#jesse infinity train

Yapping about whatever

A little bit of my infinity train Au

i also talked about how Ragatha didn't really strike me as a people pleaser because she can actually be assertive when she wants.

there are better ways to write characters who are people pleasers or enablers, and to address the negative impact of their behavior.

to elaborate on this, i am once again going to bring up one of my favorite shows of all time - Infinity Train.

in S2 of Infinity Train, Jesse is the archetypical example of a people pleaser. he lets people boss him around and walk all over him, he often tries to stay on a neutral ground whenever an argument breaks out, and he is afraid of confrontation and conflict.

people pleasing characters are rarely written to be bad people. we're supposed to sympathize with them or relate to them. the people pleasing behavior is a flaw but not necessarily one that's hateful.

however with Jesse, we see how this tendency manifests into a much more harmful behavior — he becomes an enabler.

a few episodes in, we learn how he got into the train in the first place. it's because his "friends" were bullying his little brother and Jesse, too afraid to stand up to them, instead enables their behavior. his brother ends up getting hurt and Jesse does nothing to prevent it.

Infinity Train has always done a good job of writing protagonists with serious, glaring flaws. not surface level imperfections like being clumsy or awkward, and not "heroic" flaws like being too forgiving or self-sacrificing.

they could have easily made Jesse a sympathetic character whose flaw only hurt himself but instead, they made him a lot more interesting by showcasing how people pleasing behavior can lead to actually hurting people around you.

Jesse also gets actual character development throughout the season, thanks to Lake.

Lake, who has constantly been on the run and was discriminated against because she wanted to choose her own path, is fiercely determined to do her own thing no matter what anyone tries to tell her. this was the exact person Jesse needed to pair up with, to realize that he didn't constantly have to play it safe and try to please everyone.

in the end, Jesse finally builds up the courage to stand up to Simon and Grace to protect Lake, AND he sincerely apologizes to his brother as soon as he escapes the train. he even comes back to the train to demand One-One to let Lake go, which shows how he's grown.

this is what it looks like when flaws are written intentionally. this doesn't seem to be the case with Ragatha OR Pomni.

in Ragatha's case, we actually see her calling Jax out on his shitty behavior and standing up for her friends from the beginning. that doesn't strike me as people pleasing behavior at all.

sure, i guess she doesn't oppose any of Caine's adventures, but that's understandable, considering his power. and she admits to fake laughing at Kaufmo's jokes but that still comes off as her being polite rather than people pleasing.

and as for Pomni, i don't think they're going to even address her enabling tendencies, let alone resolve it in just one episode.

Just saw a tiny bit of Steven x Connie art and I decided to lock tf in xd

Like he was in so much pain over losing them that the train LITERALLY TOOK HIM BACK FOR ROUND 2

Not only that, but it’s even deeper than that in terms of showing how much Jesse loves Lake. Because not only did the train return to him, Jesse made the active choice to board again. This time he knew exactly what that train was and the danger and the kinds of things that happen there. And he still actively chose to get back on because the danger doesn’t matter. What matters is getting back to Lake. That alone says so much about both Jesse as a person and the importance of his relationship with Lake.

When confronting the Apex and running away with Lake, his number does not change. They don't get his exit right away, it doesn't appear after this dramatic moment of him standing up for himself and his friend.

"But Yellow! It's about the pacing! It's about the drama of them running away!"

Wrong!

For one, Jesse's problem isn't that he can't stand up for himself. Because he can! And he shows us this!

"It looks like your punching wasn't doing much good either."

"I was yelling! It's still my turn to yell!"

He talks back after Lake mocks his approach. He puts his foot down and defends himself.

"Pft. You would."

He antagonizes Lake after the flecs outted them as a criminal. He doesn't bend to Lake's whims like someone who's spineless.

"You better not tell mom!"

He doesn't grovel for Nate not to tell their parents. Doesn't promise to make it up to him later, doesn't try to lighten this blow at all. The way someone would if they always played both sides.

Defending himself is not his problem, not really. It's not even just people-pleasing.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"I'm not gonna be a part of anything like this. On or off the train!"

If it was? This would have been the scene Jesse got his exit. There's enough build up for it, we don't need the chase scene before it, we could still have the flex show up after Jesse's exit closed with Lake on the other side.

But it isn't.

"I've got you. We're getting out of here."

It's only after he reassures Lake that his number changes. After he promises to stay with them, to side with them.

Jesse's issues were about standing up for others. For defending other people, even when it wasn't convenient. Not about him.