually pretty likely).
    • Locus received some great characterization in this season, but came in very late, left just before the final act, and vanished without a trace by the end.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • Some viewers are split over the Reds and Blues seen in the first few episodes being impostors with the real Red and Blues having barely changed personality-wise since Chorus, as a lot of potential character development was wasted.
    • Many felt that Temple's character arc was handled poorly, as Episodes 12 and 13 managed to set him up as a Well-Intentioned Extremist antagonist who has a legitimately sympathetic motive for wanting revenge on the Freelancers and actually had a point about the UNSC needing to answer for their treatment of their own soldiers, yet ultimately turned out to be a purely evil, unsympathetic Card-Carrying Villain who practically reveled in how evil he was, before going out like a cowardly wimp. To make matters worse, his shockingly tragic backstory, which gave his motivations context, is never brought up again, nor are Carolina and Wash ever told as to why Temple hated the Freelancers and wanted to kill them all, so we never see Carolina actually voice regret over her actions or even have recognition of who he was.
    • A considerable portion within the fanbase felt that Doc's betrayal against the Reds and Blues was absolutely justified, with the latters' negligence at noticing the former's disappearance during the Chorus Trilogy, and not even apologizing for said-negligence, a line crossed. Said-portion was eager to see more scenes where Doc would call out the Reds and Blues on their character flaws, potentially setting up a scene where the BGC would give a genuine apology, winning the former back over to their side. A few episode later, Doc's rejoined the BGC, after pretty much begging them to take him back and with absolutely no build up to him feeling regret for betraying them, and even after he rejoins them, the BGC still refuse to acknowledge their mistakes.
    • On a lighter note; many fans were disappointed that Joe didn't do anything that special with the series' 300th episode, especially considering he's a Promoted Fanboy.
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Considering how the shitty the UNSC's been throughout the series, it's hard to disagree with Temple's agenda to make them pay.
  • The Un-Twist:
    • Turns out that the Big Bad really is Temple; his act as a Nice Guy rang a little hollow from the start, given that he was seen murdering civilians in the first episode. (That and his generally creepy behavior.) Though the real shocking thing is how depraved he really is, along with his motivation for doing so, and his true endgame.
    • Grif in Episode 16 was just a distraction. Given that he's working with Locus, it didn't come as much of a surprise that his seemingly idiotic plan was a trick.
  • Win Back the Crowd: While this season wasn't a winner for everyone, it did renew interest in the series for a number of people who were underwhelmed by Season 14.

    The Shisno Paradox (Season 16) 
  • Alternative Character Interpretation: The Freudian Excuse given by Doc about his dead younger brother Deke in "A Pizza The Action." Was Deke actually real, or was it just a sob story concocted by O'Malley to guilt Grif into giving him the time gun?
  • Broken Base:
    • While the previous two seasons were already Contested Sequels, The Shisno Paradox fractured things only seven episodes in. Dissers disliked the show, saying it was ditching grounded sci-fi and increased drama for a Denser and Wackier route that even includes a live-action character. Others pointed out the Blood Gulch Chronicles were equally silly, the comedy is on point, and the surreal and unpredictable plot is making things more interesting.
    • Characterization was also a contested point, with most regarding Tucker, who was back at being a egocentric Casanova Wannabe. Claims of derailment and ignoring development were raised, yet fans and Joe Nicolosi himself claimed that while Tucker evolved and became a leader because he stood up for the task, him being a self-centered womanizer never left, only got downplayed. Once he was paired with Sister, there was reason for those flaws to resurface, things to go wrong, and eventually Sister call Tucker out.
  • Crosses the Line Twice:
    • Grif immediately trying to kill himself with a grenade after he learns that pizza has been Retconned out of existence by Genkins.
    • Similarly, there's Grif attempting to kill Doc for making an absurdly healthy vegan pizza in "A Pizza The Action."
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Huggins is probably the most universally adored aspect of this season, as their status as The Cutie who forms a close friendship with Grif, helps Grif through some Character Development, and being just generally adorkable, made them quickly endeared by the fans.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: Jax Jonez acting as a Prima Donna Director and treating his cast and crew like crap is a lot less funny to watch after accusations of excessive crunch and unpaid overtime would start to circle out from former Rooster Teeth employees in July of 2019.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Episode 11 has an angry Atlus venting off by firing energy beams at a moon, and the last one shatters part of it, just like on RWBY. Come Volume 6 of that show, and Remnant's cracked moon apparently was caused by a god throwing a fit.
    • Epsilon-Church having done a God Guise while in the form of a monitor during Revelation becomes even more hilarious when it's revealed that the Cosmic Powers are Monitors themselves.
    • Both Halo Fandom Wikia and Halopedia's articles/pages for the 7 wood (a Golf Club reskin for the Gravity Hammer) not only has a picture of a blue spartan in the Halo 3 engine holding and using it, but also wears the same Mark IV helmet that Caboose wears. Which is a hilarious coincidence considering Caboose's infatuation with Genkins' Golf Club in Seasons 16 & 17.
