#also tulip in the ball pit car!

[jackass-jones]

Thoughts on infinity train book 1?

I love it a lot! One One is a favorite character of mine I could never get enough of him. Tulip is a really good protagonist and I’m fond of weird nerdy girls who are also sassy as hell. And b1 has some of the cutest episodes in my opinion, I’ve watched the crystal car and ball pit car episodes….a lot 😵‍💫. Great season 5 stars

[chameshida]

10 Days away until Reigen Infinity train

[sepublic]

Really, that whole speech by Mace is so horrifically existential, because...

It really brings up the question of how much is intended by the Infinity Train? Is there more to it? How much does it do and control? Is it secretly manufacturing fate itself by making passengers and inhabitants meet up and so forth?

That whole suggestion that MT only got her freedom because that was her role in Tulip’s story to become a better person is terrifying... And likewise, with the invisible force dragging her and Dracula back to the train, it makes you wonder if it’s the will of the train itself for MT to be sanded by the Mirror Police.

People like Marcel the Map dude, Perry the Parasite, or that one Concessions Booth that eats people... They’re BAD people, yeah, but are they only bad because the Train intended it that way? Were they made with the purpose of having passengers ‘overcome’ them? Was Perry made as a remorseless parasite who takes over other peoples’ bodies, all so Jesse could learn from dealing with him? Did the train make him specifically with Jesse in mind, giving him memories of an entire life beforehand (or more scarily, did it create Perry and his car years before Jesse’s actual arrival, because the Train might be able to see into the future)? Did it make Perry with people like Jesse’s issues in mind as a whole? Or did it... just MAKE Perry and a bunch of other inhabitants, with the idea that somebody is going to learn from dealing with him? Did it just create him and a bunch of other beings and set them up so that if it needed a specific situation to teach someone a lesson, the Train would just scoop them up and carry their car to the passenger?

Come to think of it, could the Infinity Train be controlling entire journeys down to the minute detail? Is every car a passenger goes through deliberately placed based on what they need to progress? While Tulip or Jesse or anyone is inside a car, does the Train analyze their development and then place a car they ‘need’ in front of them? Or is the wide selection of cars in such variety that inevitably, passengers will come across something that will help them learn?

For all we know, EVERYTHING that happens on the Infinity Train is meant to happen. It’s all part of the train’s plan for someone to ‘learn’... Even the Apex, even Amelia deposing One-One as the conductor (keep in mind that even the true conductor doesn’t appear to know everything about the train if the minisodes are any indication. Although it IS also possible that most of the stuff is also scripted as well...?) Is it ALL part of an over-arching, in-the-long-run journey the Infinity Train has set up, and does that mean that no matter how terrifying a journey someone may have, it was ultimately the fastest way for them to recover? (Meaning if I am right about Amelia’s whole arc being planned out by the train... That means her doing ALL THAT was actually the quickest possible way to teach her to move past Alrick’s death. Yeesh.)

As for the inhabitants, what does that mean for them? If it really IS all completely planned, can someone like Perry be blamed for being a jerk, if he really WAS made to be a jerk? It’s also possible that not everything everything is planned- The Concessions Booth’s dancing slaves say “Add one to our number”, indicating it has eaten actual passengers before, assuming they aren’t referring to just inhabitants. But if THAT was planned as well, does that mean that those who were eaten or died were deemed impossible to save by the Train?!?

Like, a part of me does want to step back and say, NO, it can’t go that deeply... After all, MT will probably get a happy ending of freedom. But on the other hand, maybe it DOES go that deep, and the Train simply lets anything happen to its creations after they serve their purpose, good or bad. Who knows? All I know is that episode is genuinely messing me up in a way even the Ball Pit Car didn’t.

(Also, anyone else appreciate how when Jesse was offered candy by Grace, he ate it and tried to lie about it tasting good to not hurt her feelings or whatnot... But then he realizes that, NO, that’s stupid, just tell the truth about it tasting like old pennies and he just does. Just a light-hearted, out-of-place observation I wanted to make amidst all of this heavy talk.)

[even-more-incorrect-ego-quotes]

37

This one, such a beautiful question, but also such a tough one to answer...

In all honestly, I can’t pinpoint one moment that is my very happiest. I hope one day I will be able to have one that can stand out like that above all the rest, but right now I just have a lot of ones that go hand in hand with each other.

