What's the Matter With Henry? (Thomas & Friends)
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 What's the matter with Thomas and Percy for treating poor Henry like this?
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What's the Matter with Henry? is the sixth episode of the Seventh Season of Thomas & Friends, it aired on October 13, 2003
What's the Matter with These Qualities?
- The episode portrays Henry being mistreated because he feels unwell, which can be described as a 'Henry torture' scenario.
- In this episode, Thomas and Percy are portrayed as highly disagreeable and not true to their characters, as they ignore Henry's complaints of feeling ill, ridicule him, and label him as lazy. Additionally, they ask the yard manager to overload Henry with more freight cars, worsening his condition. While Thomas and Percy are typically known for their mischievousness (especially Thomas), their behavior in this instance crosses the line and verges on outright bullying.
- To quote Thomas1Edward2Henry3: "What they did was like leaving a person in a wheelchair to climb up the stairs".
- In this episode, Thomas and Percy seem to be miscast, as they are not typically known to treat other engines so poorly. It would have been more believable if Bill and Ben, or 'Arry and Bert, had taken their roles, given their character histories.
- Plot holes:
- How did Henry get sick in the first place?
- Why would the yard manager at the coaling plant simply agree with Thomas and Percy in giving Henry more trucks instead of asking Henry himself or his driver if he needed more trucks?
- Though unintentionally, this episode's moral secretly says that you can come up with plans to cause more pain for others.
- Along with "Middle Engine," this episode is considered one of the worst of the classic era, which is quite disappointing given that the era is known for its many cherished and well-crafted episodes.
Good Qualities
- Fortunately, by the episode's end, Thomas and Percy face the consequences of their actions, as they are tasked with gathering Henry's freight cars.
- Additionally, they both offer Henry an apology for the way they treated him.
- Fortunately, following this episode, Thomas displays concern for Henry when he is feeling unwell, regardless of the reason, thereby demonstrating that he has learned his lesson.
- The music from Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, and to the more lesser extent Robert Hartshorne (for the US and some UK versions) do a good job, even if the Season 8 music did seem off for the US version of Season 7.
- Some funny moments.
- The part where Thomas says "Maybe it's grumbling at you" in response to Henry's boiler grumbling is funny. (Despite being mean-spirited)
- The end where Henry complains that the workers didn't check his gauges, brakes, or squeaky wheels is a funny note to end the episode on.
- In this episode, Henry, Emily, and Sir Topham Hatt stand out as the most likable characters.
- Unlike Thomas and Percy, Emily demonstrates genuine concern for Henry by informing Sir Topham Hatt of his condition and shunting Henry when he can no longer move after hauling a large number of freight cars.
- Despite everything stated in WTMWTEQ #5, the episode does have a valid moral about how we should take people's sicknesses seriously.
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Reception
What's the Matter with Henry wasn't well received by fans with criticism directly going to how unlikable Thomas and Percy were. However, It received a 6.3 on IMDb.
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