S22 Ep.22: Mines Of Mystery

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE

MINES OF MYSTERY

Written by

Beckey Overton

Directed by

Joey So

Produced by

Ian McCue (HIT/Mattel)

Tracy Blagdon (Jam Filled)

Air Date

7/07/19 - UK

16/08/19 - AUS

28/09/19 - USA

12/10/19 - AUS

Plot
Thomas wants to impress his friends by finding an amazing discovery; it's not long before his wish is granted, although not in the way he had expected.

The second part was good too and I do like it that they've incorporated Jack and the Pack and how Brenda was introduced here. One user on twitter had said that Thomas had mentioned bulldozer and this was before he met Brenda, so he must've been thinking about Byron. Perhaps Becky Overton had known of his existence when writing this story or she just casually placed that in without realising, anyway I hope it was the former not that I am yearning for Byron to come back, although I do see him working alongside her. 

I also like the continuity here from Jack. Despite this airing before season opener, I do believe that Jack was referring to Thomas' incident of falling down the mine after telling Jack and Alfie about it in  'Deep Trouble'. Other people thought Jack was referring to Thomas falling down the mine from Lost Treasure and yeah it leaves it open but I strongly believed it was the former considering we haven't seen Thomas interacting with Brenda in that episode.

I also love the little continuity that Jam Filled had made visually with Alfie while he was riding on Stefano with the other machines. He said that he was sick and when he was coming out you can still see him still feeling rather ill. Those types of small things are great to see. Plus the teasing of Thomas from Gina from the previous episode feels like something out from the Railway Series like when Thomas left his train behind and the other engines laughed at him for doing that. 

Lorenzo and Bepe were introduced here and while they had little screen time given the time limit, I think they were fun characters to watch when they were having their lime in the spotlight. Lorenzo was pretty funny with his opera singing. 

I also love the mediterranean setting too, yeah they've used props from Sodor but I like it how the animator tried their best at creating something different out of them to not make it look lazy. Plus everyone is giving them some unfair criticism towards them for doing that. Yes Jam Filled had copy and pasted things but it's done to make ends meet. Thomas is a TV show and when you have a season each year you have a demand to fulfil from a company who makes that deadline. I mean 'Rusty to the Rescue' had reused diesels from Sodor and the scrap yard set was pretty much the same set that Rusty met Douglas and Percy earlier in the episode. I'm just saying that this isn't the first time.

In the end, this was another good special.

Episode Ratings (So far):

Free The Roads - 10/10
Chucklesome Trucks - 8/10
Heart Of Gold - 9/10
Panicky Percy - 6/10

Crowning Around - 10/10
First Day On Sodor - 8/10
Rangers Of The Rails - 7/10
Lorenzo's Solo - 8/10
Deep Trouble - 9/10
Too Loud, Thomas - 9/10
Out of Site - 8/10
Gordon Gets The Giggles - 6/10
The Other Big Engine - 9/10
Batucada - 8/10
Diesel Do Right - 3/10
Thomas Makes A Mistake - 4/10
Grudge Match - 8/10
Diesel Glows Away - 4/10
Laid Back Shane - 8/10
Wish You Were Here - 10/10
Steam Team To The Rescue - 9/10
All Tracks Lead To Rome - 8/10

Mines Of Mystery - 8/10
Series Rating (So far):
177/220