This was another rather nice surprise!
No, it’s not perfect. Thomas having to learn how to shunt in a gentle way feels rather contrived since he’s been seen as a competent shunter multiple times before. And it featured another fantasy sequence where Thomas imagines he’s a hero, even though he’s been a real life hero many times before.
But it’s still got a really good dynamic between Thomas and Yong Bao. This, and Shane, have been a real highlight of this whole shitshow as far as I’m concerned. And to have a whole episode of that is lovely.
What’s also great is that they actually managed to mesh Chinese culture (in this case, Tai Chi) with an actual story that’s well paced. Granted, this shouldn’t be as surprisingly good as it is. But considering how inconsistent the writers have been with this...
Also, the chase scenes were actually pretty exciting. Yeah, they’re cartoony as all hell, but this is also a show where a truck was literally smashed up into the air, did a spin, then landed the wrong upside down before smashing when Gordon accidentally hit it, so..! Sure, it’s silly, but if it keeps kids invested then fair enough.
Also, I did like the theme of being careful. It’s one that’s been done before, but it felt relatively fresh here, and that’s all I can really ask for.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to say that the whole worldwide venture has been a failure. But it is only the first season of this and there are still diamonds in the rough like this. Everything gelled really well, it was rather dramatic and entertaining and they actually applied a lesson within the episode itself to show that it had been learned.
It’s not perfect, but it’s not really bad either. Unless you hate the cartoony stuff. Then you’ll probably hate this regardless.
Rating: Good (7/10)
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