****Spoilers for Infinity Train Books 1 – 4****
Hello Internet!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy! I know a ton of people have gotten either their first or second vaccine, but here in the US, the numbers are plateauing. This is worrying because younger people are opting to not get the vaccine even though they are available. I highly encourage everyone no matter their age to get the vaccine. Don’t wait! Make your appointment today! I hate to keep harping on it but I really want people to get vaccinated so we can get back to normal! Anyway that’s enough about that. I want to quickly talk about the past week and all the things I’ve published.
Last Sunday I planned to come back from my mini-summer vacation with the Weekly Blog you are reading right now. However due to my busy schedule with a new job, I ended up pushing it back to this week. I did publish a few things this week though. On Wednesday, I published a Poem titled “Need To Chat.” This is a poem relating to the feeling of wanting to contact someone you used to talk to, but knowing there’s probably a reason you shouldn’t. Many times I’ll find myself in the middle of the night missing conversations with people, but unsure if I should try to reach out to them. This poem incorporates that complicated feeling. On Friday, I published a Writing Prompt piece titled “Missing Shadow.” This Writing Prompt is a bit different from the ones I usually write. For one it is shorter, but it also focuses on a boy losing his pet cat and the complicated relationship between death and religion. Overall it’s pretty light-hearted so don’t be turned off by the piece thinking I’m going to take a deep dive into religion and theology. Finally, on Saturday, I published the fifth of my character creations. This one was all about Combuster “Buster” Wellington. You all seemed to really enjoy the last time I talked about a past D&D character so I thought I’d write a character creation about another one. Instead of a broody monk, assassin, you get a suave, fire-genasi bard. Go ahead and give those all a read if you missed one and haven’t read them already. I really appreciate all the love and support I get from my readers and that goes double when I continue to see that support when I take breaks.
Now that we’ve talked about everything going on in the past week, it’s finally time to move on to a Weekly Blog topic I’ve wanted to write about for awhile. I’m not joking when I say that this topic has been pushed over and over again. It’s been a month since Infinity Train Book 4 debuted on HBO Max and a month since I watched it and wanted to talk about it. So no more delays. Let’s talk about it now. If you clicked on this Weekly Blog not knowing what Infinity Train is or if you have not watched Book 4 of Infinity Tran, I highly recommend you go watch it immediately. It’s an animated show made by Cartoon Network and HBO Max and it’s so, so good. I’m talking about a show on the same level as Gravity Falls or Over The Garden Wall or Adventure Time (which I haven’t seen but have heard it is really good). People automatically assume that Infinity Train is for kids because it’s animated and animated stuff is for kids. But honestly this show is not a kids show.
Like, does it have elements that kids will like? Of course I’m not saying kids can’t watch this show. However, I’m saying that this show tackles some heavy themes about loss, self-discovery, growing up, friendship, good vs. evil, and so much more. The other thing about this show is that I feel like it’s not getting the love it deserves. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of people talking about this show and how good it is, but it’s kind of like Cartoon Network didn’t really believe in the show. I remember seeing the original pilot of the show pretty early on and the interesting mystery of the train, the number, and the fact that Ashley Johson (or Critical Role and Last of Us fame) was voicing the main character, made me want to watch this show. The first two seasons of Infinity Train debuted on Cartoon Network but were brought over to HBO Max when the streaming platform launched. Books 3 and 4 debuted on HBO Max and although Book 4 was released recently, it was announced that Cartoon Network was not renewing Infinity Train. This announcement means that as of right now, Infinity Train will only release half of it’s planned seasons with books 5, 6, 7, and 8 in limbo. This really makes me sad because Infinity Train is such a good show and deserves to see all of their seasons come to fruition. The creator of Infinity Train, Owen Dennis, actually answered questions on Reddit and they dropped some hints on what could come in future seasons. It just makes me want it so much!
Even though I could talk a ton about how much I want future seasons, that would be an injustice to the seasons we do have. I really enjoy books 1, 2, and 3, but I want to focus on Book 4 because that is the season that just came out. Book 4 of Infinity Train is actually a prequel season that happens before the other seasons. During this time two friends, Ryan and Min-Gi, get brought to the mysterious train together and are both given matching numbers which are imprinted on their hands. On the train they meet a talking hotel bell named Kez. They must make their way through the train running from train car to train car as they solve puzzles and learn to work together. Even though they are friends, before coming to the train the two had two very different paths in life. Ryan and Min-Gi both had dreams of growing up to become famous musicians, but Min-Gi ends up giving up on music because he believes he needs to pursue a more regular life. Ryan is rash but Min-Gi is more calculated. The Infinity Train requires both if the passengers want to learn a few things and get back to their regular lives. This season has some hills and valleys of emotion, but ultimately ends on a high note as both friends embrace their differences and play music together.
This season feels very different from book 3 which ended on a more sour, depressing note. This season ends happily like the show was giving us a breather after the last season. Of course who knows what book 5 would have been like. But from reading through that Reddit thread, it seems likely we would have dived into a deeper, less happy season. This season also has a minor thread about the train and the conductor which goes nowhere within book 4 like it was just small bread crumbs which would be explored in future seasons. That thread highlights some issues with book 4 as a standalone season. It spends its time telling a fun story between friends while setting up some future stuff which may never happen. If the future of Infinity Train was certain, this season could be seen as a calm before the storm, but now it seems like Book 4 could be a somber note to end the show on which does not cleanly wrap up all the loose threads. I obviously don’t blame anyone making this show. They obviously have a story to tell and they planned on telling that story over eight seasons (and a movie?). Since they were only given four, the story seems incomplete. That’s why I stand behind everyone demanding that Cartoon Network and HBO Max make more of this show and finish Infinity Train. This amazing story deserves to be told and deserves a strong ending! I want this to be done through more episodes of the show, but if that doesn’t happen, I could see an Infinity Train Graphic Novel being created which I will happily read.
Thank you for reading that Weekly Blog! Hopefully you enjoyed reading my thoughts about Infinity Train Book 4 and my rants about how good the show is. We need more! I demand it! I mean I can’t really do anything about it, but maybe the wayward Cartoon Network executive reads my stuff and this will be the thing to convince them to green light more Infinity Train. I can dream, ok!? Anyway, if you enjoyed that Weekly Blog, feel free to give it a Like. You can also leave a comment down below telling me your thoughts on Infinity Train and Book 4. Did you love it? Hate it? Do you want more Infinity Train? Let me know! If you really liked this Weekly Blog, I hope that you will Follow Me here on WordPress. I am slowly growing a community here on WordPress full of positive and creative people. I’d love it if you joined that community and supported my stuff. I really appreciate all my readers, both new and old. They shower me in so much love and support, I can hardly take it!
Thank you so much for supporting me and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to The Infinity Train’s Fandom Page
https://infinity-train.fandom.com/wiki/Book_Four_-_Duet
Allen The Writer 