My previous review of Duck and the Slip Coaches was "unofficial" because I wrote it as an essay without formatting it in my journalistic list. This is the official review for the episode. Most of the content remains the same, while others will be altered and added.

Duck the Great Western Engine is a character with a tumultuous TV history. Back when he was introduced, he immediately became one of the most popular characters because of his capability to arrive on time while maintaining an extremely loyal, prestigious personality. He treats punctuality on The Fat Controller's railway with immense respect and is proud of being Great Western. He took all the lessons he learned on the GWR and transferred them to the Island of Sodor in Series 2, where he became of its leading characters. But since Series 8, his spotlight was dramatically decreased in favor of focusing on eight core characters. He made his return in Series 17 for the first time since the twelfth series and starred in The Thomas Way. Series 18 makes sure he stays in spotlight, beginning with Andrew Brenner's Duck in the Water and following it with this one, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler's Duck and the Slip Coaches, an episode so good, it easily competes with Thomas the Quarry Engine for best S18 episode thus far!

Strengths:

1. Per the title, this episode features a rather important element on the old Great Western Railway, the slip coaches. Duck describes exactly what slip coaches are and why they were very useful on the Sunshine Line. To paraphrase the link, Wikipedia, and aforementioned episode itself, slip coaches allow the conductors to uncouple the express coach without forcing the train to stop and spend several minutes letting passengers embark and disembark. Back then, railway companies were very competitive, so slip coaches gave them a trump card by continuing the train while leaving the slipped coach behind.
    
   What made it clever was the sepia flashback: Instead of HD, it was in SD, sped up and splotchy occasionally to make it look like a genuine tape along with the clicking sound effect to create the illusion of an old-fashioned recorder. Because of the GWR's mid-Nineteenth-Century history, the creative decision made Duck's flashback much more credible and genuine.
    
   In the very early series, coaches and other rolling stock were sentient whether they had a face or not. Following the second season, almost all rolling stock stopped speaking with few exceptions, especially the express coaches. Old Slow Coach temporarily revived the concept in Series 5 before she was dropped from the lineup, as well. DatSC revived the concept of sentient coaches by giving them faces like Annie and Clarabel — ones of matching color instead of the traditional white "mold" — and the ability to talk. But instead of all females, two of them are male, becoming the first male coaches in the franchise's sixty-nine-year history. To capture the essence of the RWS, the coaches have a haughty attitude with an old-fashioned tint in their voices, hinting to old-time fans they take railway realism seriously. And wonderfully rendered, too, by giving them their trademark chocolate maroon and cream colors. (Quite possibly a tribute to the autocoaches from The Railway Series, perhaps? ) A lot of effort was put into them, from the coloring to the mechanics to the actual faces. Hell, there are varying facial figures to separate them beyond just the voice such as the noses.
    
   And since we bronies tend to give characters unofficial names, I agree with halfbaked8 there: Let's give the slip coaches unofficial names! To start with the trial, how about naming them based on the voice actors?
    
   • Coach #1: Jon (VA'd by Jonathan Broadbent)
    
   • Coach #2: Becky (VA'd by Rebecca O'Mara)
    
   • Coach #3: Steve (VA's by Steven Kynman)
    
   If anyone can think of better names (perhaps ones that fit the context of where Duck, Oliver, Toad, and the RWS coaches ran), do so.
    
   And please, more stories with them in it. They're such a clever idea that only having them appear once would kill their potential.
   
2. James's role as antagonist works to perfection once more. He remains in character, yet has motives reflecting back to the early bird days on Sodor. Over the past several years, James was flanderized into plainly a narcissist when there are other facets in his character like arrogance, importance of doing his job, jealousy, selfishness, and the want to be one step above everyone else.
    
   As one key element revived for the Thomas Renaissance is instilling consequences for doing something stupid and/or dangerous stunts, it makes plenty of sense to fill in James as Duck's foil once again. Like Duck in the Water, he gets really annoyed and does something stupid. Unlike DitW, he really wanted to play a trick on Duck and make himself more important than anyone else. His desire to plagiarize was the catalyst for him to really screw up the importance of the slip coach, and it made plenty of sense from a narrative context.
    
   Unlike the previous episode, there was no repetitious pattern. After one bad mistake (warned by Duck the night before and the very next morning at Bluffs Cove), TFC gave Duck his coaches.
   
