Trial is the twelfth episode of the third season of the Stories of Sodor and the forty-seventh episode overall.
Plot[]
While Edward had talked about the aftermath of the Second World War and its effects on the homefront in Britain, he hadn't discussed how Europe fared once the fighting was over. The Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, and after a fierce campaign, the Nazis were pushed out of Eastern Europe and back to Germany. After the war ended, the Russians refused to give up the new territory and neither Britain or the United States could do much to prevent it. Allies soon became enemies as the Cold War was beginning.
Edward, Diesel, Adam and Peter are at Brendam, where Adam is certain that the next World War will start in Asia instead of Europe because of one reason: Korea. Edward explains to Diesel about the peninsula, and now it's divided; The North is communist while the South isn't, which proves Adam's point. Edward, convinced that is the case, decides he won't fight in it, as well as Adam and Peter. Suddenly, Joey, Eliza and Lenny arrive for official business and an arrest warrant for war crimes. Adam is certain they have come for him as Joey relays the charges and tells the engine to come with them at once, which is Peter, much to the shock of the other three.
That evening, Edward tells Thomas, Henry, Gordon and Douglas about what happened. Everyone is confused and outraged about how Peter could commit a war crime. The authorities had taken Peter away without saying where they were going. Edward tells them that laws that can punish non-faceless vehicles for war crimes were introduced from the Geneva Convention and Adam's actions could be why they decided to apply the laws for engines. Douglas then wonders when Peter did the war crime. Throughout the discussion, Thomas had been unusually quiet. Edward notices this and asks him if he knows something. Thomas admits that he seemingly knows when Peter committed the crime: A few days after Lily was killed, Thomas had been instructed to prepare a goods train for Peter to deliver to an American regiment and he didn't return until the following morning, and was very upset. He didn't want to talk about what happened, so Thomas thought he was still sad about Lily. Henry points out that the charge wouldn't have been filed against Peter if there wasn't the evidence of a war crime. Gordon is now convinced of Peter's guilt, while Douglas decides to put his faith in Peter and the judicial system.
We then get a flashback to Western Germany in 1945. Peter has arrived at the American regiment and meets up with an engine named Porter. Peter is surprised to see a non-faceless engine and they introduce themselves. Peter remarks "There's something oddly satisfying about revenge." Presently, a soldier informs Peter that they need his help because a company of marines had launched an attack on an occupied village an hour earlier and they need artillery support. Peter is instructed to go to the observation post to direct the attack and to take a big gun with him. Soon, Peter is ready to fire, but they had lost contact with the marines. A Jeep then arrives with a Corporal who explains to the Lieutenant that the Germans have garrisoned the town hospital, with civilians inside. The Lieutenant decides to set up a perimeter around the hospital and wait, and informs Peter that they can't progress until they take the town. Enraged, Peter impulsively and recklessly decides to fire the artillery shell into the hospital.
The screen fades to black, to reveal Peter alone in police custody in Barrow-in-Furness. Sir Topham Hatt arrives with Andrew Hodges who will be his defence attorney. Peter is on edge with Hodges on his defence, given his past with Sir Topham Hatt, but he sternly hushes Peter. Hodges sums up his legal résumé before Sir Topham Hatt leaves and wishes Peter good luck. Hodges assures the 8F that he was innocent in the affair, and they will have to trust each another. Peter, with no other options, agrees. Hodges then explains to Peter about the charges against him and about how difficult it will be to dismiss them. Hodges has lengthily reviewed the Geneva Conventions and found technicalities to exploit to dismiss at least two of the charges. The charge of killing the civilians in the hospital will be the most difficult, as are 19 counts linked to the charge. Hodges also says the prosecution has lined up several survivors as witnesses and he has read their damning dispositions. If Peter is to plead guilty, he could get up to 20 years in Rail Gate; He and Peter agree to fight the charges, as a soldier, Peter deserves his day in court. Hodges and Peter then go over the evidence against him.
They had plenty of time to prepare their defence as several details had be to organised before the trial could begin, as it was the first of its kind. The trial's location was picked to be Barrow, in an unused siding next to the station, where the area was built to resemble a courtroom. None of the engines on Sodor could attend because they had to run the railway, though they had the opportunity to listen to the broadcasted trial via radio. When the broadcast started on September 11, all the engines who could listened in at yards and stations.
Gustav takes the stand as prosecutor, and Hodges as Peter's defence for the trial: The United Nations v. Peter of the United Kingdom. The judge calls the trial to order, and before Gustav makes his statement. Peter pleads as not guilty and Hodges moves to dismiss the charge of destruction of vital civilian infrastructure, as he finds that proceedings are redundant. Hodges cites the fact that the German army occupied the hospital and turned it into a military target, stating that the Geneva convention makes this prone to the pitfalls of battle. The judges deliberate, and with no evidence to refute this fact, the charge is dropped. Hodges then tries to dismiss the entire case against Peter, but the prosecution objects and he fails to get the other charges dropped, due to the civilian casualties. Gustav then presents his arguments as Hodges goes over to Peter to apologise, but the 8F is now more confident of their chances.
