Shorts Review: Red vs. Blue Season 13, Episode 19 ‘The End is Near’

Spoilers Below:

We joined the Reds and Blues mid-battle, with the goal of taking Epsilon-Church to the communication temple in order to broadcast a message galaxy-wide, hoping to get rescued and put an end to the fighting. They asked the Santa AI to help, and he complied, just as a shipped approached them. A furious Felix emerged, along with a badly injured Locus. The latter pointed out that with the destruction of the Tartarus, the mission is over, but Felix wanted to follow through for his own selfish reasons. In response, Locus once again asked Santa what Felix is afraid of. Santa replied that Felix is afraid of Locus.

A battle then ensued between Felix and Tucker (with some help from the other Reds and Blues), and the good guys gained an edge on their outnumbered foe. Just as it appeared he was through, Locus showed up. However, Locus refused to keep fighting, which shocked and enraged his now-former partner. Outmatched once again, the Reds and Blues bested Felix, blowing him up. Locus then left, pledging to make things right, and vowing not to be found again.

With the whole galaxy listening, Epsilon-Church told the story of the hero UNSC soldiers that became stranded on Chorus, and revealed the guilt of Chairman Malcolm Hargrove, with supporting files as evidence. He implored anyone listening to send help.

A ship arrived almost immediately, ominously proclaiming to the Reds and Blues: “You have made…a terrible mistake.”

In Case You Missed It:

1) Solider, after running down an enemy fighter and saving a comrade: “No problem! I mean, I was actually trying to shoot him, but, I think I almost got the hang of it.”

2) Caboose: “Santa! If I knew you were here, I would have brought cookies!”

3) Wash: “Tucker, I hate to say it, but you’re on your own. I believe in you. All of you. You can do this.” / Doc: [frightened] “He thinks we’re gonna die…”

4) One of the viewers of Epsilon-Church’s galaxy-wide message was Tucker’s estranged alien son.

5) Epsilon-Church’s closing statement: “Thank you for your time, and please: hurry the fuck up, and just come get us.”

As season 13 winds down (hence: “The end is Near,”) we got an example of a well-rounded episode. It had humor, it had action, it had a bit of closure, and it ended with a twist and a cliffhanger. Let’s break these down.

First, after a few action-heavy installments with a generous portion of drama, this one was legitimately funny. It featured an ensemble cast (with appearances by a couple family members from past episodes, even) and every surviving character had at least one line – many of them humorous. In fact, one of the lines last night got as big of a laugh as I can remember this whole season. I’m talking about the scene in the photo up top, where Felix took Caboose’s gun, pointed it straight at him, and fired – only for it to shoot out confetti and emit the sound of a party noisemaker. A defeated Felix, at the end of his rope, exclaimed: “What is wrong with you people?!”

Of course, with the (hopefully) final elimination of Felix, we got a healthy amount of action, although honestly this was probably the weakest part of the episode, as we saw fights in the previous two episodes that were much more intricate and exciting. The moment where Felix was finally finished off was satisfying, but the lead-up to it was a bit anti-climactic. Especially for a 12-minute show. This is really my only knock though.

Speaking of satisfaction, the supposed death of Felix (you never know) allowed us all a bit of closure, as did the departure of Locus. Sure, Locus wasn’t killed, but that actually made it a bit more interesting, as it was surprising, and opened the door for a future conclusion of his story.

And this wasn’t even the twist and cliffhanger to which I previously referred – even though it was a bit of each. Instead, I am obviously referring to the arrival of the mysterious ship at the end. Prior to this moment, I really thought that the Reds and Blues had their conflict resolved, but with one episode left, this clearly isn’t the case.

So what is the case? Well, we really have no fucking idea, but I suppose that gives fans something to look forward to next week.

As if we weren’t already going to be anxiously awaiting the season finale.