Why Gordon is the Most Important Character in Thomas & Friends - Sodor's Finest 

Hot take: Gordon has the best character arc in the Railway Series, but Thomas has the best one in the classic series.

I noticed how Gordon’s face always seemed to get older with each passing book. That’s a clever way of building to his grand sendoff.

When you're a kid, Thomas is the main character to you and the most relatible. When you're older, it's Gordon.

Gordon was always boasting about being the most important engine on the Island of Sodor. And when you take into account everything in this video, yeah, he kind of was. And definitely the most important in the series, along with one of my favorites. He also has the best character theme music, hands down.

Gordon’s such an iconic going from a young hotshot to an honourable old man

In the last Railway Series book, Gordon was actually okay with letting Pip and Emma take over the Express while he was shifted to the local trains. If that's not growth, I don't know what is. And Edward doesn't mind Gordon's behaviour much, because he knows he used to be just like Gordon when he was young.

Gordon has always been one of my favorite characters I've seen

12:54 This is so beautiful! The way he exits the tunnel with steam blowing around him, the upward camera angle, the way the camera shakes with the ground when he passes, and the UpsideNow's epic soundtrack! It makes Gordon looks so powerful. I’m sure Sir Nigel Gresley would be proud.

In an alternate timeline.... we got *Gordon & Friends.*

Ever since I was little. I have always been drawn to Gordon. He along with Edward and Henry will forever be my favorite.

Gordon is one of the best characters in the show. I wouldn’t put him as one of my favorite characters in the show, but he’s still a great and proud engine. Also I love Gordon’s personality: Proud, Pompous, and Boastful.

12:40 Gordon theme is amazing as always, and he may not be my favorite but he is an iconic character. And has a good character arc.

I think you need to do a full Sodor's Finest for Gordon and Edward since it was after these videos that you found the perfect setup for this series.

Gordon is one of the most iconic and most important characters in the show

Whilst The Unlucky Tug was being particularly emphatic of the crucial beats of Gordon's chronicled journey, it must be taken on-board that even in the more low-key moments when he was focused on, Gordon's avocation of his worth had an impact on himself and others. In 'Thomas and Gordon', he makes a point to Thomas about what it means to work hard from facing the burden of pulling the express on a routine basis. In 'Trouble in the Shed' he was, as he took things, making a point to Henry and James, who were more bothered by their dispositions, to stand up for themselves through joining him in a strike. In his namesake book in the Railway Series, he comes to realise through disgracing himself and being demoted from passenger duties for a lengthy period of time just what his colleagues have to put up with in their duties and outright respects being part of a team with them. It wasn't a one-handed progression journey for the character, which makes his biggest stepping stones all the more significant in the big picture of things. What Gordon is to the Thomas & Friends franchise is what Jeremy Clarkson was to Top Gear; the one who has a pivotal bearing in the subject matter. Regards, Samuel Farris.

12:42 still my favorite part of this video. I’m so glad it’s back up

Glad to see Sodor's Finest back

Here's a hot take: in both the books and the show, Gordon didn't just have the best character Arc. But one of the best character arcs of any fictional character period.

I can imagine the music Nic chose for the ending of this to be playing when Gordon finally achieves his dream of hitting 100mph.

Watching that end sequence always gives me chills

Gordon will always be our favourite "f*cking blue train with a face"❤️

I've been meaning to ask this for a while: Since the new format of Sodor's Finest introduced picking the best era for the characters, which era would you pick for Gordon and Edward?

I’ve never thought about how Gordon becomes more relatable as you get older

It's great to relieve the greatest sodors finest for Gordon again. I love the character arc Gordon went through throughout the books and the show. 😊❤ He's always been my 4th favorite steam engine. (No Pun Attended) He's always been the main engine when I think of a Steam Locomotive with a tender pulling a long rack of coaches.

Gordon: This video for would would definitely be dignified!

Gordon was probably my favorite character when I was a kid, and it still holds true today.

The first installment in Sodor’s Finest! And a damn good one at that, love Gordon

12:41 This is the most beautiful way to showcase Gordon

If any Thomas character were to have their own blockbuster spin off film it would undoubtedly be Gordon

Gordon is a gentle giant

That end gave me goosebumps... Darn you and your outstanding writing willbert Audrey

"As it was aimed at a young audience, a young character was more necessary." LSWR G6 Thomas: And I took that personally.

