Heartwarming / Carmen Sandiego

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For the 2019 animated show:

General

General

• Carmen's goal to thwart V.I.L.E. operations to protect would-be victims and any culturally significant item(s).
• As strange and twisted as it is, V.I.L.E.'s adoption for "Black Sheep" aka a young Carmen Sandiego. They are shown to be a group of amoral, violent thieves but took in and lovingly nurtured an orphaned baby that couldn't bring them money, power, or status.
  • In particular, Coach Brunt and Carmen's relationship, which makes Carmen's defection harder and more heartbreaking for both of them. As Carmen recounts, Brunt was a Doting Parent that protected "Lambikins" from anyone hurting her, and spoiled her rotten.
• Carmen and Player have a rather sweet relationship in this incarnation, however you interpret it. Carmen feels compelled to reassure him when he seems to react poorly to her calling Gray her best friend and Player frequently gets worried if Carmen isn't in contact with him. Her relationship with Zack and Ivy is similarly altered, with them frequently affectionately calling her "Boss" or "Carm" and routinely demonstrating Undying Loyalty. Carmen, for her part, has clearly claimed them as her own and demonstrates routinely that she wants nothing more than for them to be happy and safe, even as they're helping her.

Season 1

Becoming Carmen Sandiego, Part 1

• Coach Brunt shedding a Tears of Joy over a young Carmen going into V.I.L.E. Academy.
• A young Crackle apologizing to a young Carmen for his earlier teasing of her nickname and then defusing a possible fight between the her and Sheena.
• When a young Carmen reflexively refers to Graham as her best friend, a young Player is hurt, and the former immediately states that Graham is her "school best friend" while Player is her "best friend period".

Becoming Carmen Sandiego, Part 2

• Coach Brunt's terrified reaction when hearing Carmen sneaked out with the graduates and got into a fight with them; her response is to hug Carmen and say, "I blame myself." Despite being angry that V.I.L.E.'s teachers lied to her, Carmen didn't have the heart to call her out.
  • Heck, the whole reactions from the V.I.L.E. Council counts. While Carmen admits that her return was strained, the Council basically gave her a slap on the wrist for what would be expulsion, death, or who knows for anyone else who pulled the same stunt. Besides Coach Brunt's above stated reaction, Professor Maelstrom gave her psychological ink blot tests, Dr. Bellum's spying, Countess Cleo's attempts to "tame" her wild side, and Shadow-san giving her the silent treatment, possibly an Anger Born of Worry reasoning.
    • A small moment, but during Countess Cleo's session with her ward, a young Carmen was about to fall off a walking stance before catching her footing. In that moment, Cleo's eyes widened in shock, implying she was worried about her ward getting hurt.
• Young Carmen so in awe in being outside V.I.L.E. that she takes her phone out and poses for a selfie!
• The leader of the archaeological dig, explaining the purpose of sharing these historical finds to the rest of the world. Were it not for him, we would not have the Carmen Sandiego of this series. Not to mention Carmen pulls a Diving Save to rescue him, and gives the archaeologist a chance to run.
• The Player deciding to team up with Carmen to stop VILE in its tracks. He honestly didn't have to do it, especially after learning that she's in a school of thieves, but decides to use his hacking skills for good use.
• Young Carmen taking the elevator with Cookie Booker, apologizing for her water balloon pranks over the years. Cookie accepts the apology and gives Young Carmen advice on aspiring on being a good thief.
• Carmen also believed that she could appeal to Gray's friendship with her to convince him to turn as well, which was why she deliberately stole an item with a tracking device and let him corner her on the train. Unfortunately, Grey had orders to bring her in either for a pardon or as a V.I.L.E. captive, and his response is to try and shoot her; still, Carmen thought it was worth a try.
• The object that Carmen stole in the pilot was not the Eye of Vishnu, which she left behind in the apartment for Interpol to find, but the set of Russian nesting dolls that V.I.L.E. found with her when she was a baby. She hadn't forgotten what the archaeologist had told her about how stealing the Eye of Vishnu would mean stealing its knowledge from the world.

