Capture the Flag

"*My flag! Now I definitely won't be able to do the piston-pop with my flag in the parade."
"Nia, we're so sorry! If I hadn't been rushin', I wouldn't have dropped your flag on the ground."
"And if I hadn't rushed you to skip your step-by-step checklist, you wouldn't have dropped it.*"
— Nia, Percy, and Thomas

**Capture the Flag** is the seventeenth episode of the first season.

## Plot

Thomas races down the line excited because the Big Train Day Festival is happening that day. Percy then comes up him, who is excited because he is in charge of delivering all of the parade flags. On their way to the seaside, Thomas suggests that he could help Percy deliver the flags so that the deliveries will get done quicker. Percy agrees, and the two friends race to the seaside.

When they arrive, Thomas and Percy both get their parade flags. Thomas is ready to go, but Percy looks at a map, and explains that they need to match the right flags with the right engines. An impatient Thomas suggests that they should just figure it out as they go. Percy, skeptical about the idea, agrees and the two race off, but they are in such a hurry, Nia's flag flies out of Percy's mail van. But neither of them notice. After they deliver flags to Sandy, Diesel, Gordon, James and Emily, they make their final stop at Tidmouth Sheds.

Nia and Kana are there, excited for their flags, and Nia explains that she has been practicing her "Piston Pop". Kana gets her flag, but when Percy tries to shake Nia's flag out of his mail van, nothing happens. The two engines soon find out that there are no more flags inside of the van. While Kana sets off to get them good spots for the parade, Thomas, Percy and Nia set off to find the missing flag. They ask everyone they met on their route if they have seen it, but none of them had. They all arrive back at the Harbor and continue their search for the flag. Just when they are about to give up, they see the flag flying in the wind. Nia tries to catch it, but it lands in Diesel's garbage car. The three engines race after Diesel, but Diesel thinks that they are playing "Train Tag". They are about to catch him, but they all get stuck behind the Level Crossing.

Diesel, determined to win, takes a different track. The flag flies out of his car in a different direction and Thomas, Percy and Nia race after it, leaving a confused Diesel behind. Their attempts to catch the flag are ruined when it gets carried away by a seagull. Thomas and Percy apologize to Nia, explaining that if they had taken their time, the flag would not have fallen on the ground. Thomas suggests that they could make a new flag for Nia, and they chuff to the Maintenance Yard. Thomas and Percy explain to Sandy what happened, and they get to work making Nia a new flag. After taking their time and using the right materials, they make a flag even better than Nia's old one. When they make it to the parade, Kana and Diesel join them, and Nia happily teaches her four friends the Piston Pop.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Percy
* Nia
* Diesel
* Kana
* Sandy
* Gordon (*does not speak*)
* James (*does not speak*)
* Emily (*does not speak*)
* Sir Topham Hatt (*cameo*)
* Cranky (*map cameo*)
* Annie and Clarabel (*mentioned*)

## Locations

* Crovan's Creek
* Harwick
	+ The Mail Depot
	+ The Hat Store
* Knapford
* McColl Farm
* Brendam Docks
* The Dark and Windy Tunnel
* The Maintenance Yard
* The Tight Bend
* The Tunnel of Zoom
* Tidmouth Sheds
* A Level Crossing
* Two-Way Junction
* Vicarstown
* Whiff's Recycling Plant (*map only*)
* Callan Castle (*map only*)

## Cast

### US

* Meesha Contreras as Thomas
* Charlie Zeltzer as Percy
* Talia Evans as Nia
* Shomoy James Mitchell as Diesel
* Ava Ro as Kana
* Glee Dango as Sandy

### UK

* Aaron Barashi as Thomas
* Henri Charles as Percy
* Sade Smith as Nia
* Henry Harrison as Diesel
* Chloe Raphael as Kana
* Holly Dixon as Sandy

## Trivia

* This is one of Charlie Zeltzer's favorite episodes
* Thomas rushing Percy is similar to Rusty rushing the workmen in the original series episode, Which Way Now?.

## Goofs

* During the Mail Delivery Song, Gordon's tender is missing when Thomas and Percy approach Knapford. Additionally, the flags seen in Percy's mail car are inconsistent with which ones have and have not been delivered until Kana receives her flag.
* At Brendam Docks, Cranky is missing.
* When Thomas and Percy go down the hill during the song, the bottom of Percy's smokebox is missing.
* Before the engines begin to chase Diesel, Percy's left wheels are not layered properly, as they are behind his chassis.
* At the end of the episode, the number 18 on Nia's old flag is mirrored.
* In the UK dub:
	+ Percy has his US voice in the first part of the song.
	+ When Sandy says "Yippee! Thanks!", it is out of sync with her mouth movement.
	+ The US credits appear at the end.

## Merchandise

* Magazine Story - Capture the Flag (*2022*)

## Home Media Releases

### US/CAN

* Best Friends
* Season 25

### JPN

* Thomas the Tank Engine Series 25 Vol. 2

## References

1. ↑ Charlie Zeltzer's Wiki Exclusive Interview