THE OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS IN THIS BLOG POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF ZACK WANZER, AND NO ONE ELSE'S
If you've seen my Top 25 Worst Thomas is an Idiot Episodes list, I put Sodor Surprise Day at #1, yes, even higher than Wonky Whistle, the most infamous episode of the show. And yes, I hate Sodor Surprise Day even more than Fiery Flynn. Why I'm bringing this up is because Munitions gets everything right that Sodor Surprise Day gets wrong. For the latter episode, I focused on how stupid Thomas was in the episode; let's knock it aside because that episode is terrible in other areas as well.
Firstly, Sodor Surprise Day is a blatant rip off to Ho Ho Snowman, also from season 16. In the latter episode, Henry's idiocy managed to anger so many Thomas fans, not helped by the fact that Charlie was the catalyst of the problem. I said that it was very much the young child trying to get the grumpy old man to cheer up after a bad day, and I see what they were going with that, but they took every wrong turn possible. In Sodor Surprise Day, it feels like they wanted to go the same direction by using one of the commonly used character playoffs, in this case, Thomas and Gordon, but they ignored the big problems of Ho Ho Snowman and made them worse in that episode, the biggest offence being the fireworks being set off and Thomas isn't told off for his behavior.
And that brings me onto where Munitions gets it right; for one thing, Bluenose is obnoxious and bossy, and he works for the Navy, thinking that orders come first. Also, his impatience for being unloaded resulted in the dockyards being set on fire, and it's not helped that he thought fire safety was a waste of time. So yes, on whole, Bluenose lacked common sense, and he didn't consider the consequences of his behavior, never mind the implications. In Sodor Surprise Day, Thomas should've at least known better than to play around in a dangerous environment like Brendam Docks! It's not helped by the fact that the Fat Controller doesn't even scold him for being so reckless, whereas with Bluenose, he's sent away in disgrace (I believe) for causing so much trouble.
On a sidenote, since Zorran, Zebedee, and Zak were also at the dockyards when the fire started, it was nice of them so show some morality when there was danger, because even they wouldn't be so reckless to cause so much trouble, even if it was for a contract.
In Sodor Surprise Day, workers could've been seriously injured, or worse, killed, and there could've been damage to property! That's pretty much like Thomas running off while workmen were on him Wonky Whistle, only ten times worse. With Munitions, we see Krakatoa being torn apart and Big Mickey falls into the water, most likely killed (amazing how they got away with that in the 1980s, isn't it?)
Now, when I think of Thomas the character, I don't view him as being stupid, even after episodes like Topped Off Thomas, Scaredy Engines, Don't Go Back, Up, Up and Away, or especially Sodor Surprise Day - no, I view him more as a considerate sort of engine, as proved in episodes like Thomas Gets It Right and Thomas and the Storyteller. When I said Sodor Surprise Day was the Thomas equivalent to Pet Sitter Pat, I mean that it very much destroys a main character's likability, given that they had any left by that point. It'll be unavoidable when I eventually get to Happy Birthday Sir, by the way.
As for Munitions? This shows how fire safety should be brought into consideration; it demonstrates how consequences have actions, and we should always take care with explosives. Plus, it was a good follow-up to High Tide when Captain Star praises Big Mac for winning them the steel contract.
Munitions Rating: 10 out of 10
TUGS Episode Scorecard
1. Sunshine: 9
2. Pirate: 10
3. Trapped: 10
5. Quarantine: 9
6. High Winds: 9.5
10. High Tide: 9.5
11. Munitions: 10
12. Regatta: 9.5
2. Pirate: 10
3. Trapped: 10
5. Quarantine: 9
6. High Winds: 9.5
10. High Tide: 9.5
11. Munitions: 10
12. Regatta: 9.5
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