Confusion Without Delay

"You have caused confusion and dela... Oh, uh, confusion and um... Well, uh... a great deal of confusion!"

- The Fat Controller

Confusion Without Delay is the third episode of the twenty-second series.

Plot
Late one afternoon, The Fat Controller is just about to tell the Steam Team about a new arrival, when just then, Rebecca, a big tender engine, surprises everyone by arriving on the island a day early. After all the other engines tell her how fast and useful they all are, Rebecca wants to impress them too. The next day, she tries hard to impress while doing her first job, which is pulling the express, much to Gordon's annoyance. But she tries too hard and ends up turning up too early for the passengers and leaving too early at every single station. Rebecca feels bad, especially after the Fat Controller tells her off, but she wins over Gordon by sticking up for him against the Flying Scotsman's teasing.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Emily
 * Porter
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Diesel
 * Salty
 * Philip
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Foreman
 * Henry
 * Rosie
 * Winston
 * The Thin Clergyman
 * The Teacher
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * Albert's Wife
 * The Great Railway Show Judge
 * The Man with the Green Waistcoat and Grey Hair
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Annie and Clarabel's Shed
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Works
 * Wellsworth
 * Wellsworth Sheds
 * Vicarstown
 * Vicarstown Sheds
 * Brendam Docks
 * The Great Railway Show

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Gordon, Salty, the Fat Controller, the Foreman, the Workers, the Wellsworth Stationmaster and the Passengers
 * Rob Rackstraw as James and the Passengers
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily
 * Steven Kynman as Porter
 * Rufus Jones as Flying Scotsman
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Joe Mills as a Passenger

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * William Hope as Edward
 * Kerry Shale as Gordon and Diesel
 * Rob Rackstraw as James and the Passengers
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily
 * David Menkin as Porter
 * Rufus Jones as Flying Scotsman
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Keith Wickham as Salty, Sir Topham Hatt, the Foreman, the Workers, the Wellsworth Stationmaster and the Passengers
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Joe Mills as a Passenger

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the fourth episode of the twenty-second series.
 * This is the first episode for a couple things:
 * The first official appearance of Vicarstown Sheds in the television series.
 * The first full appearance of the Flying Scotsman in an episode. As such, it is the only episode to have Rufus Jones as part of the voice cast.
 * The first episode to feature the new lineup of the Steam Team together.
 * The first time S.S. Roxstar is seen moving.
 * The first episode to introduce a new Steam Team member since the seventh series episode, Emily's New Coaches, as well as the first episode since the nineteenth series to introduce a new engine to work on Sodor.
 * This was the final episode to have Joe Mills as part of the voice cast. It was also the only episode to have him as part of the voice cast since the Big World! Big Adventures! rebrand.
 * According to Ian McCue, this episode was originally going to be in the twenty-first series, but it was pushed back to and reworked for the format of the twenty-second series after the twenty-first series was cut short. Logically, this would mean that the episode would not have featured Nia, as the twenty-first series was before she was introduced.
 * In the scene of Philip and Edward at Wellsworth Sheds, a voice clip from A Shed for Edward is reused for Edward.
 * A reference to The Great Race is made by James and Nia.
 * James refers to himself as the fastest red engine on Sodor, just as he did in the eponymous episode.
 * The plot is similar to the eighth series episode, Thomas and the Tuba, the tenth series episode, Seeing the Sights, the first series episode, Thomas' Train, and the fourth series episode, Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady.
 * The title is a play on the Fat Controller's catchphrase "Confusion and Delay." He also says a variation of it in this episode.
 * This marks the Flying Scotsman's only appearance in the twenty-second series, his first appearance in an episode since the third series episode, Tender Engines and his first full appearance in an episode, as only his tenders were shown in the aforementioned episode.
 * This episode focuses on Goal #5: Gender Equality as it was part of Mattel's partnership with the United Nations to promote six of the chosen Sustainable Development Goals.
 * For unknown reasons, this is the only twenty-second series episode not featured on Roku Kids.
 * On the Nick Jr. US airing of this episode, it was paired with Thomas Goes to Bollywood.

Goofs

 * Joe Mills in both dubs is not credited for voicing a passenger.
 * In the UK dub, Thomas has his US voice when the Fat Controller almost runs into him. Additionally, Percy has his US voice when the engines welcome Rebecca.
 * When the Fat Controller addresses Thomas, Percy, Nia and Emily before introducing Rebecca, there are trucks behind Percy during his close-up, but they are not present in Emily's close-up.
 * In the close-up of Rebecca's leading wheels as she brakes at Wellsworth, the box behind her bufferbeam clips through her wheels.
 * When Nick Jr. US reran the episode on 5th August 2019, Nia's dialogue was taken from her scratch track as opposed to the final version by Yvonne Grundy.
 * During the fantasy sequence, Gordon and James' tenders are detached from their cabs.

UK/AUS

 * Here Comes the Steam Team!

GER

 * Big World! Big Adventures! - Australia