01:38.50 Adam Bucceri Yeah, okay I am your host Adam Bu Cherry and today I am joined by Leonard and Dave. 01:53.25 Leonard Um, hello. 01:57.39 Dave Um, hello. 01:59.38 Adam Bucceri And today we will be talking about episodes 1 through 5 of the first season of infinity train. Yeah so um, this was my kind of suggestion. I don't think that you guys were terribly familiar with infinity train before I got you on board with this is that correct. 02:21.22 Leonard Um, yes. 02:28.26 Dave I didn't even know it was a thing I had never heard of it. 02:29.20 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, so gotcha so I had been familiar with it for kind of a number of years because a pilot was made probably I think when I was still in college I'm not sure. Ah, so is something that I had kind of you know seen and was kind of in the back of my mind. Um for for a number of years and so it was cool to me when it finally released. Um, yeah, it is a if you are unfamiliar with infinity train. Is an anthology show. So each season follows new characters and goes to new locations and has a new you know central mystery or conflict. Ah, but they all take place on the infinity train a train that. Ah, drives forever through an endless barren wasteland with a seeming infinite number of cars that stretch beyond the horizon each car containing its own little universe. So yeah, ah, this. The the genre of this show if you are ah familiar with it is new weird so are are the 2 of you familiar with the new weird as a genre. Ah it is a it's a relatively new genre. 03:42.17 Dave Da. 03:51.25 Dave No. 03:52.37 Leonard Um, no. 03:58.86 Adam Bucceri And it is used to describe like kind of weird blends of fantasy and science fiction. Ah some supernatural horror. Ah, but it all like kind of comes together into this like ah. Somewhat unique blend that I find very appealing so other entries in the new weird genre like if you're familiar with like the thief video games where it's like kind of fantasy but kind of steampunk if you're familiar with like the movie annihilation where it's like. Science fiction but horror and also just like you know, ah those cosmic elements ah control is another game as well as you know anything in the Scp Foundation so those are all kind of entries into this genre which I think. Infinity train kind of neatly slots into ah which is cool that that is ah a genre that I like kind of a modern take on like weird fiction like lovecraft weird fiction. Ah but with. 05:09.62 Dave Um. 05:10.84 Adam Bucceri You know some more modern elements a little bit more of a genre melange. And yeah I think it's cool. 05:17.84 Dave Okay, yeah I wouldn't have um, lumped some of those things together into one one pot but I can see like the commonalities. 05:30.79 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so we're here today to talk about the first 5 episodes of this season. Um, this is a mystery show. So. I believe I'm going to be keeping spoilers kind of light and kind of contained the first 5 episodes here because Dave I know that you have only seen the first 5 episodes so far. 05:52.10 Leonard As as as have I I've I've only watched the first 5 episodes I typically for the show only watch the allotted number of episodes when we're doing a series for the the show. Um, so as not to accidentally spoil anything that's coming up and be equally surprised myself. 06:20.78 Adam Bucceri A wise policy I would say so yeah I am the the one I've seen all 4 seasons of this I believe I've seen them all twice. So this is going to be my third viewing of them. Ah, yeah, do we want to kind of go with any like. 06:37.32 Adam Bucceri Overview thoughts like ah before we get dive into the thing like what was your your guys' first impression. 06:43.33 Dave Go ahead land. 06:46.80 Leonard Um, hey so ah, this isn't a show for me and that's okay I respect it. Um, it's just that. Um, there's a lot of there. 07:02.31 Leonard So ah, if if listeners if you've been listening to the show for any amount of time you ah probably have a good idea of the things that I'm into and ah, there's a lot of stuff that I find conceptually interesting about the show. Um. But the like main personal narrative. Ah ultimately falls flat for me because I'm an old man who's nearing his forty s and as much as I want to view something from a fresh perspective. Um, a lot of the stuff that the this show caters in is for ah a younger audience that hasn't explored the concepts like emotionally and like conceptually that I have so. A lot of my time watching it was spent really wishing that it hammered home on like the weird narrative stuff that it does because it does a lot of really fantastic weird narrative evocative stuff that I am super into. Ah, but the personal aspect of the show while I can relate like that it hit a lot of notes that I related to as a ah weird kid growing up in the 80 s but it's like four kids. 08:34.37 Leonard That are growing up in the two thousand s and I'm not that person Anymore. So long story short it is ah it is a it is legitimately a ah really fantastic series that kind of um tras in stuff that I am deeply familiar with. And I'm solely focused on the narrative aspects of the show that said once again, it is It is a fantastically produced piece of media. 09:10.71 Dave I'd say for my part I I don't feel quite that far like not attaching to it. But um I do see where you're coming from Leonard. It is not it has its its um, age audience like targeted audience for this? Um, but I can understand the appeal to it I like all the weird stuff. 09:32.81 Leonard A. 09:43.31 Leonard Um, yes, yes. 09:45.18 Dave Ah, and then I I also can like the the main lead character ah because this has a full or it's it's it's building a arc and has character development and character growth like that's. 10:04.54 Dave I just needed to see that like if it goes through and it's just say it's adventure time or any other similar show that that would have come out and about 10 years before this came out but um. 10:04.56 Leonard Okay. 10:22.74 Dave The characters kind of like end as they start like it's the same character I mean there's you know there's some things happening but there's more going on with our main character here because it's it's it's more. 10:29.93 Leonard So. 10:41.16 Dave Built around recognition of like one'self and 1 ne's place in their in their family and the the idea of family and that's that's a little bit more nebulous than just this sort of previous. 10:51.86 Leonard Um. 11:01.11 Dave To this few last few generations the the idea of a nuclear family is not as much a thing and so there's a lot more stuff to kind of grapple with um in society and this is taking a look at the breakdown of like the the fallout. 11:06.80 Leonard Right. 11:18.75 Dave Ah, unfortunately of what happened with the dissolution of the nuclear family. 11:23.58 Adam Bucceri It also just ah, a real quick note about the format of the show. Ah this is a very bite sized little thing. It's 10 episodes. Each episode is 10 minutes long so it's a total of 100 minutes for the whole season and it is. A heavily serialized show you know like they they'll take little digressions but this is a single continuous story and I think it's really meant to kind of be digested. You know, almost like a movie. 11:41.97 Leonard Um, yes. 11:52.20 Leonard Yeah, ah so so there are things that that I I I would equate it to like over the garden wall which is the thing that I absolutely adore and watch every year around halloween. 11:59.85 Adam Bucceri E. 12:06.26 Leonard Um, and ah another series which is gravity falls which once again has a lot of stuff that is super conceptually interesting but there's a lot of stuff around it like once again, it is it. 12:11.85 Adam Bucceri Yep. 12:24.87 Leonard I'm not upset that a thing that isn't that doesn't like connect with me exists. But I'm absolutely willing to ah you know admit and talk about how it doesn't work for me and. Once again, like I said with a bad infinity train. There's a lot of really good stuff here for um, people that. 12:54.72 Leonard And this is going to sound really pretentious and I really apologize listener because I tried not to sound as pretentious as humanly possible. But I have I would say that I have a higher than average level of Media Literacy. So um, when I'm. Dealing with narratives and and and story concepts that I can like instantaneously equate to other things that I've already seen. Um it it. It loses part of its appeal to me because I'm like yeah, it's like this. That I've already seen and we'll we'll get into it and I'm I'm going to try not to um you know Hammer home on that point because I do really think that there's a lot of really good. Interesting shut stuff in the show. Um. But it's It's not new stuff. It's not stuff that makes me take pause and say oh yeah, that's a really interesting way of framing this concept that I've already been exposed to. 14:06.53 Adam Bucceri I can see that. Ah so again to reiterate kind of my history I am an animator and I went to school for animation and as a result like I just I just kind of immerse myself in this kind of thing. Ah. 14:21.28 Leonard Um, it. 14:21.44 Adam Bucceri You know I don't really see too much of a distinction between ah media depending on its demographic. You know I am very happy to watch a children's show as long as I feel like it's doing sufficiently interesting things you know gravity falls over the garden wall great examples. I think those are things that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age and so ah I can I can understand why this might chafe and especially um, this first season I think is a little bit more simplistic than the show eventually becomes ah in seasons 2 and 3 specifically like those get. 14:39.44 Leonard Um, yes. 14:59.20 Adam Bucceri Stranger and darker and more complex in a way that I think ah really sings. But I think that this first season still ah is pretty solid. Um, and yeah it it mostly works for me even though I Also you know have a couple. Ah. 15:18.55 Adam Bucceri Criticisms with it. 15:19.69 Leonard Yeah, yeah, no absolutely because ah I would definitely recommend that people watch this um regardless of my personal feelings about it because. 15:19.92 Dave Um, ah. 15:33.75 Leonard It It is a quality piece of media and entertainment and and I'm glad that it exists. 15:42.18 Dave I think that this is so the I mean I'm just like spitballing at the the demographic for this I'm saying probably around 12 to fourteen years old I think would be roughly who was watching this. Um. 15:55.25 Adam Bucceri E. 16:00.40 Dave Were I that age then this would be like awesome? Um, but where this also sits and fits well is if you I guess at our age if you have a kid that's not I guess they could be in high school um a teenager. Ah. 16:01.48 Leonard Are. 16:15.82 Dave You can watch this with them and still get something out of it and that's like just to have that extra tributive connection because that's kind of what a lot of this is about anyway. 16:18.56 Adam Bucceri Yeah, for sure. 16:19.31 Leonard Um, yeah. 16:27.53 Adam Bucceri Yeah I think that this is something that can be enjoyed by more than just its Target Demographic cool. Do we want to get started. 