The Wasteland

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The Wasteland
Season	2
Episode	8
Overall	18
Broadcast Information
Air Date	January 9, 2020
Air Time	7:45
Production Code	V208
Viewers	458,000
Credits
Written by	Lindsay Katai
Storyboard by	Ryan Pequin Annisa Adjani Madeline Queripel Sarah Soh
Guide
Previous	"The Mall Car"
Next	"The Tape Car"

"The Wasteland" is the 8^th episode of Season 2 of Infinity Train and the 18^th episode overall. It aired on January 9, 2020.

Synopsis

Mirror Tulip finds herself in the wasteland outside the train.

Plot

As M.T. cries over losing Jesse, Grace and Simon bemoan the fact that Jesse took the opportunity to exit the train, with Simon claiming he was weak while Grace claims he was just misled. The Flecs soon launch their attack, chasing M.T. and Alan Dracula out onto the roof of the next car. M.T. manages to get rid of Sieve with her harpoon pack, but Mace corners her and cuffs himself to her. Before they can do more, one of the other train cars shifts and forces the three of them to leap off of the train and into the surrounding wasteland, with Mace's lower body getting bisected in the process.

Mace ties up his coat to stop his fluid from leaking and taunts M.T's futile attempt at escape, claiming she should have simply followed mirror law and become a part of the Reflection Police like Mace did when his prime died. Still shackled to the crippled Mace and unwilling to return to the train, M.T. resolves to cut her losses and escape through the wasteland. However, their attempts fail: they find their way blocked by a force that is dragging them back to the train. A group of Ghoms come up from the ground and give chase, with Alan Dracula using his horns to form a protective shield which Lake goes into, reluctantly bringing Mace as well. Mace continues to mock M.T. for thinking she served any other purpose than helping Jesse on his adventure, as all denizens are supposed to do for the passengers: he soon plays with her mind, asking what she planned to do if she made it to the real world, and wonders aloud if perhaps the train had Tulip enter the Chrome Car specifically so M.T. could get out. He laughingly points out that M.T.'s role as Jesse's companion makes her little more than just his reflection. M.T. resolves that she is her own person and she will get off the train by getting her own number.

M.T. uses a combination of the train's pull and her harpoon pack to escape the Ghoms and get back on the train. As she tries to get onto the roof so she can hitch a ride on the Passenger Transportation Pods, Mace makes a last bid to get rid of M.T, leading her to slam him into the wheels of the train, grinding him to death. Recovering after her actions, M.T. and Alan Dracula wait on the roof of the train for a pod.

Features

Characters

• Mirror Tulip
• Alan Dracula
• The Flecks
  • Mace (death)
  • Sieve
• The Apex
  • Grace Monroe
  • Simon Laurent
• Gohms
• Tulip Olsen (mentioned)
• Jesse Cosay (mentioned)

Locations

• Wasteland
• Infinity Train
  • Mall Car

Trivia

• End tag: M.T. looking at her reflection in her hand while on board the Infinity Train.
• The song Mace sings to taunt M.T. is a take on the Christmas carol "I Saw Three Ships."
• The death of Agent Mace received some attention online due to its shockingly violent nature for a series marketed to a family audience.
  • It is worth noting that, in terms of episode number, the episode ending with a shocking moment runs parallel with the end of "The Ball Pit Car" and Atticus's transformation into a Ghom. This has been referred to by fans as "the episode 8 curse," though Dennis noted on his Twitter account that "it takes 3 to make a pattern. There's only been 2."
  • According to Owen Dennis through the Book Two Reddit AMA it was not difficult to get Mace's death approved by Cartoon Network. Dennis provided a heads-up for the inclusion of death scene and the studio's only concern was if the character was human or not. Not anticipating CN to approve such a scene Lindsay Katai originally wrote the episode alluding to the idea that Mace had a brutal death only to be told by Dennis that they were going to show every second of the scene.
  • Said sequence was censored in this episode's airing on Cartoon Network in Latin America.
• The conversation between Mace and M.T. about the nature of the Chrome Car and the Mirror World is recycled from cut dialogue that Katai wrote into "The Chrome Car" between M.T. and Mirror One.
• "The Wasteland" is the first ever non-finale episode to not have the word "Car" in its name. The second being "The Twin Tapes" for the series' fourth season.

Continuity

• Mace is the first character to die onscreen in Infinity Train.

Behind the scenes

• Writer Lindsay Katai refers to this episode as one of her favorite things she has ever written.
• Ryan Pequin storyboarded an extended chase scene through the mall that had to be cut for time. Katai describes it as an incredibly complicated scene, featuring mice in formalwear, a merry-go-round, and Alan Dracula turning into both a stick of butter and a security guard that tases Mace. Owen Dennis was not a fan of the security guard idea, although the other writers thought it was funny.
• Katai likes this episode for depicting Mace as something more than just a straightforward villain: he is also a "total loon", who is simply in it for the thrill of torturing others.
• Justin Michael had an issue with using a parody of "I Saw Three Ships" because he knew it as a Christmas song, while Lindsay Katai knew it as a New Year's song due to there being more than one version of it.
• One of the editors' reaction to seeing the shot from above the Wasteland of the train passing by was a stunned, "Oh man, there are a lot of cars."
• The writers note that this episode differentiates how Mace approaches his job versus Sieve: Mace views himself as trapped in a horrible world and thus he might as well do horrible things, while Sieve thinks he is being honorable in his work. Both of them are wrong, but they justify it differently.
• Katai likens M.T. and Mace to Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert from Les Misérables. Mace is Javert because he follows the law no matter what, even if the law is unjust, while M.T. is basically "just looking for bread": that is, she is simply trying to support herself and her friends.
• In the DVD commentary for this episode, the writers explain that Ghoms are meant to show up in a metaphorical sense when character are at their lowest, most terrifying moment. They are, in a sense, attracted to negative energy.
• The death of Agent Mace was a controversial scene even among the production crew. According to Madeline Queripel and Owen Dennis, the production notified Cartoon Network of the moment, and were only asked if the character was human – upon being told no, the studio approved it.
  • Most of the staff writers were on hiatus while the animatic for this episode was being produced. Lindsay Katai recalls her and Alex Horab coming back to watch it and screaming in both amazement and disgust at the shot of Mace being wheeled.

Errors

• When M.T. gets on top of a train car while escaping from Mace and Sieve, the pink cat mirror that Mace threw is missing on M.T.'s harpoon pack.
• M.T. has a handcuff on her right hand while she's destroying the pink cat mirror. She isn't supposed to have one until later on in the episode.
• Before Alan Dracula starts shapeshifting his head while he's getting everyone pass an invisible barrier within the Wasteland, his mouth is missing its white color.
• For a split second M.T.'s mouth is missing when she affirms to Mace that she knows who she is.
• At around the 9:35 mark of the episode (an overhead view of the Ghoms chasing the rolling Alan Dracula ball) a phrase written in Korean can be seen upside down and mirrored in the dirt: "기차 위로 부터의." This translates to "From above the train," and is likely a marker for that particular background left by the animators at Sunmin Image Pictures in Korea. Owen Dennis himself did not spot the error until he found a post on Reddit highlighting it.

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

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References

v • e Episodes Pilot 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