ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Last Train for Christmas

In my Rusty to the Rescue review, I told how it perfectly summed up Britt Alcroft’s vision for Thomas. And Last Train for Christmas perfectly sums up Andrew Brenner’s - it’s back to the basic, sweet storytelling, but still knowing when to play it’s cards to keep the audience interested. 

The episode starts off by setting the scene on Christmas Eve and having a nice candid conversation with Duck, Oliver and Thomas. While these scenes repeat each other and do seem rather pointless, it’s nice to be thrown into what feels like a real conversation these characters might have (Though Oliver’s comments have got me thinking…do engines have a concept of time?) 

We then meet Connor at Crovan’s Gate on the mainland, picking up as many passengers as he can, where he meets a Tiny Tim type character who wants to get to Sodor. This sets Connor in the mindset to get everyone home, and so he convinces Sir Topham Hatt to let him make another journey. He agrees and Connor goes off to battle the snow but not before taking the Slip Coaches. It was really nice to see them back, and that's one thing Season 18 did really well: handling the coaches, like reinventing Henrietta, giving Annie and Clarabel an episode and bringing in the first coach characters since Season 5 so it’s nice to see this episode continue this trend.

As Connor makes his journey, the weather gets worse and Sir Topham Hatt decides to cancel all trains past that point. This causes a small argument between the Steam Team, Diesel and Sir Topham Hatt as they argue weather it’s safe for Connor to continue. It’s eventually decided to give it the best shot they can and they set off to clear as much snow as possible. This is one of the best moments in the episode. Obviously we know that the right thing will happen in the end, but as a kid watching for the first time I imagine this must feel rather dramatic, and I'll admit I was rather hooked!

The engines start to clear the snow as Percy and Thomas look up to the sky, thinking they’ve seen Santa, but it’s actually Harold, which is a rather fun gag. Down the line Emily is struggling to clear the line and eventually gives up. This is my other favorite moment of the episode as it takes a moment to slow down and like the previous scene ramps up the texture before giving us Hiro’s dramatic entrance. The shots used with the music building up works really well here and can be used as a prime example of just how good the direction, music and animation was in this era.

As Hiro clears the way, Connor finally reaches Sodor, but not before Hiro and Emily look up to the sky, thinking they’ve seen Santa, but again it’s actually Harold. Connor starts dropping off the coaches and while the first two go well, but the last coach runs past the platform. Luckily Thomas is there to help bring it back into position. The episode ends with Connor arriving at Knapford, where the boy thanks him. Sir Topham Hatt thanks them all and Thomas looks up to the sky, thinking he’s seen Harold once again, but…I won’t dare spoil it!

Last Train for Christmas is a great episode. It has its flaws and pacing issues but it’s a sweet story that makes great use of it’s characters and topics. It’s great to see Connor play a main role and how the story doesn't rely too much on consequences to move forwards, and with that, it earns itself a 4/5. 

I’d just like to finish off by wishing you all a merry Christmas and an amazing 2021!

Final Score: 4/5