History Heartwarming / CarmenSandiego

[[folder: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 [[TeamMom 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 FamilyOfChoice 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 GoldenEnding 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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* Shadow-san being GoodAllAlong; 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.
* Shadow-san was the one who found Carmen as an abandoned baby in Argentina. He gives this explanation:
--->'''Shadow-san:''' As strange as it may seem, even someone like me is incapable of turning his back on an abandoned baby.

* The first flashback of Shadow-san teaching Carmen about the mythology of Japan with young Carmen asking if Shadow-san will take her to Japan one day. The second sees Carmen slightly older and following Shadow-san 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 [[EvilParentsWantGoodKids understanding Shadow-san's motivations.]]

* Shadow-san 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 Shadow-san 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 Shadow-san is coming. Shadow-san smiles and replies,
-->'''Shadow-san:''' I'm with you till the end of the line.

* Shadow-san taking the tracking device Spinkick put on Carmen to travel to South Africa, so Carmen isn't trailed by VILE.

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

* Hideo learning of what his little brother's been getting into. He states that Shadow-san is "doing a samurai's work in ninja's clothing" and says he cannot let him return home...until Shadow-san finishes his duty. The brothers then bow, hoping that they will truly be reunited one day.

** At the end of the episode, Shadow-San states that, much like how Fawks was eventually considered a hero once people understood his deeds, he hopes that the same will become true for Carmen.

* Shadow-san 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.

[[AC: The Daisho Caper]]
* When Le Chèvre sees Carmen Sandiego for the first time since she defected from VILE, he pleads "Black Sheep" to leave the operation alone and says he won't tell anyone about her presence. He's also initially very reluctant to fight her, even El Topo is hesitant to throw either Carmen's friends or Carmen herself overboard from the ship.

* When Carmen throws El Topo then Le Chèvre overboard, Carmen drops them a lifebuoy to float.

* Carmen and Player have a rather sweet relationship in this incarnation, [[PlatonicLifePartners however]] [[LikeBrotherAndSister you]] [[ShipTease 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.
** On a meta level, Player's existence and "codename" are an incredibly touching ShoutOut to the format of the original edutainment games. Player's role is to sit behind a computer in his bedroom, choosing where the team will go next, completing challenges under time pressure, doing research on the fly to piece together context clues and references to culture and geography in order to help his field agents thwart V.I.L.E's plans... ''[[AudienceSurrogate he's you.]]''
** Her relationship with Zack and Ivy is similarly altered, with them frequently [[AffectionateNickname affectionately calling her "Boss" or "Carm"]] and routinely demonstrating UndyingLoyalty. Carmen, for her part, has clearly [[FamilyOfChoice 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.

* 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. This is even better from a meta standpoint, as Cookie is voiced by ''Where on Earth'' Carmen Sandiego, so it's like a PassingTheTorch message.

!! Meta
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_qwINQc0sg Anthony Mackie praising Gina Rodriguez]] for her role as Carmen, making Gina cry TearsOfJoy.

* 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 affectionatenickname Jules mere seconds after meeting her. Plus, she leaves Julia the Magna Carta to find after this, saying "it's in good hands".

* 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 [[affectionatenickname the nickname Jules]] mere seconds after meeting her. Plus, she leaves Julia the Magna Carta to find after this, saying "it's in good hands".

[[AC:The Chase Paper Caper]]

* Zack and Ivy joining ACME.
* Le Chevre and El Topo opening up a food truck together.