Rosie is Red (Thomas & Friends)

"Rosie is Red" is the 22nd episode of the 22nd season of Thomas & Friends. It aired on February 14, 2019 in the UK and May 4, 2019 in the US.

Plot
Thomas is embarrassed when rumors that he and Rosie may be more than just good friends start to circulate around Sodor.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Similar to the Star vs. the Forces of Evil episode, "Here to Help", this episode essentially tries to acknowledge fans who have shipped Thomas and Rosie since the latter's introduction in Seasons 10. The main problem is that while it somewhat worked in "Here to Help" (depending on your view), it was executed poorly here.
 * 2) Another major problem with this episode is that romantic relationships between engines have never been officially established throughout the entire franchise. In addition, Thomas and Rosie have always seen each other as nothing more than just friends, thus making this episode serve as a generic Valentine's Day special.
 * 3) *Of course, there was a line from "Thomas and the Guard" where the narrator says: "Their (Annie and Clarabel are) both old and need new paint, but Thomas loves them very much." But we're not talking about friendly love, we're talking about romantic love, something that has never been established into the franchise.
 * 4) Minor nitpick: Percy would know what Valentine's Day is by now, he's been on Sodor longer than Rebecca, longer than Nia, and even longer than Oliver, Donald, Douglas, and Rosie as well.
 * 5) Many of the backgrounds in this episode have very little color. This could be somewhat understandable here since the backgrounds here were meant to be colored in a more wintery way, but at the same time, it kind of backfires because of Mattel rushing the animators at Jam Filled Toronto.
 * 6) Almost none of the other engines are likable as they constantly tease Thomas and Rosie when the former stands up for the latter.
 * 7) * Diesel's jokes are really mean-spirited as he bumps Rosie's trucks full of roses. Thomas stands up to him for being mean to Rosie.
 * 8) * Bill and Ben are extremely unlikable for teasing Thomas when he stands up for Rosie, calling her Thomas' "special friend".
 * 9) * Even Gordon is unlikable when he suspects Thomas has feelings for Rosie and teases him about it.
 * 10) Even Thomas, despite being teased, is briefly out-of-character as he tries to be rude to Rosie as a way to avoid coming forward to her about the state of their friendship. Though given the situation he is in, his frustration somewhat makes sense.
 * 11) *Rosie simultaneously avoids Thomas instead of confronting him and sorting out their confusion, which is also out-of-character for her.
 * 12) Like most BWBA episodes, the fantasy sequence is unrealistic. But unlike most of them, this one was weird at best, and cringeworthy at worst.
 * 13) When Thomas and Rosie eventually settle their confusion, a musician quartet starts playing romantic music (confusing both of them), and episode ends with a heart cloud above them, implying that this love melody is for them. Luckily, the music was actually and only for Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt (see GQ #5). But it does feel like a confusing in-joke nonetheless.

Good Qualities

 * 1) For the first time ever, the show finally has a Valentine's Day themed episode. It's too bad it is the only one (and not the best one) though since... you know what came along two years later...
 * 2) The opening discussion between Percy and Edward about the meaning of Valentine's Day is pretty good, and this one image of the workmen really is intriguing to look at, as if the show has introduced some inside LGBT themes at one point. Another thing to credit the show and BWBA for since it does look like they were showing the audience at least one minor LGBT moment from the workmen that were helping out with Percy's mail train.
 * 3) Speaking of which, it's nice to see Edward again after being absent for the majority of Season 22.
 * 4) *The best thing to know about this is that it was nice seeing Percy and Edward interact outside of Season 21.
 * 5) Rosie, Sir Topham Hatt, and (for the most part) Thomas are still likable.
 * 6) Thomas and Rosie quickly make up and clarify that there isn't any romance between them and that they are just good friends.
 * 7) Beautiful ending: Sir Topham Hatt's Valentine celebration with Lady Hatt is very heartwarming as he says to her through this beautiful line: “Rosie is Red, Thomas is Blue, and my Darling Lady Hatt, I love you.” and presents roses and a cat for her. And to this episode's credit, Chris Renshaw composed an amazing score at the beginning that it really does sound like you're in for a Valentine's Day treat.
 * 8) This episode has a good moral for kids stating that you should always stick up for your friends, even when you're being teased by the people making fun of you.

Trivia

 * This is the first time other engines saw Rosie, the others being Thomas, Harold, Hector, Bertie, Stepney, Emily, Rocky, Diesel, Butch, James and Henry from "Thomas and the Birthday Mail", "Hector the Horrid", "Rosie’s Carnival Special", "Diesel’s Special Delivery", "Stuck on You!", "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor", and "Confusion Without Delay".
 * This also marks the second time when Edward saw Rosie in person because Edward had already seen Rosie from "Thomas and the Birthday Mail", but barely because Rosie told Thomas that Alice’s mother phoned for help and Edward was on his way to pull Thomas out despite Edward not being present in that episode.
 * The title of this episode is a reference to the first verse of the phrase, "Roses are Red."
 * This is the series' first and only Valentine's Day episode.