16:34.70 Dave Um, yeah, yeah. 16:41.50 Dave Um, yeah, how um what? how does this thing kick off. Yeah. 16:46.40 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so um, so first of all, again, this is an anthology show split into these different seasons so season 1 is called the perennial child and it begins with episode one. Ah the grid car. So the way that the show kicks off is ah you know, very very much you know in the the mundane world. We meet our main character Tulip who is a young ah tween girl I would say probably between like 12 and 14 ah. And she is walking home with a friend telling her about how excited she is to go to game design camp in osh kosh. Ah, but yeah, she she's you know? ah. Clearly established as being like a little bit weird a little bit of an outsider. She's eating a raw onion because that's kind of her her thing she likes raw onions ah doesn't really make much of a a statement other than being you know a little weird character quirk for her. But um, yeah, very excited to go to this game design camp and as they are approaching her home. The friend you know, kind of brings up the the clearly sore topic about her parents recently getting divorced and just you know, kind of asking like hey are you? Okay, you know. 18:14.84 Adam Bucceri Um, to which she you know, kind of brushes off and buries her feelings and just you know yeah makes ah makes light of it as much as she can. 18:29.71 Leonard Yeah, it's clearly a sort topic for Tulip tulip. Yes, okay, um, just making sure because I know Daisy comes into play in the later episode that we're gomby talking about. 18:30.22 Dave Um. 18:32.60 Adam Bucceri Yeah, two up. 18:42.50 Leonard But just ah yeah, it's hey guess what being a childhood divorce sucks and when friends bring it up. It's not a fun thing to talk about. So um, that's super understandable and relatable for me personally and um. Completely understand how how that Ah how how her reaction to you know, bring it it up and that's not to say that her friend's doing it insensitively. She's doing it out of concern. But when it's still fresh and raw. It. You don't want to talk about. 19:11.95 Adam Bucceri Now. 19:15.75 Dave Um, and. 19:20.68 Leonard It. 19:22.36 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the friend is being tactful but it's just you know it's clearly enough of ah, an open wound that it's still not welcome. Regardless you know, asking like you know are your parents talking after the divorce like you know are they okay. And you know that's a complicated question to to ask for a kid. Yeah so she ah she gets home. She goes upstairs. She starts doing computer programming which is her. Her passion and she's making a little like space invaders which is cute. 19:58.79 Dave Yeah, that that part so she's talking about her game and going to the um, the camp and everything and yes, she's younger but I had friends in high school that were working on games. So it's a little older but they're even back in like. 20:10.12 Adam Bucceri Game. 20:16.62 Dave Late 90 s the quality of what they were making versus this it just like I was not expecting I was like oh that's okay, that's her game I mean that's still that's that takes work. It's still hard to do but um, they was just like wait I was expecting something a little bit more complicated. 20:31.25 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's a little bit difficult to pin down exactly like when this series takes place because like she's programming what feels like in 80 s game but like there are like modern phones and so it's it's a little bit difficult to tell when. 20:42.48 Dave Yeah, it it this sits in the the place that like Napoleon dynamite kind of sits where it's it's not it wasn't contemporary to when it was released I don't think. 20:53.26 Adam Bucceri Um. 20:57.82 Adam Bucceri E. 21:00.76 Dave But it and doesn't give you ah like there's not like a thing that pop 7 says this is 1980 whatever um it was like more like nineteen x x could could be something sometime somewhere and things are recognizable enough. 21:15.50 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 21:16.83 Leonard Yeah, it's a little anachronistic. Ah, um, but the fact that smartphones with ah you know full screen. Ah you know user interfaces exist and I'm like okay so this is. 21:34.13 Leonard Clearly like no not clearly that's that's a presumption on my part this feels like something modern because it's clear at least by referencing going to osh gosh that she's like in you know, flyover country of. Los Angeles are not lots Centerris the United States listen everybody I do not think that Los and Los Angeles or Ken California is the whole the United States but um, it's yeah exactly it's it's. 22:03.44 Adam Bucceri Famous flyover city Los Angeles 22:09.35 Leonard It it feels modern enough to me that I just kind of pinned it in like roughly like 2012 to I don't know 2016 right 22:17.40 Adam Bucceri So. 22:20.72 Dave Yeah, and well and it's Rural America and there's plenty of places where internet you can find them where it's still might as well just be dial up. So yeah, you can It's broad strokes you you understand like what it's presenting. 22:32.18 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 22:32.99 Leonard Um, yep. 22:40.80 Dave Um, and there's there's some other stuff that pops up in a few episodes that doesn't give you a time frame but gives you like the um state of the economy like at the time. 22:52.62 Adam Bucceri Yeah, So she's upstairs doing her little programming she gets called downstairs for dinner and that's when it's revealed to her that her dad has accidentally double booked with a business trip and isn't able to take her to Camp. And Mom's too busy. She isn't able to take her either. So She's just stranded and is going to have to miss this thing that she's clearly been you know counting the days down to. 23:19.81 Dave The land working on a game to show off at the camp and be the cool kid. 23:24.99 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 23:27.59 Leonard So I do have to say um like this is probably um, the most emotional response that I got um that the series managed to get out of me. Because once again as a child of divorce I've run into this situation and the fact that they go through the trouble of even highlighting that her parents made a deal with her to improve her grades in English class and wrote a contract that they both signed. 24:01.83 Adam Bucceri Write contract. 24:03.36 Leonard Ah, in order to facilitate. This is like infuriating to me because I'm like oh yeah, no I know what? that's like I know how that feels where there is a promise made and 1 party fulfills it and then the other parties. Absolutely reneg on it because um, adult stuff and that's more important than anything else and I was like I was actually actively furious and. Really aligned emotionally with tulip in this moment because the first thing like when she was like I even signed the contract I was like what what what? you did? Oh oh you that like there's like written paperwork saying that this is what's going to have what I'm going to do and what you're going to do. 24:50.19 Adam Bucceri You have. 24:51.81 Leonard And yeah, the adult thing outweighed that and I get screwed I was like I I was actually I was actually Livid ah when when this came up but. 25:05.19 Dave Yeah, and these parts of this show I think these are the the kind of Anchor stone. These are the really well-written parts like you can you understand like the family dynamics you see exactly what's going on. You can feel. 25:17.91 Leonard Ah. 25:24.50 Dave Like all parts of it because you you get what tulips going through. Um you get that she's reacting in a way that ah a child's her age would um and then you can see the parents like. Trying to cope with the situation and and their own life and their own stuff falling apart and it's like yeah, it's it's effective and I I Wish there was more of that than. 26:01.99 Leonard Um. 26:02.97 Dave Sort of um, parable I guess that the infinity train becomes like okay I mean you can see what it's doing um, but it Wow we'll get into it as the episodes go. 26:21.93 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah, you know, understandably, She's furious about this and so that night she packs up and runs away to to go to camp by herself. Ah so yeah, just running through the woods. You know. 26:37.54 Adam Bucceri It doesn't strike me like she has any kind of a great plan. Maybe she'll hitchhike whatever but you know he's just determined. 26:39.47 Dave You didn't even bring food or. 26:44.69 Leonard She's she's traveling three hundred miles she and then she she literally put on a glove and like a coat a winter coat and and ran across a cornfield and I'm like okay yeah, this is this is this is. Ah, thing that a child would do um but you're not, you're not getting to like you're not getting to camp that way. 27:10.32 Adam Bucceri It's not a. It's not a good plan. Ah, however, you know as she's running through a field you know, kind of right on top of her like this train appears and the door opens and you know she's hesitant at first but she. 27:10.60 Dave No. 27:24.28 Adam Bucceri Goes to get on. Ah, but when the door opens ah she is sucked into a portal of some kind and ah kind of blacks out and the next time that we see her open her eyes. She's in the snow and so it's like oh maybe it was a dream you know, maybe she just fell asleep in the snow. Um. And she wakes up and there's a couple of snowmen and she you know is upset and you know is harassing them. Ah but 1 of the snowmen has an unusual head which is that is a spherical robot named one one 1 1 is a a little robot that. Is like 2 halves two semicircles that are formed together to create an orb with 2 different personalities kind of in one. There's a sad one and glad 1 sad 1 being you know, ah dejected a little bit nihilistic and glad one being upbeat and. 28:25.34 Adam Bucceri Ah, doofy. Ah, both of them seemingly having lost their memories and asking are you my mom. 28:34.22 Leonard Yeah, ah, which ah once again, ah um, ah I a character a weird character in a weird world asking if you ah if you're my mother. Ah, then just instantly transports me to Jack Pumpkinhead from return to oz and I'm like oh yeah, I've seen this this before. 28:52.51 Dave Yeah, but. 28:54.96 Adam Bucceri Oh I mean I immediately go to the the Richard scary are you my mother you know little ah ah, children's book where it's just like are you my mother? No, you are a bulldozer. 29:05.17 Dave Name. 29:12.90 Leonard Um. 29:15.50 Adam Bucceri Ah, but yeah, so ah, she finds this little Robot weird doesn't quite know what to make of it. Ah, she finds this giant bazaar looking door ah opens it and. Reveals that she is in fact, on a train she is on the infinity train a train that stretches beyond the Horizon cart after cart after cart stretching Beyond sight ah traveling through this bizarre blasted wasteland ah very apocalyptic looking. 29:42.76 Leonard Yeah, yeah, like this and and then it stops and and and this is where it gets into the weird nightmare stuff that I'm like oh yeah, give me more of that put that and let my snaps as feed. Feed on that because there's a horrible vortex in the sky that literally rips the soul of somebody out of the train and feeds on it and I'm like oh this is the this is the weird off putting stuff that I. Exists for. 30:23.71 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's kind of like a dark souls like Skybox. Ah yeah, it's It's pretty metal looking. So um, yeah, so so she has exited the one car which contained this. 30:25.80 Leonard Um, absolutely absolutely. 30:37.70 Adam Bucceri You know so snowy world. You know each car seemingly contains a universe and so opening up the next door. Ah, she finds herself in the grid car. It is this blank white car that is lined with a grid in each little square if you touch it. It makes a little musical note and like a cube extrudes from that and so you know immediately they start playing around with it building little shapes building little towers and stuff. Ah, they have a little bit of fun and at 1 point tulip takes off her glove to like throw it at ah, a cube. And realizes that she has a glowing green number on her hand on on the palm of her hand. Ah zun tight. 