Gordon Takes Charge

"Maybe teaching Percy will be fun, then he'll see I'm the biggest and the best."

- Gordon

Gordon Takes Charge is the twelfth episode of the eighth season.

Plot
Percy is taking passengers for the first time in a long time. Gordon tries to teach him how to treat coaches. Things are shaky when Percy accidentally bumps the coaches, lets off steam at the wrong time, and Gordon starts showing off. In the end, Gordon tries to brake so smoothly he slips on the icy rails and runs into a snowdrift, just as Percy puffs in and gently halts. Gordon compliments Percy afterwards, but attributes it to his good teaching.

Characters

 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Edward (does not speak)
 * James (does not speak)
 * Toby (does not speak)
 * Bertie (does not speak)
 * Thomas (cameo)
 * Emily (cameo)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * Butch (cameo)
 * The Refreshment Lady (cameo)
 * Cyril the Fogman (cameo)
 * The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Maron
 * Kellsthorpe
 * Shunting Yards
 * Knapford

Trivia

 * The snow engine the children made resembles Thomas.
 * Thomas' large-scale model for when he interacts with The Pack is seen at the beginning.
 * Going by production order, this is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season.

Goofs

 * The road underneath Bulgy's Bridge has been mysteriously replaced by rails.
 * Gordon puts his brakes on but he still makes a puffing sound.
 * The snow Gordon puffs into looks unrealistic.
 * Michael Brandon's voice cracks when he says, "His face was as red as Bertie the bus."
 * Bertie appears to be smiling when he is stuck in the snow.
 * In the close-up of Gordon's wheels sliding, he is already heading down the siding but in the next shot, he is heading down it again.