"Salty's Sea Shanty" review, but overall, he brings an interesting personality that no other characters on Thomas have. Granted, one could make the argument this makes him a little one-note...which he is, but he's likable enough, he works. But then we have the episode Salty's Surprise, which to my knowledge was his only spotlight episode in the Miller episode. But does this episode stand out from Salty's other outings or is there a reason he only had one starring role in this era? Let's begin.
Edward learns that Salty never has the time to celebrate the holidays, so he decides to lift his spirits with a present. However, everything he picks up for him ends with a story about his past experience with said gift.
I'll start off by saying that the premise is pretty sweet - Edward trying to find the perfect gift for Salty. But as is the issue with a lot of Sharon Miller episodes, the main problem is the execution. Not only does it follow the typical three-strikes formula that plagues the era, but the gifts that Edward find for Salty are...ridiculous. Like, I don't know what's dumber, the fact that Edward thought Salty would get some use out of a steam funnel, or the fact that it's not the first one Salty ever received. I do like that the funnel he gives him is the same one from Slippy Sodor, that was a nice bit of continuity.
I'll say this about the episode though: at least the heart's in the right place. Like I said, it comes with a nice premise, but what I really like here is the ending. Edward realises that he gave Salty the perfect gift without even knowing it: the chance to tell a story. That's actually pretty novel and it's pretty subtly set up.
But overall, Salty's Surprise is far from the worst Sharon Miller Christmas episode, but still not all that good. It's bogged down a ton by its poor writing and execution, but it does have some decent heart to it to make the episode...watchable. As such, if you decide to watch it, I won't stop you, but don't expect anything great, and that's why I'm gonna give this a 2.5/5. I likes a good story, me, but this one isn't exactly where to find it.
