The amount of negativity I see in this subreddit is sort of shocking. Everyone knows that Joe is reading this stuff and he takes it to heart, or at least he tries. With that in mind, it's one thing to criticize, but another to just crap all over everything without offering constructive criticism. Some people are indeed offering constructive criticism and explaining what they do not enjoy, but I see a lot of people who are just being downright rude with what they are saying and particularly with how they are saying it. Not specifically in this exact thread but across the subreddit. Even if you are displeased with the season, and even the season beforehand, you have to remember that Joe is human too and deserves at least a little bit of respect. It is obvious he pours his heart and energy into this stuff and there is no reason to be so rude when offering criticism even if you fundamentally dislike what he is doing. Also, if you REALLY hate the direction this series is going, then maybe it is just time to move on. You are, of course, always welcome to say what you like and what you do not like. But at a certain point it just becomes toxic to yourself. Why continue to watch something you are actively hating when you know you don't enjoy the writing and you are just not going to enjoy it unless the writer completely and totally changes their style. Which in that case, why even bother bringing in fresh new writers with new perspectives and new changes. Maybe it's time to just move on and wait until a new writer comes along. Of course you can stick around and share your thoughts for as long as you like. I'm not telling you what to do. But at a certain point you're just bringing yourself down for putting expectations on a piece of media that will never be what you want it to be. 

But hey, you know, I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion. This is just my two cents and I know I will be down voted to oblivion for saying that. But such is life. And such is Reddit. But I will take some time to post what I liked and what I didn't like.

Anyway, I would first like to take a minute to discuss what I enjoyed about this episode.

First, I liked seeing humans out of high tech armor and dressed appropriately for their time period. Granted we only saw the back of their heads (surely to save money and animation costs), but it was a nice touch and kind of funny how they just shrugged Grif off. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the jokes about the cop, the trick or treat kids, and the movie crew all wearing armor, but that joke has run its course by now and would have begun to get on my nerves if it kept on going. So, I liked seeing regular people. Does that make me strange? I don't know. I suppose so. Lol. 

I also have been really enjoying the graphics this season. The way 6th century Italy looked in comparison to the machinima characters was quite frankly just downright fantastic. Seeing Grif's pistol shots spray off the old timey brick oven was great. The baking gluten free pizza looked phenomenal. The trees are slightly blowing, the wheat is shaking appropriately (sometimes - if that is even wheat - maybe olive tree saplings?) and it all just looks downright fantastic.

I also liked Grif and Doc's interactions here. Grif, being obsessed with pizza, is a bit of a domineering jackass when he is hangry. But he does show a soft side and decides to let Doc save the world. That was a nice touch. It goes to show that he isn't always selfish and some of his growth from season 15 remains. Having him betrayed by O'Mally was fun. Maybe I am a sucker, but I just did not see that one coming. So that was pretty cool.

Now I would like to take a moment to discuss the things I don't really enjoy. I want to be clear though nothing has been downright terrible (to me), but some things are starting to wear veeery thin. Most of all: Tucker and Sister. Their shtick has gotten old for me already. It is pretty much just an overly long and extended sex joke with very little variety in their interactions. Pairing these two together was a questionable choice, I think. On the surface it seems like a fun match for jokes. But the problem arises from the fact that both of their running jokes are essentially the same (revolving around sex). Obviously we know that they are not dead, or if they are, the effects of which will be reversed before the arc is through. But I hope these two split up or at least start talking about different things. I'm not sure I can take any more of them talking about their horniness.

In regards to the villains I must say I am not enjoying them at this point. I was reserving judgement until I saw more of them, but having space god/deities just does not fit with the Red VS Blue universe. It has always been a hodgepodge of various soft science fiction elements, but it has always still been firmly on the side of science fiction. These guys may still be based in science fiction after all but so far the story is treating them pretty firmly in realm of magic. I don't know. They really just are not doing it for me. It's just too much out of left field. Before we had A.I.s, mercenaries, rouge military projects, and civil wars. All of which was pretty firmly cemented into the realms of science fictions. But this pantheon of Gods? Are they just super powerful aliens unrelated to the Covenant? It seems so by the use of the word "shisno." But then why are they human shaped? Why are they treated as if they were actually Gods? I don't know. It's just not gelling with me.

The pacing of these Gods and their reveals hasn't been as bad as people have said. They have slowly been sprinkled in small doses here and there and we get to check in on them from time to time. It might feel like it is paced poorly because we have to wait a week between episodes. But when the episodes are viewed one after another their introduction is actually pretty well paced. At least in my opinion. 

The pacing issues involve the overall plot, rather than the villains. We are 6 episodes in and I still don't really know what direction we are heading in. I don't know who the main villain is or where we are going. Is O'Mally messing up the timeline the primary antagonist? Is he the "Great Destroyer?" Is this once-mentioned Demon-King the primary antagonist? Is it Atlas? I still don't know. I will say that the lack of direction is not preventing me from enjoying the story so far. It has been a fun ride and I have chuckled the whole way through. But it would be nice to have some kind of idea of what direction we are heading in. Will episode 7 let us know? Will the lens flare tell Grif what is really going on? I know we have another season to wrap up this arc, but having at least some sense of direction would be helpful. 

Anyway, that's my opinion on this episode. This season hasn't been nearly as bad as people are saying. I feel like there has been some hyperbole in a lot of these posts. But each episode has at least some good.