3. Speaking of Duck, the good ol' GW tank engine was very in character. He reminisces the good ol' days on the GWR and is proud of it. Since he learned and grew up there, it made plenty of sense to tell stories about his past adventures. Like what I wrote earlier, because slip coaches were important, having the mature Duck pull them makes him a more accomplished tank engine and character altogether. Someone who can talk to other engines and help them learn while succeeding in those jobs himself.
    
   Because the flashback and Kynman's excellent voice acting revealed how much he loved working with them, him saying "cooee" upon seeing them for the first time in apparently decades and "slipees" at Bluffs Cove make plenty of sense. Hell, much more than anyone saying "steamie" as a word of endearment!
   
4. Once more, mostly top-notch comedy. TFC getting his top hat caught by the inner tube was great for the circumstance and broke the serious, weary atmosphere at Knapford. Then you had Duck's dry glare to James and subtle bite in his voice at Bluffs Cove as he explained to Sir Topham Hatt how much he knew these slip coaches. Finally, there's little bits of fanservice with "What a bad railway it was" and "fuddy duddy."
    
   Heck, even the cheeky joke with Emily being shut out worked well the first time around. To explain the context, Series 7 introduced Emily and wasn't given plenty of script time to develop her character. That season, she was written as a secondary character at most except her debut in Emily's New Coaches. When HiT Entertainment bought the rights to the franchise, they decided to create a core of eight leading characters.
    
   From the interview with Sam Barlow:
    

   
   Ryan (SIF Admin): From Series 8 onward, the cast was streamlined down to a core eight engine characters. A lot of fans missed old friends like Duck, Oliver, Donald & Douglas – was there never any intention to expand the regular supporting cast as the series went on after 2004? Was there always more of an emphasis to focus on the future, rather than the past (in terms of characters, stories and such) with the HIT produced series of Thomas?
    
   Sam Barlow: The idea was simply to cement the core characters in the minds of the audience. I remember we chose which engines would be featured – and Duck was on the list, but we had to leave him to make way for a major female engine - and that became Emily. I seem to remember there was also an issue with some of the models at Shepperton, meaning that it was not possible for every engine from the past to continue into the new series - so that too played a part in those decisions.

   Afterwards, Duck was cut out of production and only made sporadic appearances in Series 12. Once the series fully transitioned into CGI, he didn't make another reappearance until last season (Henry's Hero, The Thomas Way). The comedy is a very obvious tongue-in-cheek piece of fanservice to the Duck/Emily debate, something that's divided the Thomas fandom in some capacity. And even better is how the narrator said nothing; doing so would risk making the comedy act like a mean-spirited attack to the older and newer fans.
    
   But pay attention to what I wrote earlier: "worked well the first time around." I'll get back to this later.
   
5. There are two morals in this episode.
    
   The first is blatant: "Don't take credit for anyone else's ideas." Since James stole Duck's innovative concept, he was definitely going to be taught a lesson.
    
   The other is underlying: "Don't be too cocky over things unfamiliar to you." Same logic applies, except James ignored Duck's warnings partially because he got all puffed up in the smokebox.
    
   But both are so well woven in the context of the narrative, neither become so intrusive. Heck, even Thomas's appearance felt natural because he showed up in places that were natural to his environment: Tidmouth Sheds and Knapford station (towing Annie and Clarabel).
    
   After I submitted my last review of this episode to the Sonic Stadium Message Board, a friend of mine from here PM'd me about the episode, so I'll talk about the first moral. Unlike what the brash red engine did to Duck, one hundred percent of the credit goes to him for it. The biggest component to this series is how HiT's writers really take railway realism seriously, and Railway Consultant Sam Wilkinson deserves plenty of credit for keeping the team in line most of the time (especially here). Yet, what makes it such a fantastic modern classic is the extra layer of relatability that added depth to Duck's character. Once more, the Great Western tank engine loves the slip coaches and really wants the Island of Sodor to successfully run the railway. It's such a genius notion of punctual movement on the railway, and the GWR engine deserves plenty of credit for it. But for someone as egotistical as James to steal Duck's idea, take credit for it, and be proud of it, a momentous occasion devolves into absolute disappointment.
    
