ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Middle Engine
April 01, 2023
I'd like to start off by making a very simple point: you don't get exactly what you want when it comes to some of your favorite media. You can rave and praise the heck out of something you'll love so dearly, but when another perspective is introduced to one of your favorites, you can't help but address the little faults and cracks that show up. Nothing you love is ever going to be perfectly solid or airtight and 'Thomas & Friends' as interesting and as fun as a lot of the episodes are, is no exception. I mean, ya gotta admit there are some really stupid ones in its growing seasons. Even more so, there are some commonly hated ones. Season 1 has 'Thomas and the Guard', Season Two has 'Better Late Than Never', Season Three has 'One Good Turn', Season Four has 'Special Attraction' and Season Five has 'Gordon and the Gremlin'. But then, you come to that episode. That one episode that someone has a personal vendetta against, the one that gets them so blood-boiled and so frustrated on regardless of its positive reception and the very episode on that take for many longtime Thomas the Tank Engine fans is Season Six's 'Middle Engine'. But why is this episode so despised by many within the fandom or is this all just another big misunderstanding that the fandom brought on themselves yet again? Well, let's get stuck in the middle ourselves and find out!
MIDDLE ENGINE: 'Arry and Bert play tricks at the Smelters causing both James and Percy to both get stuck in the middle.
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So, now we come to the most controversial episode of Season 6. I know there are a majority of fans that don't like this episode for a number of the same reasons. I know, the episode has its flaws like Sir Topham Hatt blaming Percy for something completely out of his control hence why I'm not a fan of his portrayal in the Model Series, Henry not paying attention, Arry and Bert not being reprimanded in any way, shape or form after what they caused to both Percy and James. I even get that some might not even be fans of Baldwin's narration for the American dub, I get it. However, with all of that in mind, do I personally think this is a bad episode like a majority of the fandom does? This is gonna sound really crazy to everyone, but I say no. As a kid, I really liked this episode and I still do even if it was just to see the Tipper's Loading Ramp in action even if Percy gets pushed onto it by accident and ends up wrongly taking the blame for something that wasn't even his fault like I said before.
Now, I'm not saying "Middle Engine" is a fantastic episode because it's far from it. I'm not even saying that it's worth top ten material, I'm just simply okay with it. Sure, the reasons that I mentioned do irritate me too, but I personally don't let them ruin the episode for me especially with Baldwin's bland narration. Speaking of Baldwin's bland narration and I'm going against the majority again when I say this but while some think that this is Baldwin's weakest episode, I don't think this is his worst because I think there's one that's even far worse than this. And no, I'm not talking about 'Jack Frost' since you'll know it when I get to it (spoiler alert: it's Twin Trouble)! But in reality, there really are far worse episodes than this. It's fine if you don't like it for whatever reasons you may have, but I'm just saying that I'm okay with it to an extent and it's enough for me to give "Middle Engine" a rating of a 3 out of 5.
Final Rating: 3/5
About the Author: True Blue
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