Credit: Character designer Allison Kim
Storyboarded by Kellye Perdue & Sam Spina
Sometime after the events of last season's "The Chrome Car", Mirror Tulip has found a blacksmith car. After rendering the denizens comatose, she gives herself a makeover to be visibly distinct from her "prime". Now sporting a confident new look, MT proceeds to spend the next few months traveling the train and experiencing all it has to offer, while doing her best to avoid detection from the reflection police. After learning that One-One now controls the train and is giving new passengers instructional videos on how to leave the otherworldly locomotive, MT silently contemplates her own lack of a number before entering the titular Black Market Car.
In the car, a denizen inspecting MT with an eyeglass results in Special Agent Mace and Agent Sieve finding her, still desiring to execute her for the crime of escaping the Mirror World. After a prolonged chase through the marketplace, she manages to lose them by escaping into the autumn forest within the next car, hiding behind an odd deer that can alter the properties of its body. Thanking the woodland creature, MT attempts to continue on her journey only to discover that the deer has become attached to her and won't stop following her around. Though initially annoyed by this, she quickly grows fond of its presence and spends the next two day playing and caring for it.
One morning, she awakens to find the deer now in the company of a passenger named Jesse, a teenage boy with a happy-go-lucky attitude. Put off by his carefree demeanor, MT tries to claim ownership of the deer and leave, while Jesse insists that their shared love for the animal means they're bound to be good friends as well. However, her ranting over Jesse naming the deer "Alan Dracula" and giving her the nickname "Chrome Girl" leaves the duo distracted and the deer ends up falling through the ground, revealing that they've been standing on a tree canopy this entire time.
Tropes for this episode include:
- As You Know: The Mirror Police discuss how a compromised suit is dangerous, which they should already know.
- Berserk Button: M.T. loses her temper at Jesse for nicknaming her "Chrome Girl", because she doesn't want to be defined by him.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Jesse first names the deer Dracula, then Alan, before settling on "Alan Dracula".
- Chameleon Camouflage: The deer is able to blend into the forest floor to hide M.T. from the Mirror Police.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the deer falling through the ground, and M.T. and Jesse about to go after it.
- Continuity Nod:
- M.T.'s bracelet is the metal chain for a pen. Tulip parted ways with her in the bank car with living pencils.
- When One-One mentions how one can encounter friends along their journey across the train, images of Randall and Atticus pop up.
- M.T goes through the Kaiju Car from the shorts.
- We see a passenger transport pod being put to its proper use for the first time, revealing where the Conductor got the parts for the "head" of her suit.
- The idea of a guide in general was most likely stemming from a comment Tuip made about the Train "not having a rulebook" back in "The Beach Car".
- Cyberpunk: The aesthetic of the Black Market car with its grittiness, neon and combined with MT's status as a 'clone' with the Mirror Police after her looks like it's the Infinity Train version of Blade Runner.
- Desperately Seeking A Purpose In Life: M.T. is wandering around the train aimlessly, knowing that none of the quests are for her and that there is no home for her apart from serving as Tulip's reflection.
- Dress Hits Floor: M.T. takes off her shirt and jacket so she can change into a new shirt, with the camera positioned behind her legs. The two hit the floor with a loud clang due to being metal.
- Important Haircut: M.T. shears off her hair on one of the train's wheels to keep from being recognized.
- Magical Security Cam: Apparently the Mirror Police can do this with any sufficiently reflective surface. M.T. has taken to carrying black spray paint around to keep any such surfaces covered, including the shirt she wears and a ball-chain bracelet made out of the chain from a pen.
- Musicalis Interruptus: When MT tries to walk off after meeting Alan Dracula, the walking music starts up only to immediately cut out when Alan Dracula interrupts her.
- Oh, Crap!: M.T.'s reaction when one of the slug vendors shoves a small telescope into her face, which has a reflective surface the Mirror Police can see her through.
- Psychological Projection: It's pretty clear that the reason M.T. does not like Jesse is because she views his tendency to assign things to the deer (putting glasses on him and giving him a name) and especially to her (calling her Chrome girl) as being akin to what her old life back in the mirror world was like, even though its mostly harmless and he's doing it in good jest.
- Rattling Off Legal: Sad-One at the end of their video.Sad-One: By watching this recording you've agreed to release the Train of any liability....
- Taught by Experience: Having been restored as the Conductor, One-One has added a prerecorded message to the passenger pods that plays once they're woken up, informing them of the rules of the train and how to get home.
- Time Skip: According to Owen, this takes place two months after Tulip left the train.
- Visual Pun: Mace and Sieve are police officers running after MT with a giant sander (with a blade used to grind her to dust). They're Blade Runners.
