Air date: February 20, 2019 (UK)
Nia is known to be a clever engine, so Annie and Clarabel are surprised when she has trouble finding the right platform at Knapford Station. Later, when she derails from going too fast despite the speed signs, Nia admits that she has never learned to read numbers. So Annie and Clarabel decide to teach her.
Tropes:
- The Ace: Nia, who is shown to be a good at a lot of stuff. The beginning of the episode is even dedicated to showing how clever she is.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Nia.
- An Aesop: Learning new things is fun, but sometimes we all need a little bit of help to understand something new.
- Broken Ace: Nia is a very clever engine who is a great at a lot of things, but feels dejected because she doesn't know the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and thinks that she has let Sir Topham Hatt down.
- Character Shilling: Thomas' opening narration talks about how great Nia is, even though we only see Nia solve two problems. Later, Annie and Clarabel lift Nia's spirits by saying that she's clever.
- Continuity Nod:
- At one point, Annie and Clarabel point out that Nia thought up the idea to make a funnel out of rainforest leaves.
- In the And Knowing Is Half the Battle segment, Thomas recalls the events of "Dowager Hatt's Busy Day".
- Cool Teacher: Annie and Clarabel serve as these to Nia when teaching her about numbers.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title of the episode is not only a Pun referring to Nia's number problem, but it also establishes Nia's reputation as a clever engine with a knack for solving problems, and that everyone is counting on her.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the beginning of the episode, if you pause at the right moment, you can see that Skarloey has a new head-lamp mounted on his funnel.
- Imagine Spot: Nia has one where she sees various objects that resemble numbers. For example, a swan that resembles the number 2.
- "L" Is for "Dyslexia": Nia seems to have dyscalculia. She knows numbers and she knows how to count, but she has trouble reading numbers.
- Luminescent Blush: Nia blushes when she gets on the wrong platform at Knapford Station.
- Pun: The title of the episode, which refers to Nia and numbers.
- You Are Number 6: Once she learns how to read numbers, Nia calls all the engines by their numbers, using 7 to refer to Toby, 4 to refer to Gordon, and of course, 1 to refer to Thomas.
