Percy's Predicament

"We must now try to run the branch line with Toby and a diesel. You have put us in an awkward predicament!"

- The Fat Controller scolds Percy

Percy's Predicament is the twentieth episode of the second season.

Plot
Daisy's time on the Island of Sodor is going badly for everyone concerned. Not only is she frightened of bulls and cows, she remains lazy, bad-tempered, stubborn, and refuses to do jobs she does not want to do.

Percy grumpily shunts trucks one day, as Toby pulls in noticing Daisy has once again refused to take the milk wagon, forcing Percy to make a special trip with it after his normal work is done. Wanting to help, Toby offers to take the milk if Percy fetches his trucks from the quarry in return. The crews agree to this and Percy sets off.

Percy goes to the quarry to fetch the trucks. Having never been there before, he starts enjoying himself by ordering the trucks about. The trucks do not take kindly to a stranger entering the quarry and giving orders, and vow to pay Percy out.

While running along, Percy whistles to the guard to pin down his brakes only for the trucks to push him along. The signalman is too late to switch Percy into the runaway siding and Percy crashes into a brakevan, destroying it and perching himself on top of the remains of a truck.

That evening, Toby and Daisy help clear up the mess and the Fat Controller arrives to speak to Percy, telling him that now the branch line will have to be run with only Toby and a Diesel, leaving him in an awkward predicament. Percy, very much stuck in his own predicament, understands fully what he means.

The Fat Controller also scolds Daisy for her laziness and is close to sending her away. Daisy is left feeling ashamed of herself, but the Fat Controller has decided to give her another chance given how hard she worked after Percy's accident. Daisy is happy and promises to work hard with Toby's help. Knowing Toby has a lot of experience with running a branch line, the Fat Controller is satisfied.

The next day, Thomas returns from the works and is happily reunited with Annie and Clarabel while Percy is sent away to be repaired. All the engines are now friends and Daisy learns a lot from Toby, leading her to become a really useful engine.

Characters

 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Daisy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Thomas (does not speak)
 * Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
 * Henrietta (does not speak)
 * The Policeman (cameo)

Locations

 * Crocks Scrap Yard
 * Anopha Quarry
 * Elsbridge
 * The Carriage Shed
 * The Quarry Tramroad

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Branch Line Engines.
 * Stock footage from Percy Runs Away and Percy and Harold is used.
 * References to Percy and Harold, Daisy and the fourth season episode, Bulls Eyes are made in this episode.
 * The small truck wears the Spiteful Brakevan's angry face.
 * A deleted photo shows that Thomas came back just before Toby was coupled up to Percy's flatbed.
 * In the English version, the sign says "All trains stop to pin down brakes". In the Welsh version, it says "Stop every train to wait". In the Norwegian version, it says "To all trains stop the brakes must be checked". However, the Norwegian sign wasn't used in the episode, only in a VHS trailer, and in the episode, the narrator just said "Stop! All brakes must be checked!"

Goofs

 * Percy's trucks' faces continuously disappear and reappear.
 * The narrator mentions that Percy had never been to the quarry before, but Percy visited it in Percy and Harold.
 * In addition to when the narrator says "Percy had never been to the quarry before," he shunts four trucks together, but in the very next scene, a fifth truck appears.
 * Throughout the episode, Toby is missing his left lamp iron.
 * When the first truck says "Pay Percy out!", its face is on the back end.
 * When Percy passes the signalbox, his brakevan changes.
 * Just before Percy crashes into the brakevan, a stone used to lift Percy on top of the trucks is seen on the track that the brakevan is on.
 * Percy's cab reveals part of the motor casting after the accident, during the panning shot from Toby to Daisy to Percy.
 * The brakevan is already broken before Percy destroys it.
 * After the accident, the van behind Toby has a face, but in a deleted scene, it does not have a face.
 * When Thomas couples up to Annie and Clarabel his driver is facing the back. However, when Thomas puffs away, his driver is still looking back.
 * Because stock footage from Percy and Harold is used, Percy's load of gravel changes into stone slabs.
 * When the narrator says "'Come along,' puffed Percy" the truck on the right of the screen does not have a chain on his hook.
 * Percy only has half of his screw-link coupling.
 * The events of Bulls Eyes are mentioned in this episode, but that episode was not made until the fourth season.
 * Percy passes Crocks Scrap Yard while pulling his train, but that is on Edward's Branch Line.

Quote

 * "What Toby doesn't know about branch line problems isn't worth knowing. Our Toby is an experienced engine." - Sir Topham Hatt

Merchandise

 * Buzz Books - Percy's Predicament

UK

 * The Deputation and other Stories
 * The Best of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
 * Edward's Exploit (UK DVD)
 * Ghost Train and other stories/Time for Trouble and other stories
 * Chases, Races and Runaways
 * The Best of Percy
 * The Complete Second Series

DVD Boxsets

 * Classic Collection
 * The Best of Friends

US

 * Daisy and Other Thomas Stories
 * Best of Percy

VHS/DVD Packs

 * Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures
 * Best Tales on the Tracks

AUS

 * The Complete Second Series
 * The Deputation and other Stories

DVD Boxsets

 * Complete Series 1-10 (Boxset)

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.10 (Japanese VHS)
 * The Complete DVD Box 1
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.4

PHL

 * The Deputation (DVD)

NZ

 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 3

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

GER

 * Thomas and His Friends Vol. 5

HRV

 * Better Late Than Never (Croatian DVD)

SA

 * Volume 4 (VHS)

ITA

 * The Brave Locomotive

IND

 * Pop Goes the Diesel and Other Stories

MYS

 * The Deputation and Other Adventures