  • Mis-blamed: Joe Nicolosi has come under heavy fire from the detractors of the season, with the blame for inconsistencies and plot points placed solely on him. Unlike Season 15 however, he actually has a co-writer this season: Jason Weight. Despite being co-writer, Nicolosi is the one who more often than not gets the blame.note 
  • Moral Event Horizon: Genkins blatantly goes flying over this when he kills Huggins by sending her into a black hole, of which Huggins already has an intense fear of due to one having killed her parents.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • Yes, the Blood Gulch Chronicles could (and did) get as insanely goofy as this season did. The following season downright lampshades this in the second episode, as during a Mental Time Travel scene, Grif states "we do weird shit all the time."
    • The complaints about the inclusion of seemingly fantastical elements, in this case space gods, also fits, as the show started with the main character being killed and resurrected as a ghost (which, while later established as an AI who just thinks that they're a ghost, was assumed for the first five seasons to simply be a ghost, complete with a brief period where Sarge also died and became a ghost until he was revived). Early-Installment Weirdness in play aside, the show wasn't really going to new ground, especially considering that Halo as well has been delving into pseudo-gods as well with the Forerunners.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: In Season 15, many viewers disliked Jax Jonez and saw him as an annoying guy who only liked to deliver gratuitous movie references. His appearances in Season 16, as a Prima Donna Director with a Hair-Trigger Temper, were much better received.
  • Seasonal Rot: As part of the unfortunate trend where almost every season after 13 seems to be more negatively received than its predecessor, many fans were not kind to Season 16, deeming it as poorly conceived in its Denser and Wackier approach while having major pacing problems and possible derailing of the characters.
  • Slow-Paced Beginning: One of the main criticisms levied against the season is how, after the Reds and Blues first get the time guns in the second episode of the season, it's not until around the end of the twelfth episode that the story really kicks it into high gear.
  • Spiritual Adaptation: The focus on space gods and Magitek, combined with a comedic bent, and the usual brightly colored armor already present in the show, makes for a very present Thor: Ragnarok feel. Kalirama's introduction even has a similar tone to Hela's in the film, while the score of the season sounds almost lifted directly from the movie's soundtrack.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome:
    • The season's introduction, which shows Muggins' flight back to Starseeds, is absolutely gorgeous.
    • Really, almost all of the animation is fantastic this season, with examples like Donut rising out of a lake with his time gun a la The Lady of the Lake, the overall design of Starseeds (along with the black hole it orbits), and the entire fight through time and space between O'Malley and Donut.

    Singularity (Season 17) 
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Broken Base:
    • Grif and Simmons' Labyrinth illusions, as seen in "Omphalos" and "Theogeny." Several fans were disappointed that the illusions given to them (namely, Grif being forced by a sadistic gym teacher to run through a Wipeout obstacle course turned up to eleven, and Simmons being chased by a UFO wanting to "utilize his penis in scientific experiments") were significantly goofier than those experienced by the other members of the Blood Gulch Crew (i.e., Carolina confronting her own self-hatred and confusion over her identity in the form of herself from during the days of Project Freelancer, Wash being Forced to Watch as all of his friends die pointlessly in an assault, Kaikaina/Sister returning to her and Grif's family home that she accidentally burned down, Tucker being left completely alone and suffering a panic attack due to his need for company, Sarge being given a taste of monotonous civilian life followed by getting unwillingly shoved head-first into the horrors of war, and Lopez experiencing what it's like to be an English-speaking human - and being Driven to Suicide as a result), as the other illusions were all either rather serious or at least more insightful with what they had to say alongside their comedic moments. That being said, some other fans liked Grif and Simmons' Labyrinth illusions for being more comedic since they feel it helped serve as a way to "calm down" after the more dramatic illusions were shown.
    • invoked Wash having to retain his brain damage going into the future. Some found it to be an unnecessary example of Badass Decay being forced upon Wash, some others found it to be an effectively tragic moment that can create interesting new future storylines, and there's countless more fans somewhere in-between.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • After watching Genkins possess Church and act like a massive Jerkass to everyone for half the season, seeing Caboose furiously tackle him in "Self-Fulfilling Odyssey" and beat the absolute fuck out of him is immensely satisfying.
    • Donut chewing out the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew in "Limbo" for them having treated him like crap for so many years.
    • Doc managing a Split-Personality Merge with his Evil Twin O'Malley in "Theogeny" can be seen as this, as it's something finally going Doc's way after having been consistently mocked/ignored for the last two seasons.
  • Crack Pairing: The previously minuscule Donut/Wash ship got a lot of mileage after the two formed an Odd Friendship this season.
  • Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Fanfic Fuel: Practically turned up to eleven. Not only are there the near-countless alternative timelines created within the Everwhen by Genkins' meddling, but there's also Carolina's time while re-enlisted as a common foot soldier in the UNSC, Lopez's journeys while lost in space for countless millions of years, and Donut's plans for exploring the universe on his own.
