Rebecca returns! And all is right with the world.
Sure, it’s another alternative of the “be who you are” message (which isn’t exactly calming my fears that the show is creatively stagnant), but it does feel different enough in its application since Rebecca feels like she should be more than she is. It’s a situation that kids these days can easily identify with. Peer pressure, and having all of the latest things, is an issue they’ll end up dealing with unfortunately. So it’s nice to see that the show is sitting them down and saying “you don’t need that stuff. You bring something amazing in your own way”.
Other than that, though, there’s not much to talk about in terms of the story. It follows similar beats that other episodes that have similar lessons followed: character is in a situation that makes them feel bad, they try a quick fix, the quick fix fails, it falls on her friends to help see the best in her. On the plus side, at least they showed a benefit of having good friends around: they help to pick you up when you feel down.
Also, that fantasy sequence was wonderfully bizarre. How she knew what Diesel 10’s claw looked like, despite them never being seen on screen together, was a bit odd. As were the faces from the engines behind her; they looked more like creepy stalkers than admirers. Or a majority of Thomas fans whenever they see that a female likes the same show they do.
Final Thoughts
I wish this post would be longer than it is, but as much as. I like it, it gives me very little to talk about. It succeeds in similar ways that other “be who you are” themed episodes succeeds, it has fun character moments, it has charming ones, and it includes Rebecca and Daisy - two of the best characters on the show.
Oh, and Bill and Ben have new voices. They’re fine, but like Ryan’s, they’ll take a bit of getting used to. At least now that they’re being voiced by cast regulars, they may end up appearing more often than they did.
Rating: Great (10/10)
NOE - 7.5/10
ReplyDeleteFAE - 8/10
CWD - 10/10
TT - 5/10
WRD - 10/10
Talk about a season coming off to a rocky start. Never before S16 has a series been so inconsistent around the first week, though the two Rebecca episodes are equally brilliant in my opinion. The second week looks kind of worrying too, but the third week looks more promising; the Panda and Monkey Palace episodes are ones I have my doubts about, but the Bollywood and Outback episodes look exciting and might tread new grounds. The James episode looks great too, and I’m excited for it since they did a great job with James in his past two episodes and JBS.
I have faith that this season might still succeed despite a few slip-ups. Trusty Trunky confirms my doubts about Becky Overton as a writer. Her work during series 19 was nothing too special in my opinion, just ordinary but the tiger episode looks surprisingly good (assuming Becky’s writing the India batch of episodes)
“Talk about a season getting off to a rocky start” ...yet only one of your review scores is lower than 7. Which is still a good number.
DeleteIt's my inner Southern Railway fan that wants to point out that her type of engine is unique for its streamlining design, but I do like that nobody pointed that out and instead focussed on the character for a stronger message
ReplyDelete