This. Is. BRILLIANT! I Dont Mind Being Tagged At All, This Was A Joy To Read! @mindthegoop I Hope YOU

this. is. BRILLIANT! i dont mind being tagged at all, this was a joy to read! @mindthegoop i hope YOU dont being tagged because now its your turn! MWUAHAHAHAHHA >:D i agree on all of your points, but something that caught my eye was: "They might not have direct control in this scene but the influence they've had on him obviously affects how he conducts himself, it feels as though he's always thinking about what he is and isn't "allowed" to do. Sonny is called useless throughout the whole special and I think he's internalised that."

While Baz and Bernie as characters on their own aren't all that interesting, what makes them stand out to me is their interactions with Sonny. BWBA was such a sterilized, dumbed down, and "clean" version of the show, but not gonna lie, the way Baz spoke to Sonny was almost reminding me of the classic series. Specifically, some of 'Arry and Bert's dialogue in "Stepney Gets Spooked". Like, when was the last time an engine was seriously threatened to be scrapped? By their human owner no less? It's obvious how damaging being treated like this has been for Sonny, and his interaction at that point with Thomas in particular, it really feels like his social skills had been stifled. And then, when Sonny finally sticks up for himself, Baz and Bernie abandon him for Kenji to get away, who they haven't even met yet. Ouch. It's very easy to interpret that as Sonny having always been replaceable to Baz and Bernie, and it's not hard to imagine that this would have been the killing blow to his self-esteem if he hadn't been allowed to stay on Sodor. Considering Sonny is from the mainland, and I'm assuming Baz and Bernie kept Sonny out of the hands of scrapping because they forced him to be loyal to him, I wonder how he would get on with Oliver? Considering they're both (likely in Sonny's case) rouges who escaped their original railways. I think Oliver's bigger ego about his escape and Sonny's more "I don't want to talk about it" approach could lead to an interesting interaction, or even conflict! While I'm not quite sure how I would exactly go about drafting up a Rosie and Sonny episode, here's my pitch for an introduction! Rosie's doing her job as usual, when Sonny comes sidling up with a good train and internally she's all like "Ugh, not him again." and Sonny, expecting a cold welcome anyhow, says nothing and stays quiet. Almost as if he's trying to get out of her way. From there though...? I'm not sure if it would be more in character for Sonny to continue to try and make himself seen and not heard, or if he would (very anxiously, mind you) try to break the ice and make things up. I think it would depend how far he's gone on working on his self-confidence after Baz and Bernie shattered it. Hope all 3 Sonny fans enjoyed the ramble :P

Ok I had to get this out bc @friendly-emerald-emily (hope u don't mind being tagged) brought up a very good point about Sonny's interactions with Rosie and how people don't tend to touch on that a lot, including myself actually, so what better opportunity to have a little ramble about my fav little guy again *dances*

Rosie is the first engine Sonny interacts with, but they never get to have a closed arc together, which is a shame! In an era where the execs claimed they were working in the best interest of the female characters and giving them the spotlight, the only female character Sonny ever really interacts with... is Rosie... Unless you count Rebecca talking To him (which I don't really), he doesn't even get to interact with Ruth! Like are you kidding, not even Ruth? She clearly holds no animosity towards him, but it's herself and the Earl that Sonny directly affects by helping with Baz and Bernie's plans.

This also marks Rosie's last appearance iirc, it's such a shame because this one interaction with Sonny could have made for a brilliant final episode for her!

...

Anyhow, back to the point

We can break Sonny's character development down into his interactions with three characters, Rosie, Thomas, and Diesel

~

Rosie: The first Sodor engine Sonny interacts with, he is aloof and standoffish, he obviously doesn't know how to interact with other engines and pushes others away. Rosie, knowing her worth, doesn't give him the time of day, she'll see engines come and go all day who she'll never see again given that she works at Vicarstown.

It's important to note Rosie's personality too, she's very friendly and outgoing. Although Extremely brief, she treats Sonny as she would any other engine, it is Sonny who rejects her kindness. More on this later!

(don't mind the crusty screenshot the wiki doesn't have any good screenshots of these two)

Thomas: When Sonny meets Thomas, Baz and Bernie don't have control over him for the first time, this is notably the first instance that Sonny is shown speaking, when he's alone and without their influence. He's lost and confused, kind of frozen up like "what now", and Thomas finds him stopped at some points. Sonny of course, at first, rejects Thomas' help, he seems awkward and like he'd like the conversation to be over with, but he genuinely needs help and Finally opens himself up a little.

Sonny is still obviously fronting for the crooks and protecting them, but it's notable how, for the first time without their direct control, he's shown as being very friendly and approachable, then, he goes right back to not talking once he's back with them. They might not have direct control in this scene but the influence they've had on him obviously affects how he conducts himself, it feels as though he's always thinking about what he is and isn't "allowed" to do. Sonny is called useless throughout the whole special and I think he's internalised that.

Diesel: Finally, the big one, I will try not to rant so much because I've already spoken at length about Diesel and Sonny's relationship, so I'll try to keep it brief.

After the events of the special, Sonny is trying desperately to get in everyone's good graces, we see the true side of him which is friendly, approachable, and selfless, but this goes unappreciated.