But, there is this one moment that I wrote about once, that I’d like to share. (Sorry in advance for how long it is, feel free not to read)

(TLDR; Sometimes the happiest moments are the simplest)

I’m sitting on a low stooped step, the ruddy brown back door of my mother’s house at my back as I lean against its peeling paint and aged wooden stability. The fading red stone beneath me in the shade is smooth and cool, my legs crouched upright and apart just toeing the line between light and dark as my bare feet remain splayed across old hunks of sidewalk. 

My right hand is idly pulling at the overgrown weeds between the pale pavement while my left is holding a black Star Wars mug situated on one knee. Chewy is facing me on the curved surface, a delighted looking Porg perched on the handle as if to steal a drink as I bring the ceramic to my mouth. It’s midday, the 25th of April, and I’m drinking an iced French Vanilla latte. 

Only, it’s not quite a latte as I had to use water in place of milk. Yet I hardly notice the difference as the coffee creamer and sugar seem to be more than enough to mask the bitterness I can never stand to swallow. 

Taking a long, chilled sip my eyes traverse the sparse grounds of patchy grass, sun dried dirt, and gravel that make up the fenced in backyard. It’s no paradise of nature, to be sure. Nor any other kind of paradise, for that matter. 

In fact, there is a shabby old children’s trampoline left to rot on the center’s right. Large slabs of nauseatingly bright green fake grass in the middle, overlapping and ill placed. In the left corner a not-so-put-together fire pit of cement blocks and damp firewood lie in front of a row of unused, decaying logs.

It's enough to make one turn away, go inside, be anywhere besides here. But... occasionally my right hand ignores the weeds in favor of throwing a teeth worn red ball for my two-year-old dog, Sophie. In a frenzy she’s off after it, hardly taller than the object that has captured her attention. Half lab and half dachshund with a dark brown coat, she’s my gentle little firecracker with a bark twice her size and a pair of honey eyes to boot. She couldn’t care less about where we are or where we go. Maw scraping at last at her seized prize, she comes scampering back for another toss across the yard.

And, I hadn’t thought much of it before, but I’m wearing one of my favorite shirts. A soft black graphic tee of Darkiplier in a beautifully illustrated 3D effect. And when my eyes tilt up I can see that the sky is as blue as ever, the clouds collecting together as makeshift mountains never to be climbed, just kissing the horizon. The wind pushes them slowly along as an easy breeze brushes past me in accord. With it drifts the smell of the earth, rich and light.

And, come to think of it, the temperature today is just on the side of perfect. Spring has always been my favorite season, and while there are no brilliant tulips or blooming daylilies in sight, there are dandelions aplenty. A pop of yellow here and there among an otherwise blanket of brown and green.

Suddenly, it doesn’t matter much to me at all that this is no typical paradise like you read about in books or watch in awe on the silver screen. The melodic sound of 80’s classic soft rock filters through a cheap speaker, drowning out the rumble of nearby cars passing. I find I'm more at peace with it than I'd be if a classical symphony erupted in its stead.

With this last detail captured in my mind, I tune out the rest of the world for a moment. For once just allow myself to bask in this slice of not-quite-heaven. For its an awful lot like the water replacing what should have been milk in my latte: a substitute I hardly notice when simply masked with the right ingredients.

[mochazelle]

INFINITY TRAIN SEASON ONE THOUGHTS!!

so, i didn't really know how to feel going into this. i had seen two out of context episodes from when it first came out. i had wanted to watch it for a bit but never got around to it but then season hype came out so i decided to finally start it. and oh boy!!

so i didn't really like tulip at first but going through all the cars with her definitely grew my emotional attachnent and therefore love for her

i loved one-one the moment the we got them screen, they're precious. glad they found their mom in the end :)

atticus was a good boy and there was nothing more too him than that.

anyways, i really did like the concept of the number going down as you become a better person over time and right your mistakes.

i also liked that it showed just how hard the divorce was for tulip. she's only a kid who wanted her parents to be happy when they just couldn't.

my favorite episode had to either be the altered tape one or the ball pit.

7/10, really enjoyed it! on to season two!

[loreweaver-universe]

And that’s the episode.

Not quite the immediately fascinating start season one had, but that was a hard opener to top, so this more low-key episode works just fine.  It’s interesting that we’re starting with Mirror Tulip; I always wondered what happened to her, but wasn’t expecting to find out this way.  (Not sure I like the new design compared to her short-haired version, but that’s neither here nor there.)  The mirror cops are still on her tail, and since she seems like she’s going to be a major character in season two moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see those two bumped up to major antagonist status.

