Infinity Train - A train full of creativity and mystery

Recently an American animated series is having a peak in popularity on the internet among animation fans and casual viewers, especially on Twitter and YouTube. This very peculiar cartoon is called Infinity Train.

It is an anthology series developed from a pilot episode released in 2016 among the shorts for Cartoon Network’s new proposals. The pilot episode immediately fascinated the audience, forming soon a large fan following that created fanart and theories over the story that could be developing from the pilot’s premise.

The short’s protagonist is Tulip Olsen, a young teenager from Minnesota, who is unwillingly on a mysterious train. Its apparently infinite cars contain each a small world with a particular theme, and finding the exit often requires passing a test or solving a puzzle. What’s more, Tulip has a glowing number on the palm of her right hand! So not only she is on a mysterious train without knowing how to go home, but she also has to understand the meaning of that number. This premise presented in the pilot episode is kept intact and further explored in the series. Through the first season it becomes clear that the passengers on the train have personal problems to solve: the number represents the progress they are making towards the resolution or acceptance of the problem, reaching zero means being ready to go back home. 

Each season follows the journey of a different protagonist together with their companions, who can be other passengers or train denizens. In a similar fashion to the series Avatar: the last airbender, the seasons are called “books”, each with a specific theme and slightly different tone in the narration:

• Book 1: The perennial child (2019, Cartoon Network)

Acceptance of change and understanding of others (Tulip processes her parents’ divorce)

• Book 2: Cracked reflection (2020, Cartoon Network)

Defining your own personal identity and doing what is right for yourself and not in order to follow other’s opinion (MT fights to be recognized as a person, Jesse has to learn to be less of a people pleaser)

• Book 3: Cult of the Conductor (2020, HBO Max)

The danger of not admitting you’re wrong when you discover something that changes your perspective, the persistence of an ideology versus the will to atone for a wrongdoing (Simon and Grace misunderstand the purpose of the train, trying to raise their numbers and forming a group of kids based on the hierarchy of the “highest/most powerful number”. They believe the train is a paradise and that the denizens are akin to NPCs in a video game)

• Book 4: Duet (2021, HBO Max)

Fear of the future, following your dreams, communicating and not running away from problems (Min-Gi and Ryan are entering the adult world with opposite approaches, risking to drift away and lose their long-time friendship)

The official season posters in chronological order
(click to see in full view)

Each season features ten episodes of eleven minutes each, and it uses every scene to the best to guarantee a fantastic experience thanks to the surreal atmosphere of the cars and the personal growth of the characters. Even though this is an anthology series, the passengers’ adventures are tied by a common thread related to the actions of the Conductor and their consequences, that influences everyone’s journey, although indirectly. The figure of the Conductor is shrouded in mystery through the first season, and meeting them is one of the protagonist’s goals. The resolution of this mystery deserves to be appreciated while watching, so I don’t want to ruin the surprise, though I can say that it is a multifaceted character that represents important themes such as loss, change and determination.

Infinity Train manages to put together emotional moments and amusing scenes with a good balance, making this series one of the most memorable animated productions of recent times.

According to the original vision of creator Owen Dennis and the writers, the series should have had eight seasons in order to complete the stories they wanted to tell. However, the higher ups of the famous streaming service HBO Max didn’t renew the series for further seasons, despite the fact a complete script for book 5 already exists, featuring the Conductor as the protagonist and their past. The fans mobilized to demonstrate their strong interest through social media and supporting the series watching it legally on HBO Max, leading it to be among the most trending series in the past weeks. #FinishInfinityTrain became the code word of this initiative, hoping to show the audience’s demand and encourage the investment in this series.

Infinity Train is currently available on the HBO Max platform, and several clips with extracts from the series are available on Cartoon Network and HBO Max official YouTube channels. Unfortunately the series is not available in Italy yet, however we can hope that with the release of the platform in Europe it will be dubbed. The only way to legally watch the series outside of the US is using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that in addition to protecting your data it allows you to change your IP address and bypass the regional blocks imposed by some websites, among which HBO Max.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed, hoping that this series gets the rightful conclusion it deserves!