   And who can blame him? It absolutely sucks to have your genius idea plagiarized by someone. Sure, James believes he can perform as good as Duck, but seeing how much Duck's memories piss him off, it was great for him to feel like he one-upped someone. Yet, since he has no clue how to operate the slip coaches, he risks making what should be a great way to get everyone's guests at their destinations punctually a first impression disaster. As what my friend said, James's plagiarism of Duck's idea of bringing the slip coaches to Sodor was not only destined to fail, but also be looked down upon if he royally screwed up. Especially since Duck didn't deserve the sorrow. And since Duck's such a relatable character, it can strike anyone who yearns to bring something create hard. As a creative person myself and someone who graduated with a Bachelor's in graphic design, the plagiarism affects me, too, without even realizing it. Don't be surprised if anyone else who watched this episode gets this same feeling of anger and hurt.
    
   This is why James's dish of karma is so great — He deserved it BIG TIME!
   

Weaknesses:

1. Albeit nitpicky, there's the obvious post-production error at Animal Park. When Edward tooted, Thomas's horn came out. Small, but surprising, and it created the moment where I personally got the biggest laugh. XD
   
2. When TFC arrived at Tidmouth Sheds the first time, James rolled down to him to tell him about the slip coaches. Instead of rolling down the tracks like he was in absolute control of himself (despite seeing his driver behind the window), it'd be better if James whispered to TFC. That way, the approach to his crime would become more plausible.
    
   So why aren't I calling it out when they woke up the next morning? Because everyone's awake, you can create the perception that all six engines had their crews already in their cabs.
   
3. One thing about HiT's Thomas stories is how the pacing sometimes gets rather slow and the writer has to pad it to fulfill the runtime because everyone's tallllkiiinng llliiike thiiiss or pausing too much. Although there's no padding, the slow talking made the episode feel a little bit slower, although it isn't so noticeable. Duck and the Slip Coaches lasted eight minutes and forty-five seconds, but it might've been better if it was only seven to seven-and-a-half minutes long just to speed up the middle the sequences a bit.
   

4. 
   But pay attention to what I wrote earlier: "worked well the first time around." I'll get back to this later.

   I'm talking about this now, for that's the episode's biggest problem.
    
   The first time Emily got shut out, it worked really well because the fanservice can easily be disguised as her being late to the sheds. But the joke happened twice, the other to conclude the story. There, Emily did arrive to the turntable, but before she could get on, Henry raced by and entered the remaining vacant berth, leaving her shut out once more. No matter how much any of you laughed, this joke doesn't work this time. Emily didn't deserve to be shut out the second time because she did absolutely nothing to make the narrative provoke itself into writing it. HiT wrote the joke to continue the gag and please the older audiences. When you segregate the audience, you're not writing fanservice anymore. Instead, you're writing fan pandering, and it's one of the worst ways to do it because the joke's mean-spirited.
    
   I can hear some of the replies now.
    
   a. "You're writing this because Emily was the female character." Regardless if anyone uses this reason, that's a shameful strawman since I didn't mention sexism anywhere here. It's not the fact that it happened to specifically Emily. It's the fact that it happened to anyone. If it was anyone else (besides James, which I'll get to later), I would call it out just as vociferously. Hell, if the joke had Duck arriving first and then Emily swaps his place to conclude the episode, I'll give it the same treatment; perhaps I'll give it stronger criticism because of how much James put him through.
    
   So why am I calling out?
    
   Because it's an empty joke. It's unnecessary. Good jokes need to have proper context. When you write gags just because, then the humor becomes forced. And forced mean-spirited humor is a complete no-no when writing good comedy. If it's mean-spirited, make sure the character deserves it.
    
   b. "It's just a joke." Remember one of Disappearing Diesel's morals?

   
   Don't take jokes too far.

   This is actually one of Thomas's biggest problems, both in the show and Railway Series. It has a penchant of teasing other characters via dialogue and narration, whether they deserve it or not. Sometimes, the teasing can get a bit insulting; and even worse, the writing tends to condone it.
    
   Unfortunate implications exist. In my three-part ten best and worst FIM episode list and my grades for FIM media, I came down REALLY hard on episodes with big unfortunate implications like The Crystal Empire, Dragon Quest, and One Bad Apple. Some of the jokes from TtTE back then weren't okay because the context sometimes was too unnecessary regardless of the scale. If it wasn't okay then, it's not okay now, period.
    