I definitely didn’t miss the foreshadowing of how she’s going to stop them for good, don’t worry.

And Jesse!  An interesting new human passenger!  And he’s funny!  I wasn’t expecting him to be so likable after the intro of him being smug about “his” deer, but he’s actually really fun so far.  I like him.  It’ll be interesting to see his journey, if we do in fact focus on him and not just have Mirror Tulip leave him behind after the events of the first couple episodes.  We’ll have to see!

The Black Market Car, being the first episode of Season 2, obviously comes in at my new #1 for the season, but it also comes in at my new #6 overall, between The Unfinished Car and The Ball Pit Car.  It was good, just not to the heights that the top five of this show reached last season.  Hopefully it stays strong and picks up speed from here!

Up next is going to be the next episode of Infinity Train!  We’ll be doing that on Wednesday, so stay tuned for that.  Before that, though, tomorrow I’m going to stream more of my blind playthrough of The Outer Worlds!  You can see me live at my Twitch channel, or watch the playlist of Outer Worlds streams I’ve already done by clicking here.

Thank you all for tuning in, and I’ll see you next time!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I recently completed my blind playthrough of Astral Chain!   You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I recently completed my playthrough of Final Fantasy VII Remake!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I recently completed my playthrough of the second story campaign in Fire Emblem: Three Houses!   You can view all the streams of the Golden Deer and Black Eagles routes I have done by clicking here!

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You should also go pledge to Gio’s Patreon–our Discord server maintenance tech, creator of Rubybot, and community Minecraft server overlord deserves far more than I can afford to pledge to him by myself.

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It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

I may have been one of the earlier Steven Universe liveblogs, but a whole community of livebloggers has sprung up over the last five years!   I linked to a bunch individually for a few wrap-ups, but honestly, this end-slate is already eight billion miles long, so I’m just gonna link to my links page.  Click here if you want recommendations of other livebloggers, or other neat people, or webcomics and podcasts that I recommend.

[sideways-eight-train]

Thought this was in Queue, but it was actually in drafts, have it anyway:

Infinity Train Book 2 Episode Titles, Descriptions, and Thoughts

Episode 1: The Black Market Car

"Mirror Tulip tries to create a new life for herself outside the Mirror World."

So, I saw this episode today at the end of the Book 1 Marathon. BUT we do get to see how MT changes their apperance, and it was a lot of fun to waych it!

Episode 2: The Family Tree Car

Mirror Tulip and Jesse climb down a real live family tree.

Again, the end of the Episode 1 kind of gave away some of the surprise for this! In Book 1, we saw that Tulip changed cars at the end of each episode, and every car had some sort of resolution at the end. This is the first where we have 2 episodes set in the same car, yet I think they will still feel like completely different worlds. Also, we will see the first interactions between MT and Jesse as travel buddies!

Episode 3: The Map Car

Mirror Tulip tries to help Jesse get his number down.

So, the two probably decently like eachother after the events in Episode 2, otherwiser MT wouldn't be helping Jesse. In the trailer, the Map Car seemed to suggest some foreshadowing with the line about how putting pieces together reveals where they need to go or something like that. I think I am most excited to analyze this episode.

Episode 4: The Toad Car

Mirror Tulip and Jesse get stuck in a car and face an unusual dilemma.

The "toad" mixed with "unusual dilemma" makes me think this will be funny. But if I learned anything from Book 1, it's that every episode is serious, and the ones that seem more laid back are actually important (think: Ball Pit Car)

Episode 5: The Parasite Car

Mirror Tulip and Jesse gain an unexpected companion.

A new companion? I am tempted to already not trust them just because I like Trios, and because the car litterally has parasite in the name. But it would be interesting for a new character to join halfway. Is it a recurring character? Another passenger? A inhabitant of the train? I kind of want it to be a passenger, just for more dramatics.

Episode 6: The Lucky Cat Car

Mirror Tulip and Jesse enter a carnival car and have to compete for the exit.

Here is where we get to see if The Cat has good intentions. Maybe she helps the group in her own way, even if it is not straightforward. I honestly do not think The Cat will join forces with the antagonists again just because that was already done.

Episode 7: The Mall Car

Someone mysterious invites Jesse and Mirror Tulip into a mall car.

Calling it now, this mysterious person is the Flecs. Something big is going to happen in this episode. It is the 7th episode, so it is kind of the start of the climax, even it is just an unsettling feeling.

