Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not To Steal Choices & Best Ending Guide

In Netflix’s new interactive adventure game, Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, the viewer’s choices decide the outcome of the story, leading to either the best possible ending… or the worst ending. Players control the stylish international thief as she is forced to carry out a series of missions for the Villains International League of Evil – also known as VILE. After VILE kidnap Carmen’s assistants, Zack and Ivy, they threaten to wipe their minds and brainwash them into becoming VILE operatives, unless Carmen agrees to steal some priceless artifacts for them.

Based on the existing franchise of mystery games, books and TV shows , a new Carmen Sandiego animated series debuted on Netflix in January 2019, with season 2 releasing in October 2019. Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal is set in the world of the Netflix show and features the same characters and animation style, with the added bonus of being able to make crucial decisions on Carmen’s behalf.

To get the good endings in Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, it’s best to play Carmen in character as a bold and daring thief with a heart of gold. When given the choice between helping someone or betraying them, you can get the best outcome by choosing the kinder option. If you’re looking for more specific tips, however, here’s our complete guide to every choice in Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, and how to get the best possible ending.

Top Floor or Ground Floor

The first choice is a straightforward one: Carmen can infiltrate VILE’s building via the top floor or the ground floor. This has no effect on the outcome of the game, so just take your pick.

Rescue Now or Steal for VILE

After infiltrating VILE’s vault, Carmen will discover that it’s empty and the evil organization has kidnapped Zack and Ivy. She can choose to quickly attempt a rescue, or go along with VILE’s demands.

• Rescue Now (Game Over) – Carmen will use her glider to catch up to the van that Player believes Zack and Ivy are being held in. However, upon reaching it she discovers that she’s been tricked, and the van is empty. VILE will wipe Zack and Ivy’s minds, and the player will be given the option to go back and make a different choice.
• Steal for VILE – Carmen agrees to steal for VILE, which will lead to her first mission: stealing one of the sculptures from the famous Terracotta Army in Xi’an, China.

Sneak Past Tigress or Talk to Tigress

Upon arriving at the site where the Terracotta Army is stored, Carmen will spot VILE operative Tigress waiting for her. You can attempt to sneak past her or just go right up to her and start talking, but both choices have the same outcome. If Carmen tries to sneak past, she will be spotted by guard dogs on her way in and forced to make a quick escape, leading to Tigress discovering her. It turns out that Tigress has been sent by VILE to help with the mission.

Help Tigress or Leave Tigress

While using an underground tunnel to get inside the site, Tigress steps on a booby-trapped rock that opens up a trapdoor into a pit. Carmen’s quick thinking helps her escape, and there’s a choice to help Tigress out of the pit or leave her there.

• Help Tigress (Good Ending) – Even though Tigress and Carmen have their differences, Carmen isn’t heartless. You can choose to leave Tigress a way to escape the pit, and in return she will later help Carmen with the rescue, leading to the good ending.
• Leave Tigress (Bad Ending) – Tigress is pretty catty, so you may be tempted to leave her in the pit to find her own way out. If you do this, however, you will later get the bad ending.

Hitch a Ride or Hide

While stealing the terracotta sculpture, Carmen will be interrupted by guards. She can choose to either hitch a ride with the sculpture, or attempt to hide among the Terracotta Army.

• Hitch a Ride (Game Over) – Carmen will grab onto the statue as it is lifted away by the helicopter, but the guards will then grab onto her feet. The weight will bring the sculpture crashing down, and it will shatter. Coach Brunt will not be happy about losing her towel rack, and Zack and Ivy will have their minds wiped.
• Hide – Carmen will rapidly disguise herself with grey paint and hide among the Terracotta Army while VILE makes off with the sculpture, leading to the next mission.

Countess Cleo or Dr. Bellum

After completing her first mission for VILE, Carmen will be given the option to take a mission from either Countess Cleo or Dr. Bellum. Cleo wants her to steal caviar from a fancy party in Monaco, while Bellum wants her to steal a dinosaur bone from Hell Creek, Montana. Either choice is fine, but keep in mind that if you later choose to rescue Zack and Ivy early, you will only be able to play through one of these missions.

(Cleo) Decline or Accept the Offer to Dance

During Cleo’s mission, a handsome man at the party offers to dance with “Scarlet Santarosa,” and she can choose to decline or accept.

• Decline – No negative outcomes, except for missing out on the amazing dance sequence. You will instead skip forward to speaking with Julia.
• Accept – Carmen dances, and soon everyone joins in. Afterwards, she still speaks to Julia.

(Cleo) Trust Julia or Trick Julia

Julia, an agent with ACME (Agency to Classify & Monitor Evildoers) is an occasional ally of Carmen’s who is also in attendance at the party. She believes that Carmen must be there to stop VILE, and Carmen can choose to either trust Julia and tell her the truth, or trick her.

• Trust (Best Ending) – Carmen tells Julia that she is working for VILE and that she has a good reason for doing so. Julia decides to trust Carmen in return. This later leads to the best possible ending.
• Trick (Worst Ending) – Carmen leads Julia up to the roof and then locks the door behind her, trapping her there. This leads to the worst possible ending.

Stash Caviar or Dash with Caviar

Carmen sees that the priceless caviar is about to be prepared in the kitchen, and is given the choice to either try and stash the caviar somewhere and escape with it later, or simply grab the cart and make a run for it.

