Backwards Day

"Alright, alright, I will try it... oh, what fun." "Yay! Gordon likes Backwards Day!" "Actually, Percy, if Gordon is playing along, then saying 'it's fun' means he thinks 'it isn't fun'." "Yay! Gordon's playing along!"

- Gordon, Percy, and Thomas Backwards Day is the fourteenth episode of first series.

Plot
Percy is puffing along the countryside when Thomas comes up beside him puffing backwards and greeting him with a "Good night." Percy is confused, so Thomas explains that it is Backwards Day and that everyone on Sodor is doing everything backwards. When the two friends arrive at the big station, they see Kana zooming out of the station backwards and James pushing a Troublesome Truck backwards down the track. Now Percy wants to everything backwards just like everyone else and gives Thomas a ‘Five-Sky’. But Gordon arrives puffing forward, saying that Backwards Day is silly and will cause nothing but trouble. He then explains that Thomas needs to take a sailboat to the seaside and a cattle car full of cows to the farm. Percy tells Gordon that he should give Backwards Day a chance just like he did and so the big engine begrudgingly says he will play along, when really he does not plan to. Percy decides to help Thomas with his delivery and the two friends buffer up to the cars, setting off backwards down the line. Gordon frustratedly calls out to them saying to not do the delivery backwards.

Out on the tracks, Thomas explains that since Gordon is ‘playing along’, that means they should do their delivery backwards and that the cows are really meant for the seaside and the sailboat is actually meant for the farm. Percy is a little confused, but understands that it is Backwards Day and goes along with his friend's words. The two friends have a ‘terrible’ (great) time going up and down the hills and talking backwards. They arrive at the seaside town and drop off the cows. Because it is Backwards Day, Thomas and Percy do not switch the points and go the long way to the farm. They race around a sharp bend, but Percy takes it too fast, launching off the rails and bouncing off of a tree that crashes down onto the line. Percy is worried, but Thomas reassures him, saying that they will come back and fix it later. After going over some buckled tracks, the two tank engines drop off the sailboat at McColl Farm and then set off back to Knapford.

At Knapford Station, Gordon is there looking for them. He tells them that not only had they knocked over a tree but also that Thomas misunderstood everything and delivered the cargo to the wrong delivery spots. The two friends are sorry and did not mean to cause problems. Gordon groans and says that you cannot have fun and work at the same time. But then, Percy gives Thomas an idea to ‘backwards’ Backwards Day and go back along their tracks to fix the problems. Surprised, Gordon states it could work if the two went forwards, but Thomas and Percy are determined to do it backwards and leave before Gordon can protest anymore. They make their way to the farm and pick up the sailboat and make sure to go slow on the bumpy tracks by ‘going fast’. Thomas' clever thinking manages to scoop the tree off the line and use it to switch the points to the right direction all while going backwards. Thomas and Percy manage to get to the shore in time for the sunset cruise. After dropping off the boat, they fetch the cows who are having a relaxing time in the water and get them to the farm without further issue as nighttime starts to fall. Gordon arrives and says ‘Bad job’ (meaning ‘Good job’) and concedes that you can have fun and work hard at the same time. Thomas and Percy are pleased, but are also glad that Backwards Day is over. The two sleepy engines wish each other ‘Good Morning’ and fall happily to sleep.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Kana
 * The Brown Troublesome Truck

Locations

 * Knapford
 * McColl Farm
 * Harwick

UK

 * Aaron Barashi as Thomas
 * Will Harrison-Wallace as Gordon
 * Luke Marty as James
 * Henri Charles as Percy
 * Chloe Raphael as Kana
 * Cory Doran as the Brown Troublesome Truck

US

 * Meesha Contreras as Thomas
 * Neil Crone as Gordon
 * Luke Marty as James
 * Charlie Zeltzer as Percy
 * Ava Ro as Kana
 * Cory Doran as the Brown Troublesome Truck

Trivia

 * This episode was released on Cartoon Network's On Demand service six hours before it aired on television.
 * This episode, along with Music is Everywhere was nominated in 2023 for the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Sound.

Goofs

 * At some points throughout the episode, Thomas' cab window is missing.
 * The Troublesome Truck is not listed in the credits. Additionally, he has his US voice in the UK dub.
 * When Thomas and Percy arrive at the farm with the cows, the cattle van is behind Thomas. However, after Gordon congratulates them for doing a "bad job" and until the end of the episode, the van is behind Percy.
 * On the RTÉ Player, the episode image was of the episode Gordon Gets the Giggles, and the '2507b' was beside the episode title. This was corrected on 23rd July 2022.

US/CAN

 * Best Friends