Why Embarrassment Helps Sadness Undo Anxiety's Plan In Inside Out 2

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Inside Out 2.

Summary

Embarrassment helps Sadness restore Riley’s true Sense of Self, showing his nuanced character development.
Ennui and Envy wouldn’t help Sadness due to their functions and links to Anxiety.
Embarrassment recognizes the importance of a balanced Sense of Self for Riley, aiding Sadness in Inside Out 2.

Though the character starts out acting passive, Embarrassment helps Sadness undo Anxiety’s plan in Inside Out 2, revealing more about the character himself and the function of the other emotions. With Riley turning 13, her headquarters get a whole new slew of emotions in Inside Out 2, causing growing pains for both Riley and the system within her head. Matters get more complicated when Riley goes off to hockey camp, where she Valentina Ortiz, her idol and one of her possible crushes in the Inside Out movies. This kicks the new emotions – Anxiety, Ennui, Envy, and Anxiety – into high gear.

Of all the new emotions, the one that gets the least attention but has the most significant impact is Embarrassment. The character of Embarrassment in Inside Out 2 is easy to hate at first, but he’s one of the most nuanced characters by the movie’s end. Rather than acting in all good or all bad ways, Embarrassment silently seems to evaluate the situation and act the best way he knows how. At times, this means he follows the guidance of Anxiety. However, other times, he goes against expectations by putting what’s best for Riley first.

Embarrassment Helps Sadness To Bring Back Riley’s Sense Of Self

Embarrassment Understands The Importance Of A Balanced Sense Of Self

Towards the end of Inside Out 2, Embarrassment helps Sadness hide from the other emotions in the headquarters. He then helps restore Riley’s true Sense of Self instead of the one that’s dictated solely by anxiety. The reason for his help can be interpreted in a few ways. Firstly, he could be embarrassed about Anxiety’s behavior and seek to rectify the issue. This idea fits with the fact that the emotion of embarrassment can help people recognize mistakes and motivate them to find a solution.

Embarrassment might have recognized the importance of a balanced Sense of Self for Riley, which includes Sadness and himself.

Secondly, he might feel like Sadness is a kindred spirit. The emotions of sadness and embarrassment are both written off as negative. Toxic positivity teaches people to fake happiness and confidence, even if they feel sadness and embarrassment. As such, Embarrassment might have recognized the importance of a balanced Sense of Self for Riley, which includes Sadness and himself.

I’m Annoyed By Inside Out 2’s Explanation For The First Movie’s Missing Emotions

Inside Out 2 provides an explanation as to why the newly introduced emotions are missing from the first film, but it is not what you would expect.

Why None Of Inside Out 2’s Other New Emotions Help Sadness

Ennui And Envy Wouldn’t Help Based On The Emotions’ Functions

The fact that Embarrassment is the only new emotion in Inside Out 2 to help Sadness isn’t all that surprising when looking at the emotions and their functions. In the movie, Enniu is characterized as boredom, which isn’t entirely incorrect, but not entirely correct. Ennui is a state of lethargy, melancholy, and boredom characterized by an utter lack of interest. Whether looking at the emotion as boredom or the actual definition, Enniu wouldn’t help Sadness because that would require her to care about what’s happening.

Inside Out 2 Is The Most Important Movie I’ve Seen This Year For One Big Reason

Inside Out 2 was certainly entertaining and a lot of fun, but its messy themes will make it the most important movie my kids watch this year.

On the other hand, Envy is emotionally attached to Anxiety in the movie, often supporting her potentially self-destructive decisions. In real life, research also tentatively indicates that envy influences depression and anxiety (via Journal of Anxiety Disorders and Psychiatry Investig.) – especially social anxiety – though further research is needed to confirm this with a higher degree of certainty. Because of the close link between Anxiety and Envy, both in and out of Pixar’s universe, Envy wouldn’t have stepped in to help Sadness in Inside Out 2 since that would require her to go against Anxiety.

Sources: Journal of Anxiety Disorders and Psychiatry Investig.