Forever and Ever

"I know change can be hard, Gordon. Almost everything in my life has changed. I'm in a new country on a new railway trying to make new friends and all my old friends are much farther away than Henry and Edward are going to be. And you know something else?" "What?" "My old friends are still my friends."

- Nia and Gordon

Forever and Ever is the second episode of the twenty-second series.

Plot
Gordon is upset that Edward no longer lives at Tidmouth Sheds and becomes disrespectfully silent to Nia for moving in. When Henry says that he is moving out of Tidmouth Sheds to stay at Vicarstown at the suggestion of Percy and Philip, Gordon has a nervous breakdown and proposes to do things differently because the Fat Controller is changing things.

Gordon leaves his express to find Edward and asks if he will move back to Tidmouth Sheds since Henry is leaving. Edward tells Gordon that he is already happy staying at Wellsworth. The Fat Controller finds Gordon and, despite understanding that his changes have upset Gordon, scolds Gordon for his bad behaviour and sends him back to the sheds in disgrace, which Gordon does so without hesitation. That night, while sleeping in the shed backward, Gordon dreams about the whole railway changing around him in very silly ways. Nia approaches Gordon and sympathizes with him, noting that she is far away from her old railway and friends but always remembers that if her old friends are still her friends, so are Edward and Henry. Gordon knew Nia was right and he had a lot to think about it.

The next morning, Nia gets Gordon to go out of the sheds to pull the Express. Gordon tries to rush, but Nia stops him just in time before he almost falls into the turntable well. When Gordon gets on the turntable, he thanks her and apologizes to her for being unfriendly, hoping they can be friends. Nia hopes they can also be friends with the other new engine who is soon arriving to take Henry's place, which surprises Gordon so much that he rushes away horrified.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Nia
 * Paxton
 * Philip
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Winston
 * Cranky
 * Carly
 * One of Dowager Hatt's Friends
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer
 * Rosie
 * Stephen
 * Marion
 * Diesel
 * Salty
 * Sidney
 * Skiff
 * The Thin Clergyman
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * Mr. Bubbles
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Captain Joe
 * Kwaku
 * Rebecca
 * Kobe

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Annie and Clarabel's Shed
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Tower Windmill
 * Wellsworth
 * Wellsworth Sheds
 * Ffarquhar Branch Line
 * Vicarstown
 * Vicarstown Sheds
 * Kenya

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon and the Fat Controller
 * Rob Rackstraw as James
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Annie, Clarabel, Stephen Hatt and Bridget Hatt
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia and Some Children
 * Steven Kynman as Paxton
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * William Hope as Edward
 * Kerry Shale as Henry and Gordon
 * Rob Rackstraw as James
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily and Some Children
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia and Some Children
 * Steven Kynman as Paxton
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Teresa Gallagher as Annie, Clarabel, Stephen Hatt and Bridget Hatt
 * Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is possibly the second episode of the twenty-second series.
 * Nia says that a new engine will be coming to Sodor, foreshadowing Rebecca's arrival in the next episode. The premise of this episode and Henry leaving Tidmouth Sheds was done in response to criticism of the show "not being diverse enough," in relation to there being only one female engine at Tidmouth Sheds. It is also similar to the criticism of the revamp from some fans who were complaining about the changes made to the show. However, according to Ian McCue, Henry was meant to stay in Tidmouth Sheds prior to the development of Big World! Big Adventures!, explaining why he left in a rushed manner compared to Edward, whose removal was planned regardless.
 * In the fantasy sequence, the Thin Clergyman can be seen riding the Photographer's Draisine from the sixteenth series episode, Flash Bang Wallop!
 * This episode marks Stephen, Skiff and Captain Joe's only appearances in the twenty-second series.
 * Percy asking Philip how he made his voice change is a callback to The Great Race.
 * Nia references Henry Gets the Express when trying to get Gordon to come out of the shed.
 * Gordon falling in the turntable well is similar to Oliver's crash in Oliver Owns Up.
 * When Gordon asks Edward what he thinks about moving back to Tidmouth Sheds, Theodore Tugboat's whistle can be heard.
 * This episode is the first of several things:
 * The first time Marion is seen pulling rolling stock. However, this is only in a fantasy sequence as well as Marion's first appearance since the twentieth series episode, The Christmas Coffeepot, not counting a stock footage appearance in Over the Hill.
 * Nia’s first appearance in an episode.
 * The first time that the Aquarium Tank Wagons appear in the series.
 * The first episode to feature the newly updated Engine Roll Call song at the end.
 * The first time Rosie is seen with her new headlamp turned on.
 * This episode marks the last of two things:
 * The last time a character outside of the current Steam Team is shown occupying a berth at Tidmouth Sheds, that being Henry.
 * Stephen and Skiff’s last appearances until the twenty-fourth series, excluding a mentioned appearance for Stephen in the twenty-third series episode, Heart of Gold.
 * Before its UK broadcast, this episode was shown at the Princess Anne Theatre (BAFTA) in London alongside Number One Engine, What Rebecca Does and Banjo and the Bushfire on Saturday, 1st September 2018.
 * In the UK dub, when Gordon tells the Fat Controller to go ahead and change everything, his voice breaks and you can tell he sounds genuinely upset. In the US dub, Gordon is straight up angry at Sir Topham Hatt over Henry being relocated to Vicarstown.
 * This episode aired before Big World! Big Adventures! was released in Germany and South Korea, meaning the audience would not know who Nia is.
 * Apart from Thomas reading the title aloud, this episode does not include any narration.
 * On Nick Jr. in the US, this episode was paired with What Rebecca Does. Sometime later it was paired with Number One Engine for future airings.
 * At the beginning of the episode, the first and third birds from the viewer's left fly away from the sheds, followed by the second bird from the viewer's left turning around to face backward. The two birds flying away are symbolic of Edward and Henry leaving Tidmouth Sheds and the Steam Team, while the bird turning around represents Gordon in the episode.
 * A picture shows Gordon is on the turntable looking sad and Nia can see that Gordon is sad and is out of her berth. But in the episode, Gordon is sad in Tidmouth Sheds and Nia is comfortable to make Gordon better.

Goofs

 * At the beginning of this episode, Henry's whistle is heard, but it is actually Nia who is shown to be whistling.
 * When Gordon shunts Annie and Clarabel, the two coaches have switched their voices.
 * When Nia speaks to Gordon in the sheds about changes, Edward can be seen in two shots on the left. But when Nia reverses out of the shed, Edward suddenly becomes Percy.
 * In the second shot when Nia and Gordon are talking in the shed, James has moved a few inches backward from his original position.
 * In several scenes, Gordon's coupling hook base changes between the standard one used by Thomas and his unique coupling hook base.
 * When Gordon was in Tidmouth Sheds facing backwards, his cylinder is connected to his body, though his coupling rods are connected to his cylinder.

UK/AUS

 * Here Comes the Steam Team!

GER

 * Big World! Big Adventures! - China

Merchandise

 * Magazines - Forever and Ever

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