- “Ooh, what are you doing, Wilson?"
"Nothing."
"Traintastic! You can be my assistant!"
"Does that mean you're gonna boss me around?"
"'Course not.” - ―Koko and Wilson
Koko Takes Charge is the forty-ninth episode of the first season.
Plot
Koko is helping Irving at the recycling yard. When Vee orders Irving to make a sweeping round near the docks, Koko volunteers to take charge and manage recycling operations in the yard. Irving agrees but informs Koko that it's a big responsibility, and repeats his instructions about loading which recyclable items go in their designated cars. Koko doesn't pay attention due to being sick of hearing the same old instructions and half-heartedly assures Irving by saying "yeah yeah I know what I'm doing".
Irving departs the yard, and because of his OCD, he is constantly concerned of the cleanliness state of his yard, by regularly checking on Vee to check on activities while he's away for a few hours. Meanwhile Koko begins sorting out garbage, when Vee offers Wilson to give Koko a hand, even though Wilson has completed all his jobs early and has his afternoon off.
Wilson arrives at the yard, and Koko starts to boss him around, much to the annoyance of Wilson. Koko quickly realizes that she's incapable of handling operations herself and tries to delegate more tasks to Wilson, but to no avail. Koko forgets about the warning by Irving to not put the paper in the crusher because it needs pulping, and inadvertently puts the whole batch in the crusher, causing the machine to jam and shoot all the sheets everywhere.
She tries to get Wilson to help her clean it up, as well as a metal cube spillage nearby. Vee interrupts and checks on the trainees if everything is ok. Koko lies that everything's fine, whilst Wilson tries to state the truth, but Koko shushes him. Wilson nearly reaches breaking point of being bossed around and prepares to depart back to his day off. Koko apologizes and manages to convince him to stay, with the condition of the work being made enjoyable and fun. Wilson reluctantly agrees, and makes a deal with Koko to stop bossing him around.
Clean up resumes, just as Chatsworth arrives with a load of 8 metal recycling wagons to be crushed and sorted. Wilson then rises up the lift to tip a wagon into the crusher. Inexperienced, Wilson releases the load into the chute too fast that it spills, and is warned by Koko to go back - but she inadvertently says the wrong word, causing Wilson to accidentally push the partially-filled recycling car off the rails (as there's no buffer), and fall off, spilling its contents everywhere. Koko gets startled by the sudden release of garbage and backs up too fast that she pushes enough air to blow over a stack of pallets.
Since the Vee post in the recycling yard cannot see the mess, she inevitably reassures Irving that everything is fine, and Irving heads back to the depot. Scared of Irving's reaction, Koko and Wilson anxiously contemplate of how to clean up the mess fast before Irving gets back, but it's too late. Irving has a nasty surprise to see the whole yard completely messed up, and suffers a nervous breakdown. Koko tries to sincerely apologize but to no avail and Irving retreats to his roundhouse to calm down.
Koko contemplates her mistakes, and Wilson joyfully helps her to clean up the mess, suck up the paper with a leaf blower and manage to sort the garbage. The task takes 8 hours - through the night and into the early dawn, where the trainees are exhausted and go to sleep. The recycling yard is now flawless.
In the morning, Irving anxiously returns to the yard, only to be overjoyed to see that the clean conditions in the yard are to his standard. He accepts Koko's final apology, and Wilson's testament to the cleanup operation, and the trio laughs out loud in joy.
Characters
- Wilson
- Koko
- Irving
- Old Puffer Pete
- Vee
- Chatsworth (does not speak)
- Zephie (cameo)
Rolling Stock
Locations
Cast
UK
|
US
|
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the forty-seventh episode of the first season.
- This marks the first and only episode to have three writers until the fourth season episode, Deputy Chug Patrollers.
- This marks the final episode to be written by Charles Hodges in any way,
- In one of the transition scenes, a different sound effect used for animatic transitions is used instead of the traditional one.
Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
 Brazilian Portuguese
|
Kokó no Comando |
 Cantonese
|
可可擔起重任 |
 Czech
|
Zodpovědná Koko |
 Finnish
|
Koko pomona |
 French
|
Koko s'occupe de tout |
 German
|
Koko trägt die Verantwortung |
 Hungarian
|
Koko, a főnök |
 Italian
|
Koko prende il comando |
 Japanese
|
ココがボス |
 Latin American Spanish
|
Koko toma el Mando |
 Polish
|
Koko na posterunku |
 Slovenian
|
Koko prevzame pobudo |
 Turkish
|
Sorumluluk Sahibi Koko |