The Sticky Rice Caper

• During the fight between Carmen's gang and Tigress, Ivy ends up dangling off the speeding truck, and the first name she yells for help? Zack's.
  • And Zack's response when he sees Ivy in that situation? Call out her name in panic and immediately goes to rescue her.

The Chasing Paper Caper

• Carmen's conversation with Julia on the train is quite wholesome, with how she takes an interest in Julia's passion for history when it's so often dismissed by other (such as Chase), and gives her the Affectionate Nickname "Jules" mere seconds after meeting her. Plus, she leaves Julia the Magna Carta to find after this, saying "it's in good hands".

The Lucky Cat Caper

• A small one, but Professor Maelstrom refers to Carmen as his and the V.I.L.E. Council's "former pride and joy". A nice hint that outside of Coach Brunt, the other Council Members genuinely cared for their former ward.
• Carmen buying the muscle car for Zack at the charity auction because it's from his favorite movie series.

The French Connection Caper

• Before he was knocked unconscious by VILE toothpaste, Chase realizes, in his own way, that he's been rude to Julia lately and decides to buy her a present.
• Shadowsan being Good All Along; he intentionally failed Carmen's exam so she didn't have to live a life of a thief. On the night she stole that boat, he wanted to ride with her. He even sliced the cables of the helicopter so the Janitors couldn't go after her! He is willing to be a mole for her by leaving a VILE hard-drive for her next set of capers.
• Shadowsan was the one who found Carmen as an abandoned baby in Argentina. He gives this explanation:

  Shadowsan: As strange as it may seem, even someone like me is incapable of turning his back on an abandoned baby.

Season 2

Hot Rocks of Rio Grande Caper (Part 1)

• Julia goes to see Chase and talks to him while he's recovering from his assault in the previous episode, even buying his favorite mints and pretending that Carmen is in the hospital room.
• After Carmen admits to Player that she's been distracted in regards to her past, the family whose house she passed through to get to Le Chevre asks if she can have lunch with them. In particular, we see the family's daughter — Isabel — wearing Carmen's hat and asking if she can throw water balloons at the samba dancers.

Hot Rocks of Rio Grande Caper (Part 2)

• Carmen gives back the mined alexandrite to the city, showcased by her leaving a red box with one of the stones and a letter to the same family who housed her that a bank account with a community fund has just been created.
• The end of the episode has Shadow-san admit that he admired Carmen's spirit to free herself from V.I.L.E. Or as he states that he is now the student and she is the teacher.

The Daisho Caper

• The first flashback of Shadowsan teaching Carmen about the mythology of Japan with young Carmen asking if Shadowsan will take her to Japan one day. The second sees Carmen slightly older and following Shadowsan asking about his country which him telling her about Samurai and their code of honor. The third is the day Carmen asked to be enrolled in V.I.L.E.'s training program...only now we see it understanding Shadowsan's motivations.

The Boston Tea Party Caper

• When Le Chèvre sees Carmen Sandiego interfering with his operation ever since she defected from VILE, he pleads "Black Sheep" to leave their operation alone and says he'll never tell anyone about her presence for her own safety. He's also initially reluctant to fight her, even El Topo is hesitant to throw Carmen or her friends overboard.
• When Carmen throws El Topo then Le Chèvre overboard, Carmen drops them a lifebuoy to float.

The Stockholm Caper

• When Chief sees Carmen collapse due to exposure, her professional demeanor drops and she shows genuine concern as she moves to comfort Carmen (though, as a holographic image, there's not much she can do).

The African Ice Caper

• When Carmen is recovering from her injury, Shadowsan takes it upon himself to do the capers himself and prevent VILE operatives from stealing.