31:27.30 Leonard Um. 31:30.11 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, so so understandably pretty alarming very bizarre. Um, so at that point you know she she kind of panics a little bit goes outside the train and sees what Leonard referred to earlier. You know, seemingly like a soul being sucked out by this. Beam of light like disintegrating them into this vortex. Ah pretty pretty nightmarish imagery. Ah so you know immediately she panics she wants to get off the train so she jumps down and runs out into this wasteland. Ah, which is full of mud and a single dead tree and basically nothing else and as she is running ah these like genuinely pretty scary looking cockroach dog things ah emerge out of the mud. 32:21.30 Leonard I Love the roach dogs I'm like oh man that's like a new thing That's really gross and off-putting and like legitimately like a I love. 32:25.95 Adam Bucceri Um. 32:39.52 Leonard Ah, yeah I Love genuinely weird off-putting Monster designs and the roach dogs are real gross and bad. They got like it's it's Weird. It's like Okay, what if? um. Ah, you took the weird a feeler mouths from the the ah graboids from tremors but just made them like feeler tendrils and then attached them to a dog that. Had a cockroach body and I'm like yeah that's the stuff that I'm looking for here. 33:15.77 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the mouths are like these writhing little like stubby tentacles almost like a ah C anemone or something. Ah. 33:21.23 Leonard Um, they're like their mouths are literally like the worm faces from elton rings Eldon ring. 33:28.90 Adam Bucceri Oh sure. Yeah yeah, ah, yeah, very unsettling design. Ah so of course she panic starts running back to the train because there's clearly nothing out here in the wasteland. Um, one one starts singing yakkety sacks which is. Ah, you know says oh no's just some random thing. No, it's yakety sex legally let yakkety sex. Um, but yeah, ah she you know climbs a wheel starts escaping. Ah, but then it's revealed that these things have wings and start flying after her. So that's no good. Um. Ah, yeah, she she runs back into the car slams the door shut but 1 of the creatures manages to to wedge itself in and make its way into the grid car at which point an interesting kind of ah fight scene happens. Where they're using the environment to like you know, extrude these cubes to build little barricades and block the path and and ah do other things to slow this creature down which I thought was pretty neat. 34:32.64 Dave Yeah, that part was really fun and it's um I think because the cubes like they make music like notes and they're all different colors and it's just it's visually pleasing. 34:41.13 Adam Bucceri Um. 34:46.91 Dave To watch her like build them up really quickly. 34:50.70 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and it's ah, an interesting contrast to have like this clean white, colorful musical room and then just this like really gross cockroach dog like skidding around like doing everything. It can to to. 35:03.44 Dave Now Absorb her soul. 35:05.68 Leonard Um, yeah, that was my favorite part. 35:07.47 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, so so it it like pins her down and then like you know, ah, the only thing I can think of is like similar to like a dementor like starts sucking like her her life her soul out and you see her like start to wither. Ah. Under it until ah, one 1 kind of distracts it and she's able to get out from under it. 35:30.59 Dave Yeah, it it reminded me of what happens in um Frighteners when the ghosts or people getting their ghost bodies sucked out. It looks like this just less. 35:39.31 Leonard Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I can see that. 35:43.41 Adam Bucceri E. 35:47.69 Dave Frightening or more frightening depending. 35:52.54 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah after like one last you know, harrowing little dive of building a barricade and able to to get away from it. Ah, you know she escapes from the car leaves that thing locked in there as a fun treat for for anyone else who decides to go back that way. Um, but you know then ah she starts talking about. You know she's a very logical person. She sees things in code she she likes to have rules and she says that even crazy things have to have their own rules. So. You know there must be a logic to this place even if we don't understand it right now. Ah, and at that point you know she asks one one. You know this is a train a train has to have a conductor is their conductor. Ah, which gives her her new goal to get to the engine. Find the conductor and get off the train. 36:50.34 Dave Yeah, it was ah again, these are such little bite size episodes it um it it crammed quite a bit into that 10 minutes like there's a lot going on. Um, even if it's really just a sort of. Taste of what's going to be happening moving forward. 37:10.76 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's pretty dense. Yeah, so that brings us to episode 2 the beach car. Ah this episode like most of the episodes starts with a montage of them going through a number of wacky cars full of wacky stuff. 37:27.89 Adam Bucceri A special shout out to like there are theseel like beard gnomes who I think are pretty great. 37:30.59 Dave That yeah. 37:32.54 Leonard Yeah, the wizards that are literally just beer. That's that scream spell spell spell as they shoot magic I was like oh I Actually really like that That's real dumb. 37:46.27 Adam Bucceri This. 37:49.29 Leonard That's real. That's like my kind like my peak level of like oh that's dumb nonsense reappropriation of things that I'm seeing already and I love that they're like wandering through this like cave system and they're like roosted like bats. 37:59.95 Dave I. 38:05.25 Adam Bucceri Yep. 38:07.74 Leonard Like they're not upside down but they're in like little. They all've got little notes and and tulips like we'd need to stay quiet and 1 one obviously wakes them all up and thus were treated to all of them screaming spell spells spell and the revelation that. Um there's nothing underneath the beard. Their beards are ambulatory and legs. 38:30.16 Adam Bucceri Yeah, they they run on their little beard which is pretty great spoiler. This is not the last time we see these little guys in this series. So. 38:35.20 Dave This. 38:42.17 Leonard That's awesome because when I saw them I was like oh that reminds me of the gnomes from Gravity falls. 38:48.88 Adam Bucceri Yeah, definitely. Ah so yeah, ah she they've merged out of that. Ah, they spend some time talking and she like reminisces a little bit about time with her family about how they would like fix go cards together. Ah, with her dad and how that was you know, just a fun bonding experience and that's when she looks down and notices that her number on her hand has dropped from 115 to 114 and so that just brings a new. Level you know before you could have assumed that like this was a label but now the number means something. Ah and it's falling. 39:32.50 Dave Um, and she gets the um, helpful information that um, she will die when that reaches 0 39:40.50 Adam Bucceri Yeah, she's she's kind of catastrophizing and she asks one one if she's going to die when it hits zero and one one's just like yes yes, ah so yeah, she's you know. 39:45.33 Dave Yes, yes, and yes, you will. 39:53.58 Adam Bucceri Ah, understandably distraught and heads into the next car the beach car ah where we find a ah spoiler like a very important character in this ah whole series. The cat. Um, the cat is first seen talking to a sentient blob of water. Ah, it is a white cat who wears a vest with an ascot she speaks with an aristocratic cadence ah and occasionally like will will break into french ah, she's clearly a charlatan of some kind always has an angle. And she is currently attempting to sell a pipe ah as a quote donut holder which simply means that you can stab a hole into something which obviously turns it into a donut. 40:39.46 Dave Yes, anything can be made into a donut. 40:40.85 Leonard Um, yeah, a hat a straw hat. In fact. 40:48.84 Adam Bucceri Boom Donut. Ah, but yeah, so the cat ah mentions that the the donut holder has been like officially sanctioned by the conductor and hearing this name. Ah that attracts the attention of tulip who more or less instantly. Sizes her up sees a sucker and starts figuring out how to work the situation to her advantage. Ah yeah, she pretty quickly proves that one one doesn't really know what he's talking about ah putting some doubt that you know. Number dropping to zero probably doesn't mean that you'll die. But you know she's also coy about what it does mean? Ah, but Tulip is more upset with one one that he would you know ah seemingly lie to her or at least be cavalier about you know, misleading her. 41:42.55 Dave Um, yeah, the the can't from from the get go of course the cat's being painted as an unreliable, probably untrustworthy, ah figure that is. 41:59.31 Dave Swindling this poor like goofball blob. 42:01.65 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the sentient blob of water named Randall who can split himself into an infinite number of identical randalls. 42:04.84 Dave Yes. 42:12.40 Dave Um, yes, and hold intelligible somewhat conversations with the other versions of himself because they're just all the same. 42:20.89 Leonard Yeah, it's he's like he's he's he's ah he's a dumber version of multiple men from the Marvel comic books. 42:27.83 Dave Yeah. 42:32.82 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, so um, pretty quickly the cat presents a bargain. Ah she will go and put in a good word with the conductor to help her get where she wants and all that she asks is that first tulip help fix her vehicle. Which we know that Tulip has some experience fixing go carts. So you know she's a little bit handy. Um the vehicle. It should be noted is like this cool orb I don't really know how to describe it I think it's a pretty neat little like science fiction vehicle. It's ah this sphere you get inside it. And then it kind of like skates along the the surface of of metal. 43:14.37 Leonard When when I saw it before it was actually activated and mobile I was like oh that's like the ah the time machine from the time machine remake that nobody's ah um, just this weird spherical thing. 43:24.27 Dave Um, um. 43:30.91 Leonard With like this really nice gilded latticework inlaid with glass I'm like oh that's a that's a really pretty like piece of of like outdated technology but like still fantastical and futuristic enough. 43:47.39 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's got a very like kind of ah, luxurious, almost art nouveau quality to it. Ah, but the the other condition. Ah the bargain that the cat is trying to make ah is that she'll take one one off her hands. 43:49.26 Leonard Um, yes, absolutely. 44:04.50 Adam Bucceri You know she'll just take that little Robot scoot on up to the front of the train and then ah take care of things. So At this point Tulip is still pretty upset with one one. Ah for the seeming deception and so agrees. Um, they go On. You know a little underwater adventure with Randall they do some shenanigans Ah, but eventually you know they get the piece they need. They're fixing it up. Ah and they eventually coax tulip into talking a little bit about her name because they're like oh tulip That's a weird name. Ah, and she reveals that it comes from the fact that when she was born. She had this kind of vague. Ah illness then the doctors weren't sure that she would make it but eventually she rebounded and she sprang back just like a perennial and so she. She earned her name that Way. Ah. 44:58.48 Dave Yeah, and the cat like hits her with some snark I think something about he'd have been any flower then yeah. 45:00.50 Leonard Um, ah. 45:04.84 Adam Bucceri Yeah, you could have been named Horse radish. 45:07.10 Leonard Um, you were right? Yeah, um, one of the ah there's a really, ah, there's a bit that I I absolutely love when ah Randall parts the seas to the underwater blobwater city. 45:18.92 Adam Bucceri I Don't know. 45:24.58 Leonard Which is the salesman selling gelatin because all the blob people have had are just kind of like columns like vaguely human shaped columns of water and the Gelllatin guys like look at this and he steps out behind his table and he's got. Legs and I'm like oh that's actually a really funny joke because now you could actually form legs because you pour you pour gelatin into yourself I'm like ah this is yeah, that's cute I like that. 45:56.33 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah gelatin legs is pretty funny and the whole like little underwater city is all exclusively populated by Randalls all buying and selling things from and to themselves. So ah yeah, so. Ah, after that she ah black sorry hall of market. There. 46:20.31 Dave So she needs to get a gear I think it's a gear to fix the the 1 thing it's missing. It's like this dusty spot like oh look a gear is missing and um I think. 46:22.93 Leonard Yeah, it's a gear. 46:37.20 Dave Know she remember? Yeah, maybe they saw a gear at the little randall shop. But um, she yeah yeah, then and goes it back to that shop. But um, one one had given her a flower and she. 46:41.43 Adam Bucceri I think Randall says that he knows where to find a gear. It takes them to the to the shop. 46:45.75 Leonard Um, yeah. 46:52.96 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah the the deer flower that I got for my very special one of a kind. Best friend. 46:55.17 Dave It's like a special gift and she totally just trades it for the gear. Yeah, and then the randalls like I want that that this she like I don't need money or he's like have a coin or something. It's like I don't want that. Give me that thing that means something I would I'll trade you my special gear for that meaningful thing and. 47:16.17 Leonard My my favorite part is that the the flower is a daisy and when one one gives it to her. He's like look it's you and she's like that's a daisy. 47:29.38 Adam Bucceri Yeah, very cute. Um, but you know one one even if he ah is all scrambled up and and doesn't know if anyone's his mom or not you know is is sweet and sincere. So ultimately with the bargain fulfilled the cat loads 2 into her little orb says that she'll be back with help and then ah launches herself up and across the the top of the train's cars ah scooting along the top totally bypassing. Ah, the interiors. 48:04.39 Leonard Um, and it's also. 48:04.50 Dave Um, yeah, it's like the little thing it's like it fires a dart gun like an electromagnetic dart gun and just like makes itself a zip line. 48:14.90 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it like fires this little magnet which looks like I don't know like the birdie in Badminton and and then ah where where the magnet lands the orb will then like magnetize to that. So it's able to kind of like. 48:18.94 Dave Um, yeah. 48:21.82 Leonard Um, yeah. 48:30.94 Adam Bucceri Hopscotch by shooting this thing and then attracting itself to it again. It's pretty neat. 48:34.36 Dave Um, yeah, it's a fun one design. 48:37.81 Leonard Ah, what are the things that I love about it which is is just like um, red flag that this character is untrustworthy is she's like yeah, it'll take like 2 or 3 days for me to get some from to train I'm like yeah you're lying. I mean you're a charlatan and a hack and and um Randall even mentioned like oh it's like a pyramid's game. This thing that you're trying to sell me on. Ah so when she was like yeah I'll take a couple of days when we get there. 49:06.80 Adam Bucceri Um. 49:11.41 Leonard I'm just like oh you're just going to abandon her. You can't be trustworthy because ah, initially when when this character. Um, you know came into the narrative I was like oh this is going to be the third companion. The weird untrustworthy character. Ah that ah. That ah will sell everybody out ah to save our own skin and and they do subvert that um, ah, cleverly but I was like fully in ah expecting that this was like the third companion on this trip because. 49:30.19 Adam Bucceri Um. 49:48.35 Leonard Everything works better in threes. 49:51.10 Adam Bucceri Yeah, a pretty reasonable assumption. We will indeed get our third companion. Ah, but there's definitely more to the cat than than we've seen so far. So um, yeah, tulip kind of goes back sits down and is like you know. 50:00.88 Leonard Um, yes. 50:07.40 Adam Bucceri Remorseful. She's she pretty quickly knows that she messed up by by trading. You know her friend away and resolves to go get him back so she recruits Randall to go help her catch up with the cat. So. At that point a pretty neat little chasing ah ensues with Randall being you know this blob of water just kind of sprinting along the top of the train alongside ah this orb and the orb is trying to get away. It's launching itself to and fro and eventually randall. Ah, soaks himself through the cracks in the the orb short-circuing it and causing it to crash. Ah the cat of course is furious. Ah you know, clearly they have made an enemy at this point but 1 one is recovered and safe and sound. And yeah, all all is forgiven and at that point her number drops again. 51:11.49 Leonard Ah, so I just want to say that that um while I did enjoy this the the the lead up ah to the chase sequence I then ah ah because I've got weird brain brain ah immediately was like wait. So. Randall can just pray the laws of therramo dynamics because he split himself up into like 6 different versions of himself and when they all came back together. There was significantly more liquid than when he started I'm like. I'm I'm really interested in like how this species operates. 51:51.56 Adam Bucceri Randall disrespects the square cube rural. Ah yeah, it also is just like extremely fast and able to you know near instantly catch up with the the thing Randall's exceedingly powerful. 52:05.98 Dave That that's why Randall had to go away. 52:06.54 Adam Bucceri For for how dummy is. 52:10.78 Leonard The ah, the yeah that aspect of the fact that like considering how long the Cad had been traveling and how quickly tulip and Randall caught up to her I was like wait you could have just asked Randall to take you. To the front of the train to meet the conductor. What's going on, please please? Ah he he he would have evaporated that was the that was the thing that I I ultimately settled on. 52:29.35 Dave He he would have gotten tired. It's It's the whole issue of the Eagles taking the fellowship to mortar. 52:30.20 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 52:39.77 Adam Bucceri And. 52:42.88 Leonard The friction of him traveling across the top of the cars would have eventually caused him to evaporate to which I then said wait but he can divide infinitely and create more mass. So what's the problem. Ah yes, these are the answers that. 52:53.73 Adam Bucceri Ah, who know. 52:56.30 Dave Um, he can only be gone from the water for so long we have to make our own limitations. 53:02.20 Leonard That I I search for when things like this happen in shows. 53:09.69 Adam Bucceri I personally think that it's just because Randall's ah kind of dumb and hard to wrangle and you know I think just keeping him on on task would be the the biggest challenge. Yeah, ah, but also you know not to to hand waved away. 53:12.18 Leonard Um, yes I. 53:20.45 Leonard Um, yeah, exactly. 53:27.33 Adam Bucceri Ah, time is a little hard to to tell ah on the train so suppose we don't know how long they were chasing ah which brings us to the the next episode the corgi car ah where another week has passed so there have been. 53:44.17 Leonard Um, yes. 53:45.66 Adam Bucceri She has been on this train for multiple weeks At this point it never it never seems to be a problem. 53:47.88 Dave Eating nothing. 53:49.68 Leonard Oh you did went through that two day you went through that too where I was like I just want is I just need them to show her eating something I desperately need them to show her eating something. Because she keeps talking about how much time has passed but I never see her soon. Food. 54:13.88 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah, there's There's a sense that things are tiny whimy here that you know ah time is passing but I. I Don't think that's an oversight I don't think she needs to eat I Don't think that she needs to sleep like we we don't see these things in the show. 54:30.96 Leonard Well, the thing that I ultimately settled on is because there's like this weird framing not weird. Ah they frame episodes where ah, mostly at least starting from this point I believe they frame episodes where um Tulip is like. Exiting a car and there she's saying goodbye to the friends that she made along the way and I'm like ok she she ate during then it was offscreen. She ate she she drank that was When. All the uninteresting human things that a human needs to do happened in these adventures that we didn't see. 55:12.20 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, yeah, um, yeah, but this ah episode starts with another montage of going through cars this time tulips. You know. Has decided that she needs to get to the front of the train and the best way to do that is to speed run as many cars as Possible. So She just starts going. Ah you know, doesn't stop for anything just barrels through your car after car and we get to see a bunch of goofy little vignettes I'm partial to The. The train car that's just full of cross-eyed ducks like exploding with cross-eyed ducks. 55:50.17 Leonard Um, yes, the reason why this one works for me is the 1 duck that talks to her and says can you help me find my normal eyes and I'm like. 55:53.51 Adam Bucceri I. 55:55.93 Dave Um. 56:00.58 Leonard Oh man, there's a real dark story going on in this trick this car universe that I don't want that I actually don't want to explore. 56:03.83 Adam Bucceri Um. 56:10.60 Adam Bucceri Yeah, tune into my 44 part Youtube explainer about the hidden and darkness behind every car number duck come on. 56:16.83 Dave Car car number 45 56:20.90 Leonard Um, yeah, the duck the duck card the crosseyed duck car. 56:24.37 Dave Not as good as the cross-eyed bear car. 56:28.72 Leonard Um, I mean significantly better than the pop Crossey Bear are to be perfectly. Honest. 56:37.89 Adam Bucceri Ah, but yeah, you know, ah she she's getting frustrated at her number the number doesn't change. She can't figure out. You know what it correlates to ah when she so desperately wants to understand the rules of this place. 56:54.19 Adam Bucceri Ah, so she goes into the next car which ends up being the corgi car which I I like very much this is also um, what the pilot episode was ah the kingdom of Cordelia an enlightened society populated by talking dogs. Specifically corrkies. Ah, and its you know this very idyllic rolling landscape. There are these kind of like greek temples and they're just ah, they just seem like they're having a good time. This seems like a good car. 57:14.20 Leonard Um, yes. 57:24.18 Leonard Yeah, it's like if the elysium fields were full of corgis that could talk well one that can talk because the one Yeah, that's that's also a really fun bit of like oh it's a dog with normal. 57:26.70 Dave Um, ah. 57:30.20 Dave Well and the one ugly dog. 57:33.53 Adam Bucceri But you. 57:40.81 Leonard Portions and thus it is the ugliest dog in the kingdom. Yeah, it's like yeah yeah. 57:43.24 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, the sun is illuminating it and it's like you know main is bellowing majestically in the breeze and they're just like oh so ugly. 57:44.90 Dave Um, it's like a flowing main. Oh it's good. 57:53.99 Leonard The so gross. 57:59.56 Adam Bucceri Ah, but yeah, this is where we beat who ends up becoming kind of the third member of our adventuring party. Ah King Atticus of Cordelia who is a very sweet little corgi with a crown. Ah who fun fact is voiced by um. Winston from ghostbusters. So that's a fun fact. 58:17.92 Leonard Oh really. 58:26.24 Dave Interesting I have to go back and listen to them again. So when I watched these um, a couple of them and this happened with um Dora Doro and some other things where I'm I'm not watching my phone and I don't always have the the luxury of having the volume on. 58:43.15 Adam Bucceri Sure. 58:44.70 Dave So it's like we're turning on the captions and so sometimes I I don't know what the characters sound like I just have to go. Okay, that's pupppe what it sounds like I'll have to go back and listen to to Atticus. 58:54.96 Adam Bucceri He he has a very pleasant baritone voice and he speaks to. 58:57.10 Leonard Um, yeah, no I'm I'm I'm actually very surprised to know that that was Ernie Hutton because I am always happy when Ernie Hudson gets work to be perfectly. Honest. 59:11.77 Adam Bucceri Absolutely. 59:12.00 Dave Um, yeah, the 1 thing I've seen him in recently is the car shield car shield um commercials. 59:20.16 Leonard Um, yeah, the last thing that I saw him in was ah Grace and Frankie on Netflix. 59:24.82 Dave Slangeth. 59:26.79 Adam Bucceri Um, ah, yeah, so ah, King Atticus ah comes up greets her insists on the the royal tour. Which you know ah Tulip is still trying to speed run this but you know they're running out of steam. You know they've been. They've been pushed hard for a while. It's like okay well maybe we'll just take things a little bit slower and so they they get a good look around cordelia is very cute and good. Ah, and then it's revealed that there are these floods that have been happening recently. Ah, which is you know a mystery as to what has been causing them. Ah but they claim that there is a monster up in them there hills so. Ah, yeah, ah, they team up they decide to go for it and it's during this part like we get some cute little bits with Atticus where they're just like okay you want to go outside. You won't go aside won't go aside and he's just like yes, no no, ah, pretty cute. Ah. They have to tear carry him across the water and he's just like flailing desperately. 01:00:37.14 Leonard And. 01:00:39.48 Dave No after War he's like I don't like to go across the water like okay but we got to go when he's like you don't understand. It's like I don't like to be picked up either that bi you you have to pick me up. 01:00:54.79 Leonard Um, my my favorite aspect of the I don't like to go across the water is previously he was he had said about him and his kingdom. It's like it's at least two and a half feet of water. Should we try to cross. We would surely travel. 01:01:11.70 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah they are stubby little guys and it is It is too much for them to handle. 01:01:16.15 Leonard They're they're just canine armwa are yeah, arm was is that the thing that you put your feet on Os yeah, theyre canine. A. 01:01:22.20 Adam Bucceri Okay, but. 01:01:22.90 Dave Um, ah ottoman No oman. Yeah, and what they are there I think they're all um Pembroke corgis I Don't think there was any cardigan ones which was made me sad because I like the Cardigans corgis. 01:01:31.56 Leonard Um, yes. 01:01:37.94 Leonard Date Dave has a specific gym. Dave has a specific eugenics dog that he prefers. Ah, ah. 01:01:40.43 Dave No I've um I've owned cary and corgi. 01:01:47.62 Dave Yes, give me this me this. They they have terrible terrible health problems. Do yeah, you think that's like a pure. Everything's been bred out of it or bred into it. 01:01:48.31 Adam Bucceri Um I was gonna go with. He's got a tight but. 01:01:57.21 Leonard As do most animals. Yeah well everything has been bred out of it and all of the recessive genes. Have been bred into it listen I Love animals I Love dogs and I get it I get that you want a specific thing but man like let them interbreed with something else just so we're not Giving. We're not getting hats for dogs all over for the. 01:02:23.31 Dave They'll be healthier for it. Um, yeah. 01:02:27.62 Adam Bucceri Yeah I love dogs but like I don't want to create like you know sometimes we create little monsters and we shouldn't do that Sometimes we play a prank on nature and that's a bad thing. 01:02:28.80 Leonard It's yeah. 01:02:39.74 Leonard I Think nature plays a prank on us through huborists most often. Ah. 01:02:41.84 Adam Bucceri Those surely. So anyways, they they cross the water and they start heading up this hill and as they do like there are these distinct signs that things are are. 01:02:42.77 Dave Yeah, yeah. 01:02:58.70 Adam Bucceri Strange you know there is a kind of isolated little snow cloud ah the sun is like jerking back and forth through the sky. Very unnaturally, ah, you know things are are behaving very strangely. And they get up to the top of the hill where they have seen like this strange shadow and you know they get startled they hide from it and then they find out. Oh wait. No, it's just the shadow of a spider that's just like being illuminated by this weird glowing. Orb. And they are It's not a big deal. It's just a spider which Atticus immediately eats the spider. Ah yes, but he then proudly declares. The monster is vanquished. We've done. It. Ah. 01:03:35.47 Leonard Um, because because animals are gross and will eat anything. That's alive and smaller than them. 01:03:48.98 Adam Bucceri Which is pretty cute and then they're like yeah well no a spider casting a scary shadow doesn't cause floods like what's going on and what's up with this weird orb and so they look a little bit farther and they see like all of these very unnatural. Ah, like floating mechanical panels with these orbs that are embedded in them. Ah some of them being removed and we see this ah very another very unnerving creature design. Ah this Robot squid octopus. Ah, with like a mannequin face. 01:04:29.37 Leonard Yeah, yeah, a Matt hey listener imagine the squiddies from the matrix but with ah JCPenney's Mannequi face attached to where it's horrible multidyed robot face is. 01:04:44.27 Adam Bucceri And the eye sockets filled with burning blue fire. Ah yeah, it's ah it's a great little design. This thing is called the Steward So I'm just going to refer to it as the such because otherwise I don't know how to describe this thing. Um. 01:04:45.48 Leonard Um, yes. 01:04:47.29 Dave Rage. 01:05:00.22 Adam Bucceri Yeah I think the squiddies from the matrix is like a really good touch point for how it moves especially a very unsettling design. So ah yeah, we we see it interfering and ah removing another one of these orbs and as it does like a tree flickers out of existence. 01:05:03.65 Leonard A. 01:05:20.30 Adam Bucceri Ah, clearly showing that the orb seemed to correlate with the reality of the car. 01:05:22.64 Leonard Yeah I'm like oh it's the it's the holodeck I grew up watching t and g I'm like oh it's the Holodeck. All are all of these cars just like weird holodeck instances. To keep people passive. 01:05:43.98 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, so one one of course decides he wants to say hi makes a noise and the Steward immediately turns around its eyes ah get machine gun barrels and it just starts. Blasting the location that they were at ah you know disintegrating the bush that they were hiding behind. 01:06:07.56 Leonard I have to say like the machine gun barrels shooting out of like popping out of the eyeholes I'm like man that feels like something Ralph Backshi would have done with this character. Ah. 01:06:15.57 Adam Bucceri Um, it does. Yeah. 01:06:21.22 Leonard This feel like that moment I was like man that feels like it fell out of a wizard's sequel. 01:06:27.24 Dave Something. 01:06:29.40 Adam Bucceri I was going to say name drop wizards as like yeah wizards are like heavy metal like it's ah it's a good design and it's ah a good moment. 01:06:32.72 Leonard Are. 01:06:39.80 Adam Bucceri Ah, so yeah, they're like kind of pinned down. They don't know what to do ah Atticus charges and it is immediately dispatched by the steward and things look pretty dire until 1 one rolls out and there's kind of this significant moment where you know the Steward looks at 2 ah, seemingly recognizes something and then flees the scene. 01:07:01.70 Leonard So there's there's ah 1 thing that I want to ah want to highlight about this like fight sequence which is tulip manages to open the door and like slam one of the the doors because they're french doors. There're there too. Slam one of it into the Stewart's face and its face opens up and I'm like there's like an aperture for a thing that would absolutely fit 1 one in there and then as soon as he like pops out and the Stewart runs away I'm like all right. Okay, let's see where this goes because that's the thing like I'm just like oh that's corollary I'm just like I'm like it doesn't necessary causation but I'm like that's that's got my brain working and I'm like oh that's real good I like that I like that a lot. 01:07:56.21 Adam Bucceri Yeah, there is a significant vacuum ah in in a recess behind the mask of the Steward's face. Yeah, so ah, this episode ends with tulips number dropping once again. 01:08:01.38 Leonard Um, yes. 01:08:11.92 Adam Bucceri And Tulip just kind of finally accepting that like okay I don't have the answers I don't I don't know what's causing this and I don't know. Yeah you know I'm not fully in control and I just have to surrender a little bit to this and. 01:08:28.55 Leonard I do love that it took her at least a week at least a week to like okay I don't I don't have any control over this nightmare train that holds alternate universes within all of its cars. 01:08:29.80 Adam Bucceri Kind of go with the flow. As long is to be. 01:08:47.51 Leonard I'm just going to let it ride and deal with it that way. But you know once again, younger person like they selfactualization and wanting to have control over their personal agency and life and. Especially in a situation like this really makes sense. 01:09:09.17 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and you know, Ah, it's not something that you know ah started after the divorce of her parents but like I think that especially makes sense in that context where it's like yeah you know when your life feels out of control. You know you want to be able to to hold on to something you want to feel like you're on firm ground as much as possible and you know surrendering control is a difficult thing to do in those circumstances. 01:09:41.74 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah, that episode ends with Atticus declaring that while they may have stopped the the immediate threat. Ah the steward is still out there posing a danger and thus it is his royal duty to continue to protect and uphold. Ah, the safety of the residents of Cordelia by joining the adventuring party and continuing along with them. 01:10:06.64 Leonard In a moment that I was like this is like labyrinth from when ah ah yeah, he exactly you ease served it did. 01:10:09.66 Adam Bucceri In yeah, he does have some circuitous energy for sure. 01:10:10.41 Dave Um, yeah, certidaus. 01:10:20.99 Leonard Tidaus and ah Ambrosius rolled it all into 1 01:10:23.61 Dave Combined. Yeah. 01:10:25.69 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, so that brings us to the next episode the crystal car. Um, the cold open here is them helping a flower lady start a restaurant. This one feels like they've been in this car for like a week solid 01:10:44.32 Leonard I Also really want to like I Really want to highlight how much I love um the art direction for this because it's very pastoral. The backgrounds are very pastoral and like. 01:10:51.22 Adam Bucceri And. 01:10:58.83 Leonard Oh yeah, this is like ah you know the stuff that I would have seen in an actual French restaurant like I like that this part particular car feels really stylized. Ah artistically. Ah. 01:11:08.64 Adam Bucceri On me. 01:11:13.39 Leonard Ah, from the other ones because they've they've all been kind of like artistically same say me, but this one is like no no this is like a ah ah painting like it and and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. 01:11:26.31 Adam Bucceri I also really enjoy that they're like debating on what the cars called and 1 of the proposed names is the quote the straight up italy car. 01:11:35.96 Leonard That's my that is also that that has actually just got a laugh out of me because I was like just straight up Italy and I'm like yep, that's that's what I would call it to um yeah I Really like I Really like this cold open because it's it's it's.. It's very different from the cold opens from the the previous episodes and I'm like oh that's real neat I I hope to see more of this moving forward. 01:12:01.70 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the way that they use this kind of reminds me of like the simpsons couch gag where it's it's just like here's an opportunity. You know every episode to spend 30 seconds on a fun throwaway little joke before we we get to the task at hand. 01:12:07.72 Leonard Um, yes. 01:12:22.30 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, So ah, they enter into the next car which is the Crystal Car. This is a sprawling landscape where everything is made out of this clear. Beautiful Prismatic crystal. And they wander across and they find the door. Ah, but it is high and out of reach and ah so they're kind of puzzling how to to get to it when they are greeted by a crystal gentleman who has a cute mustache and a crystal top Hat. Ah, and he kind of greets them and um, he is Mute. He cannot talk so he he communicates in pantomime. 01:13:02.34 Leonard Oh this is this is the this is the episode that like sent my nerd brain into orbit because I was like no there you can't he can't be mute like I was just like okay. Humans are like primarily composed of carbon and I'm like silicone is like this closet if I'm remembering my high school science silicone is like the closest element to carbon I'm like you'd be crislined. But. Wouldn't you have like wouldn't you be able to vibrate your crystals in order to make sound how how is there a society of crystal people that can't communicate through either speech or or written language and then I said you need to stop Leonard you just need to. Enjoy the ride and let this roll and I said okay I'll do that? yes. 01:14:02.18 Adam Bucceri Yeah, they communicate through vibe. Ah yeah, but ah, you know they he kind of presents. Ah, the little conundrum about how to get out. You know they're kind of puzzling through it. And the answer. It seems is that there is a ah like a little significantly placed crystal that reacts to music and you have to sing to it and so they kind of take turns singing to it Atticus immediately starts singing like a ballad of his people and just starts howling and they're just like nope. That's not going to work. Ah, one one goes up and just plays a dial-up noise that I thought was very cute. Ah, but yeah, they they ah kind of puzzle back and forth trying out these different solutions tulip. 01:14:39.40 Leonard Um, yep, love that. 01:14:43.27 Dave Success. 01:14:55.88 Adam Bucceri Ah, starts singing all of these different songs like every song that she can think of ah and she is terrible in a way that like feels relatable. Ah, you know she's just like having fun with karaoke but she sucks. 01:15:14.34 Leonard Yeah, and then she gets to the song that that means something to her and and it's word up by Cameo and it made me really sad because I adore that song. 01:15:30.15 Adam Bucceri Wait a second. That's that's a real song. Oh I didn't realize I thought it was great for the show. 01:15:31.90 Dave Yeah, yeah. 01:15:34.90 Leonard Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no, no, that's a real salt. Yeah yep, yeah, that's that's word up by Cameo. It's one of my favorite songs. 01:15:36.42 Dave No, and yeah. 01:15:42.74 Adam Bucceri That's great. 01:15:43.70 Dave Yeah I don't I don't know that I would have called that a road trip song but I've definitely listened to it on the radio in the car. So I guess yeah for. 01:15:50.34 Leonard Oh yeah, that was yeah, that would have been a world trip song for me and so like my heart broke like it felt I I really was like I was like I don't know if I should be angry about it because she's like so. 01:15:57.21 Dave Um, personally. 01:16:02.37 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:16:10.00 Leonard Like I don't want to sound mean but she's like so petulant and dismissive about like singing it and embarrassed about singing it. But I'm like that's one of my fucking favorite songs of all time like you give that song respect to up. 01:16:27.66 Dave Um, well I think she knows she can't sing and so it's It's a favorite song but she's she's you know it's different if you're singing along to the radio or if everyone in the car is just jamming out. But if you're just off the cuff. 01:16:30.20 Leonard Um, yes. 01:16:31.89 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah. 01:16:46.71 Dave Trying to like acapella something that's way different. 01:16:47.29 Adam Bucceri Um, oh yeah, that's gonna be rough. 01:16:51.90 Leonard It's it's not different from me Dave I sing I sing word up I sang word up 3 times before I jumped on this recording tonight. 01:16:52.90 Dave Well. 01:17:06.56 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah, so that's that's slightly ahead she at 1 point she tries to subvert the puzzle by just building a crystal ladder. Ah yeah. 01:17:13.88 Dave Yeah, while while Atticus is telling his like hours long ballad. 01:17:13.89 Leonard Yeah, yes. 01:17:23.53 Leonard That's. 01:17:23.58 Adam Bucceri Yeah, exceedingly long ah full of the courage of you know mustard seed or whatever the the dog hero of war. Ah, the asink tale that was it but um. 01:17:28.72 Dave In Stinky stinky butt or something stink tail I don't remember Yeah so this episode is the one where I didn't have the sound on so I didn't get to hear her renditions. 01:17:47.54 Adam Bucceri Oh they're pretty special and she does like the thing that I I appreciate which is like you know she's like yeah good do but which which like she like pantomimes like a little drum solo in the middle of it. Yeah, ah. 01:17:47.70 Leonard Um, ah. 01:17:56.93 Leonard Yeah, she she beat boxes it a little bit. 01:17:59.20 Dave Um. 01:18:04.67 Adam Bucceri Which just again, you know feels feels very relatable for you know, ah just kind of jamming out by yourself. Um, but yeah, eventually like the epiphany is that the the crystal gentleman tells her that she you know she's been trying to sing a song for the crystal and she needs to sing a song for herself. 01:18:09.84 Dave Oh yeah. 01:18:24.12 Adam Bucceri And you know she needs to kind of make herself a little bit vulnerable and so that's why she gets so you know ah comparatively uncomfortable singing this this road trip song word up a real song that exists that you can listen to on youtube.com ah 01:18:41.12 Adam Bucceri But yeah, ah, she's she's listening. You know, ah these things that you know mean something to her and ah her kind of making herself vulnerable is what kind of solves the puzzle ah by summoning a huge crystal golem. Who Ah procures a giant crystal Scarecase. He flicks the latter away much to her disappointment and then takes out a tiny little key and unlocks the door for her. 01:19:10.53 Dave It's like a super super you're you're not selling how small that key is has to hold with like little crystal fingernails and then the golem turns and walks away and then. 01:19:16.13 Adam Bucceri It's itty Itty bitty. 01:19:23.93 Dave Cakes off into the distance because it has golden Crystal buns and it's great. 01:19:26.67 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the the crystal gentleman also has crystal buns which are are pretty good. Pretty funny detail. 01:19:36.37 Leonard Yeah, it's basically the equivalent of ah I think Dave will relate to this of ah what? if ah, the girl that you went to ah a girl that you went to middle school with had a best friend charm bracelet. 01:19:52.40 Adam Bucceri Everyone. 01:19:53.80 Leonard Ah, that also had a little like secret compartment in the heart area and that's the size of the key that the goal um procures out of the. 01:19:55.92 Dave Yeah, yeah. 01:20:06.28 Dave Yeah, it's It's good. It's It's a lot of fun. Um, so as far as like the animation I was again watching this without sound on and I could get like they really sold. How uncomfortable she was singing and even just how bad she's saying like it's just in it's in her expression in her body language and everyone else Going. You can stop that now. 01:20:24.15 Adam Bucceri A. 01:20:26.22 Leonard Um, ah. 01:20:38.55 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so the episodes end with them ah escaping from the car and Tulip's number once again drops this time I think to double digits. Um. 01:20:47.86 Dave Yeah, it it? Um, it's like 89 or something it choose just shoots down. 01:20:53.17 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, we're not really evaluating these like point by point this is the episode that I feel is like a little bit slight in comparison to the other ones. 01:21:02.25 Dave Um, it doesn't have anything. There's not a lot going on. It's in they're all kind of in 1 location but they're not moving I think it's because they're now in once they're rooted to like 1 spot since they found the door right away. Um, but it has more. 01:21:14.42 Adam Bucceri Yeah, a little bit of a bottle episode. 01:21:20.10 Dave A punch to it So it's it's brief. But I think there's more resonance going on because it's showing her being more vulnerable than just being headstrong. 01:21:31.44 Adam Bucceri E. 01:21:34.96 Leonard I was actually going to agree with your point on this is the the bottle episode at least of the 5 that we're going to be covering today. Um, because hey guess what animation's expensive and sometimes. You need to make a bottle episode sometimes you need to make a saana episode of ah of an animated series. Ah in order to and to make ends meet and I did appreciate like the. The emotional arc of it like okay we can't do a lot with the animation. So we're going to like do a lot of character stuff in this one because this is the the episode that that um, really like. 01:22:14.53 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:22:22.50 Leonard Doesn't change tulip but like highlights aspects of her character that we weren't getting before. 01:22:29.72 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah, but that ah you know comparatively slight episode is going to segue into the most dense episode that we are going to be talking about episode 5 the cat car. So ah, this episode is cold open a very cute tyrannosaurus baseball. It appears that she's just helped them win. You know regionals or whatever as they wave goodbye. Yeah, ah, it's very sweet. Um, but ah. 01:22:51.85 Dave Like they're going to go to kosian. 01:23:03.12 Adam Bucceri As they go to step into the next car. Ah, the bridge that kind of connects them retracts and we see a new car slot into place giving us a new epiphany. The cars can rearrange themselves. So ah, that has implications for. You know, ah ever getting to the front of the train. 01:23:23.62 Leonard Um, yes. 01:23:26.98 Dave There's a clear like tulip has that this is a bunch of bullshit face which when she saw that that switched never anybody would be. She's been running through so many of these like it. 01:23:33.00 Leonard Um, I mean I mean anybody doing. 01:23:35.35 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah. 01:23:43.60 Dave That one skipped ahead like 12 cars. 01:23:46.40 Leonard And it's worth. It's worth noting that the car that is replaced with the one that she was ah initially trying to enter comes from the front of the train not behind. 01:23:57.39 Dave Yeah, yeah, no. 01:23:59.30 Adam Bucceri Yes, um, and and so like the implication is like is the train just always adding more cars are they shuffling them around with intent like whatever it is like the the impressionion that toollif bely gives off is like you know she cares about rules and this is breaking. What she thought was an established rule. 01:24:19.94 Leonard That's not fair that had like that rule the rule thing I'm just like oh yeah, that's labyrinth all right. It's not fair, but that's the way it is deal with it. 01:24:31.81 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, so you know one way or the other they open into the next room which takes us into like this cozy antique Chord. You know it's kind of piled high with all these eclectic artifacts but it has like a cozy quality to it and we hear a familiar voice and discover that this is the home of the Cat. So The cat is back Baby. Um tulip. 01:24:58.81 Leonard Yays. 01:25:04.82 Adam Bucceri Naturally doesn't want anything to do with her. We're just passing through ah and just starts you know, walking beelining for the entrance. Ah but the cat ah knocks over some interesting looking tapes. Ah in front of her ah says oh you know be a deer and pick those up so Tula picks one up. And it has Tulip's name on it in the same kind of glowing green letters as her number. 01:25:29.40 Leonard This was the this was the moment of like oh yeah, I'm I'm just I'm I'm an old jerk because I'm like it's it's clear that the cat deliberately knocks these things off of the shelf. 01:25:42.62 Adam Bucceri Oh yes. 01:25:44.71 Leonard And I'm like yeah I'm just like yeah fuck you I'm I'm I'm leaving I'm not going to help you with any of this I would have kicked them to the side to get to the door and I'm like oh you're you're a better person than I am tulip and that's going to come back to buy you. 01:26:03.40 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and everyone is clearly suspicious and not on board but like this is interesting enough to at least divert their attention momentarily and the cat you know claims with this tape that every passenger has one. Ah. Which is ah is a cool and evocative detail. But ah yeah, the cat invites her to watch it so brings her over to a little Tv There's a little you know it I think it looks kind of like a betamax like it doesn't look like a vhs. It looks. 01:26:34.94 Dave The the cassette itself. Yeah, looks looks like a betamax but I I don't recall a frontloading betamax. Usually they topload. Yeah for the ones that we've had there were top loading. But anyway. 01:26:37.84 Adam Bucceri Chuck your. 01:26:43.45 Leonard Oh yeah, they were always toploading Yeah from my recollection. 01:26:49.41 Adam Bucceri Yeah, but ah, you know it's kind of a chunky old technology kind of thing. Sure. 01:26:56.30 Dave It looks more like a weird eight track because there's like a there's like angle. There's a if they're not um, rectangular. There's like a angle on one side. It's a train tape. 01:27:07.13 Adam Bucceri Ah, but the cat but the cat like loads it into the vcr and her companions are like bickering and just being like we don't have time for this. We're we're not going to put up with it. Ah, but the moment that the tape goes in. Ah, Tulip is just like sucked into this white void. She goes into the sunken place. Ah yeah, and this white void is filled with these little these little windows that have her memories on them. 01:27:27.46 Dave A senses. 01:27:39.55 Adam Bucceri Um, these like floating little screens. Ah and so curious. You know she goes over to one and touches it and then suddenly is able to find herself like transported into these these scenes from her past. 01:27:54.16 Leonard I yeah I really like the sequence because it it so and you know I keep referencing. Um you know other other pieces of media that I've watched and over the course of my lifetime but this this. Next sequence more than anything kind of feels like the logical step up of the junk lady sequence from labyrinth when she shows her Sarah's 01:28:17.86 Dave Fine. 01:28:20.69 Adam Bucceri Come. 01:28:24.80 Leonard Room and it's like yeah stay here, but no, it's interactive and it's no go through your memories like lose yourself in that like just go to the places that make you feel better and don't move forward and it it feels like a nice escalation of.. Ah, concept that they presented in labyrinth in a really fun and interesting way. 01:28:50.88 Adam Bucceri Yeah I feel like you know as we're saying you know if you're genre Savvy There are definitely going to be things that you recognize from this I feel like I've seen ah versions of this but it's It's really cool to me to see like. 01:28:58.96 Leonard Are. 01:29:04.34 Adam Bucceri Um, you know, Ultimately, what is intended to be like a prison of your own memories. Um I think that this is a really cool and evocative scene. Um, so yeah, she is in these memories and she. 01:29:07.40 Leonard Right. 01:29:21.30 Adam Bucceri Ah, goes to you know a couple in a row. There's like a road trip. There's ah just her with her her parents like her parents are kind of the common denominator of these ah and her parents are together and they're Happy. Um. And so one of them is them at like you know the equivalent of like a sea world or something and they're watching the dolphins and it's real fun and cool. 01:29:44.28 Leonard I just have to say the the seat like the the sea world thing was real weird and real felt really targeted to me specifically because I distinctly remember. Being taken to a place known as marine land as a child and um, that's where I experienced my first bout of Acropphobia when my father picked me up as a toddler and put me over the railing of like at least us to. 01:30:05.74 Adam Bucceri Yup. 01:30:17.70 Adam Bucceri Ooh. 01:30:19.24 Leonard Are on on top of the railing of a 2 story drop of a walrus pit. So I was just like I was just like oh show I don't like this this feels way too targeted and I don't appreciate what you're doing right now. So. 01:30:25.69 Adam Bucceri Ah. 01:30:32.71 Dave Um. 01:30:38.50 Leonard I will say that the sequence was super effective. 01:30:40.30 Adam Bucceri I have very distinct memories of going to sea world or Marine land. One of those 2 when I was very young and just being like this is the worst fucking amusement park That's ever been. It's like four miles of hiking to get to any attraction and there's like nothing to see here. Ah, this sucks. So The the what it turns into is like kind of my my point of reference. Um, but yeah, so so she's like kind of going through these memories. Um, and eventually she ends up in. 01:31:01.64 Leonard Um. 01:31:08.44 Leonard Um. 01:31:18.50 Adam Bucceri 1 where she's like wandering in her house and we start to see that you know things are wrong like the train is seeping into her memories like things aren't quite right. She sees a commercial on the Tv which features Atticus and one one and they're trying to sell donut holeers. And you know there's there's a clear sense of unreality. You know she sees a younger version of herself kind of pantomiming to someone on the couch that isn't there. Ah, you know there's that sense of unreality. Um, that's seeping in that I think really hits the uncanny note. In a way that ah that works for me and ah the next one that she sees is her parents like kind of congratulating her on her accomplishments and saying that she got into a prestigious school but doesn't matter because she's not going to school. She's going to be a game designer. And dad says step aside shagiru which I think is is very funny. Um, but we see like her like acknowledge that something's wrong and suddenly like it starts to slowly twist and become a horror scene. 01:32:16.72 Leonard Um. 01:32:29.35 Leonard Yeah I Really I Really like the turn that this went with once again, there's a lot of like conceptually evocative stuff in the show that really hits with me and and this turn into like the thing that you wanted the thing that you. Dreamed of being twisted and attacking you um, really hits with me. 01:32:56.12 Adam Bucceri E. 01:32:59.45 Dave Um, and I think that a lot of the horror in it isn't even um that that shift that tunnel shift that's happening or I guess visual shift that's happening but the fact that the memories that are being presented to her. Are how she it's her coping mechanism I think that that's what she actually was remembering versus what actually happened. 01:33:21.12 Adam Bucceri Yeah, well I don't think it's what she's remembering. It's like what she's she's you know, wants it to be. You know she's deliberately rewriting her memories to be more appealing. Yeah. 01:33:25.44 Leonard Ah. 01:33:34.75 Dave She is but I don't think it's It's not something conscious like she just thinks that That's how it happened and then she's like wait Actually this other thing is how it actually was going on is how that read to me. 01:33:49.63 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so I think you're totally right in saying that like this is a a very literal way to force her to Confront like the coping mechanisms that she's been putting on um and and we see you know when. 01:33:58.84 Dave Um, yeah. 01:34:04.88 Adam Bucceri These things start ah becoming horrifying when she gets consumed in the the false ness of her her memories when ah you know the dissonance happens like this static ah starts creeping up her body kind of threatening to consume her and. Now she's kind of going back through those same memories that she was going through earlier but remembering them how they actually happened with her parents fighting over Petty things Sea world being totally lame with you know one dolphin That's just like. Not going through a hoop because a spoiler like those water shows aren't good. Ah for anyone involved. They're not good for the animals. They're not good for the audience. Um. 01:34:52.20 Dave Um, no the other dolphin died. So it's like she's like oh that's why this place closed down. 01:34:56.81 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's it's bad Steve um, yeah, and so as she remembers things you know, kind of honestly ah the static retreats. Um, she has a memory of her parents. Talking about the divorce but them like delighting in it ah turning twisting becoming demonic with the the house turning into flames around her ah before she like stops and rejects it and remembers how it really happened. Ah. As this like kind of somber down-to-earth discussion about them. You know, working through things and just saying like we tried to to make it work but you know ultimately we're too different and things just aren't aren't working out between us and you know it's. This kind of very sad. Ah you know, played straight. Um, very relatable scene to me with the the house still on fire behind like just kind of quietly burning. Um, which feels like a very silent hill you know visual metaphor. 01:36:06.87 Dave Yeah, it's it's that kind of breakdown and then it's her breaking down the events and like understanding because she is now slightly more mature than she had been when the events went down. 01:36:08.79 Adam Bucceri To me. 01:36:26.64 Dave So She's able to She's able to step outside of herself like in this case literally and see what's going on and then see what she was doing at that time and going. Oh yeah, maybe I wasn't handling this like the best way I could have but. You you mean she still gets what's going on it still affects her. Regardless. 01:36:48.63 Adam Bucceri Yeah, definitely. 01:36:52.80 Leonard I have to say that I actually really appreciate the the reference to Silent Hill because this whole sequence kind of feels like a perspective flip of the entirety of silent ill-shatttered memories. Um. 01:37:07.44 Adam Bucceri Oh interesting. 01:37:10.36 Leonard If you're ah familiar with that game. Ah so ah, you know instead of viewing it from Harry's perspective the the spoilers for however, old that game is it's it is a reimagining of Siam Hill one but it is. Um, ultimately shown to be told from ah Cheryl's perspective while she's in therapy from Dr Kaufman and the entirety of the game while you're playing as Harry is her memories of the man that he was and that that like that. Felt equivalent to this entire like episode at least the the vhs part of it. 01:37:58.90 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, so you know I'm not really going to get into it until we finish out the season but like part of my thesis is that like yeah I think there's definitely some silent Hill Dna in this in this series as a whole despite you know, kind of in the same way that like coralline. 01:38:11.70 Leonard Um. 01:38:16.00 Adam Bucceri Has a lot of children's Dna despite being a children's media property. Um, but kind of playing around in some of those same ideas. 01:38:17.75 Dave Um, ah. 01:38:21.82 Leonard Ah. 01:38:23.27 Dave Um, no yeah for sure that that's that's a that's one I've watched repeatedly because it is um, it's smart and what is doing and is still like creepy. 01:38:35.92 Leonard Yeah. 01:38:38.00 Adam Bucceri Oh yeah, yeah I love coralline. Um, but yeah, so she's kind of able to you know self-actualize a little bit. She's able to confront her feelings and be honest with herself about the things that happened and be honest with how she felt about it. 01:38:38.66 Dave Yeah. 01:38:55.52 Adam Bucceri And with that epiphany she's kind of ah freed from from the trap of the the television set so she snaps back to reality and you know at the exact same moment that she left. Um, you know Atticus is still mid-sentence objecting to to. Spending time here and saying that they should go and the cat immediately realizes that the jig is up is very nervous and just like oh back. So soon? Um, so yeah, they are. Ah, understandably pissed about this ah get up and leave the car. Ah at which point we see the car once again, kind of detach itself ah rush along the top of the train and then ah the cat gets some visitors. As we see the yes the steward ah show up again. Ah and with him is this terrifying kind of shadowy figure. 01:39:51.67 Leonard Stewart. 01:40:05.66 Adam Bucceri We do not see a good look of it. It simply has a robotic red line ah a waveform of some kind that is there? Um, but this seems to be what the Stewart defers to ah the steward makes it clear. 01:40:13.91 Leonard Um, earth. 01:40:23.85 Adam Bucceri That the cat has failed in her purpose. So the cart appearing directly in front of Tulip clearly was no accident. Um, and as the final you know act of punishment. Ah the steward destroys the interior of this car smashing her precious artifacts and relics which clearly distressed. 01:40:42.69 Leonard I was just like I was just like when that happened I was just like and then king tried and found Ariel's grotto and blew everything to shit it. 01:40:43.30 Adam Bucceri Category deal. 01:40:54.22 Adam Bucceri Yeah, very very similar energy. 01:40:57.79 Dave Um, take that dingle hopper. 01:41:02.36 Adam Bucceri ah ah yeah but ah, you know this mysterious ah figure calls off the Stuart and ah the cat is ordered not to fail again and that is where episode 5 of infinity train. 01:41:19.48 Leonard Hey stakes raised threat established good Midway point. 01:41:19.98 Adam Bucceri Ends. 01:41:24.39 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, it's a good midpoint climax I think especially introducing this new this new threat. 01:41:37.66 Leonard Um, yes. 01:41:42.25 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah, that is the first half we will be back later to talk about the second half. Ah do you guys have any closing thoughts on ah this first half of the season. 01:41:54.98 Dave No I think we covered this one pretty well unless you have something Leonard. It's I wasn't sure what to expect going into it I knew there was a train and it was infinite. Um. But I didn't watch any track just watch the first episode and went. Okay, yeah, this is um, it's heavier than I would have anticipated something on cartoon network um to be but I like appreciated that it's it's not talking down to its audience. It's not um, the. 01:42:21.66 Leonard Um. 01:42:29.22 Dave There's stuff to read into. Um, there's room for that. The characters have at least so far and at least um in in tulips regards like an arc that's visible and that's super appreciated. Um. 01:42:43.13 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:42:47.45 Dave And but yeah, just letting the viewers draw their own conclusions. There's space to make conjectures of things as you kind of go along and with something that's ah such brief episodes. Um. It's surprising that how much you can cram into like 10 minutes 01:43:08.82 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah I think between you know over the garden wall and infinity train and Stephen universe and adventure time like those short format shows ah have really proven that they can. They can pack a dramatic punch if they want to. 01:43:28.12 Leonard So I Do want to say that um and and really apologies to anybody who's listening to the episode that um, got the once again. Ah. Where I gave the impression that I didn't like this show I do like the show I think it's really clever I think it's really smart. Um, and ah in in talking about it this way I think I have like gained a greater appreciation for. For what it's doing like distilling it down to like its core narrative beats because they're I'm not going to Lie. There's There's an aspect to it where there are you know minutes long bits that feel really Me-y and I'm just like that's not what I'm here for but talking about. Like the core essence of what this show's narrative is um, really um has given me a a greater appreciation for what I've I've I've seen so Far. So I'm actually very excited to to wrap up this this first season. The next time we talk about it. 01:44:41.80 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and ah spoiler that the second half of this season are where my favorite episodes are like I think that some really cool stuff is is waiting for us in the future. 01:44:46.47 Leonard Um, down me. 01:44:51.90 Dave Yeah, and those those sentiments landed that's something that over the last however long we've run into I think again and again where it's not just you but um, one of us in general we may not all be on. 01:45:02.46 Leonard Um, yes. 01:45:08.90 Dave On the same page at the beginning of the episode but um, it breaking the things down doing the discussion that we do ah can foster I think an appreciation for something even if you don't necessarily jive with it. Um, 110 percent um and 01:45:24.74 Leonard Um. 01:45:27.22 Dave I will also say that the the the cold open parts particularly in episode 4 and 5 those I don't enjoy them. Um, it's more that I'm watching I was just watching them in a row so 2 episodes to do that. It just that you just did that. 01:45:36.67 Leonard Um. 01:45:45.52 Dave You did that 10 minutes ago so I didn't want to see it again. Um, but I understand why it's there because of the pacing you only have 10 minutes to show like there's a broader thing you can you visually establish. There's like a thousand train cars and. 01:46:04.00 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:46:05.49 Dave Without acknowledging that there's ah some differences in there. You could end up being too samey. You know if you don't have time to camp out on like different cars. 01:46:12.31 Leonard You write. 01:46:21.66 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah you know they work for me again I talk about them kind of like Simpson's couch gags where they they mostly are there just as like a little throwaway joke. Um, but I understand that perspective. 01:46:26.78 Dave I. 01:46:37.46 Dave Yeah I mean it's so brief it. It doesn't do anything detrimental to the show. Um I just saw them too quickly in succession I was like I don't I saw what you did I don't okay ha Ha you know. 01:46:42.38 Leonard Um, right. 01:46:43.86 Adam Bucceri E. 01:46:53.16 Dave Um. 01:46:54.17 Leonard I I did like to once again I already spoke about why like the basically in ah Italy one because it had like this art style and and and like a story that I'm like a man I do kind of wish that I had watched that one because that seemed really nice. 01:46:59.18 Dave 1 01:47:11.58 Leonard And and stress free and something that I would have enjoyed. But yeah, um I I totally get the perspective of like especially if you're kind of slamming them back to back like it's the sameiness could probably be like what. 01:47:27.70 Dave And and because it's like you're you're seeing in the first instance they're exiting the car and on the second I mean they're they're both exiting the car but you're seeing the other car just through the doors so you have to have something striking or. 01:47:38.99 Adam Bucceri E. 01:47:45.23 Dave Really different about the art direction in that small space to to set it off from like whatever where whatever they're going into and they do a good job with that like you. Okay, you know you can understand at a glance they were doing a baseball game for dinosaurs I mean that's different. 01:47:49.62 Leonard Um. 01:48:05.90 Dave Um, so it's it's still fun. Little moments. It's just there was there was an issue of pacing mostly or you know being too close together in time watching it. So if this was like a weekly I don't know what the release date or for format was on this I'm imagining. It's weekly. Um. Then you I don't I think it's going to hit differently because you you didn't you know you can remember every little bit from week before um, unless you like tvo. Yeah, just well yeah, can't all have photographic memory. But. 01:48:23.37 Leonard Right. 01:48:30.83 Leonard Ah, unless you're me Dave unless you're me Dave. 01:48:36.74 Leonard Weird weird freak Brain I prefer I prefer weird freak brain instead of photographic memory that sounds too clean and too nice. 01:48:44.95 Dave Well a self appellation is different than if I said it about you. So. 01:48:55.89 Adam Bucceri All right? So I think that is going to wrap up this episode of Monster Dear Monster ah Leonard where can the nice people find you. 01:49:04.73 Leonard Yes, people can find me on Twitter at Dr Faust is dead and people can that's where I post pictures of my cats and food and ah. What I presume are witticisms people I get enough likes to assume that people actually care about things that I say so I'm going to go with that and people can also follow me on Twitter at Umbranots Productions and if you're interested in seeing my video essay work. You can go to Youtube. And search for Dr Faust is dead and if you're interested in my filmwork you can go on Youtube as well and search for Umbra Knox Productions Dave where can people find you on the internet. 01:49:50.10 Dave And can find me primarily on Twitter at sentinon underscore plus that will be in the show notes as always cameron you can find on Twitter at night underscorewi and that's night without a k he will be back. Maybe sometime this month these he's a very busy boy he's got ah um, a wedding coming up so there's just stuff to do always something to do but he will be back. Yes, you will be at be back. Um sometime soon. 01:50:13.30 Adam Bucceri Oh. 01:50:17.97 Leonard Um, Mal wege. 01:50:26.00 Dave Ish. 01:50:27.69 Adam Bucceri And I have been your host Adam I am an animator and game designer if you would like to follow me I am available on Twitter at adambuchery if you'd like to check out my tabletop games. You can find me on itch io at. Boo cherry.itch.io that is boo like ghost cherry like fruit. Thanks for coming. 01:50:50.10 Dave And you can. Yep you can find the podcast at monsterdeer.monster 01:50:57.35 Adam Bucceri I said thanks for coming which is a dumb way to sign off I know what I was thinking on that one. 01:51:02.50 Dave Um I have the power of edit go ahead and send us home. 01:51:06.21 Leonard Um, and and we're still technically recording. So I want Dave to leave all of this in because I think it's personally gold. Ah, ah. 01:51:11.97 Adam Bucceri Yeah, this is a monument to my shame now goodbye. 01:51:16.93 Leonard Ah, goodbye everyone I. 01:51:19.53 Dave Bye Bye folks. 01:51:24.15 Adam Bucceri And scene.