It's been a while..! It seems the show is either coming to an end or going on hiatus for a year. So with series 24 beginning to air in the UK (after it's aired in Australia and the US), I think it's time to look back on the most controversial of the main characters. Well, until two years ago..!
Emily was a real base breaker from the get go. One year after a trio of solid appearances, she became a main character in an attempt to push more prominent female representation, while fan favourites from the Little Western were abandoned for years. The problem is that... well, it didn’t make much of a difference. Probably because they thought it a great idea to change her personality from stern, caring mother to spoiled, bossy brat. Because, for some reason, they thought that falling back on negative female stereotypes would be a good idea.
Not only that, but they didn’t put much focus on any existing, or newly introduced, females at all. And even when they did, it was always with the caveat that the males were the true stars while the females were portrayed negatively. Molly needed Thomas’ help to feel special, Rosie was a creepy stalker and Flora was what most uncritical people believe a Disney princess to be. Meanwhile, Annie and Clarabel only spoke once or twice, Daisy was only in Calling All Engines (and, obviously, didn’t speak), Henrietta wasn’t allowed to do anything due to a lack of face and Mavis only had a few cameos here and there (her personality wasn't butchered though, so... yay?). Because of this, Emily’s move to Steam Team member couldn’t have felt any more performative if it tried.
These problems only persisted into the CG era, and were only highlighted further by the fact that she and Mavis were the only non-human female characters (besides Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta) in the show until Millie and Caitlin were introduced in 2013. 5. Years. Later. As much as misogynistic fans don’t want to admit it, the show does have a problem with female representation. Or, at least, it did until they actually started to take the problem seriously, turned Daisy into the best character of the show, introduced more female characters, balanced out the main cast (in terms of numbers, the balance is still a bit off when it comes to personality. Although that could be due to the fact that the male characters have been around from the get go rather than only three years) and giving some of the female human characters much bigger positions on the global railways (still no female crew members on Sodor, though..!).
But despite all of this, Emily still felt as though she was being left behind. For the first four years of the CG era, she didn't have her own whistle sound, continuing to borrow Henry's instead. And her starring roles weren't much to write home about either. Her Nitrogen era episodes were rather average (although, in her defence, everyone got shafted during that era), while her starring roles during the Brenner era all amounted to her trying to find her place/feel as important as her other stars. Almost as if the writing team knew what the problem was, yet had no clue how to fix it..!
Oh, and before anyone mentions it, No Snow for Thomas probably was her best role, but she was a supporting character to Thomas' story of not wanting to wear his snowplough. That said, her motherly nature, combined with some excitability and cheek, on display in that episode was great. And it was consistently great when she wasn't in the spotlight. Heck, it was even more important once Edward left the shed.
But if you want a prime example of how much Emily got shafted, she was the last member of the main cast to get a number. Even Nia and Rebecca had them from the get go! And the funniest (in a really sad way) thing about that? She got it in the last series of the show (for now, at least) in the last episode she had a major role in. Frankly, she should've been given a number either from the get go or the second it was decided that she would be in the main cast. Visually, her lack of number made her stand out like a sore thumb. And while it was nice that she was given it as a reward for her bravery rather than it popping out of nowhere, doing it so late - and giving her nothing else afterwards - feels like a massive kick in the teeth for her.
To sum up, Emily is how I've described her in the title: a total enigma. There's been a lot of things done with her, yet everything has an asterisk next to it.
- She was given two coaches, but they were non-descript due to their lack of sentience.
- She became a main character and had a personality change, yet she only had one or two starring roles to work with per series (she might have had more in series 8).
- The sheds were rebuilt to accomodate her, yet she offered nothing of value until her personality was reverted in the CG era.
- She was given a number... in her last major role to date.
Honestly, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. The fans were against her since series 8 for replacing a popular character, and that only died down when Rebecca and Nia turned up. Meanwhile, the only memorable thing the writers did with her was a mean spirited "joke" dressed as fan service in Duck and the Slip Coaches (I'll forever hate that moment). Hell, they have the perfect idea of a character for her with the motherly/sisterly dynamic she has in supporting roles. Yet every time she stars, they go with the typical "girl characters with self confidence issues" trope for... no reason, really. Meanwhile, Daisy and Marion got some amazing starring roles and they're predominantly supporting characters.
It's difficult to say what the future holds for the franchise. But if it does come back to TV with a new series or special, they really need to figure out what to do with Emily. They can change the look of her as much as they want. But until they keep the personality consistent, and they start treating her as an equal to her colleagues like they did with Rebecca and Gordon, it will continue feeling like style over substance with her.
And, frankly, a character as tenured as Emily deserves better than that.
