Hello my small fandom all around the wordl! So, i was rewatching Carmen Sandiego when this scene of the last S1 episode called my atention and I finally stop to realize how Carmen being unconfortable and stressed is being represented in all kind of ways. Like, its not obvious just in the surface, but also all the way down, and i really appreciate how the creators decided to show it, and how they put all the details and manage to show and reveal her feelings in this scene in all senses. So lets break it down!
First, Carmen is wearing sunglasses, under a sunshade and a hat, drowing herself in the shadows. Why? Well, maybe she is trying to evoke to herself the feeling of being in her "action" mode, like, wearing a hat on the shadows, might creat a "safe" atmosphere for her, giving her the feeling that she is always ready always tense and never safe but always ready to beat anyone who's always trying to chase her. Maybe even keeping her to forget who she has to be being on a beach makes her remember why, even in this moment where she should forget the problems for once and relax. Or maybe the shadows creat a safer atmosphere for her, because she is use to it, because when she is in the shadows (which is basically everytime), no one can see her, or reach her, or hurt or do anything to her, and she can always be one step ahead, 'cus no one can see her. In any case, be out in the sun would make her easy to see, which Carmen definitly dosen't want to be.
Seccond, she is sitting on a beach lounger. This kind of chair is made for us to lie down, we can even see how wrong the "fits" feel in this shot, like, the format of the chair is for you to "open up" for you to lie down in a stretched position, but there she is, her backs are curved, her feets are down, her head is up, and (my favorit part about this break down) she is protecting her body with her legs, and protecting her legs with her arms, keeping everything close and hide as much as she can. Showing us once again how she is not fitting in with her surroundings, how she is not relaxing.
Third and last one: Carmen is exposed. She is wearing a swimsuit, and a swimsuit leaves her shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and feets uncovered, covering only a small area of her body, which might make her feel overexposed, specially if we compare to the kind of clothing she wanted to be with, in that moment, which is another reason for her position in the beach lounge (protecting her body with her legs, and her legs with her arms).
