| “ | Why, hello there, Stepney. | „ |
| ~ The Owl's first words to Stepney. |
| “ | (Chuckling) And since when could engines talk? | „ |
| ~ The Owl's counterargument to Stepney's questioning of his ability to speak. |
| “ | Your wish will come true, Stepney. One day, you'll be all alone. No one truly cares about you. You deserve to be left in that scrapyard, Stepney. Bluebells are NOT forever. | „ |
| ~ The Owl to Stepney before he leaves the siding. |
The Owl is the overarching antagonist of The Blue Snowplow's Thomas & Friends horror series The Horrors of Hawin Lake.
He is heavily based on the common minor animal character from the franchise that appears in various Halloween-themed content, such as the episode Haunted Henry and the music video for the song "Boo! Boo! Choo-Choo." This incarnation is characterized as a dark tormentor and something of a spy, seemingly working for Dane, the main villain of the series.
Hhe is voiced by Matthew Michaud (EnterprisingEngine93) in the original episode, who also voiced Henry in the Tobias and The Sentinels series, and by MainlandStudios/jje09 in the feature-length remaster.
Personality[]
At first glance, the Owl appears to be like any other variant of its species, nocturnal and generally intelligent. However, whenever he speaks (which is only seen in episode two), he becomes dark and brooding, apparently showing little-to-no sympathy to those whose feelings he hurts.
History[]
Part II: The Monsters Are Due at Hawin Lake[]
The Owl first appears in the second episode, when Stepney is stranded in the siding in the forest. After his first hallucination of the troublesome trucks teasing him, Stepney hears a hooting sound and sees the source, an owl, perched on a tree in front of him. Stepney is initially relieved and playfully says hello to the bird, chuckling at himself for speaking to an animal, only to be startled when the owl actually responds to him. The owl then perches itself on the siding buffers to talk to Stepney, whom the owl says that he has seen before when he last visited the island. The owl tells Stepney that he appears as an "overexcited" engine, who never stops moving, because they both know what happens if he does stop moving.
In response, Stepney tells the owl that he once heard that if he stopped moving, he would never be able to work again. The owl keeps pressing on the subject, asking Stepney what that means, to which he replies that maybe he does not really care about being useful, and that he perhaps only cares about himself. This causes the ghostly trucks to reappear and call Stepney out as a selfish and foolish engine. Unexpectedly, the Owl agrees with the trucks, also calling Stepney foolish. Feeling angered and offended, Stepney snaps at the owl and tries to get back at him as he starts to leave, while starting to feel uneasy. The trucks continue to taunt Stepney, to the point where they trigger a haunting flashback to his near-death experience at the scrapyard, and Stepney begs for them to leave him alone. The owl warns Stepney that his wish will eventually come true, because one day, he will be all alone, while also coldly adding the idea that nobody truly cares about Stepney, and that he deserved to be left in the scrapyard. After finishing his dark speech, the owl disappears, leaving Stepney to cower in fear before unknowingly being rescued by Hawin.
Part III: The Invisible Engine[]
As James is preparing to take his next maintenance train from the lake, James is startled by the owl's hooting. He wonders what the owl wants, to which the trucks say that he will find out soon enough. This implies that these specific troublesome trucks are somehow affiliated with the owl. Late that night, James hears the owl again and even sees him hiding in the trees. James curses out the owl, wishing for him to be quiet, prompting the trucks to forcefully push James, make him a runaway, which also triggers him to flashback to his dreadful accident on his first day of service on Sodor, all before the trucks cause him to careen off the rails and violently crash down a cliff, leaving him dazed, confused, and badly injured. At the very end of the episode, the owl's hoot is heard one last time.
Part IV: The Chilling Cutting[]
The Owl makes a couple of brief appearances in the penultimate episode. He is first seen standing close to the snowy line on the Skarloey Railway, watching Rusty go by with their maintenance train. The owl later appears standing on the line in the same spot where Dane's ghost had been during Rusty's encounter.
Part V: Railspin Splitcase[]
In the final episode, the owl first reappears during the flashback of Dane's accident. He is seen standing close to the line, watching as Dane slides along the rails, attempting to stop himself as a runaway train before rolling over the jammed points and plunging into the lake. The owl then appears in Dane's nightmare mind game for Rusty, where he is seen perched at the top of the imaginary circus tent.
Appearances[]
- Part II: The Monsters Are Due at Hawin Lake
- Part III: The Invisible Engine
- Part IV: The Chilling Cutting
- Part V: Railspin Splitcase
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Owl's ability to talk is only shown in episode two, with his "dialogue" for his later appearances being mere hoots.
- Although they are never seen together, the Owl can be seen in Dane's mind game sequence for Rusty in Railspin Splitcase, implying that both antagonists are connected somehow.
- Despite being the secondary antagonist, the Owl seemingly makes more appearances than Dane, the lead villain. The latter only appears in two episodes, the penultimate and finale (40% of the series), while the former appears in four episodes (80% of the series).
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 Fanon Villains
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Sodor Fallout Victor Tanzig Trampy Five Nights at Smudger's Five Nights at Thomas's Forest Horrors Tobias and the Sentinels Thomas Blows His Stack The Horrors of Hawin Lake Perseus Films Pauls Vids' Shed 17 Trilogy Others | ||