Air date: September 21st, 2018 (UK); April 13th, 2019 (US)
Hong-Mei tells Thomas that the water wheel he is carrying is made from bamboo and is very important. But in his eagerness to discover other things made from bamboo, Thomas forgets about his mission and ends up taking a shortcut via a low bridge, which knocks the water wheel off his flatbed and sends it rolling off across the Chinese countryside!
Tropes:
- Alliterative Title: The Water Wheel.
- An Aesop: Bamboo can be used for a variety of things and is very strong.
- Artistic License – Physics: Even though bamboo is indeed very strong and light, there's no way that an actual water wheel would bounce around all cartoony like it did in this episode.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Once again, Thomas gets distracted from his mission by his curiosity. This time, it's about the various functions of bamboo.
- Big "NO!": Thomas says "NOOOOOO!" at one point.
- Continuity Nod:
- Hong-Mei and Thomas are still friends after "Number One Engine".
- Ferris Wheel of Doom: Well, more like "Water Wheel of Doom", but in this episode the water wheel behaves like a typical runaway ferris wheel.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Some women yell in Chinese.
- Imagine Spot: Thomas has one where he is made of bamboo.
- Iris Out: This episode has one.
- Lampshade Hanging: Hong-Mei tells Thomas to stop daydreaming, lampshading the frequent fantasy sequences he has throughout the season.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Thomas has this sort of reaction when the water wheel goes missing.
- Pun: "Wheely useful!"
- Stock Footage: Some stock footage from Journey Beyond Sodor can be seen in the And Knowing Is Half the Battle segment.