Episode 8: The Wasteland

Mirror Tulip finds herself in the wasteland outside the train.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no. I think we are going to see those Goam, but I also want to see more Wasteland creatures! Also there is not mention of Jesse, is he in trouble?

Episode 9: The Tape Car

Mirror Tulip searches for answers.

I am kind of worried about what MT found out in the Wasteland that causes them to need answers. Also, it seems like MT and Jesse are still split up. Perhaps the answer they are looking for is where Jesse is?

Episode 10: The Number Car

Mirror Tulip fights for her right to make her own choices.

Ultimate fight against the Flecs, I'm guessing. The name of the Car makes me think it has something to do with the numbers on passenger's hands. The problem is, I STILL DON'T SEE JESSE! WHERE IS HE! Maybe he pulls a dues ex machina?

[anistarrose]

Theories on the Infinity Train Book 2 episode titles:

For reference, they are:

Monday 1/6 - The Black Market Car / The Family Tree Car

Mirror Tulip tries to create a new life for herself outside the Mirror World./ Mirror Tulip and Jesse climb down a real live family tree.

Tuesday 1/7 - The Map Car / The Toad Car

Mirror Tulip tries to help Jesse get his number down./ Mirror Tulip and Jesse get stuck in a car and face an unusual dilemma.

Wednesday 1/8 - The Parasite Car / The Lucky Cat Car

Mirror Tulip and Jesse gain an unexpected companion./Mirror Tulip and Jesse enter a carnival car and have to compete for the exit.

Thursday 1/9 - The Mall Car / The Wasteland

Someone mysterious invites Jesse and Mirror Tulip into a mall car./Mirror Tulip finds herself in the wasteland outside the train.

Friday 1/10 - The Tape Car / The Number Car

Mirror Tulip searches for answers./ Mirror Tulip fights for her right to make her own choices.

Warning: depending on how many of these predictions I get right, this post will probably have some degree of spoilers for Book 2!

“The Black Market Car” doesn’t give us a whole lot to go on, but it’s presumably one of the first few cars Jesse finds on the train, much like The Grid Car was for Tulip. Presumably, this is where MT and Jesse will meet.

“The Family Tree Car” is probably going to expand on Jesse’s backstory, considering the emphasis on family that we see in the trailer.

“The Map Car” is shown rather prominently in the trailer, and also confirms that both MT and Alan Dracula will join up by the beginning of Episode 3, at the very latest.

It’s also in the Map Car that we see the apparent first encounter with the Flecs, since they emerge from the water and onto the broken compass that Jesse and friends used to get across the ocean.

“The Lucky Cat Car” is interesting because we first see a maneki-neko in an otherwise empty field, but one also appears in the Book 2 poster, which features the carnival scene we see the Cat and the crane game appear in. These two maneki-neko actually have slightly different appearances - the one in the carnival is a lighter color with different characters on its coin.

If we really zoom in on the cat we see in the field, we can make out a door - and a door that doesn’t have the rounded shape or golden handle of the normal train doors, at that. According to Wikipedia, maneki-neko are often placed at the entrances of businesses, so maybe this door leads to the underground carnival? The carnival seems to have a recurring cat theme with the carousel, so it would make sense for the entrance to be cat-themed too.

“The Wasteland” is the only episode in either book, other than “The Engine,” to lack the “-car” suffix, representative of how we’re going off the train altogether. What’s more, the description suggests that MT is separated from Jesse. Crack theory: Maybe Alan Dracula originates not from the train itself, but from the surrounding wasteland?

I don’t have as many theories about the remaining two episodes - maybe “The Tape Car” could show where the tapes are made, but it could also potentially be a misnomer, like how “The Past Car” was technically still set in the Ball Pit Car despite showing Amelia and Alrick’s past. But in any case, I’m extremely hyped for next January!

[burritodetodo]

Owen Dennis at Argentina Comic Con 8/12/2019

Infinity Train creator @oweeeeendennis came to Brazil’s CCXP and Argentina Comic Con to talk about the series. But here, of course, we’re talking about what happened on Buenos Aires so here we go.

The panel began with a Best Of Book 1 clip made by CN Latam with key moments of the first ten episodes. Then, the interviewer asked OD about the origin of the series and he told about his trip to China after his break from art school and how he got into Cartoon Network by working on Regular Show: “RS is great, I love RS”, where he learned everything about the industry.

