ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Flatbeds of Fear
October 12, 2024
Salty tells Thomas the tale of the Flatbeds of Fear, the story of a train of flatbeds that mysteriously disconnected from an old engine...or Stanley. But as the fog rolls in, we learn the legend might have some truth to it.
The writing, on paper, does feel a bit repetative. At first glance, you'd think it follows the three-strikes formula to a T, right? Well, yes and no. While the format of the episode feels like a byproduct of the Miller era, it's nowhere near as bad. In fact, it's that formula done right, mostly since none of the characters feel dumbed down...I mean, except Henry, but this was the era of the CGI era where no one knew how to write the guy. The best example of this is Emily, where she thinks there's a logical explanation to the whole thing. In fact, I like how when she hears the weird noise, she assumes it's some trick - it's pretty clever writing.
The one bit of writing where the story kinda falls apart is the flatbeds themselves. It's clever that the spooky noise comes from the pipes, but the story states that the flatbeds roam the rails of Sodor looking for someone to couple up to. That's a fun idea, but...then what? They just get coupled up and get delivered? If they got permanently attached to their victim, that'd be pretty spooky, but otherwise it's not that effective a threat.
It may just be me looking too deep into it, because this was still a decent episode that plays around with the three-strikes formula in a fun and clever way. If you're looking for a spooky time, this is a good watch so long as you don't look too deep into it. But even at that, there's still a lot of fun to be had, so I'm gonna give it a 3.5/5.
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