- "I just wanted to say, that no matter what happens, it's been an honor working with you, sir."
- —Jensen to Simmons in Oh Captains, My Captains
Lieutenant Katie Jensen is a New Republic rebel soldier of Simmons' red team squad. An intellectual and loyal recruit to Simmons, Jensen serves as a supporting character in Season 12 and Season 13.
Role in Plot[]
Training with the Reds and Blues[]
Jensen is first seen in Oh Captains, My Captains infiltrating a mining facility during a training exercise with her squad, led by Simmons. After he, Grif, and Caboose scatter from a group of "Feds", Jensen attempts to help them but accidentally runs into Smith with a warthog. Later on, Jensen is recruited to be a part of Simmons, Grif, Tucker, and Caboose's rescue team, along with Bitters, Smith, and Palomo. During several training exercises, Jensen helps Simmons install capture software onto the group's helmets in order to record their sessions.
Unfortunately, other Republic soldiers, and even the recruits, view the footage and laugh at the squad's constant mess-ups. Afterwards, Jensen and the other Rebel soldiers discover a message from the Red and Blue captains, detailing their departure. While sounding uncertain, Jensen tries to convince the others that the Reds and Blues might come back. However, she and the recruits are informed of the Reds' and Blues' "deaths", leaving Jensen and the other rebels devastated by the news. Because of the "loss", Kimball leads the New Republic to Armonia for one final confrontation with the Feds.
Learning the Truth[]
As the rebels arrive at the capital, Jensen, along with Bitters, Smith, and Palomo, move deeper into the city. Unfortunately, the New Republic army are soon sealed inside and become surrounded by Doyle and the Federal Army. As the two armies engage each other, Jensen and her teammates narrowly escape fire from the Feds, when suddenly a video recording of Felix confessing the Space Pirates' involvement in the war plays throughout various television screens. This causes a cease fire between the Feds and Rebels, who finally learn the truth about the civil war's escalation.
After running laps.
After the Feds and rebels form a truce, they pick up the Reds and Blues and regroup at the New Republic HQ, where the recruits thank their captains for rescuing them. A month later Jensen participates in a training exercise supervised by Washington, where she is ordered to run laps alongside the other lieutenants due to Grif's laziness. Later on, she, alongside other Feds and Rebels, attack Grif due to this. Afterward, Jensen and several Feds and Rebels leave for a mission to attack the Space Pirates at Crash Site Alpha, after the destruction of their hybrid weapons.
Upon arriving at Alpha, however, the assault team are ambushed by enemy reinforcements, forcing them to refuge inside a shipwreck. After Simmons devises a plan of escape by using the ship's engine to create a smokescreen, Jensen and the other lieutenants agree to help him. With Wash taking charge in the plan, he and the lieutenants manage to force Locus into cover, allowing their squad to release the smokescreen and escape.
Charon's Final Assault[]
After returning to Armonia, the Space Pirates execute an attack on the city. Under the General's orders, Jensen and the lieutenants assist people in evacuating the city, starting by clearing out the hospital. There they encounter Dr. Grey and reveal the Reds and Blues' plan to destroy Armonia and all the Space Pirates with it. Upon escaping the city, they regroup at Crash Site Bravo and grieve over the loss of Doyle, who sacrificed himself in order to complete the plan, and the city. Kimball later addresses the Feds and the Rebels and delivers an inspiring speech, prompting Palomo to confess his love for Jensen.
Now united, the armies attack the pirates at the Communication Temple. Meanwhile, Jensen, the other Lieutenants, and Dr. Grey infiltrate Crash Site Alpha and activate the tractor beam. The action brings down the Tartarus, destroying it and subsequently the Purge along with it. They then join the fight at the Comm. Temple and are quickly forced to take cover when Chairman Hargrove releases numerous Mantises. After the Reds and Blues shut down the droids, Jensen, the Lieutenants, Dr. Grey, Kimball, and the Freelancers fly to the Staff of Charon to evac the Reds and Blues on the ship, with Jensen locking hands with Palomo.
Epsilon's Post-Chorus Simulations[]
Shortly before his death in The End, Epsilon simulated a multitude of potential scenarios that could happen in the event that everyone but himself survives, including Jensen.
Post-War[]
Ten months following the defeat of Charon Industries, Jensen and the other New Republic lieutenants become police officers and investigate an incident involving IDA reporter Dylan Andrews and her injured cameraman Jax Jonez, with Jensen trying to get Palomo focused on their assignment. The four officers then lead Andrews to General Doyle General Hospital, to see Jax's condition. Later on, Washington is sent to Chorus and is treated for his injured throat. After getting a call from the Reds and Blues, the lieutenants fly to Earth and reunite with the crew, informing them of Wash's recovery.
Personality[]
Choking on her own spit
Jensen is shown to be quite reverent of Simmons and respects him quite a bit. She also gives off an air of nerdiness that, when put together with her respect for her C.O., makes her represent something of a female equivalent to Simmons. Along with this, Jensen seems to have some romantic feelings for Simmons, as she acts very compassionate to him and is in awe after learning how he and Grif defeated the Meta. Jensen is also shown to be very uncoordinated as she chokes on her own spit during Teaming with Problems, sneezes onto her own visor in Training Daze, and crashes into a wall while riding a Mongoose in Multiple Choice, which in turn gave her teammate Palomo whiplash. Despite this, Jensen is very optimistic, as she manages to keep a positive attitude despite her many mistakes.
Skills and Abilities[]
Engineering[]
"Eureka!"
Despite being a poor fighter, Jensen has been shown to be very skillful in designing and constructing things. For example, in Training Daze, she and Simmons were able to install recording software onto the rebels' helmets, allowing them to record their actions and progress during their five-day training. Also, according to Bitters in Multiple Choice, Jensen is capable of repairing vehicles. However, despite her knowledge of repairing vehicles, Jensen has poor driving skills. Lopez describes it as a combination of a blind teenager and grandma.
Trivia[]
- Jensen is shown to have a heavy lisp when she speaks. In Teaming with Problems, she almost chokes on her own spit while talking.
- In Red vs. Blue: The Ultimate Fan Guide, the cause of this is revealed to be because she has braces. It is also heavily implied that the civil war has prevented her from getting them removed in a timely fashion, as Jensen is looking forward to getting them removed.
- The voice is based on Jakie Mittens, a character Barbara created back in college. Once Miles saw Jakie's videos while finishing Season 11, he laughed so hard that decided to use that as the basis for the nerdy lieutenant he was planning for the following season. The name Jensen was also chosen because saying it highlights the lisp.
- In Season 12, Jensen states she enjoys biology and vehicle maintenance.
- In Season 13, it's revealed that Jensen has asthma.
- Katie is a Greek name meaning "pure", while Jensen is a Scandinavian name meaning "speaking" (or "son of Jens"). Ironically, this means Jensen's name translates into "pure speaking", yet she has a speech impediment due to her lisp.
- Ironically, Jensen and Simmons' Lieutenant show a romantic interest in Simmons, who's extremely nervous around girls. However, in the finale of Season 13, she is shown holding Palomo's hand, possibly hinting at a romantic relationship between the two. By the time they reappear in Season 15, she now calls Palomo by the name "Charlie" as opposed to the rest of the team calling each other by surname only.
- According to Miles in a Shizno Podcast interview, if Jensen was a household object she would be a roomba.