The Deep Dive Caper

• We see the Chief's morning routine includes her feeding her adorable kitty.
• Shadowsan revealing why he never told about Carmen's father was because he had seen her forge her identity and was afraid that if he revealed the truth it would instead make her go down the road of vengeance. He's crying as he says this too.
  • The fact that Shadowsan was the one who rescued her on that fateful night, even grabbing the Matroyshka dolls to calm her down.
• The end of the episode and the season. Carmen is off to find the whereabouts of her mother and asks if Shadowsan is coming. Shadowsan smiles and replies,
  Shadowsan: I'm with you till the end of the line.

Season 3

The Luchador Tango Caper

• Carmen seeing a picture of her father for the first time, tearing up slightly as she notes she has his eyes.
• Shadowsan taking the tracking device Spinkick put on Carmen to travel to South Africa, so Carmen isn't trailed by VILE.
• Lupe Pelligro invites Carmen, Zack, and Ivy to her wrestling match, even after they tried breaking into her house.
  • Lupe in general. She goes in to save Carmen when Coach Brunt has her on the ropes, is a Secret-Keeper to Carmen and even states that if she had a daughter, she hopes the girl would be just like Carmen herself.

The Day of the Dead Caper

• Carmen's attempts to reach out to Sonia — an art thief and pickpocket — work out in the end. Sonia not only helps Carmen fight off Spinkick and Flytrap, she takes the client list and heads off to follow Carmen's path.
• When they hear that Carmen was kidnapped, Zack and Ivy immediately go out to save her.
• It's kinda sweet that despite being villains, VILE take time to celebrate Halloween in costumes, pumpkin carving, and bobbing for haggis.
• Julia admits to the Chief that she's not willing to continue being part of ACME and wishes to go back to her academics. The Chief agrees and wishes her the best of luck.
  • And the reason Julia quit ACME? Because she doesn't have the heart in it to try and capture Carmen Sandiego believing that Carmen is innocent and heroic unlike her ACME co-workers.

The Haunted Bayou Caper

• The Crawfish King being grateful for Carmen rescuing his great-great-grandma's secret recipe, as it was the only link he had to his past.

The Masks of Venice Caper

• Hideo learning of what his little brother's been getting into. He states that Shadowsan is "doing a samurai's work in ninja's clothing" and says he cannot let him return home...until Shadowsan finishes his duty. The brothers then bow, hoping that they will truly be reunited one day.
• Chase finally begins to question whether he was all wrong about Carmen and realizes Julia was right that Carmen just steals from other thieves.
• A subtle one, but whenever Carmen mentions Julia throughout this episode. She first playfully asks Chase where Jules is (though it was also used to simply distract her). Then, she mentions to Player that she could trust Julia but isn't so sure about Zari. Then, in another conversation with Chase, Carmen leaves the stolen artifacts, confusing the former. Carmen gives a smile and simply states that "Jules would understand". Carmen's trust in Julia is so noteworthy because the last time they were together ("The Stockholm Caper"), Carmen had some doubts (not Julia's fault but ACME for not trusting her), but this episode proves that Carmen has come to reason that Julia wasn't trying to capture her. Just like Julia in "The Day of the Dead Caper", Carmen has the utmost respect and trust in her.

The Jolly Good Show Caper

• When Shadow-san confronts Roundabout at Big Ben, Roundabout questions if it's because Shadow-san is here for the crown.
  Shadow-san: I did not come here for the jewels, I came for Carmen.
• The end of the caper has the crew relaxing as fireworks light the sky for Guy Fawkes Day. After everything that happened that night, they deserved a break.
• For the first time in this show, Chase attempts to give Carmen the benefit of the doubt when Zari suspects her of having been in cahoots with The Eel. Clearly, seeing her altruism in person has affected his perspective:
  Chase: Perhaps it is a coincidence.
• When Player states that Guy Fawkes was either a hero or a villain depending on who knew him, both Zack and Ivy state that it reminds them of Carmen, who gives them a little smile.
  • At the end of the episode, Shadowsan states that, much like how Fawkes was eventually considered a hero once people understood his deeds, he hopes that the same will become true for Carmen.

