ThomasNATION Reviews - Diesel's Dilemma
August 23, 2025
If you were to ask any longtime fan of Thomas what their thoughts were on Diesel, they'd more often than not say that he was an incredibly annoying character in the CGI seasons. When he was first introduced, he was very devious and maniacal. Devious Diesel by name, Devious Diesel by nature. However, in the CGI seasons, many fans including myself didn't particularly like modern day Diesel because he became pretty...one note. An episode with him can be very entertaining when he was paired with a good character foil like Paxton as seen in Season 18's 'Disappearing Diesels' or even Thomas himself in something like "Diesel and the Ducklings". But other times, he's just the generic bully. Sometimes his nature can work, like in "Springtime for Diesel" that in parts serves as a character study of Diesel, but other than that, nothing.
So as you can imagine, I wasn't too keen on the fact that they were planning on making Diesel one of the guys in All Engines Go!. But sometimes this can work, like when he's presented as a comic foil to Thomas, but others, his turn doesn't make that much sense. But with this in mind considering that Diesel is sharing the spotlight alongside Kenji which is another first in the franchise's history, could they find a way to get this season back on track after Nia's adventure literally went off the rails? The answer is...ehhh, yes and no. While it's cool that we finally got to have an episode which features both Diesel and Kenji interacting with each other which is something that we never got in the original Thomas & Friends, I can't help but feel like they're just trying to replicate what they did with Luke and Millie twelve years ago in Season 17's 'The Switch'. Say what you will about that episode rather if the pacing felt wonky or the mentioning of that 'an idea flew into (insert engine name here)'s funnel' quote from the Hit/Nitrogen Era, but at least you can say that the episode was entertaining from the interactions that Luke and Millie have with those around them once they switch jobs. If you want my thoughts on that episode, see me again in November.
So, while 'Diesel's Dilemma' isn't a bad episode, I can't help but feel like this is just another diet rehash to add to the pile and that is why I'm gonna have to give this episode a rating of a 2.5/5.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
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