  • He Really Can Act:
    • While Dan Godwin's performance as Donut has never been necessarily seen as bad throughout the series, many viewers have been very impressed with his voicework this season as Donut has taken charge and become a more assertive character (along with forming an Odd Friendship with Wash).
    • Similarly, Ricco Fajardo's performance as Genkins is particularly excellent this season; while his impression of Church when possessing him was still clearly not Church, Fajardo was able to copy Burnie Burns's mannerisms as Church almost flawlessly. Relatedly, his fits of hysterical Evil Laughter and frothing-at-the-mouth lunacy in Genkins' British accent are worth highlighting since Fajardo actually isn't British in reality.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • While Caboose's comments about how "time is made of circles" from The Blood Gulch Chronicles were already funny, they become hilariously prescient here once it's revealed that black holes in the RvB verse allow time to loop back on itself to the Big Bang - So Caboose was right all along!
    • Black holes form a major part of the storyline for Singularity, being responsible for Huggins not getting Killed Off for Real, the Genkins/Chrovos Stable Time Loop, and other story aspects. Roughly halfway through the season, the first picture of a black hole in human history was taken.
    • As noted under Fanon on the main series' YMMV page, most fans seem to believe that the Freelancers fought in the Human-Covenant War, though there still hasn't been any specifics declared one way or the other. This season reveals that Carolina actually did fight in the Great War... but only when she was Faking the Dead and had re-enlisted as a common foot soldier in the UNSC under a fake name after having been thrown off a cliff by the Meta. So, while Carolina herself has fought in the Great War, Carolina as a Freelancer Agent still never actually did!
  • It's Short, So It Sucks!: Easily the biggest criticism of the season is that it's one of the shortest seasons of Red vs. Blue yet, clocking out at only 12 total episodes and with several of those aforementioned episodes not being that much longer than the typical RvB episode of seasons past.
  • Like You Would Really Do It: Lopez being permanently lost in outer space via jumping into a black hole while within the Labyrinth. Very few fans, if any, were that surprised to see Lopez pop back up at the end of the season finale, especially after Huggins' "death" had previously shown that black holes in the RvB verse loop time backwards to the Big Bang.
  • Memetic Mutation: Wash's enraged yell during "The Not-So-Good Ol' Days" has quickly become a popular forum reaction image within the Rooster Teeth fandom.
  • More Popular Replacement: While Ray Schilens as Chrovos wasn't exactly hated during The Shisno Paradox, Lee Eddy's take on the character has proven to be significantly more popular with fans due to a greater focus on Deadpan Snarker humor and Eddy already being a big fan-favorite among the greater Rooster Teeth fandom.
  • Narm Charm:
  • One-Scene Wonder: Like with Season 15, but to an even greater extent, the entirety of Project Freelancer shown through "The Not-So-Good Ol' Days"note  had viewers screaming ecstatically.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
    • Chrovos and Genkins were previously deemed as boring antagonists during The Shisno Paradox, especially because of their limited screentime (the latter is only revealed as a villain in the final two episodes). Come the next season, both are on the spotlight from the get-go and most fans seem to prefer how they're employed in amusing ways, particularly Chrovos' new characterization as a condescending woman (who is also vaguely maternal towards Donut, strangely enough) voiced by fan favorite Lee Eddy.
    • On more of a metatextual level, Jason Weight (the season's writer) was previously disliked by a not-insignificant portion of the fanbase, with many having blamed him for Season 16's Seasonal Rot since he helped write some of that season's more contentious episodes. However, opinion has starkly shifted concerning him after Singularity was released, with numerous fans stating that they're now excited to see him write his own story arc going into the future.
  • Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Much to the pleasant surprise of the audience, Singularity has quickly become the most beloved season in the series since The Chorus Trilogy, with the main complaintsnote  being seen as largely inconsequential in the face of the hilarious comedy, clever story, improved pacing, Character Rerailment, impressive animation (again, for the most part), and overall great use of previously ignored/shelved characters and pairings.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Probably one of the most vocal criticisms of the season is that both Alpha-Church and Delta weren't given significant roles in the story aside from some relatively brief gags.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • As alluded to above, many fans were disappointed with Simmons' Labyrinth illusion being entirely comedic and not giving any real insight into his character.
    • Wash going back to the time where he was part of Project Freelancer was mostly played for comedy, especially the fact that he was the Butt-Monkey. However, it would have been interesting to see both him and Carolina interacting with other Freelancers, such as York, Maine and Tex after the Character Development both of them endured.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: The fight between Present!Carolina and Past!Carolina within the Labyrinth is generally seen as some of the best combat-related animation used in the show since the fight scenes in Season 13.
  • Win Back the Crowd: Even if it directly followed the story of its very divisive predecessor, Singularity has evaded similar vitriol, with the vast majority of viewers liking the comedy, screentime given to usually neglected characters/pairings, and story directions. What certainly helps is that after a whole season of build-up, the stakes and antagonists were set right away in this season.

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