I miss this one sooo much

Gordon is a great charater

Something about that orchestral cover of Gordon's Theme just _feels so right._ Gordon is this big, impressive machine, and the music tied to him should reflect that in my opinion. Edit: fixed autocorrect's mistake

Gordon is actually my favourite character for his maturity, his distinctive philtrum (at first I thought it’s a moustache) and of course the related machismo personality he has. He’ll still be my favourite even as I grew into his age as an adult.

It is worth noting that as of this year Gordon would be 101 if he were a real engine.

Gordon IS Sodor's Engine. He IS Sodor's Finest. ❤😊🎉

Gordon's theme at the end of this sounds a lot better than in the model series

And this is where a legendary series was born, sure was formatted differently back then, but I’ll still give this video credit for starting a legendary series of videos

Gordon is my favorite character as a child, cause he’s the fastest engine on the NWR he pulls the express in and out, and it still holds up today

The end always hits hard

I would argue that gordon has the best theme song out of all the engines

it was a comment in the old upload, so I’ll say it here: “Why Gordon is the most important character” sounds like something Gordon would say

Rewatching all these video as they come out to reach out to others, love your videos Tug!

Gordon will always be my favorite. Given what has happened in my life I can relate to his journey.

What a great argument. Gordon is one of my top 5 fav characters

Thanks for posting all of your old videos. Hope your old channel will get back on soon ❤❤

Flying Scotsman is an A3. No A1s survived into preservation, which is why they built Tornado.

Gordon is the best character. Hands down.

sodors finest begins

Gordon does have a special place in my heart, he was one my first pieces of Thomas merchandise I had as a toddler.

Gordon is my all time favorite Thomas character 5:05 6:58

Hot take: Gordon's HIT episodes are better than his Brenner ones

I REALLY think you should re-do this one as well as Edward's Sodor's finest, considering the gulf in quality between these videos and your more recent ones. I'd imagine you can get a lot more out of each character now that you have a template to follow and work off of moving forward.

Gordon is the heart and soul of the Railway Series. He is the character Wilbert clearly spent the most time developing. Truly he is the icon of this kid's series also meant for Adults. And people say Bluey is a show for adults they forgot thomas. The reason they did was because of how Thomas has been portrayed in the modern years, but tend to forget this is not what this series was like.

Now He's a Total Bad Ass. He's what James wants to be.

Gordon is the back bone of the steam engines he truly demonstrates how useful a steam engine can be especially during the rise of the diesel engines .

Unlucky Tug, you should do a Sodor’s Finest, uhhh History on Gordon.

Oh I'm so glad you reposted this one. You have so many wonderful videos that I can't wait to see again but this one is one of my absolute favorites. Primarily because Gordon is and was always my favorite character as a kid and when I first saw this video for this first time it made me so happy to see maybe why. It always brings a year to my eye when you get the the end of the video much like your Edward video did. I'm still rooting for your channel to come back but I'll be here to watch every video as it comes back.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember who originally posted this on the video, but my favorite comment on this video was, “I liked it when Gordon the big blue express engine went fast.”

i started crying because of this 😢

Fun fact: the TV version started off connected to shining time station on pbs. Ringo Starr and George Carlin played the character "Mr Conductor".

This is kind of like the pilot episode of one of tug's best series.

I would love to see a remake of Gordon and Edward's Sodor's Finest videos to fit with the rest of the videos after Henry's.

Personally, I think the most hilarious Gordon Crash was in the most hilarious HIT Era Gordon Episode, "Respect For Gordon". He looked so dizzy after the crash when we saw his eyes spinning, like he really was dizzy.

Say Tug, I'm not sure you'll see this comment, but I was just wondering, do you think you'll ever do a new video on Gordon and Edward, in the style of your newer Sodor's Finests? And also, I always thought this was one of your best videos.

Gordon is one of my favourites. I love his theme, his class and his relatable situations.

Probably my favorite character from Thomas and Friends of all time.

this video is amazing! I love Sodor's Finest! Gordon is an amazing chrarictor. Before you made this I never noticed how important Gordon is. Another chrarictor I would like to see you do a Sodor's Finest on is Peter Sam. Hope you have a great day!

