THESE ARE MY OWN OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE
ART ENGINES GO!
Sam Bissonnette
Directed by
Campbell Bryer
Produced by
Suzie Gallo
Air Date
10/02/25 - UK
Plot
Kana delivers a beloved sculpture, inspiring her to make her own art. She soon learns that everyone sees art very differently.
While the episode's message is something I can stand by with, despite it being hammered down by the engines, I really don't like this episode unlike some people who had been praising it, even if Hiro made his first appearance in the show since 2021. It was too generic for my liking with its weak and almost lack of conflict to make Kana have some character. Why not have her not seeing things the way the other engines did by being very critical of their artwork? And not just in a constructive sort of way I mean in a very critical sort of way that it's almost mean because she sees herself as the better artist, some artists can be bigheaded.
Yes it would make Kana look bad but we had episodes in the past where the engines get cross with each other at times, we had Kana calling Percy a 'bad friend' last year and we also had Thomas and Percy being cross with each other in 'Letting off Steam'. It would at least make her complex. Kana, from my memory of watching this show just doesn't have much character that she just comes off as generic and the only thing we get from her character was that she's fast and that's it. In fact most I don't think many of the main restricted cast had that much character that makes them interesting, engaging or relevant. Just bland, boring, goody good characters.
The conflict could enhance the whole moral that everyone see things differently while also everyone has the right to say something critical as along as it's constructive in order to see what might help with the artist. But also the artist might like what it looks likes no matter what which would give the other moral that it's OK not to take criticism to heart because art is always subjective. Sure there was conflict with Kana trying to find inspiration for her art but it was resolved too quickly that you don't even need it at all. It felt forced in because there needs to be conflict.
The episode overall was boring. There wasn't much conflict, the engines were just too happy and it just could've been better without the need to hammer down the message of the story. Show don't tell isn't a thing for this iteration of the show isn't it? Do they not trust their audience's intelligence?
I will say it was nice seeing Hiro again but if you place Gordon there amongst the other engines it will all just be the same as Hiro's character in this show just reminds me of him. The only thing I can give some points to is that they finally acknowledged that Kana was from Japan. But other than that, this episode was bore with the engines just being too generically happy despite a pretty good moral to work with that is relevant. Though sadly some people in this fandom would get angry if they were being critical of or even praising AEG because they see it differently. I'm very critical of this show and, so far, this season but hey I just see things differently like this show was telling at the audience.
Series Rating (So far):
Sheep Stampede - 6/10
The Berry Best - 3/10
Creepy Crawly Courage - 3/10
Windmill Woes - 2/10
Quacking Quandary - 1/10
The Stinking Delivery - 3/10
Don't Train on My Parade - 4/10
Shiny Spiffy Sandy - 3/10
Diesel's Bad Day - 4/10
Moo-Ving Friendship - 4.5/10
Art Engines Go - 1/10
Overall Rating (So far):
34.5/110
