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Yes! Scientifically speaking, that is who I am.
— Carlos


Carlos Dave Robles[1] is a Latino scientist, specifically a marine biologist, who arrives, along with his perfect hair, in Night Vale in the first episode, "Pilot."[1][2] He is the current dean of the University Of What It Is, Cecil Gershwin Palmer's husband, and Esteban's father.[1][3][4] Despite being an outsider, he is well-known and well-liked by the citizens of Night Vale, and is officially accepted into the town on the tenth year anniversary of his arrival, and Welcome to Night Vale.[5]

Carlos first lived in or near his laboratory, which is next to Big Rico's Pizza on the outskirts of the science district, but later moved in with Cecil in an apartment in Night Vale.[6][7] Cecil later states that they've moved into a house together after they got married.[8]

Like many characters in Welcome to Night Vale, Carlos' age is never explicitly stated, however he has been active as a profession scientist for over a decade, and his Desert Bluffs counterpart, Charles, is 41.[9][10]

Cecil's horoscopes in "Rumbling" imply that Carlos is a Taurus, born in 20 April to 20 May.[11]

Physical characteristics

Carlos is described as having a voice like caramel with oaky tones, brown eyes, dark and delicate skin, black hair with a "dignified, if premature, touch of grey at his temples," a strong, square jaw, and teeth "like a military cemetery."[12][2] By Episode 147, Carlos has grown a "very soft" beard with "two thin silver racing stripes down the chin."[13] The haircut Carlos received from Telly was intended to be a light trim on the sides, but Telly misheard it, and shaved asterisk in his sideburns and cute him some bangs.[4] He wears a lab coat and appears in episode 25 wearing a flannel shirt and well-fitting jeans.[14] He drives a hybrid coupe.[15]

Personality

Unlike most of Night Vale's long time residents, Carlos is not blasé about the strange and horrible events that occur in the small town. These bizarre phenomena fascinate and often frighten him, and, especially in his first few months there, drive him to warn the residents, who don't seem nearly as alarmed as he is. For instance, on a visit to the radio station, he picks up radioactivity and follows it to Cecil's booth. Upon realizing that the radioactivity spikes highest around Cecil's mic, he gravely recommends that the station be evacuated. Of course, they cheerfully ignore this. [Citation needed]

Ever pursuant of answers to scientific questions, Carlos apparently has to be reminded that he needs to give more importance to his own safety and other aspects of his life. Until "One Year Later", Carlos keeps his interactions with Cecil short and science-focused. After his near-death experience at the hands of the miniature city in the pin retrieval of Lane 5 at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, however, he finally does call Cecil for "personal reasons", and they go out on a date (during which they do experiments on trees and watch the rest of the town turn into buzzing shadows).

However, science remains central to Carlos's life. A lot of his brave and/or reckless behavior can be attributed to this, since it's often in the pursuit of science that he finds himself in dangerous situations. The aforementioned near-death experience came about because he went down into the underground city to investigate it (and also to prove that it was safe to do so in defiance of Teddy Williams).

In the process of studying The House That Doesn't Exist, Carlos discovers that someone can safely investigate as long as there are other people outside who can let them out. However, during his turn inside the house, his team gets arrested by StrexCorp, trapping him there, since there's no one on the other side of the door to open it for him. So he explores what later turns out to be the Desert Otherworld, which is so scientifically interesting to him that he delays coming home to Night Vale in favor of studying it for ten years (although Cecil and Night Vale experience only one).

Carlos respects and loves Cecil deeply, despite remarking that his boyfriend is "overenthusiastic" and "has very little grasp of science".[6]

In "Voicemail", Carlos mentions that he likes "scientifically accurate jokes" and that he only tells those because he doesn't find the scientifically inaccurate ones funny. He also expresses interest in getting a tattoo with the definition of science ("I don't know, but I'm trying to find out, okay?"). It is implied that he regularly converses with the Masked Army about Cecil.

History

Carlos is from Pomona, California, and did his undergraduate in marine biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.[1] Many of the details of Carlos' life prior to his affiliation with the University of What It Is are unknown. Additionally, it is stated that Carlos was missing for decades before they came to Night Vale to look for him.[9] While this may be because of the strange properties of time in Night Vale, it may be that Carlos was missing for different reasons before arriving in Night Vale in the first episode. According to Dr. Jones, Carlos was a respected member of the university, and had a portrait in the Academic Building that was removed when Carlos deviated from the University's ideals.[16]

Carlos came to Night Vale on 15 June 2012 in order to take a research fellowship at the Night Vale Community College.[2][6] After Carlos discovered Night Vale's scientific potential, Carlos received full funding to support himself, his team, and any necessary equipment.[1] He leads a team of scientists that investigate various phenomena in Night Vale, such as the nonexistent house in the Desert Creek housing development. At first he seemed uninterested with Cecil, because despite having a crush on him, Carlos was shy. Cecil and Carlos got together in episode 25 and had their first date in episode 27.[17][14][18]

After fighting off StrexCorp and the Smiling God from taking over Night Vale, Cecil was trapped in the Desert Otherworld for a length of time that felt like a year to the people of Night Vale and a decade for Carlos himself.[19] Eventually, in episode 70, he made it back to Night Vale, and he and Cecil decided to stay there.[20]

