It’s been a while… but here I am to do another review for a special feature. Looking at Season 20’s Pouty James. Now if I’m honest, James has never been a favourite of mine, He’s okay and I can definitely see why people like him but in my opinion, I find most of his episodes… well, samey, to say the least, and when they do try something different (a la Tale of the Brave) I find it feels too stretched. I mean, James is vain, sure, but he’s not a villain. Pouty James (And Season 20’s other James episode - All in Vain) are not like that - and I love that. 

Pouty James follows James being his normal cocky self. The Andrew Brenner era loved to play up to that and at first it was definitely amusing (The filmmaker in me really loved the Shining reference), but after a while, it grew old fairly quickly, before being scolded by Sir Topham Hatt and pouting. Despite trying to better himself he continues to pout and is punished again. It’s at this point where he learns to smile more, thanks to Thomas and Emily. 

The best part of this episode is how it forces James to learn his lesson and how he fails the first time round. A fair few stories both official and fanmade can feel simple and can fall into the category of “Character is an idiot > Character is punished > Character learns their lesson." Continuing on from his lesson and showing how James isn’t given a clean slate is a really fun take and I’d love to see this more episodes. 

There's very little in this episode I disliked, but if I had to pick something I’d say James’ cockiness at the beginning went on for a bit too long. Most kids watching would know who James is and even if this was their first episode. The scene in the shunting yard or with Phillip gives you enough context to know what you need to know about James, and I feel it would have been more interesting to see James sulking in his shed or improving his attitude at the end. Though I will say this didn’t ruin the episode for me at all.

I really enjoyed the characterisations in this episode, particularly James himself. Each of the secondary characters felt right here. Thomas is very cheeky at first but does change his ways to help a friend, Emily is the first to try and advice James, Gordon and Henry are the ones who begin teasing James (it’s incredible how Henry is more in character here than he had been for years) and even Stanley - unofficial king of the background characters - is given a couple of scenes to shine. It’s really nice to see and is one of Brenner’s strongest attributes.

I’ve seen a lot of people criticise the ending and honestly, it doesn’t bother me. Yes, James goes back to how he was but that was expected, since Thomas and Friends is a very unique show. It’s got a plethora of lore and world building spanning 75 years and at the same time, it’s a kid show. It’s got morals to teach and toys to sell. With how television shows, particularly young kids television, has been in the last 10-15 years, episodes have to stand alone. References and recurring characters are great but you never know if this is someone's first episode or their one hundredth. 

Overall, I’d give Pouty James a 4.5/5. It’s a great episode from one of the best seasons of the show and where I finally learned to like James.