As you may know, the pilot aired on November 2016 and it skyrocketed on social media and Youtube until the US Elections. Owen feared Trump’s win would crash the Train popularity, but it didn’t affect and fan response kept on coming. One of the changes was the origin of The Steward, who initially came from an asteroid but the idea was disregarded.

About Tulip, the fact that she was left handed was for practical reasons so some stuff could be seen. Her surname, Olsen, is a common one from Minesotta. The action was going to be set on a plane, but it wasn’t a good idea so Owen asked his dad and he said “a train” so it was a better idea. It also wasn’t a good idea Tulip speaking alone for 11 minutes, so One One was created after drawing a circle, the legs and ta-da! The happy sidekick was a clichè, so they made the sad one that felt more original. Atticus was only going to be on Episode 3, but he was so fun to write that he remained on the season.

The Cat is one of Owen’s favorites because she’s unpredictable, while Amelia was described as the “Magnetto of Professor X”, the “final product if Tulip didn’t change” her mind. As for the episodes, most of them came not only from Owen, but also from the writers like Episode 5′s divorce scene that was an experience one of the writers (Justin) had. The show relects kids and adults that are going through the same experiences. The partners also helped him while he had mind blocks, but Owen did take breaks and one piece of advice was that, to take some breaks and not be working 24/7 to improve.

ABOUT BOOK 2: there wasn’t too much info, same as the first book. But Owen said the main theme of the season is going to be identity, about who you are and why you are. He likes “a lot” this Book. Hype baby!

SHORT ONES:

There are inspirations on Doctor Who and VHS tapes for the show

“The numbers are relative to Tulip’s feelings”

Owen’s Book 1 favorite is The BALL PIT CAR!

Infinity Train did happen on Tulip’s reality. It is not a fantasy, she got on there for five months and her parents didn’t know her whereabouts

No airdate for Latinamerica yet

The announcer gave Owen a spoon of dulce de leche* and this was his reaction:

After the panel there was a meet and greet and I could at least say hi and got a picture** with the man. Sadly I couldn’t tell him more.

You can find the livestream of the panel on CN Latam’s Youtube channel

*it’s a sort of jam made of milk. Also known as caramel milk, manjar in Chile or dulce de cajeta in Mexico. 

**not available yet because they didn’t upload them...

[funkymbtifiction]

Infinity Train: Tulip Olsen [ESTJ]

UNOFFICIAL TYPING BY: molybdxnum 

Functional Order: Te-Si-Ne-Fi

Judging Functional Axis:

Extroverted Thinking (Te) / Introverted Feeling (Fi)

Tulip is a very logical girl who values facts over anything else. Her focus is on efficiency; she doesn’t care why this magical train exists, she just wants to figure out how to get off as quickly as possible, and she gets frustrated when obstacles block her path. Tulip believes that everything has rules, and she’s quick to apply real-world logic as she knows it to new situations she encounters (“This is a train. Trains have conductors. Maybe the conductor can help me.”). One of the very first things Tulip tells One-One is that you have to “work first, so you can enjoy the fun later,” and it’s clear that she takes her work very seriously. Her inferior Fi shows in how she tends to shut others out of her life when things get too emotional or complicated. She has a strict set of values that she won’t compromise on, holding her parents to an impossible standard when they get divorced and refusing to sympathize with them because she feels they have wronged her. At the start of the show, she sees her feelings as unnecessary, but she eventually realizes that she needs to learn to accept them in order to lead a happy life.

Perceiving Functional Axis:

Introverted Sensing (Si) / Extroverted Intuition (Ne)

The episode “The Cat’s Car” is entirely devoted to exploring Tulip’s memories, and from what we see there, it’s clear that they’re incredibly subjective. It takes a lot of effort for her to focus on reality rather than her emotionally charged perceptions: the family vacation to DolphWorld wasn’t actually perfect, and her parents aren’t actually monsters who got divorced out of spite (though to be fair, the tape’s magic amplified these feelings). The highly personalized nature of her memories is also evident in the Crystal Car, when the song that makes Tulip most emotional is one that her family used to sing on road trips. Tulip’s Si combines with Te in new situations to immediately figure out what solutions worked in the past so she can use them in the present or future; it’s clear that she places a lot of value on the past. Her lower Ne comes out in the rare instances where Tulip enjoys herself on the train. There are two good examples of this: the first in “The Grid Car,” when she gets excited about all the possibilities of structures she could build out of blocks, and the second in “The Ball Pit Car,” when she indulges her childish side to make her way through the playground. She’s witty, creative, and always easily able to adapt to the new ideas and situations she’s confronted with on the train, but Ne is clearly lower in her stack because she uses these traits only to “play,” never as a long-term solution.