In episode 100, Carlos and Cecil get married and soon after, moved into a house together[3][8]

Carlos and his relationship with Cecil was erased multiple times. First in episode 147, when Carlos never came to Night Vale, and later in episode 191, when Cecil and Carlos had not gotten married.[13][21]

Resistance to "Night Vale's Weirdness"

On a number of occasions, Carlos has been unaffected by entities or effects that otherwise affected the entire town. In episode 210, Cecil announced that Carlos was officially part of the town and could be affected by all the "weirdness," positive and negative.[5]

Voice Actor

Carlos was originally voiced by Night Vale co-writer Jeffrey Cranor. According to fellow Night Vale writer Joseph Fink, Lou Fernandez of Lou Reads the Internet for You is an experienced voice actor and was the first choice to play Carlos. However, it was decided that Carlos ought to be voiced by someone who could be called in at a moment's notice and Cecil Baldwin suggested that Jeffrey use his "expert voice" to play the part himself.

Cranor voiced Carlos up until December 2013, when it was decided that the show ought to seek out a new actor. With live shows becoming more popular and the voice actors being present in front of audiences and in the media, Cranor expressed his discomfort at the fact that he was a straight white man playing a gay Latino, when various Latino actors were available and could be paid to voice the part instead, and cited this as one of the reasons for the change. Dylan Marron was chosen.

Appearances and Mentions

Bold marks episodes where Carlos speaks.

Appearences

Relationships

Cecil Gershwin Palmer

Carlos is loved immensely by his husband Cecil, who fell instantly in love with him during a town meeting soon after Carlos' arrival.[2] Cecil speaks of Carlos often on his radio program, making no effort to disguise his open adoration, although Carlos often seems indifferent, or perhaps just unaware of Cecil's feelings. Whether intentionally or not, he's mentioned shooting down Cecil's requests for a date, usually just returning to his work.[22]

Following a near-death experience one year after his arrival in town, Carlos shows that he does, in fact, reciprocate Cecil's affections, calling Cecil to meet with him in Arby's parking lot. The two share a tender moment, watching the sunset together while sitting on the trunk of his car,[14]and later begin dating. They are currently in a steady relationship and got married in "Toast".

Carlos is aware early on of Cecil's job as the community radio host, and sometimes enlists his help in getting the word out to the town's people about strange or dangerous goings-on. Early in the show, Cecil tries to read a more personal message into Carlos's calls to the radio station. It is revealed in "Condos" that Carlos avidly listens to the radio show, stating that he listens "every time [Cecil's] on". It is implied that Carlos has been aware of Cecil's interest for some time, even from the beginning.

Carlos calls Cecil from the desert otherworld nightly and is vocally affectionate towards him. According to Cecil, Carlos is still of perfect face and hair, and the two regularly Snapchat, text, and run a Tumblr blog.

Esteban

Carlos and Cecil have a son, Esteban, who they adopted two years before the events of A Spy in the Desert.[4]

Trivia

  • Carlos' last name, Robles, means "Oaks" or "Oak Trees" in Spanish.
  • According to Old Woman Josie, he smells "of lavender chewing gum."[23]
  • Carlos is probably a Taurus.[11]
  • His three favorite beans are garbanzo, kidney, and jelly.[24]
  • It is mentioned multiple times in the novel “It Devours” that Carlos is sometimes averse to touch.[25]
  • Carlos stashes illegal writing utensils.[citation needed]
  • The Watsonian explanation for Carlos' voice change is throat surgery due to throat spiders.[3]
  • Carlos did some theater in college and loves acting. He thinks he is very good at doing different accents, though he is not.[26]
  • Carlos is allergic to cats and had to take medicine when Khoshekh was being kept at Cecil's house. [27]
  • The ship between Cecil and Carlos is called Cecilos
  • Carlos spends many hours choreographing and filming TikTok dances[28]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Episode 230 "Carlos, Explained"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Episode 1 "Pilot"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Episode 100 "Toast"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Live show "A Spy in the Desert"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Episode 210 "Ten Years Later"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel
  7. Episode 72 "Well of Night"
  8. 8.0 8.1 Episode 111 "Summer 2017, Night Vale, USA"
  9. 9.0 9.1 Episode 55 "The University of What It Is"
  10. Episode 146 "The Birthday of Lee Marvin"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Episode 51 "Rumbling"
  12. Episode 3 "Station Management"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Episode 147 "The Protester"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Episode 25 "One Year Later"
  15. Episode 8 "The Lights in Radon Canyon"
  16. Episode 222 "Makarov the Magical"
  17. Episode 167 "Echo"
  18. Episode 27 "First Date"
  19. Episode 49 "Old Oak Doors Part B"
  20. Episode 70 "Review"
  21. Episode 191 "The Many, Many Lives of Frank Chen"
  22. Episode 16 "The Phone Call"
  23. Episode 4 "PTA Meeting"
  24. Episode 124 "A Door Ajar Part 1"
  25. It Devours!
  26. Live show "The Investigators"
  27. Episode 44 "Cookies"
  28. Episode 215 "The Sitter Cancelled"
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