Several wayward members of the railway return home. Some are welcomed warmly while some are not.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Gay: When it's revealed that Daisy has her eye on Edward, he says she isn't his type. Terence asks "Green?" Edward responds "Female." It's not confirmed if he's joking.
- Armor-Piercing Question: It comes to light that Gordon accidentally misfired on an American tank that killed its occupants and was beside himself with guilt. Mickey asks if he's projecting said guilt onto Peter.
- Gordon: I... don't know.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Adam reappears in a flashback to 1915.
- Both Peter and BoCo return to Sodor permanently. Brian also counts as an in universe example.
- The SCP Foundation also returns to detain Old Bailey.
- Back from the Dead: Brian claims that he was struck by a bomb during the Blitz and died for a period of time before miraculously recovering two years prior to returning to Sodor. It's unclear as to whether or not that's actually the case, though it it worth noting that the ending somewhat implies that someone tampered with his service records to make it seem like he'd been in service during that time.
- Call-Back: Oliver falls down the turntable well backwards again, and by the hand of the same workman too.
- In the opening narration Terrence is seen talking with Kate, which is implied by the narration and Kate's expression that Terrence is apologizing for telling Thomas the false gossip which was the final straw in their relationship back in Relationships.
- Edward mentions something Johnny Cuba said, but he dismissed it as gloating at the time.
- Last of His Kind: Brian is the last remnant of the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway, since both Colin and Lily died in action and Adam underwent the Final Firing.
- Mythology Gag: Brian stopping Edward from crashing into the back of Adam's train and the pair nearly colliding into a barber shop is a direct reference to "A Close Shave". Brian also notes that the shop's irate owner would've lathered their faces with shaving cream had Old Bailey (who was a customer at the shop) not intervened.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Edward accidentally blurts out that, due to the deaths of Colin, Lily and Adam, Brian's the last of his company. When Eric points out what he did, the Blue Engine is suitably embarrassed and asks for somebody to staple his mouth shut.
- The Reveal: The Nartwin turned out to have been a wizard named Crovan who was indeed killed by the army. Old Bailey himself also appears to be far older then realistically possible and responded nostalgically when called "Your Majesty". It's also worth noting that in an earlier scene, Skarloey tells Rusty of a prophecy that states King Godred is slated to return some day.
- Terence is actually a trackside support vehicle owned by the Fire & Rescue Service, and is therefore Mickey's partner. He also has a vast array of contacts all over Sodor (and even some on the Mainland) that provide him with all his gossip.
- BoCo's real name is 'Bob'.
- Shout-Out: James jokes his last name is Bond.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Not everyone was very welcoming to Peter coming back after being in prison for committing a war crime against a hospital. Gordon was very vocal, and Douglas was conflicted on what he wanted to say to his colleague.
- Morty (the workman responsible for Oliver's first tumble into the turntable well) is, as Bruce puts it, "sacked on the spot" by a very displeased Fat Controller after making the same mistake again.
- Wham Line: Brian looks shocked when he sees Peter. But the question he asks is a bit of a shock: "do you have a twin brother, by any chance?"
- And then he says he met an 8F who looked and sounded exactly like Peter, but his name was Alan. Peter is surprised there's another non-faceless 8F out there, because he was said to be the only one. We meet him in A Troublesome Engine.
- "That's why I didn't see him. Because he wasn't there." Turns out Peter was in Railgate, making this Wham Line... not really one.