Back to Diesel tho, Diesel of course takes advantage of this, but regardless of his intentions, Diesel enjoys spending time with and being Sonny's friend. When Sonny finds out, he's furious, naturally. I think it's notable that Sonny now knows his worth, he's been taken advantage of before and will NOT allow it again, he stands up for himself, as he should.

But what speaks to Sonny's character most is that he's the one to finally give Diesel his second chance. Sonny so desperately yearns for his own, and sees himself in Diesel, giving him the Chance to prove himself. This is basically the first time Diesel apologises on his own accord and admits guilt, though I won't ramble on too much about that as I've already rambled ad nauseam about this being an important part of Diesel's character arc.

~

Anyhow, getting those out of the way, here's my main point. Sonny's interactions with these three show the different stages at which he develops as a character.

It should also be noted how Rosie and Diesel compare as characters. Rosie is friendly, outgoing, and gives everyone a fair chance. Diesel is rude, aloof, and admits as much himself in Springtime For Diesel that he pushes others away due to how he believes them to think of him, and to upkeep this tough guy persona he's so carefully crafted over the years, he won't even give himself a chance at redemption because it's too hard to work towards it. These two are very much opposites!

Sonny, similarly, is the opposite to both characters in both interactions, rude and standoffish to Rosie, then friendly and empathetic towards Diesel. He started out under the control of Baz and Bernie, dictating his life by their perception of him, much like how Diesel conducts himself based on how he believes people see him ("Other engines aren't nice to me so why should I be nice to them?") , now taking control of his own life, and working towards his own happiness and redemption. His interactions with both characters symbolise the start and end of his growth as a character!

Back to Rosie being unfairly treated tho, she deserved so much better. I'm sure she COULD have been worked into Sonny's Second Chance somehow, but, I think I'd have preferred her to have her own episode that focuses on HER, and her relationship with Sonny, it's the least she deserved. No idea if there were any plans for this.

It would have been extremely significant to show Sonny interacting with her again, showing how much he's grown, in contrast to his first interactions with her. It's all well and fine James of all engines apologising to him but they had no established beef, only what we got in SSC, I really would have liked to see Sonny make amends with Rosie, give her a PROPER send off, because how it looks is that she was SO offended and confused by Sonny fuckin growling at her, that she decided to leave indefinitely, lmao?? I'd be confused too!

Anyway, that's a lot to say that I am STILL so upset that Sonny never got more, as stated he really felt like he was supposed to stick around and do More. He's an extremely important character (I am biased), yet one I don't see people give a lot of credit to or acknowledge. TTTE fandom do better I expect a YouTube essay on Sonny on my desk by next week!!

OMG!!!! Wonderful art!!! :3 this seriously looks like it could be a storyboard for an episode. so so so good!! but of course, this put my thinking cap on, and two things in particular here grabbed me. 1) This was one of (the only?) bad things Sonny has done without direct influence from Baz and Bernie. Granted, they probably told him to be standoffish with other engines he meets, but growling at Rosie was wayyyyy out of line. Out of everything Sonny has done, this is probably the one thing he agonizes the most over because he has no one but himself to blame. I wouldn't be surprised if this messed with Sonny's sense of self a little too. Since STH's engines are expected be good and upstanding engines, Sonny might find it a bit difficult to view himself that way because how rude he was to Rosie. 2) Rosie holding a grudge feels perfectly in character, at least in this iteration of her. She probably has other moments of this before BWBA, but to be BWBA-specific, "Rosie is Red" comes to mind. The rest of the episode is STUPID but something that stuck out to me was how quickly she was to get annoyed with the teasing, and how she tried distancing herself from Thomas pretty early on. This makes to me because not only does she have a bit of a fiery personality, but now that she knows her worth, and has picked up a set job that is probably pretty stressful (piloting at Vicarstown station), I imagine her tolerance for nonsense is lower than it was, than when she was lavender and carefree. This is the end of the rambling (for now) and once again, beautiful art!!! :D with all this sonny talk, maybe this could be the start of the SONNY FANDOM REVOLUTION!!!! >:3c

i have been thoroughly inspired by wonderful comments on my previous sonny post by @mindthegoop and @friendly-emerald-emily and it has made the rosie and sonny dynamic take over my entire brain!!! ...you maaay have got my brain on the sonny and rosie dynamic ! i can't believe i didn't mention it in my initial post aaaaaa! i think him feeling genuinely terrible and rosie being rightfully annoyed would be an interesting episode concept! him being rude to her was one of the only times he instigated something bad himself instead of being cooerced by baz and bernie (we assume, at least) and it was so uncalled for! i imagine he would indeed feel dreadful, but rosie deserves to have her feelings and shouldn't just have to forgive him without him redeeming himself to her!! i also just like the idea of rosie being one who can hold a grudge, hah. thanks for adding to the sonny enjoyment/analysis to my smol sonny post :3

i don't think any of you understand how many more bwba seasons i would have suffered through just to get more sonny content. dead serious, he's my favorite all cgi character. up there with victor and hiro imo. idc if thomas has to dick around in india or china or australia for 86 more seasons if only to get 1 Sonny Episode per season. he is worth it!!!!!!

cgi emily is so underwhelming because she lost her assertiveness in this essay I will-

one of my better purchases, i think

literally. purple best color <3

HUGE shout out to purple for being the only color that has like no losers. Deep purple royal purple bluish purple redish purple pastel purple dusty purple lavender periwinkle violet like. Banger after banger after banger!!