Season 4

The Himalayan Rescue Caper

• After the tearjerker of Crackle returning to V.I.L.E., Carmen goes to meet Player, in order to spend an actual in-person moment with her "other oldest friend". He promises her that he's not going anywhere.
• Also, in the midst of aforementioned tearjerker, Crackle states that trying to hurt Carmen is the one thing he regrets doing for V.I.L.E., and begs her to stop fighting them so that he never has to again.
• In a sign of Villainous Friendship, Bellum genuinely wants to gift the stolen crown to Countess Cleo, even calling it "Cleo's crown" when Carmen steals it back.

The Egyptian Decryption Caper

• Chase and Julia being reunited. It's clear that Chase missed his friend.
• Chase credits Julia's love of interesting and exciting facts for their success, a Call-Back to the times when he dismissed her interests as dull and uninteresting.

The Viennese Waltz Caper

• Le Chevre, El Topo, and (to a lesser extent) Tigress are all happy to be reunited with Crackle and the brainwashed Carmen.

The Dark Red Caper

• Graham turns himself in, directly asking to be arrested, just so he can meet with the Chief and tell her the whole truth about Carmen. When asked why he would out her, he says that he chose a life of crime, whereas Carmen had it forced on her, and was now going against everything she had fought for before; he just wanted the old Carmen back. It's very touching to see that, although he went back to V.I.L.E., he still cares about Carmen.
• Shadowsan telling Carmen that she can afford to take a break from hunting the remaining V.I.L.E. operatives, because she's inspired so many people to fight the good fight.
  • Also following up on his last encounter with his brother, reuniting with Hideo again now that his work is done.
• Carmen finally meeting her mother. And Player provides moral support along the way, reminding her of his promise to never leave her.
• Zack and Ivy joining ACME after Carmen left them the pen to contact Chief.
• Le Chevre and El Topo opening up a food truck together after going straight.

To Steal or Not to Steal

To Steal or Not to Steal

• In the beginning, Zack worries about Carmen "getting shanghaied in Shanghai," with Ivy retorting they worry about her like that for every mission. Carmen's response? "I love you too, ground crew." Dawww!
• Surprisingly enough, a lot of Carmen's interactions with her former classmates from V.I.L.E. El Topo in particular is actually excited to be working with her, treating it like any other job, only this time his partner happens to be Carmen.
  • During the Xi'an mission, Carmen has the choice to rescue Tigress out of a booby-trap pit or leave her. Saving her will actually prompt Carmen's most spiteful rival to help her in rescuing Zack and Ivy in the Arctic base, assuming you attempt the rescue there.
  • In the Monaco mission, if Carmen chooses to sneak in as a waiter to steal the caviar, she'll spot Mime Bomb wolfing down the gala food and subsequently choking on it. Whether by design or not, saving him actually isn't a mandated choice, it's something that Carmen does because she can't stand by while the gala guests think that Mime Bomb's just putting up a performance.
• Carmen's first video call with Zack and Ivy is actually pretty sweet; they're excited to tell her about how they've been annoying the V.I.L.E. agents and her reaction to this is not only affectionate but almost maternal. At no point do either of them doubt that she'll find them.
  • Related; when Bellum implies that Zack and Ivy are nothing more than Carmen's employees, Carmen angrily and protectively declares them her friends. Her team is her Family of Choice and no one degrades that.
• Should you choose to team with El Topo, he's actually shown to be quite glad to work with her (in contrast to Le Chevre).
• The Golden Ending is rewarded to those who choose to confide in Julia about Carmen's circumstances in Monaco, even with the risk it might bring. All of the goods that Carmen was forced to steal will be placed in their rightful hands, and Carmen even leaves behind a rose bouquet for Julia as thanks. Also from said ending is Carmen and Zack sharing a hug when she rescues him and Ivy.

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