Thomas In The Wild (Thomas & Friends)

"Thomas in the Wild" is the seventh episode of the 22 season of Thomas & Friends.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Thomas is kind of unlikable in this episode, as he is constantly complaining about not being able to see giant pandas. That's what he's complaining about?
 * 2) Like with all of the dream sequences in the BWBA era, the dream sequence in this episode is uncanny and just weird.
 * 3) This episode also has little respect for wildlife as Thomas is ungrateful for encountering rare animals. What doesn't help is that there is an episode from the same season that respected wildlife, and that is "Tiger Trouble".
 * 4) This episode only teaches kids that pandas live in China, which is true and all. But there is more to China than pandas, which thankfully other episodes set in China have shown that there is more about Chinese culture such as Tai-chi, Chinese New Year, and dragons.
 * 5) The moral segment (unlike the other ones) teaches a rather poor moral that if you are going through hard times and you try to remember the good times that you had, none of that matters other than what you desire most.
 * 6) The pacing of the episode is slow and makes the episode feel boring and bland. If anything, the episode itself is boring and dull to watch.
 * 7) Weak ending: Thomas gets to see giant pandas despite all of his complaining.
 * 8) Like the rest of the Big World! Big Adventures! era, the animation is a step down from the animation of the seasons before it.
 * 9) Overall, the episode feels more like a Peppa Pig episode or an episode documenting pandas rather than a Thomas episode.

Good Qualities

 * 1) Ann Ann and Yin Young are still likable.
 * 2) The animation is still okay, albeit flawed.
 * 3) Although the episode didn't work because it felt like a big boring dud, the episode does introduce pandas to the show since none of the Pre-Season 22 episodes showed pandas, not even the model era showed pandas before. If there is one thing that did make the episode work, it shows kids what pandas are and as what Yong Bao mentioned, they are the National Animal of China.
 * 4) Great voice acting like usual, but Rob Rackstraw voicing the documentary director is the best part of the whole episode.
 * 5) The panda costumes look nicely well modeled and designed.

Reception
"Thomas In The Wild" received mixed to negative reviews from fans and critics of Thomas & Friends alike.

Trivia

 * This is the last episode to air in Japan during the Heisei era (1989-2019).
 * A model series biff sound effect is used throughout the episode.
 * This is the only episode of the twenty-second series set in China where Hong-Mei appears but does not speak and the only episode not to have Chipo Chung as part of the voice cast.
 * The episode was originally intended to air in the US on 17th September 2018 with "Number One Engine", but for reasons unknown, it was replaced by "What Rebecca Does", although the episode's ending scene was featured before it aired. The airing was later corrected in future reruns as well as on Nick On Demand and the Nick Jr. website. Sometime later it was re-paired with "What Rebecca Does" in present airings.
 * The theme of Thomas' fantasy scene is a variation of "Teddy Bears' Picnic" composed by John Walter Bratton.