ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Bad Day at Castle Loch

Donald and Douglas are sent to work at Castle Loch for the grand reopening of Callan Castle, which worries Percy as he's scared about the monster that lives in the loch. The brothers scoff this off as a fairytale, but when they get trapped, they start to worry that maybe the monster in the loch does exist.

If you haven't guessed, this is a clear allegory for the Loch Ness monster. And while it's not the most subtle allegory in the world and it does wrap up quicker than I would've liked, the parallels do add up and they actually add quite a bit to Sodor's history, plus after three years of these Halloween reviews, I'll settle for anything that isn't another ghost engine. I'll even give credit that the main focus on the episode is on the Scottish-built engines, those being Donald, Douglas and Harvey. That's me getting really technical, but it's a fun detail.

There is one aspect that doesn't work as I think it could've, however. At the start of the episode, the narrator lets it slip that there are times where Donald and Douglas miss their old home in Scotland. A great idea, but they don't really go anywhere with this. If they ended on the conclusion that Sodor's a little bit like Scotland based on their adventure at Castle Loch, that would've worked rather well, but unfortunately not, leaving it as a bit of missed opportunity.

In the end, Bad Day at Castle Loch is decent enough. It's not the best written episode of the show, with a fairly rushed ending and a good helping of missed opportunity, but the ties to Scottish heritage do make it work. If you're a fan of this type of culture, or just in the mood for a passable scare, then I recommend you check it out once just to say that you saw it. And that's the best way I'd describe the episode: passable, which is why it gets a 3.5/5. It's on the lower scale in terms of 3.5/5's, but I can't act like I got nothing out of it.