Honestly I have to agree with his dislike to Gordon's description Where Audrey says gordon has his own hybrid rebuild Cause in my take on Gordon he was built the same year as Scotsman but in April of 1923, so he was a A1 and like the others A1's he goes to be rebuilt into a A3 in the 40's

Loved! IT!❤❤❤💕 Awesome video!💕💕💕

If you played a clip of Gordon’s whistle anywhere I bet at least five people could tell you who it belonged to. Also Gordon’s theme from the TV series is one of the top 3 songs from the entire 45 years the show aired. There is the main theme of course, the docks music track, and of course: Gordon’s theme.

One of the themes that’s always present with Gordon that’s rarely ever directly said is, don’t mess with Gordon. His attitude didn’t come from nowhere. Yea he’s boastful, arrogant, brash, and absolutely full of himself, but it’s not unsubstantiated. His is one of the fastest most powerful engines on the island and very few, if any, engines could match him at his prime.

Usually when I picture Gordon, I imagine him being a rude, snooty, naughty engine like in CGI. But this sheds light to a whole new perspective. And I now have a deep respect for him. Also, I don’t think any other train besides the HST could have replaced Gordon at the time. As far as I know, the Island has no electrification at all. So the HST would be the only option. (For now)

I’m so f*cking glad to have this back. You know what they say, An end brings a new beginning.

Toby and Duck never having an episode together is insane when you realize that they’re from the GER & GWR respectively RIPE story potential right there

LIterally yea mate, the best part of Sodor 🔵 I prefer the Classics Season adaptation tho and to an extent the HIT entertainment era.

I predict that Thomas disliked this video

Henry is my favourite engine, but Gordon certainly tails him. Truly unbelievable how much of a great job Awdry did with him

i just bought the same book you have on screen at 2:22 at as this video informed me of a hardcover editio as prior to this i thought the only way to read the series was in flimsy paperback

If it wasnt for this video i dont think unlucky tug would be here with daily uploads

Still one of my favorite videos

He also has the best musical theme

Gordon always was the Squidward of Thomas

That “moo” got me laughing 😂

Maybe it’s just the speed demon in me, but I will always appreciate the ending of this video.

After you got banned I’ll have to like all your videos again

The one that started this fine video series off.

Funny enough, Gordon was named after a pompous neighbor Wilbert Awdry had

Year built:1920-1939(Rebuilt)

Mmmm. I never would've thought that the character I despised the most growing up would be the most important with an arc that's more significant in the eyes of others. If anything, I'd say the only series in the franchise as a whole that portrays Gordon correctly would definitely had to be the Railway Series, with the acception of the model era in the TV show for a home-run finish. I'll admit it, Gordon has won my humble interest of wanting to relate to him more, but as far as becoming a hero, that spot will go respectively towards Edward, since he's more older, wiser, and knows and sees more to life than Gordon's yet to see. But after learning what harsh instances and experiences in life will come to me as I usher through my 20s, I'll soon be as humbly matured and jaded as Gordon as I get older, and lastly I'll be as brave, well-experienced, intelligent, wonderful, and poetically wise of an old man as Edward - topped with a few sprinkles of true contentment of a carefree, remarkable Toby 😌

I just discovered I forgot to re-comment since this got re-uploaded like I said before, tiny child me is feeling so Vindicated in having Gordon as a favorite because he was the biggest (cool) and blue (my favorite color) also, for anyone else who was loosing their minds trying to get the blink-and-you'll-miss-it text joke @1:22, here's a transcript so you don't have to crank the speed down to .25 and pause at the exact right moment like I did: "um ackyually he is the experimental prototype to the A1 with some notable non-standard design differences" "get your facts right you stupid tug man"

That ending though

Well done Gordon! This video has made me appreciate Gordon more.

the will to read before this video: 2% the will to read after this video: 101%

1:36 lately for me the first engine I think of is number 765. Just goes to show the difference in perspective between British and US rail fans

Don't worry tug I have that exact book in my room.

6:09 Not gonna lie, if Sir Thopham Hatt told Thomas the truth about his engine class (The LB&SCR E2 class) where not really useful, and where all scrapped for that reason. Making him the last of his kind. I feel like he would have the same reaction that Ellie did, when she found out that Joel was lying to her about the Fireflies. (Spoilers for The Last of Us: Part 2)

Ok one at a time let's keep the re-uploading going people