Recap / Infinity Train S2E5 "The Parasite Car"

Not as symbiotic as it seems.
Credit: Character designer Allison Kim

Written by Justin Michael
Storyboarded by Jacob Winkler & Jessie Wong

Alan Dracula is infected by a talking parasite when the group travels through a flower-filled car.

---

Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: Perry gets the group's names wrong so many times it seems like he's not really trying.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The parasite is making Alan Dracula bigger, until he gets trapped inside the food pyramid with his head breaking through the roof.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Perry presents himself as being helpful to the group but barely makes an effort to remember their names and is eventually found out to be more concerned with having a body in spite of Alan Dracula's wishes.
• Camp: In between the Flower Field Car and the Food Car is some sort of Fashion Car where all visitors must dress up and vogue on a runway before judges if they want to move on. The hostess is very much like a flamboyant drag performer.
• Casting Gag:
  • Sashay is a drag performer played by a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race.
  • Bill Corbett, best known for starring in a puppet show, plays a Puppeteer Parasite.
• Chekhov's Gun: The flower that made Alan Dracula sneeze is used to force Perry out of the deer's mouth.
• Chekhov's Skill: When Alan Dracula sneezed at the beginning, he froze Jesse. After Jesse makes him sneeze with a flower, Perry the Parasite is covered in ice.
• Dressed in Layers: Jesse wears a dress for the fashion show, but apparently didn't want to bother changing and just puts it on over all of his regular clothes.
• Expy: The announcer in the Runway Car, Sashay, is clearly one of a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant, with her even being voiced by one.
• Fighting from the Inside: Alan Dracula keeps trying to reassert control, causing his powers to go haywire as he fights off the parasite.
• Food Porn: The food-themed car is full of this.
• Foreshadowing: During Alan Dracula/Perry's show in the Fashion Car, an extra snout comes poking out momentarily before his body "malfunctions". Later, it turns out the extra snout is really Alan Dracula's personality fighting Perry's influence for control of its body.
• Identity Amnesia: When a reflection's Prime dies, they can either have their memories erased and get a new Prime, or keep their memories and join the Mirror Police.
• Kissing Warm-Up: Jesse asks if someone — not him! — practiced kissing in a mirror, whether their reflection would see it.
• A Lizard Named "Liz": The parasite objects to being called that and would rather be called Perry.
• Level Ate: The food-car has a literal food pyramid filled with all types of delicious edibles.
• Puppeteer Parasite: Perry the Parasite is able to control Alan Dracula's body by hopping into his mouth.
• Towering Flower: The flowers in the Parasite Car get taller and taller as the team heads towards the exit, perhaps due to the same effect that the parasite exerts on Alan Dracula.
• True Companions: Perry says he can read Alan Dracula's mind and, besides wanting to eat grass, all he thinks about is how much he loves Jesse and M.T.
• Visual Pun: The food car has a food pyramid that's built like an Egyptian pyramid.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: Perry tries to win Jesse and M.T. over by claiming that by controlling Alan Dracula, he can give them a version of the deer that actually listens to what they want. But they reject the idea, because it wouldn't be the same deer they know and love.
  Jesse: We don't like him because he listens! We like him because he's Alan Dracula!
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Both Jesse and Alan Dracula (or rather, Perry wearing Alan's body) are wearing dresses and wigs when they perform for the Runway Car.

---