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| Image Courtesy of slashfilm |
After season 2’s dramatic
finale, season 3 of Infinity Train picks up the storyline of Grace, the
leader of the Apex gang. We first met this gang of bandits and rebels when they
attempted to kill MT for “misleading” Jesse into trying to leave the train. The
Apex gang, led by Grace and Simon roam from car to car attempting to raise their
numbers as high as they can get them by attacking the denizens they call “nulls,”
based on their belief that they are nothing and can therefore be taken
advantage of however they see fit.
Grace and Simon are
separated from the Mall Car where the Apex gang make their hide out, and are trying
to find their way back when the meet Hazel, another passenger with her friend Tuba,
a large gorilla with a tuba on it’s back. Grace and Simon set to work trying to
separate the two, much in the same way they attempted to separate MT and Jesse
in the second season. Their attempts to make Hazel another member of the gang,
and the adventures they have along the way create the darkest season of Infinity
Train, but in some ways it is the most emotionally resonant season as well.
The fun and whimsy of the
cars is overshadowed by the Apex gang’s philosophy that nulls can be abused and
taken advantage of because they are not real people. We know that MT’s
struggles to define herself as a person was the central concept in season 2,
and her success in that endeavor shows us that the Apex gang is wrong about the
nulls. This makes watching them destroy train cars and beat up denizens all the
more painful to watch. The characters themselves resist developing through the
train but are developed for the audience not through their actions, but by alluding
to events that we do not witness, or witness in some small part.
Image Courtesy of Comicbook.com
Tuba mentions she had
children at one point and references some traumatic incident where she lost
them, although it is never mentioned what specifically happened. The cat and
Simon have a history that although developed throughout the season leaves a lot
of unanswered questions. Simon and Grace leave a lot unsaid as well, as they have
spent years smashing through and raiding cars together, with little thought to
the denizens that they harm.
While the second season focused
on what it means to have personhood, the third season focuses on another
complex concept: empathy. The Apex gang takes pride in their lack of it, and as
the season progresses lines are drawn between characters based on who they are
able to empathize with. Grace begins to trust the denizens more, and Simon
cannot understand why things would change if they were going so well before.
The growing rift between Simon and Grace causes Simon immense pain, which leads
him to make rasher and rasher decisions as the show gets darker and darker.
One of the most intriguing
things about Infinity Train are the storylines that are picked up.
Although this season set up several arcs, any of which would make for an
excellent fourth season, it is unlikely that we will see fleshed out.
Both Cartoon Network and HBOMax did not want to renew the show for a fourth season, creator Owen Dennis said in an interview. The networks worried that the show was no longer accessible to children, and cited the unfortunately low number of views the show has received since it was picked up on the streaming platform. Fortunately, Owens did say that if the show received a lot more views, there was potential for a fourth season. If you have enjoyed the first two season, give the third a watch and tell your friends to do the same. Hopefully a season 4 will be picked up, but that remains in the hands of viewers like you.
-Patrick Bernas
