Sideways is the fifth episode of Red vs. Blue: Zero. It premiered on December 7, 2020 for Rooster Teeth FIRST members and December 14, 2020 for the general public. It is the 360st episode overall.
Characters[]
Shatter Squad[]
Viper[]
Alliance of Defense[]
Other[]
- Tucker
- Several soldiers working under Tucker
Plot[]
At a unspecified military base, Tucker tries to impress a group of soldiers on his past achievements until Carolina and Shatter Squad confront him. Carolina warns Tucker that Viper is on their way to kill him and steal his sword in order to unlock the ultimate power. Confused, Tucker asks who Viper is, when suddenly Viper ignite an explosion and infiltrate the base. Zero leads the charge with an army of monsters and battles the base's soldiers.
As Shatter Squad take refuge inside a bunker, Carolina orders One, East, and Raymond to flee with Tucker while she and Axel deal with Zero. As the three make their escape, East flickers out. Raymond and One come to her aid while Tucker takes the opportunity to flirt but receives a punch in the stomach as a result. Outside, Carolina and Axel witness the base under attack and proceed to fight Zero's army of monsters. Axel tells Carolina his history with Zero, stating that he tried to kill Zero when they were partners.
As Tucker and Shatter Squad move north towards the combat vehicles, Diesel and Phase intercept them. One and Raymond take on Diesel, while East gets into an intense fight with Phase, trying to protect Tucker in the process. One and East manage to work together and push Phase and Diesel into a position where the base soldiers can fire at them. Diesel, however, protects Phase by taking the full blast of the soldiers' rockets, leaving them both unharmed. Shatter Squad then flee with Tucker into the woods. Phase pursues them on a Mongoose while Diesel battles the soldiers.
Carolina and Axel confront Zero, who has killed several guards and caused large amounts of destruction. Axel charges at him and proceeds to fight him one-on-one. Carolina attempts to help but Zero uses his own sword, which can move freely on its own, to face her. Zero soon begins to outmatch Axel but the latter doesn't give up.
In the woods, Phase catches up with Shatter Squad and opens fire. One, riding a mongoose herself, fights Phase on her own but the latter bests her and speeds towards the others. As East fires at Phase with the warthog turret, Phase uses her blade to catch up to their warthog, where the two engage in combat again. This time, fortunately, East manages to outmatch Phase and knock her off the warthog, just as Shatter Squad approach their aircraft. As One zooms past Phase, the latter plants her blade onto One's mongoose, allowing her to teleport onto it. She then plants a grenade onto One's vehicle and proceeds to do the same to Shatter Squad's warthog, using her blade to teleport to their vehicle. The grenades explode and promptly destroy Shatter Squad's vehicles, leaving the team injured.
As Phase approaches them, One radios Tucker to know if he's okay. Tucker assures her that he's fine but East is hurt. One tells him to escape on the aircraft but Tucker refuses to leave them. As Phase approaches, One tells him to get going. As a result, Tucker gets on the aircraft, carrying a weakened East inside. East begins to flicker uncontrollably. As Tucker comes to her aid, East pulls out her blade and stabs him. One hears Tucker's screams and is quickly knocked down by Phase. East carries Tucker's body out and tosses it aside, now in possession of his sword. She then approaches Phase and the two fuse into one person. Shocked, Raymond realizes that East was a Holo-Echo, a part of Phase. Phase then leaves with Tucker's sword. One then contacts Carolina and delivers the horrible news of Tucker's death. Zero finishes off Axel and Carolina, and leaves with the rest of Viper.
At Viper's secret base, Zero congratulates his team on a mission accomplished and prepares to leave for the final temple. As Phase looks over the sword, Diesel asks Zero what the ultimate power is. Zero simply tells him that it's the ultimate source of power in the universe. Phase then questions Zero if he actually knows what the ultimate power is. Zero dodges the question and tells Phase not to interrogate him, as he's given her everything after her father abandoned her. Zero and Diesel then leave for the final temple, giving Phase the choice of staying or joining them. Phase follows them out.
Transcript[]
Coming Soon
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Tucker putting his hand on East's shoulder and saying 'Hey' is a direct reference to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Tucker says his first name isn't Chris, referencing actor and comedian Chris Tucker.
- This episode marks the second time Tucker has been stabbed, the first time being by Felix in Fed vs. New.
- This episode also marks the first time a member of the Reds and Blues "dies" since Recreation. However, like Donut, Tucker survives, only becoming clinically dead.
- Tucker references the events of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, stating that Indiana Jones didn't save the world, he was just there.
- Tucker's iconic catchphrase Bow Chicka Bow Wow returns in this episode.
- Tucker loses his iconic sword to Phase in this episode, after having owned it since Heavy Metal.
- The rifle that Axel uses is similar in appearance to the X-16 Chaingun from the Titanfall franchise.
- Additionally, the shotgun Carolina uses is similar in appearance to the EVA-8 Auto.
- The pistols that East uses whilst fighting Phase look similar to the Eraser from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
- The shot where the camera zooms in on East while she's shooting Phase with the Warthog's chaingun turret likely references a similar shot in a scene in the 2019 film Gemini Man.
- The three identical base soldiers that drop down after Zero breaches the base and later fights are reskinned models of Wraith from the game Paragon.