Free & Easy!

**Free & Easy!** is the eighth episode of Season 3 and twenty-ninth overall.

## Synopsis

The engines quickly find themselves irritated with the constant presence of Ace the Rally Car, whose reckless behavior around the railway is only made more aggravating by his nonchalant attitude about it. They find that there’s very little they can do as Ace treats the railway like his own personal playground, but the reckless car gets his comeuppance when he tries to use the small railway’s ballast chute as a stunt jump.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Oliver
* Emily
* Nia
* Diesel
* Mavis
* Sidney
* Philip
* Rex
* Mike
* Bert
* Annie and Clarabel
* Troublesome Trucks
* Toad
* Bertie
* Trevor
* Butch
* The Horrid Lorries
* Ace
* Angus
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Ed Abbey
* Harry Topper
* A Signalman
* Donald (*does not speak*)
* Douglas (*cameo*)
* Fergus (*cameo*)
* Charlie (*cameo*)
* Logan (*cameo*)
* Frank (*cameo*)
* Judy and Jerome (*cameo*)
* Bulgy (*cameo*)
* Max and Monty (*cameo*)
* Megan (*cameo*)
* Henrietta (*cameo*)
* Jem Cole (*cameo*)
* Nancy (*cameo*)
* Mr. Renchmore (*cameo*)
* Slip Coaches (*cameo; dropped*)
* Tiger Moth (*not seen*)
* Terence (*mentioned*)
* Farmer Finney (*mentioned*)

## Cast

* EpicLafiteau as Thomas, Oliver, Sidney, Philip, and Lorry 3
* OvalFrankie as Henry
* Fantastic Mr. S as Gordon
* MainlandStudios as James, Toby, Troublesome Trucks, Rex, Bertie, Trevor, Lorry 2, Butch, and Ace
* Logsaplenty as Percy
* Chase the Ferroequinologist as Duck, Diesel, Troublesome Trucks, Lorry 1, and a Signalman
* Spo0derGlen as Emily
* ViolarulesReacts as Nia
* Liz Productions5784 as Mavis, Annie, and Clarabel
* FizzledFirebox as Toad and Bert
* Enterprisingengine93 as Mike
* Papa Mainland as Angus and Sir Topham Hatt
* Arcade Productions as Ed Abbey
* Heathcote Pursuit as Harry Topper

## Trivia

* This episode sets up Demolition Derby and A Day at the Races.
* The script was finished on January 21st, 2023.
* This episode was referred to as "Freezy", combining the words free and easy together quickly before, during and even after the entire production.
* Logsaplenty, ViolarulesReacts, Arcade Productions and Heathcote Pursuit join the voice cast.
* Duck says "race cars don't have headlights", which references Lighting McQueen's line from the first **Cars** film: "race cars don't need headlights [because the track is always lit]".
* Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart is sung by Ace, and can later be heard on Butch's radio, as well as during the credits. A rendition of the song was arranged by ThomasSebyMG.
* Mavis' nose ring wasn't originally planned or written anywhere, but Chase joked that Mavis wanted a nosering, which Toby was against, but Henrietta was for. This prompted James to not only update the entire model, but give her a nose ring as well.
* Title drop: Ace's catchphrase is "free and easy" and is subsequently said by him several times, as well as other characters such as Mavis and Nia throughout the episode.
* While not explicitly shown, the biplane heard in the post-credits scene is none other than Tiger Moth. His name appears on Topper's business card.

## References to the Official Show

* Nia reminds Thomas about Ace's prior behavior during the last time the three of them interacted in *Big World! Big Adventures!*.
* Emily hums "There's No One Quite Like Emily" before she reaches the level crossing.
* Duck mentions "I know some hens who would love to make you their new condo", which references Bulgy's incident in the episode **Bulgy**.
* Gordon, James and Henry's iconic line "Disgraceful! Disgusting! Despicable!" from **Dirty Work** returns, this time with Emily joining in with "Distressing!" at the end.
* When the Lorries say "Call yourself a racecar? You're a disgrace to the road. Find yourself a shell, snail", it is referencing a similarly structured line from **Lady Hatt's Birthday Party**, "Call yourself a car? You're a disgrace to the road. Find yourself a scrapyard".

## Story Impact

* Ace has come back to Sodor. It is revealed that Ace's ownership has been transferred and he now lives at Ed's Garage in Great Waterton, where he tests out new parts.
* Angus has been relieved of his temporary duties at the Sodor Search & Rescue Centre.
* Harry Topper is planning something that involves Ace.