Prepare for the darkest season yet.
Written by Justin Michael
Storyboarded by Kellye Perdue & Ryann Shannon
Storyboarded by Kellye Perdue & Ryann Shannon
Grace and Simon, the leaders of a dubious group called the Apex, are separated from the pack under mysterious circumstances.
Tropes:
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While inspecting the rewards/junk brought to her by the younger subordinates, Grace happily tells them that she'll cherish each item and store them in her collection. Once they leave, she discards them without a care.
- Brick Joke: The song Jesse kept trying to sing in "The Family Tree Car" is finally heard in full when performed in the titular Musical Car.
- Call-Back:
- The song in the Musical Car is the same one Jesse wrote the previous season.
- Several corgis now reside in the Unfinished Car thanks to King Atticus' alliance decree.
- In "The Mall Car", Grace tells Jesse to be careful with the harpoon or else he'll "end up like Lucy". Sure enough, one of the girls who gives Grace presents is wearing an eyepatch.
- Childhood Friends: Grace and Simon seem to have known each other at least since the latter was ten.
- Collector of the Strange: Grace owns a collection of knee-pads while Simon collects miniature models and people.
- Conspicuously Light Patch: The mask that Grace grabs is already evident before she even notices it.
- Darker and Edgier: Not that Infinity Train was all sunshine and rainbows already, but this episode sets the tone for a season that goes into some very dark places. The show's title forms over the smoldering remains of the musical car is a clear warning that we're in for quite the ride in Book 3.
- Dramatic Irony: You know how Amelia made the Unfinished Car in order to give her some semblance of Alrick? Also the fact that she's the Conductor? Grace and Simon have no idea of its significance and treat it as another car to raid.
- Everything Sensor: Simon has a device which is able to detect passengers in the cars, and can do so over a considerable distance, if not the entire length of the train.
- Expressive Mask: Grace's mask matches her expressions while she's wearing it, even matching her lips as she speaks.
- Faked Gift Acceptance: Grace tells the Apex kids she loves their home-made gifts and will keep them in her room, even though she thinks they're junk and plans to toss them at her earliest convenience.
- Fate Worse than Death: Simon decides to keep the wounded spotlight Null so he can use them as a prop for his workshop.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: A green line scans the Unfinished Car before it suddenly moves.
- Inciting Incident: Had Grace not decided to go raid one more car, and it was not specifically the Unfinished Car, the entire book would not happen.
- Kick the Dog:
- The Apex trashes the Musical Car, tearing down the set and destroying its inhabitants.
- They follow this up by attacking the Unfinished Car, though karma bites Grace and Simon when the car moves while they're stuck inside.
- Mood Whiplash: The first scene is set to an upbeat song by the titular Musical Car only for everything to go to ruin once the Apex arrive and destroy everything.
- Mutually Unequal Relation: Exploited. In the first episode of Season 3, after raiding a musical cart, many of the young Apex kids offer items they took from the cart to their leaders Grace and Simon. Grace, who knows the children by name, acts like she has a special relationship with all of them, promising to cherish each item they bought her and store them in her special collection, while telling the child to keep it a secret from the other children that she's doing that. This is an act to make the children loyal to her, as once they leave, she discards the items without a care.
- Party Scattering: Grace and Simon are separated from the rest of the Apex when the Unfinished Car starts to move while the Apex is in the process of raiding it. The kids escape, but Simon is pinned by rubble and Grace has to free him, delaying them long enough for the car to start moving. They escape the car mid-transit, but are stranded 47 cars away from the Apex.
- Rule of Symbolism: The only remaining denizen in the Musical Car is a tragedy mask, foreshadowing how the entire Book is going to be a tragedy.
- Shout-Out: The musical being performed is called Empathy Goes.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The opening scene features an upbeat, campy musical number set to Grace and Simon, the leaders of the chaotic Apex cult, preparing for a new carnage.
- Throne Made of X: Grace's throne consists of skateboards, skis and hockey sticks.
- Unholy Matrimony: Heavily implied with Grace and Simon as they playfully engage in fun banter with each other all while organizing their insidious cult activities.