• Stash (Game Over) – Carmen heads to the kitchen, but stops when she sees VILE operative Mime Bomb choking on some hors d’eouvres. She stops to give him the Heimlich maneuver, but by the time she gets to the kitchen the caviar has already been plated. Carmen still escapes with the caviar, stashed in a glass vase, but Cleo isn’t happy since the fish eggs won’t keep more than a day out of their tins. Zack and Ivy get their minds wiped as punishment for Carmen’s failure.
• Dash – Fortune favors the bold! Carmen steals the cart with the caviar tins and then turns the cloth covering it into a swag bag, making a hasty exit from the party.

(Bellum) Find the Lab or Catch the Plane

Carmen discovers the Tyrannosaurus rex bone that Dr. Bellum wants at a dig site in Montana, but it’s already being airlifted to a lab. You can choose to head straight to the lab, or try to catch the plane before it leaves. Attempting to catch the plane will fail and Carmen will have to go to the lab anyway, but this does get you a very exciting sequence in which Carmen hangs off the wing of the plane as it takes off, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation style. Or you can skip the plane sequence and just go straight to the lab.

(Bellum) El Topo or Le Chevre

After complaining that Carmen is too slow in retrieving her dinosaur bone, Dr. Bellum offers to send another VILE operative to help her out. Carmen is given a choice between El Topo, an expert digger, or Le Chevre, an expert climber. The choice doesn’t affect the outcome of the game. El Topo is nicer than Le Chevre, but choosing Le Chevre gets you a much cooler escape sequence.

(Bellum) Hide or Run

While Carmen is infiltrating the dinosaur museum/theme park, a swarm of ACME agents arrives on the scene. Carmen can choose to either try and hide until the coast is clear, or make a run for the lab and steal the dinosaur bone right away.

• Hide (Game Over) – The cautious option isn’t the way to go here. Carmen will attempt to hide inside a model dinosaur, but it will collapse and she will be caught and forced to make a rapid exit. She fails to steal the bone, and Zack and Ivy’s minds are wiped.
• Run – Carmen takes out ACME’s drone camera and makes it to the lab in time to steal the bone. Either El Topo or Le Chevre will help her escape.

Rescue or Steal for VILE

After completing either Cleo’s mission or Bellum’s, Player and Carmen will figure out that Zack and Ivy are being held at VILE’s facility in the Arctic. Carmen can either go there right away to rescue them, or see VILE’s mission through to the end.

• Rescue Now (Good Ending/Bad Ending) – Carmen heads to the Arctic to rescue Zack and Ivy. Depending on whether you chose to help Tigress or leave her earlier, this can lead to either the good ending or the bad ending.
• Steal for VILE (Best Ending/Worst Ending) – Carmen completes the final mission for VILE (either Cleo’s or Bellum’s, whichever remains). After, VILE arranges for an exchange of their hostages, but Carmen quickly figures out that it’s a trap and what they really want is to wipe her mind and turn her into a VILE operative. Depending on whether you chose to trust or trick Julia earlier, this can lead to either the best ending or the worst ending.

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal’s Worst Ending

If you decide to trick Julia during Cleo’s mission and complete all of VILE’s missions before rescuing Zack and Ivy, Julia will refuse to help Carmen when she asks. Carmen will be forced to try and rescue her friends by herself, but will be caught by VILE while getting off the ferry and hit with a knockout dart. Her mind is wiped along with Zack and Ivy’s and she is forced to become Carmen Sandiego: VILE Operative permanently. In this ending, you will be given the option to go back and trust Julia instead.

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal’s Bad Ending

If you decide not to help Tigress during the first mission and then decide to rescue Zack and Ivy early, Tigress will refuse to help Carmen at the Arctic facility. Carmen will be forced to take a different route that slows her down, and doesn’t reach Zack and Ivy until they’ve already spent too long having their brains wiped. At first it appears that all is well, and the team go for ice cream. However, VILE then activates Zack and Ivy’s brainwashing and orders them to capture Carmen. In this ending, you will be given the option to go back and help Tigress instead.

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal’s Good Ending

If you help Tigress out of the pit and decide to rescue Zack and Ivy early, then Tigress will settle the score by helping Carmen infiltrate VILE’s Arctic facility. Carmen will save her friends from having their minds wiped, and the Chief will congratulate you on getting a happy ending, with a bonus scene as a reward. The one downside to this ending, however, is that VILE gets to keep the items that Carmen stole for them, so it may be worth playing through again to get the very best possible ending. If you get at least the good ending, Chief will reward you with a bonus scene.

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal’s Best Ending

To get the best possible ending in Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, you need to play through all of VILE’s missions instead of trying to rescue Zack and Ivy early. You also need to trust Julia during Cleo’s mission instead of trying to trick her. In this outcome not only does Carmen succeed in rescuing her friends, she also discovers the stolen treasures and is able to deliver them to Julia’s doorstep. This way, Carmen can sleep easy knowing that Dr. Bellum won’t be cloning dinosaurs, Coach won’t be defiling the terracotta warrior with her workout towel, and the proceeds from the caviar will still go to charity. This ending gets you the bonus scene as well.

About The Author

Hannah Shaw-Williams
(3313 Articles Published)

Hannah has been with Screen Rant since 2013, covering news, features, movie premieres, Comic-Con and more! You can follow her on Twitter @HSW3K

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