[worangetraveler-multiverseguide]

Rambling on: Infinity Train 6-8

I initially did a liveblog of Infinity Train but by episode 6 while still interested, I was unsure how to tackle the episode that in a two-combo irony would be A) important in hindsight and B) would have kicked me in the proverbial balls if I actually had made the joke I wanted were I found Atticus “boring”. So after cancelling all liveblogging I finally marathoned the rest of Infinity Train and wanna talk about it, loosely yes but still talk about it so... were was I?

The Unfinished Car: Basically a tale of how people (or turtles I guess) deal with something “broken” and still make it work because despite how bad or weird stuff is, people always finds a way to move on... which Tulip comes to realise while One-One has an existential crisis and tries to “fix” the car almost dooming everything... metaphors? what’s that? I gotta admit  until the point I stopped liveblogging the episode while interesting I didnt knew where it was going... and was honestly bored of Atticus antics and planning a post to address this, it didnt RUIN the episode or anything, it was just “meh” (except he “convincing” Tulip to stay a while, that was adorable and hillarious.

The episode in itself was quite regular and I liked it enough... more on that later

The Chrome Car: initial hijinxs were cute but the second Mirror Tulip/Lapis Tulip/Horseradish (if I feel mean) enter the picture (eh) it was a strain of “WHAT!?!?” from me, and overall this episode was a ride enjoyable, interesting by being the second most “in a vaccum free” episode (more on that in another post). Also a lovely moment of Tulip “talking with herself” yes Mirror Tullp wants to be different but on the core she IS Tulip at least in memory enough to tell Tulip “stop bottling yourself and talk your shit”

By the end Mirror Tulip is free to roam the train and if we dont see her during season 2 we riot!

The Ball Pit Car: I was expecting horrible stuff to happen since not even CN was chill about this the next day, Initially I thought the “balls” were gonna be pieces of the train as we saw in episodes 3 and 6 but the reality was more MORE striking... specially cause for the first 7 minutes of the episode we had the most adorable and innocent of takes of a car for childish wonder... I hate it cause something was lurking in my head AND IN THE BACKGROUND! (only saw the steward once but they seem to appear like 3 times before they fully show up)

And so the last 5 minutes happen... and then my guilt/relief over not making that post of “Atticus is boring” hit me like a truck... a big bad truck... and I cried... and cried... and inmediatly went for the next episode :P In the end turns out im a binger at heart

But now for the rest of this? I think gonna try to think a bit more cause wanna talk about the train itself too, so see ya soon with the continuation/conclusion?

[mmikmmik2]

some hcs about Tulip readjusting to life off of the train:

Tulip's very first attempt to explain about the train came out as incoherent rambling, like when she first met the cat or when she said goodbye to One-One. Shortly after that, the adrenaline crash hit (two separate life-or-death combats in one day!) and she broke down crying and/or passed out. Tulip's parents were obviously also very emotional, so even when Tulip managed to say something that made sense, they had trouble following her. So it took a few hours to get the basics of her story across.

Tulip's fish died because her mom Megan wasn't taking good care of them. (It took her a while to remember them after realizing Tulip was missing, and Tulip had insisted on handling the aquarium herself so Megan didn't really understand how to care for them.) Tulip understandably got mad about it and yelled, which was weirdly reassuring to her parents. It helped them see the continuity between Tulip's personality from before and after the train, which made it easier to believe Tulip seeming calmer wasn't a trauma response or something.

Also was reassuring because an evil vampire version of Tulip or life-stealing mirror doppelganger (hey, they don't know Lake is metal in the prime world and doesn't want Tulip's stupid life) or whatever wouldn't care about fish. But they probably weren't too worried that the person who came back might literally not be Tulip, because you just know that awful kid went straight for the onions within like ten minutes of getting home.

Tulip could not understand a single line of her own code when she returned. A valuable lesson about commenting, formatting, and meaningful variable and function names was learned that day.

Her nightmares have lots of themes of being stuck behind glass or held back, watching other people twist and distort into monsters or robots

It takes her a couple of weeks to stop having random I'M NOT WEARING MY BACKPACK, WHERE IS IT adrenaline spikes

Tulip's first big step to coming to terms with the bad stuff that happened to her on the train happened within a few weeks of disembarking. She reread her train journal (possibly showing parts of it to her parents and/or Mikayla) and completed it with pages on the ball pit car, the engine, and notes on the nature of those teal orbs, tapes, numbers, exits, and conductors.

