The Docent is a mysterious monster that inhabits the Art Gallery Car.
Appearance
The Docent at first appears as the shadows of hands that inhabit the various paintings and items on display in the car. Its actual shape is that of a creature completely made up of arms stolen from passengers unfortunate enough to get caught in its wake. Their numbers are still present on some of these arms.
History
The Docent's origins are unknown, whether it began as a group of shadows that attacked passengers to eventually form whatever it is now, or it was given some arms by One and gradually built itself from there. The only warning in the car to the Docent's presence is a sign that reads "Mind the Docent" passengers can see on entrance.
A warning sign about the Docent.
Book Four - Duet
"The Art Gallery Car"
When Min-Gi Park, Ryan Akagi, and Kez are in the Art Gallery Car, it causes tension between the two. When Ryan finds the exit before Min-Gi, it emerges from a painting and tries to do something with Min-Gi before he finds the exit.
Abilities
The Docent manipulates passengers into voicing their most negative thoughts using its shadow hands. Once the passenger is caught in a vulnerable position, the Docent appears and will attack. The exact end goal of this attack is never witnessed by the viewer, but it is heavily implied the Docent will take the passenger's arm.
Trivia
- A "docent", besides being an academic title, refers to a person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, at a museum, gallery, or zoo. What this means for the nature of the creature itself is unclear.
- The Docent was an idea by Alex Horab, the writer of "The Art Gallery Car." Originally, it was a creature that removed passenger's arms to make up its cloak, but eventually evolved into "whatever it is now." Owen Dennis has referred to it as an upsetting creature, admitting he himself does not fully understand its nature. Possible origins he suggested included One giving it some hands to start with, or it was a shadow that was able to acquire hands.[1]
- Megan Phonesavanh's early concept art includes a variant that forms a humanoid figure, wearing a suit. The final, more monstrous design was based on feedback from Owen Dennis.[2]
- The Docent's design may be loosely inspired by a scene from the 1986 film Labyrinth, in which a shaft of "helping hands" form faces as they communicate. The film features David Bowie, who was also indirectly referenced in Book 4. Other inspirations may include a gem monster made up of body parts from the Steven Universe episode "Keeping It Together", which is another Cartoon Network show.
- The Docent is unique among denizens on the Infinity Train, or at least those presented in the series: while the threat of death is present with the Ghoms, and denizens have occasionally presented threats to passengers' safety (particularly in this season due to Ryan and Min-Gi's association with Kez), the Docent is the only known denizen whose sole purpose is to actively try to kill or seriously maim passengers—and it clearly has succeeded in this endeavor.
- Whenever the Docent is around the protagonists, they feel colder in the already cold train car. This is a nod to cold spots, a concept in the world of ghost hunting, where it is believed a paranormal entity can cause a contained area of a room to become unusually cold.
Gallery
Concept Art
References
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