"Infinity Train," Part Four

After the deeply emotionally fraught third season of "Infinity Train," I wasn't expecting a fourth one to happen so quickly, but apparently this was already in production last year, and the creators were hoping to continue the show for several more seasons. In fact, this latest batch of episodes serves as a terrible tease for the following season - which is not going to be made for the foreseeable future.

Min-Gi (Johnny Young) and Ryan (Sekai Murashige) are a pair of Asian-Canadian musicians who have been best friends their whole lives.  They start to grow apart after graduation, with guitarist Ryan striking out on his own as a solo performer, and synth-player Min-Gi getting ready for college.  They wind up on the Infinity Train together, with personal growth numbers that are mysteriously linked.  They team up with a sassy talking concierge bell named Kez (Minty Lewis), who is a magnet for trouble, and meet many other creatures as they try to find their exit from the train.  

This season of "Infinity Train" is much lighter and goes down easier than the last two, but it also doesn't reach the same kind of highs.  I like the new characters, especially Kez, who is really the first of the train's fantasy denizens who learns to be a better person alongside the two leads.  Min-Gi and Ryan are a fun pair with relatable problems, and the writers do a good job of giving them flaws and faults.  They're among the oldest protagonists we've had so far, and their woes feel more personal to the creators.  The train cars we see in this season are great.  My favorite is the car with an endless line to get into a club.  A close second is the art museum car, home to one of the creepier monsters that "Infinity Train" has featured.  This season is lower stakes and functions as a bit of a breather compared to the others, but it does have its share of thrills and chills.  

The production value of "Infinity Train" remains consistently high, and I continue to marvel at the talent involved.  J.K. Simmons and Margo Martindale pop up to voice some pretty wacky minor characters - a giant pig baby and a butterfly judge respectively - and there are a few returning actors who I won't spoil here.  The music is more prominent this time around, because so much of the plot has to do with music and the give and take of a creative partnership.  Chrome Canyon has been one of the show's MVPs, and I'm glad that this season gave them a chance to seize a bit more of the spotlight.  

For the show's fans, however, the most interesting elements are happening around  the edges of the main story.  This season takes place in the 1980s, when the Infinity Train was a very different place from how it appeared in previous seasons.  There are events happening offscreen during the course of this season that hint at filling in important backstory for other major characters we met in other seasons.  You can piece together a few things, but the big revelations were reportedly saved for the fifth season, which was supposed to have a story that ran concurrent to this one.  

So again, it's frustrating that the show is leaving so much unfinished business.  I am really gunning for "Infinity Train" to return in the future in some form, even if it's not as an animated series.  There are still an awful lot of mysteries that need resolving, and a lot of this world that I'd still love to see further explored.       

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