ThomasNATION Reviews - Dragon Run
January 01, 2022
And so it continues...
Now that we're a good way into All Engines Go, I can safely say that it definitely did live up to expectations. I'll be fair that so far, there have been a couple of decent episodes, like Thomas Blasts Off or License to Deliver, but other than that, the episodes have ranged from either mediocre or just dreadful. But what makes this episode such an interesting case is that this episode managed to get fellow TN member True Blue to pretty much quit the series. But I'm gonna give it a fair chance to see if that's warranted. I mean, the reboot's bad, but it can't be that bad, right? Let's begin.
Thomas is tasked with delivering a dragon to Kirk Ronan, but his friends want to share the delivery. A few mishaps later, Thomas loses the dragon and it's up to him and his friends to find it.
Now, I know I said the reboot does have things to its advantage and that there some good episodes here and there. But with this...oh man. It somehow managed to be worse than I could've possibly predicted.
The first major problem here is that Thomas is portrayed as a little too unlikable. The way he constantly tries to get away from his friends for committing the simple crime of offering to deliver it with him feels pretty disingenuous. I know this is meant to be his character arc, but here's where the problem comes in. After they catch up with the dragon, you'd think this is where Thomas would see the error of his ways and let them help, right? Nope, he still feels like he should be the only one carrying the dragon. You see my point? It overall makes him feel a little too selfish throughout the whole episode.
Another major issue here is that this is a classic example of making it up as the writers go along. I know this is a series where logic has been essentially thrown out the window, but even then, most of the episode's events just feel like plot convenience to fill in the episode's gaps. For example, why is there two trucks of garbage just randomly in the way? So the engines can have makeshift knight costumes. Why does the dragon randomly roll all over Sodor? Because they needed a chase scene...actually, can we talk about that? They have this entire scene of them running from the dragon, but did they not just consider...y'know...stopping it by getting in front of it? I mean, yeah, that's how the chase ends with Diesel doing exactly that, but there are so many scenes where the dragon gets right in front of someone and instead of making an effort to stop it, they just jump out of the way. It becomes really stupid to think that the entire conflict of the episode can be solved in five seconds.
But if there's one thing more stupid than the chase sequence, it's the humor. I know Thomas wasn't always laugh-out-loud hysterical, even in the old days, but the jokes here are just terrible. They all seem to have this one idea: making a medieval pun. Granted, the knight names for the engines are a little clever, but the puns here are insanely awful. But whatever, the story, character arcs and comedy don't work. But is the song at least good? No, not even. In fact, I know we've only reviewed four episodes so far, but the song here has to be the weakest of the lot, seeing how the lyrics and even the composition are absolutely dreadful.
Overall, this is easily the worst episode of the series so far. It's been a while since I've seen an episode with not a single redeeming quality since possibly Panicky Percy. If you want my consensus, just don't bother. There are several more episodes worth your time in the old show and, dare I say, even in All Engines Go. I know I shouldn't be going so hard on something clearly made for little kids, but even then, there are also better options for them to watch in other scenarios, which is why I'd give it a final rating of a 0.5/5. Hopefully, this series can pick up the slack from here, but for the time being, I see True Blue's point. At this rate, I'm only continuing with this show because it's my job.
Final Score: 0.5/5
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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