   In short, once was fine due to the context. Repeating it made the fanservice too contrived and out of character for the show.
    
   c. "Just ignore them, because they're taking it too seriously." *sigh* No product is safe from criticism. Like it or not, Brenner and crew aren't perfect. In fact, the three worst episodes last season are (in order):
    
   i. Now Now, Charlie! is the worst one last season. The concept of safety on the rails and road is used as a pointless backdrop over Charlie roaming around to find help (when his driver should've alerted a signalman to close traffic and then call the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre there) and the Boy Cries Wolf cliché.
    
   ii. Although it's extremely well-liked, Gordon Runs Dry is objectively terrible. A hole in the boiler is actually extremely dangerous, for it can cause the boiler to warp and possibly explode in the humid heat. Also, cabs have gauges to detect anything funny, and the driver and fireman would've immediately checked Gordon to see where the rock hit him. If it was damaged, Gordon would be shut down to keep the passengers safe. Perfecting Gordon's and Thomas's characterizations didn't save it from being a near-failure.
    
   iii. The Afternoon Tea Express is merely poorly written for its convoluted storytelling, broken continuity, and overreliance on telling instead of showing.
    
   People critique and criticize because they give as much a damn as the people who praise it. They like the show and want to see it do well, too.
    
   Now, is the accusation of Emily being shut out sexist? No. Despite the massive criticism of the show in editorials from a while ago, there's no context to pinpoint sexism, even accidental, and saying otherwise is stupid.
    
   But to say the ending joke isn't mean-spirited is, to put it bluntly, stupid, as well, for the reasons provided. That criticism is very justified. Much more so than the defenses.
    
   BTW, don't dare claim kids won't get it to cover its shortcomings, because you're falling for the "it's for kids" fallacy. A fallacy people in the Thomas fandom (and Sodor Island Forums, the basis for this callout) called out during the Miller era. A fallacy I bluntly called out several months ago. If you're going to call out the same flaws then, do the same during the Thomas Renaissance. Otherwise, the pot calls the kettle black.
    
   d. "How to make it better?" Like what I wrote earlier, make the joke work better contextually. Make the humor karmic. Why not have James wait instead? But before he gets on, Emily puffs onto the turntable and into the vacant berth instead. The joke would work because James was a massive pollution box in the episode, and he suffered the embarrassing consequence of being removed from coach duties. The humor would be karmic because he deserves to not share his spot in the sheds, and it would put the Emily/Duck jest to bed permanently.
    
   Now, despite this long essay, is the end joke that mean-spirited?
    
   Not. Even. Close.
    
   In fact, as a brony, there are many FIM episodes where its quality dropped because the jokes got way too mean-spirited and sometimes made the characters insanely unlikeable.
    
   Which ones?
    
   Well, Dragon Quest, Putting Your Hoof Down, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Filli Vanilli (one of season four's worst for this reason), Owl's Well That Ends Well, and Boast Busters.
    
   The worst kind of fan pandering I've seen are the brony references in Equestria Girls, the Grumpy Cat cutie mark in Rarity Takes Manehattan, and — the worst of them all — the Honey Boo Boo bashing in the Celestia Micro comic.
    
   Compared to those, this is nothing, and it doesn't hurt DatSC's quality all that much. But because it's written without provocation and empty, it is a problem nonetheless. Since it happened at the end, it does matter somewhat. As a critic, it'd be really irresponsible to handwave the flaw.
   

Duck the Great Western Engine is a very popular character in the Thomas series. Because of his three-dimensional personality, ability to be triumphant, and extreme dedication to TFC's railway, there's a very good reason so. When he and several other popular characters got shafted, it hurt the fanbase, especially since it was confirmed that Emily replaced Duck on the Steam Team. But the last two seasons treated Duck with plenty of respect, and there's a lot of great railway realism to help hone the series back into its roots. It's not perfect, but it's getting there thanks to the whole team and especially Railway Consultant, Sam Wilkinson.

At this point, Duck and the Slip Coaches is a magnificent catalyst to the massive improvements this series has made over the past couple of years. With an innovative idea, a brilliant inclusion to expand the world of railway realism (slip coaches), a great moral, and a very relatable Duck, the flaws aren't close to hurting its quality. If you're a big Duck fan and yearn for unique history of the Great Western Railway, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler's modern classic is a definite competitor to not only many of the best pre-HiT episodes, but the best Railway Series books, as well!