[friendlylocalgeek]

Infinity Train: A Summation

Wow, this miniseries was a wild ride. From “The Grid Car” to “The Engine”, we’ve followed Tulip and her new friends on some crazy adventures. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve thrown pillows at the TV in shock and frustration at wild plot twists (okay, I didn’t do that last part, but I was tempted)

And now it’s over... for now. “Infinity Train will return”, they say. With a sequel? As a sort of anthology series about some of the other passengers on the Infinity Train? Only time will tell.

I also agree with Tulip that I never thought I’d feel sorry for the Conductor, especially after what they did to Atticus in “The Ball Pit Car”

[kateeorg]

Infinity Train Thoughts

Spoilers under the cut

I quite enjoyed this! I was honestly glad when it was announced to be a mini-series, because I didn't want to see Tulip suffer for years on end trying to get home. But now I'm intrigued about getting to see other characters traverse the train!

I liked that, as in Over the Garden Wall, they put the darkness up front. Creator Owen Dennis has specifically stated he "wanted to avoid the way a lot of animated, adventure-focused shows gradually introduce darkness into the picture after leading with more lighthearted plot lines," and I appreciated that. I'm not a big fan of dark and scary generally, but knowing it would be creepy going in kind of helped, somehow.

 In fact, the ending didn't end up being as bleak as I imagined - Like, so many people were convinced One-One was going to turn evil or Tulip was dead all along or that person in "The Grid Car" had been disintegrated. None of that was true, and I'm glad for it! Not everything has to be worst-case scenario.

Like even though "The Ball Pit Car" was so gutting, it would have been 10x worse if all the episodes leading up to it had been completely silly and lighthearted (plus, I've come to expect that the innocuous sounding episodes in modern cartoons tend to be the most depressing nowadays, so I felt semi-prepared).

Some other observations:

Ashley Johnson and Ernie Hudson's voice work in this is so great. I've been loving Ashley on Critical Role, and her delivery on, "You can't even build a car without any turtles in it!" was thrilling.  Atticus reminded of the fact that Hudson's role in Ghostbusters was originally written to be smarter and more credentialed than the others, instead of the working class everyman he ended up being, and liked seeing the actor channel that here - such different performances! (Also, Rhys Darby from Voltron cameos as Randall in Episode 2, which is always fun)

Atticus is best boy/man  The whole corgi car is still just the best concept, it's a big part of why the original pilot was so lovable, but I also love the new bits like "Ugly Irwin". But even the old bits like "If we tried to cross the treacherous two-foot depths, we would surely drown" and "My people have been working on this technology for decades!" are still hilarious, reminding you these proud beings are still dogs.

I particularly liked the concept behind "The Crystal Car" and all of Tulip's popular song parodies XD. It really drove home the theme of Tulip’s development - you can’t hack the healing process, you have to be authentic and vulnerable to move ahead.

The show never really answered why all the passengers have those videotapes, did it? Like I loved how they used that device more than once in different ways to observe memory, but were they always meant to be a trap, or are they meant to be a last-ditch resort to incite emotional growth, considering the train's true purpose?

Why did The Cat say the conductor was a "he" at the beginning - did she not know, since she could never see the final memory until One-One showed up? Or was she just being misleading? So many questions still!

And why was the Steward in the Corgi Car at all??? Does it have to do with why the Unfinished Car was similar to the Corgi Car?

The idea of The Chrome Car and Tulip lacking a reflection now really weirds me out, but all the stuff the mirror self brought up to Tulip was so eye-opening!

Amelia's backstory, man. The subversion of the Conductor's identity and the connections to the Unfinished Turtle Car and the parallels to Up are so intriguing. 

The subtle hint of Amelia hacking the pay phone with a melody tone in the flashback and the theme song melody being the key to controlling the train (as seen when One-One stops the Steward right near the end) was a particularly nice touch.

Also, note Ulrick's essay topic at the very beginning of the flashback - Alice in Wonderland. A young girl traveling through a nonsensical world with a mysterious cat? Sound familiar? (I would argue there's also a less-intentional parallel to Wizard of Oz - a young girl runs away, then gets swept to another world, finds friends, and learns to appreciate what she left behind)

I would have liked a little more insight on what's changed for Tulip since leaving the train, but what we got was effective for the time it had. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, and this one was definitely earned.

