THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE
APOLOGY IMPOSSIBLE
Becky Overton
Directed by
Dianna Basso
Produced by
Micaela Winter
Air Date
21/09/18
Plot
Fed up with the other engines pushing him around, Philip refuses to give way when he and James end up facing each other on a one track bridge. As James refuses too, it's stalemate. But with engines stacked up behind them and the bridge in danger of collapsing, Philip decides that sometimes the littlest engine can actually be the bigger engine
---
Surprised to see Becky Overton being one of the writers for the Sodor portion of episodes. Sadly she had pulled a few duds this season, apart from 'Tiger Trouble'. But this episode is joining the line of duds. I mean the episode wasn't bad or terrible, it just wasn't good. It's nice to see Philip being cross for once. Showcases some character development towards him. But the portrayal of James was just odd, usually he's stuck up but the nature of his character works with the likes of Gordon. In fact, why not use him instead? Have Philip standing up towards an engine that he had admired. I would've rated this episode much higher if that had happened. Plus it threw all the character development from 'All In Vain' out of the window. In that episode, James was at least putting his work first and was trying not to freakout in case it gets ruined. But here, he's reverted back to what he was.
Some people might say that Gordon and Philip's rivalry had been settled but in this era, characters like him often revert back to their previous selves for the demand of the plot, even if I do find that stupid. I also feel like that the story should’ve been about Philip standing up for himself, to showcase kids to stand up towards bullies. Philip almost did, but he kept reverting back to this timid self when he was trying to stand up towards James. The same thing happened when he was dealing with Vinnie in TGR for some reason.
Some people might say that Gordon and Philip's rivalry had been settled but in this era, characters like him often revert back to their previous selves for the demand of the plot, even if I do find that stupid. I also feel like that the story should’ve been about Philip standing up for himself, to showcase kids to stand up towards bullies. Philip almost did, but he kept reverting back to this timid self when he was trying to stand up towards James. The same thing happened when he was dealing with Vinnie in TGR for some reason.
Plus in some episodes, they reused some previous episodes for the Thomas moral segments. Here they used 'Who's Geoffrey' after it was used for 'Outback Thomas' and then went with 'Springtime for Diesel'. Why not just use the latter? It basically had the same message as this episode about saying sorry can be hard.
In the end, this episode's plot was just a mess. James apologised yes but that didn't help the episode being good. What could've been better if Philip was standing up towards him, preferably Gordon, and pushes him out of the way. Yes Philip was cross and not being his usual self but he is still that timid engine when it comes to bullies.
Episode Rating
Number One Engine - 8/10
Forever and Ever - 8.5/10
Thomas and the Dragon - 10/10
Confusion Without Delay - 10/10
Trusty Trunky - 6.5/10
What Rebecca Does - 9/10
Thomas Goes to Bollywood - 6/10
Samson and The Fireworks - 10/10
Runaway Truck - 7/10
Rosie Is Red - 10/10
Thomas In The Wild - 5/10
Thomas' Animal Ark - 9/10
Thomas and the Monkey Palace - 7/10
An Engine of Many Colours - 8/10
Outback Thomas - 10/10
School of Duck - 9/10
Tiger Trouble - 9/10
Seeing Is Believing - 9/10
Apology Impossible - 3/10
Confusion Without Delay - 10/10
Trusty Trunky - 6.5/10
What Rebecca Does - 9/10
Thomas Goes to Bollywood - 6/10
Samson and The Fireworks - 10/10
Runaway Truck - 7/10
Rosie Is Red - 10/10
Thomas In The Wild - 5/10
Thomas' Animal Ark - 9/10
Thomas and the Monkey Palace - 7/10
An Engine of Many Colours - 8/10
Outback Thomas - 10/10
School of Duck - 9/10
Tiger Trouble - 9/10
Seeing Is Believing - 9/10
Apology Impossible - 3/10
Series Rating (So far):
152/190