Excellent Emily

“All of your engines are excellent engines!”

― Emily

Excellent Emily is the eighth episode of the twelfth season.

Plot

Following a terrible storm, many engines are stuck, except for Emily who is the only one to finish her jobs on time and is thus called "excellent" by the Fat Controller. The Fat Controller tells Emily that she must take Trevor from Farmer McColl's to the airport as some metal tanks are blocking the runway, making Jeremy unable to land. Just as the Fat Controller leaves, Murdoch arrives; he is going to Farmer McColl's also and he advises Emily to take the Wellsworth track due to flooding. But Emily decides to take the forest track as it is much faster. Emily goes through a flood on the forest track, but it does not stop her.

In the forest, Emily meets Thomas, who warns her about a fallen tree on her line and tells her that she must wait for Harvey. But Emily says she does not need Harvey's help, so she finds the tree herself and decides to push it out of the way. However, the tree sticks on her front as Emily pushes it uphill. Once at the summit, the tree rolls out of the way and Emily carries on.

At a junction, Emily meets Duck, who tells her that not only is Trevor waiting for her, but the tracks ahead are very muddy and she must avoid them. But once again, Emily's belief that she is "excellent" causes her to ignore him, so she carries on regardless.

However, Emily gets stuck in the mud and the track sinks beneath her weight. Emily sees Murdoch already at Farmer McColl's, realising that she should have listened to him. Emily apologises to Murdoch and he pulls her out of the mud. After collecting Trevor from Farmer McColl's, Emily is about to leave when she remembers to ask Murdoch about which track to take to the airport. Murdoch tells her to take the valley route as Gordon's Hill is still being cleared of fallen trees.

Emily goes along the valley route, but soon sees a telegraph pole blocking her way. Remembering Thomas' advice, Emily waits for Harvey to clear the telegraph pole. Then, at a signalbox, Emily is told by the signalman that the short-cut is muddy; remembering Duck's advice, she takes the longer track. Once at the airport, Trevor clears the runway and Jeremy is able to land at last. The Fat Controller praises Emily again, but Emily tells him that all of his engines are "excellent engines".

Characters

Thomas
Duck
Emily
Murdoch
Sir Topham Hatt
Harvey (does not speak)
Trevor (does not speak)
Jeremy (does not speak)
Dowager Hatt (does not speak)
Farmer McColl (does not speak)
Henry (cameo)
Gordon (cameo)
Bulgy (cameo)
Cranky (cameo)

Locations

Trivia

This episode marks Duck's first appearance since the seventh season, and his first speaking role since the sixth season.
This episode marks Dowager Hatt's first appearance in CGI.
Murdoch gains a Scottish accent in the UK narration.
The town Emily passes is made up of buildings from Great Waterton.
This episode marks Jeremy and Bulgy's last appearances to date.
This episode marks Murdoch's first speaking role since the seventh season and his last speaking role to date.
This marks the final appearance of the Sodor Airport to date.
Throughout the episode, Emily's driver and fireman are not in CGI.

Goofs

The narrator said that lots of engines were broken down. This is wrong; the narrator should have said "and lots of engines were stuck".
When Murdoch pulls Emily out of the mud, her driving wheels aren't moving.
Trevor's driver is too big compared to Trevor.
Bulgy appears in his old red livery.
Duck's face is smaller and is missing its prominent cheekbones.
When Trevor trundles across the runway, his driver is steering him whilst sitting in his coal bunker, which is empty.
When Emily lands in the mud, either the driver or fireman is not seen in her cab.
When Emily goes through the flood waters in the forest and near Farmer McColl's farm, you can see she has no face in the water reflection, but the tracking markers for the CGI.