[e350tb]

Infinity Train was apparently inspired by a plane trip Owen Dennis went on.

The fuck kinda planes is he travelling on?

THE CHROME CAR - Sprinkle car XD - Everything's chrome in the future! - Atticus barking at his reflection XD - The door is locked and Tulip's reflection does not match her. - THE REFLECTIONS LIIIIVE - So Tulip has to act as her own reflection, eh? This'll be interesting. - Reflection wants Tulip to cross into the reflection world. Atticus is skeptical and so am I - Yeah I don't trust like that - whoa that was trippy - CHROME TULIP - yeaaaah chrome tulip ain't taking regular tulip with them - yep told ya she wasn't switching back - and she has a divergent personality - oh god mirror one-one and atticus XD - oh my god there's reflection enforcement - the 'flex' XD - mirror atticus and one-one got taken by medics - and given blankets aww - mirror cops - and they call rogue reflections slivers XD - oooh, police brutality! - they just put skin on and it's creeeeepy - reflection tulip can't leave? - all she wants is to be free :( - aww :( this is very real - she convinced mirror to switch back - "Hello Ms. Tulip! We're melting people!" Never change One-One. - She put her in the mirror of her multi-tool! - And they escaped! - Pencil car XD - Mirror's excited about banks XD - Mirror Tulip stayed behind to live her own life. :) I shall call her Pilut! - Tulip took off her glove - the number is down to 3!

THE BALL PIT CAR - oh god it's a business graph car XD and you have to declare bankruptcy to get out! - BALL PIT - She's really let herself calm down. And it's nice to see them all being such good friends infinity train you're gonna hurt me aren't you - Aw, she wants to go home instead of wanting to go to game design camp. She's come so far. - awww atticus - okay that looks like the easter bunny fused with winslow from cat dog - so now they have to return a sacred, jiggly artifact - Aww, this is nice - Oh hey is that Randall in that jar? - OH NO THE ROBOT TENTACLE THING - oh god sneaking past those tentacles in such a confined space - OH GOD THE JIGGLY THING ALERTED IT - ATTICUS NO DON'T SACRIFICE YOURSELF - oh god it's got tulip - oh my god the villain is alpha five - also it's been MONTHS - i think this is the conductor - RUN FOR YOUR LIFE ONE-ONE - oh, the Cat's like a slave or a serf or something - OH SHIT IT JUST BLEW THE SHIT OUT OF THE SLIDE ONE-ONE AND THE CAT WERE IN - she's alone now ;-; - she thinks atticus and one-one are dead ;^; - and the conductor's telling her it's her fault because she took them from their proper places - i've run out of cry text things - ATTICUS LIIIIVES - HE IS THE CONDUCTOR - NO DON'T - ATTIUCS NOOOO - he turned atticus into one of those dogroach things - ONE-ONE LIIIIVES - well, that's me totally emotionally destroyed. SOMEBODY FUCKING HUG TULIP

[thenightking4000]

No way in hell was that darker than the ball pit car. I was just rewatching the ball pit car, and it is way darker. The episode starts out as one of the lightest ones yet. Tulip is almost to zero, everyone is happy, they are taking a break and having fun. Then, in a couple of minutes, it pulls a complete 180. "The Conductor" seemingly kills one-one, and then shoots Atticus in the face, while making Tulip watch, and telling her that it is all her fault and that she is never getting off the train. Everything she cares about has just been taken away, and, to top it all off, Atticus undergoes a horrifying transformation into a soul sucking monster right in front of her. The episode ends with the feeling of complete hopelessness.

Contrast that to Mace's death. Sure, he is graphically ground to nothing on the train wheels, but he has also been the primary antagonist this whole season. He has made Lake's life miserable for months. His final moments were spend taunting and trying to kill her. He had voiced all of Lake's problems and doubts. His death is Lake finally winning. It's unpleasant, but it's a victory.

Mace's death was more graphic, but it was not at all darker.

Most of the IT fandom: “Oh my gosh! MT killed a man in cold blood! How could she do that?! That was darker than the Ball Pit Car…This is a kid’s show for crying out loud!”

Me, remembering how Mace and his partner have hunted down MT for months for the sole purpose of killing her, giving her little to no time to rest or enjoy her newfound freedom, making her paranoid and unwilling to bond/interact with other people: