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Episode 2 of Book 3 of Infinity Train picks up with Grace and Simon now inside the next car after getting separated from their home. They are on their way back to The Mall Car and the rest of The Apex, the group of kids they are the leaders of. Grace notices Simon seems worried. He says they should have had a backup plan since they are the leaders of the group and the rest depend on them. Simon checks what little supplies they have on themselves, realizing they are going to have to ration until they get back to their car. Grace tries to throw her usual insults at Simon, but they fall flat. We see that the two are in a jungle themed car, with a little extra flair. Grace tries to lift Simon’s spirits by telling him to loosen up and have fun. As they go through the car, they find that when they touch certain objects, they emit different tones and musical sounds.
In the distance, Grace and Simon hear a rumble. Animals begin to run and hide in the jungle. An electrical pulse flies through the woods, knocking Simon and Grace off their feet. Simon uses his magnetic shoes to prevent from falling off the side. He catches Grace as she falls. Simon then uses the shoes to climb to the top of a tree to see what is out there. At the top, he sees trees begin falling in the distance and Simon races down the tree warning Grace to get clear of it. The tree narrowly crushes Simon, but Grace pulls him to safety. They decide to find the null causing the commotion and incapacitate it. They build a trap and wait for it to capture the null. They hear the trap fall, go to check it out, but the trap has been broken. All of a sudden, a giant hand pulls Simon up into a tree and Grace gets startled by his disappearance calling out his name. She backs towards a bush, scared, and is pulled into it by the same hand.
Grace and Simon wake up in a nest on the ground and notice claw marks and hear something big approaching them. They hear a young voice and see a giant gorilla creature approaching them. It reaches out towards them. As Grace screams seeing the hand coming at her, we see it begins tickling Grace and Simon. They both laugh. A young girl jumps out from behind the gorilla and makes fun of them being scared. Grace gets annoyed at Simon because he said there were no passengers on his number tracker map. They approach the girl, telling her about The Apex and try to convince her that they can help her get everything she’s entitled to on the train. As Simon gives his recruitment pitch, she blows a raspberry at him and starts laughing in his face. Annoyed at the kid for laughing, he starts talking louder, causing the gorilla to become protective. The girl stops the gorilla from attacking to Simon’s relief.
Grace takes a shot at recruiting her and tries in a nicer tone, introducing herself and saying that Simon is her friend. Grace asks what her friend’s name is. The girl says the gorilla is named Tuba and her name is Hazel. Grace tells Hazel she’s looking for passengers to help. Grace asks Tuba if she can talk to Hazel alone. Tuba walks away and eats a pineapple. Grace pulls down her glove, revealing her number glowing bright to Hazel. Hazel screams in excitement and runs over to look at it. Grace asks if Hazel has a number. She says she does and opens her hand to reveal the number 337, but it’s not glowing. Grace calls Simon over, questioning whether that’s why the tracker didn’t show her in the car and says the conductor must be trying to hide her from them.
Grace manipulates the situation and tells Hazel she can come back with them to the apex, they can fix her number and she can meet all of the other kids. All excited to see other kids, she tells Tuba to pack her things. Simon yells that Tuba can’t come with them, stopping Hazel in her tracks. Grace cuts Simon off before he scares Hazel off by explaining that numbers are for passengers and Tuba probably wants to stay in the jungle car. Hazel says she’s not going anywhere without Tuba. Grace says they’ll bring them both along and secretly tells Simon they’ll ditch Tuba before they get to The Apex. Simon agrees with the new plan. Tuba asks if Hazel is sure she wants to go because they were building a home there. Hazel responds saying that it’s the moment she’s been waiting for all her life. Tuba says okay and packs up her things with Hazel’s help.
Hazel: “We gotta bring the couch!”
Tuba: “That is a rock.”
Hazel: “Oh. We need to take the TV for sure!”
Tuba: “That is also… a rock.”
I already love Hazel and Tuba’s dynamic. Hopefully Tuba will see through Grace and Simon’s charade before it is too late. Hazel is such a pure soul and has the perfect voice to accompany her character design. I I would hate to see her change because of these negative influences. Hopefully Hazel can help change Grace and Simon for the better instead. This episode was a great way to show more of Grace and Simon’s dynamics as friends, seeing a softer side at points, and begin to introduce the rest of the lead characters for this season. I can’t wait to see what the next car brings for this unconventional group of characters.
You can stream Infinity Train Books 1-2 and Episodes 1-5 of Book 3 on HBO Max now!
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