Later, Dr. Eichmann, a doctor at the hospital, makes his testimony. He was a part of a small staff that stayed with the patients who couldn't be moved on that day. He remembers that the soldiers took over the building for defensive purposes and they had to evacuate. The patients who couldn't be moved were taken to the basement. That night, the Americans attacked and nineteen people were killed. Hodges then asks Eichmann if he was aware of the Germans storing weapons and munitions on the grounds of the hospital several days prior, and the doctor confirms. Hodges then asks him if he objected to what was happening before Gustav makes him withdraw. Next is a testimony by Mrs. Fischer, a patient whose son was killed in the blast. Mrs. Fischer's testimony cuts deep as she explains how her husband had been taken away by the Schutzstaffel for protesting the treatment of the Jews, and expresses how she sees no difference between that and Peter killing her son.
That night, Peter remarks how damaging Mrs. Fischer's testimony was and how he's viewed as similar to the SS. Hodges assures him that he is guilty about killing the civilians and reminds him to say so when he is on the stand. Peter is skeptical over Hodges' strategy out of fear that he would sound like a war criminal. Hodges explains that they have to address his actions on their terms, or else they won't control the line of questioning and the case is the same for them if the prosecution asks the difficult questions instead of Hodges. They decide to rehearse Peter's testimony tomorrow night after Mr. Zorro gives his. Peter also objects to using his former director as a witness as he is still sick from cancer but Hodges assures him that Mr. Zorro knows his condition is being used to help their case rather than being exploited and he approached them to give his testimony in the first place. Peter still feels uncomfortable about it, though Hodges points out that he has a conscience, which they will highlight it in his testimony the day after tomorrow.
The next day, Mr. Zorro gives his statement at the court. He confesses to his shady character during the days of the Big Four and that his influence had corrupted some of his engines, and because Peter never stooped to his level, he denies thinking that Peter was capable of a war crime, though he understands the impulse from what he went through as a soldier in World War I. Without a redirect, the court recesses until 9 A.M. the next morning. The court clears out and Mr. Zorro walks away without saying a word to Peter, but gives him a knowing smile. Hodges explains to the 8F that the prosecution didn't question him because they lost their chance when Mr. Zorro owned up to his shady past. Hodges assures him that it's possible for Peter to end up like that tomorrow and warns him to not get too confident.
The next morning, it is Peter's turn to take the stand. Hodges asks him directly if he fired a shell at Eisenmarr hospital, and Peter admits as such, having done so because he was angry at the Germans for many reasons, including them killing Colin and Lily. He admits that he wanted revenge and cites the horrors of Bulbrick as further motivation for his decision, stating that their only wrongdoing wasn't fitting the Nazi's "perverted image for humanity". When asked why he fired upon the hospital while giving little regard for the welfare of the people inside, Peter responds that he wanted to take it back as soon as he fired.
Gustav now takes the stand, confirming that Peter had fired on the hospital and killed the civilians. He then asks him who Adam is. Hodges objects but is overruled by the judge, stating that Peter needs to introduce his platoon. Gustav's questioning steadily gets more intense with each question he asks, with him asking about Adam and him drowning the POWs. Sensing Peter's growing discomfort, Hodges objects but to no avail. Gustav continues questioning with Mr. Zorro instructing his engines to kill innocent people, the latter of which Peter firmly denies. Gustav then presses the 8F about his actions leading up to his crime, over Hodges' objection. Finally, he implies that Peter thought that the civilians in the hospital were all "faceless Nazis" and were all "unfit to live". At this, Peter's demeanor changes and he goes into a tirade against Germany and its people, before cursing them out. At this, the court goes silent. Hodges and Gustav both look at him in shock before walking away, as Peter realises he had blown his chance. Back home, the engines are shocked and saddened to their cores at Peter's words.
The next day, the court reconvenes. Peter has agreed to a plea deal. He pleads guilty on all charges. Hodges asks for the court to recognise Peter's acceptance of responsibility and admittance of wrong-doing to mitigate the sentence, while Gustav says that the court should be reminded of the defendant's clear contempt for the Germans to aggravate the sentence. The court then rules that Peter shall be sentenced to 15 years in Rail Gate Prison, a very upsetting verdict for everyone who heard it. They weren't given the chance to say their farewells to Peter as he was taken to Rail Gate, where he would remain for the next 15 years.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- Douglas
- Diesel
- Adam
- Peter
- Joey
- Porter
- Mr. Zorro
- The Fat Controller
- Peter's Driver
- Andrew Hodges
- 3 Judges
- Mr Gustav
- Dr Eichmann
- Mrs Fisher
- U.S Army Lieutenant
- U.S Army Corporal
- Eliza (does not speak)
- Lenny (does not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Percy (cameo)
- Toby (cameo)
- Donald (cameo)
- Eric (cameo)
- Whiff (cameo)
- Peckett (cameo)
- Colin (mentioned)
- Lily (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the first appearance of Porter.
- This episode marks the return of Anthony Hodges and Mr. Zorro.
- This is the second episode where the majority of the rudiment is focused on human characters, the first being Controller.
- At 29:25, this is the second longest episode of Stories of Sodor so far. It's beaten out by Return.
- References to Goods, Blitz and Atrocity are made.
- Douglas states that there was never a time where Peter could have committed a war crime because there was always an engine with him but this is false, because in Espionage he was alone delivering a train of petrol to another fort in Africa.
- Not counting the episodes from The Stories of War mini series, this is one of three episodes where one of the characters would use strong language. The other two being Storm and Fallout.
Goofs[]
- The date of Peter's war crime was on May 8, 1945, which was long after the Russians had taken Berlin and on the day the war in Europe ended.