BIG TIME AUDITION

Okay, so...I feel like Carlos's Audition-Self isn't terribly divorced from the version of Carlos we end up with by the end of season 2. Let's be honest here: he changes for sure and absolutely becomes flanderized, but his change doesn't come with the same whiplash that Kendall's (or James's or Logan's) does.

I mean. This is a guy who's farting into a microphone less than 10 minutes into the episode.

It's very clear that Carlos doesn't take much of anything seriously. He's just here for a good time.

He's also loyal and loves his buds! While Kendall is in the midst of fighting off the security guards, Carlos asks Logan, "What's the worst that can happen if I try to break him free?" Which is interesting, honestly, because it shows him taking those few seconds to weigh the consequences rather than impulsively jumping into the fray. I'm not sure if this is something later-series Carlos would have bothered to do!

And I'm gonna say the same thing about him that I said about Kendall and James. There's more of a balance to this Carlos. He's goofy, but he's not OVER THE TOP goofy. He busts out laughing when Kendall gives Gustavo that "No" but then shuts his mouth when he catches James's expression (his ability to read the room will vanish by season 2). He chimes in with Logan to try to convince Kendall to take the offer before throwing himself into a shopping cart and hurtling toward a car. He's not all chaos all the time, and you get the sense he's a pretty sensible guy at his core.

He also is great with snappy comebacks.

I like this Carlos; he feels real. He still has a brain and feels very much like a genuine teenage boy rather than the overgrown child he'll soon turn into.

EPISODES 2-7

Gonna sort of gloss over these episodes mainly because there really isn't a ton of Carlos content to really dig into. I'd mentioned this somewhere during my season 1 watch, but Carlos and Logan (and James to some extent) don't really start to feel like real characters until around BTBreak. They're more sidelined prior to Break and seem to mainly just exist to give Kendall someone to boss around and bounce dialogue off of.

Still, the Carlos moments we do get are still very much in line with the character we met in the pilot. He gets excited at the idea of a swirly slide in the apartment, has dino chicken nugget fights with James, opens a fridge with a sledgehammer, and insists that bringing a roller coaster to a deserted island is the obvious choice. He's very silly, innocent, and a little slow on the uptake at times, but he isn't portrayed as stupid (yet).

BIG TIME BREAK

I'm highlighting this episode because, as mentioned above, I see it as a pivotal part of the season and series in general. Splitting the boys up into their own storylines marks the first time they're given enough room to be grow as characters outside of Kendall's influence, and I happen to really like what we see of Carlos in this episode.

We get "typical" Carlos (freaking out because he's lost his helmet) but we also get to see how calm and rational he can be by teaming him up with his very intense father. Carlos is the grounded one here. He's the one who says, "Just try not to go overboard this time, Dad. Okay?" which is SO funny coming from Carlos when you know what he'll be like just next season.

This moment too

A few seconds earlier, Mr. Garcia had attempted to throw himself across the desk to attack Mr. Bitters, which Carlos quickly put a stop to. This is a Carlos who is responsible! Who can read a situation, take charge, and take the balanced approach to gettin' stuff done. (It doesn't work, and he then gives his Dad permission to go full Bad Cop, but still)

This version of Carlos just feels leagues above his future self in terms of maturity and communication skills. This is a Carlos who could be sent out into the city unsupervised for the afternoon and more or less take care of himself. End of season two Carlos would need a responsible, adult chaperone to look after him and might also benefit from being put on a child leash, lest he wander into the street and get hit by a bus or climb into a van with a stranger who offers him candy.

BIG TIME PARTY, JOBS, & DANCE

Okay, so, we're heading into more goofy-Carlos territory at this point, but he's not that much goofier than he's been in prior episodes. He's just a guy who gets taken over by his party persona! And is personally targeted by a sentient coffee maker! And gets bullied into being three different people at a school dance! Who among us has not experienced these situations at some point in life, am I right??

No, but for real. This is a wacky, enthusiastic character who finds himself in some ridiculous situations, but he still isn't stupid. Unfortunately, the trajectory is set for it.

(The "Al Contacts" thing is pretty hard to excuse, though. I guess his Super Hollywood King of Hollywood self is not so great at reading or thinking logically)

BIG TIME SPARKS & CONCERT

Oh, Carlos. Dear, sweet Carlos. I fear this is the beginning of the end. This boy throws himself down a well rather than go to get help for his friends and Jordin, who are all stuck. Why? Because he was lonely. He was alone for mere seconds and couldn't handle it. Could not think of a single thing to do to remedy the situation aside from flinging himself down there too. Is it bold of me to say Audition Carlos would never? BTBreak Carlos would never? Because I personally think earlier season Carlos would have enough sense to strategize (even poorly) how to get everyone out of there.

