The Mall Car

**Overview**
Gallery
Transcript

## **Guide**

"**The Mall Car**" is the 7th episode of Season 2 of *Infinity Train* and the 17th episode overall. It aired on January 9, 2020.

## Synopsis

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

## Plot

Grace introduces Jesse and MT to her clan, the Apex; children who want to stay on the train and worship Amelia's takeover before One-One regained his place. Grace takes Jesse under her wing and they visit the next car while MT stays in the taken over Mall Car to look for Alan who has been taken by the rest of the Apex. Grace tells Jesse that they consider MT a "null" a person who does not have a number and therefore is a nobody. They convince him to act recklessly which causes his number to slowly rise. MT rescues Alan from the rest of Apex, but they decide to throw them off the train. Jesse arrives in time to rescue her and Grace unleashes the Flecs on them. Jesse's number goes down to 0 and the portal back home opens. However, MT cannot enter it and despite his efforts to turn back Jesse is forcibly sucked back home, leaving a distraught MT to be cornered.

## Features

### Characters

* Mirror Tulip
* Jesse Cosay
* Alan Dracula
* The Apex
	+ Grace Monroe
	+ Simon Laurent
	+ Todd (debut)
	+ Lucy (debut, mentioned; deleted scene)
* The Flecs
	+ Agent Sieve
	+ Agent Mace
* Amelia Hughes (indirectly mentioned)
* One-One (indirectly mentioned)
* Tulip Olsen (indirectly mentioned)

### Locations

* Wasteland
* Infinity Train
	+ Mall Car (debut)
	+ Cube Car (debut)
	+ Lucky Cat Car (appears in background)
* Arizona (through the Exit Door)

## Trivia

* **End tag:** M.T. looking at her reflection in her hand while on board the Infinity Train.
* Several vandalized stores in the background of the Mall Car, including Old Gravy, Sierra's, Soggy Donuts, Dagan Häas, and Democratic Banana are a reference to the stores and food brands, Old Navy, Sears, Dunkin' Donuts, Häagen-Dazs, and Banana Republic.
* Incidentally, Simon and Grace's introduction as antagonists in the seventh episode of the season prior to taking the role of protagonists in Book 3 mirrors the introduction of M.T. in "The Chrome Car," the seventh episode of Book 1.
* The version of this episode released on HBO Max did not include end credits, much like all odd-number episodes of the series during its event airings (episodes were aired two at a time, with the first episode lacking end credits).

### Continuity

* Simon, who was first teased in "The Engine" alongside Grace, appears in this episode as the second-in-command of The Apex.
* Grace warns Jesse against pointing his harpoons at his face, claiming he doesn't want to end up like Lucy. This character is later properly introduced to the audience in "The Musical Car" and is shown to wear an eyepatch.
* The Flecs return, after their last appearance in "The Toad Car".

### Behind the scenes

* A mall car was part of the original pitch for *Infinity Train*, where it would have been the sixth episode of the initial 10-episode run. In this unmade episode, One-One was replaced by a cowbird's egg (a parasitic bird) while the group was exploring an endless mall full of potato people coming out of a mannequin's chest. The concept was scrapped as it had little to do with Tulip's emotional journey and was replaced by "The Unfinished Car."
* Alex Horab was not originally supposed to write this episode: he swapped "The Parasite Car" with Justin Michael due to having trouble writing Perry.
* The A on the door of the Mall Car was a detail that was added in Book Three: Owen Dennis had to go back to this episode and draw it in during post-production.
* Jenna Davis is credited as the character Lucy, who appears in the background and later makes a notable appearance in "The Musical Car." Lucy was supposed to feature in a scene that was cut for time set while Simon and Grace are explaining the Apex to Jesse and M.T.: Horab describes it as having "cult vibes".
	+ Grace's line "You don't want to end up like Lucy" when Jesse aims the harpoon at his eye was supposed to be a callback to this scene, but ended up foreshadowing Lucy's proper introduction in "The Musical Car."
* Owen Dennis was very specific in staging how Grace would physically separate M.T. from Jesse: putting her hands on his shoulder or standing between the two of them. Alex Horab made sure Grace addresses Jesse by name multiple times while avoiding saying M.T.’s name: this is a tactic common among cult leaders, to create a fake bond with people.
	+ Sam Spina's comic "What it's like to be a Storyboard Artist on *Infinity Train*" is partly inspired by his exasperated reaction to Dennis' specificity in direction for Grace.
* Kellye Perdue’s boarding for the scene in the Cube Car influenced how Grace was written moving forward, particularly her dance-like moves as she talks to Jesse.
* Although not named in the episode, the green ghost's name is "Fyodor."

### Errors

* Simon's wave mark is missing in the scene Jesse stands up for himself and his friends against the Apex.

## Gallery

*Click here to view this page's gallery.*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Book 2 DVD Commentary: "The Mall Car"
2. ↑ Sam Spina: "What it's like to be a Storyboard Artist *Infinity Train*"

Infinity Train (pilot)

**Book One**
The Grid Car • The Beach Car • The Corgi Car • The Crystal Car • The Cat's Car • The Unfinished Car • The Chrome Car • The Ball Pit Car • The Past Car • The Engine

**Minisodes**
The Green Car • The Tiny Wizard Car • The Kaiju Car • The Tech Support Car • The Snow Car • The Hill Car • The Movie Theater Car • The Cross-Eyed Ducks Car • The Minecart Car • The Wedding Cake Car

**Book Two**
The Black Market Car • The Family Tree Car • The Map Car • The Toad Car • The Parasite Car • The Lucky Cat Car • **The Mall Car** • The Wasteland • The Tape Car • The Number Car

**Book Three**
The Musical Car • The Jungle Car • The Debutante Ball Car • Le Chat Chalet Car • The Color Clock Car • The Campfire Car • The Canyon of the Golden Winged Snakes Car • The Hey Ho Whoa Car • The Origami Car • The New Apex

**Book Four**
The Twin Tapes • The Iceberg Car • The Old West Car • The Pig Baby Car • The Astro Queue Car • The Party Car • The Art Gallery Car • The Mega Maze Car • The Castle Car • The Train to Nowhere