I also think early-season Carlos would have more attainable life goals than:

Like, this is definitely something early-season Carlos would say as a joke. I could totally see it being a running thing where he insists he's not going to get a real job and is instead banking on getting hit by a meteor and gaining superpowers. But the thing is that he wouldn't actually mean it. I expect that Audition Carlos had at least a loose idea of a future ambition. Maybe being a hockey player like Kendall wanted to also be. Maybe following his father's footsteps and becoming a police officer. Maybe even something "silly" like a stuntman or a guy who gives skydiving lessons. (Those are legitimate jobs, obvs, I just mean silly in terms of how a lot of people tend to view them)

Anyway, BTConcert Carlos MEANS IT. He believes this is a thing that can happen for him.

BIG TIME FANS

Skipping over Welcome Back Big Time because the Carlos content is mostly just him being ridiculous with James. But here we are in season 2, with a Carlos who is rapidly approaching a state in which he possesses one single brain cell that he must share custody of with James.

BTFans actually is pretty decent in terms of Carlos's characterization. It's not perfect, and it's not quite the Carlos we were first introduced to, but this is an overall good episode for him, and he feels pretty balanced. We get glimpses of the "newer", more childish/socially unaware Carlos when he writes a letter to Jenny telling her they'll help make her dreams come true, complete with turn-by-turn directions (followed by the saddest little expression at being reprimanded).

But we also catch lots of glimpses at a Carlos who can then own up to his decisions and work to get things figured out. He's determined to fulfill his promise, and he and Kendall attempt a few different options before facing the fact that sometimes a promise just can't be kept. And it's nice to see Carlos have those brief, serious moments where he's dealing with real-life situations and not absolutely bonkers ones like wanting to be a superhero or spiraling because a bird told him he's going to die.

BIG TIME GURU

Yeah, um, Carlos believes that a bird can predict the future, and it reduces him to a paranoid, panicked mess under a pile of pillows inside the bathtub.

He also does not have enough sense to recognize when he's facing the complete wrong direction in conversation.

I'm sorry, but. What are we doing here? How did we get to this point?

The version of Carlos who once dished out "Project Idiot" and held his dad back with a confident "Let me handle this" is now unable to tell when he's not facing someone speaking to him.

You know what? Theory: Carlos was already edging toward increased brainlessness by BTSparks, but it was a normal level of brainlessness brought on by the overwhelming pressure of Hollywood (like James in BTFever). The environment and responsibility were a lot to handle, so he started to swing into more childlike behavior as a coping mechanism. Then, when he threw himself down the well (without his helmet, I might add), he suffered head trauma that accelerated everything and left him permanently changed.

Rational thought? No longer capable of it. Social norms? Never heard of her. Speaking of...

BIG TIME CRUSH

I mean. Do I even need to explain how utterly ridiculous this is?

This is Carlos at his absolute worst, and I would be genuinely surprised if there's anything in the 3rd or 4th seasons that comes close to it. And it's not even like this is "haha, Carlos is so silly!!" type stuff. This is just gross. And even worse, it's gross behavior being covered up by innocence.

Carlos doesn't act like a 16 (maybe 17 now at this point?) year-old-guy. They've turned him into a toddler in a teenager's body and decided that he has no understanding of manners or social cues or ability to control anything he says or does. Remember how cute he was with Stephanie? Or even Sasha, despite being gullible about the whole situation.

He was great with Stephanie! Looped his arm around hers at the dance and was happy to show her off. And he's so sweet and supportive with Sasha despite her putting him through the wringer.

Now, he's suddenly incapable of having appropriate conversation with a girl and is being a gross slob and talking about his rashes, and burping in their faces??? It's just such a tragic shift in characterization. It's so bad.

BIG TIME BREAK UP

Carlos continues to be incapable of normal behavior. When they're all sitting around with Jo, anxiously awaiting news on whether she got the Chauncey Jackson role, Carlos chimes in with, "It'd be awful if they didn't hire you. I mean, to get this close to the role of a lifetime and not get it?" He's even interrupted by a chorus of "Carlos!" midway through, but it doesn't deter him. Then, when Jo does get news of the role, Carlos decides to not help further by saying, "But if you do get out of the contract, then you go to New Zealand for three years, and your relationship is *fart noise*."

He just cannot act like a normal human anymore, and it makes me sad.

Then, there's that whole helmet plotline.

Early season 1 Carlos loves his helmet, but he sure isn't going to POUR CEREAL AND MILK into it, thinking it'll function like a bowl. And he ain't making it a separate lunch and sitting it in its own seat.

OK, LET'S BE DONE WITH THIS

I could highlight other moments, but I think this is a decent selection of episodes that show a timeline of sorts of Carlos's character so far in the series. It's a shame, because he really is such a great character, and I love the version of him in those first handful of episodes and wish he had remained more "stable" as the seasons went on. I love him, of course. He was my favorite character during the show's original run, so I will always have a soft spot for him, but wow, does he get obnoxious at times.

It didn't have to be like this. They didn't have to ruin him THAT badly. I really wish the show as a whole hadn't become as cartoony as it did, but alas.

I'd mentioned with both Kendall's and James's posts that I think the changes to their characters do end up reflecting a good deal of the actors' real personalities, but I think Carlos is the only one where it doesn't apply (even Logan begins to skew closer to his real-life self).

bonus doodle