Recap / Captain Planet And The Planeteers S 2 E 17 And 18 Summit To Save Earth

With the Earth Summit about to begin, the Planeteers travel to Rio de Janeiro to observe the meeting. Meanwhile, Hoggish Greedly, Looten Plunder, Sly Sludge, Duke Nukem, Verminous Skumm and Dr. Blight are plotting to ruin the Summit, when Zarm shows up and forces them to co-operate under his leadership. Eventually, he steals the Planeteers' rings and traps Gaia, rapidly aging her. Finding themselves ten years in the future and seeing a ruined Earth, the Planeteers reunite with Commander Clash and enlist his help in their struggle to defeat Zarm and rescue Gaia before she turns to dust.

This episode includes examples of the following tropes:

• Act of True Love: Gaia takes her focus off Zarm to save the Planeteers from a toxic tornado he conjured. Given that she and Zarm are roughly equal in power, this is a very risky choice which unfortunately leads to her defeat.
  Zarm: Wrong choice, Gaia! Now you lose it all! (hits her with an energy blast)
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Near the climax of Part 2, Zarm forces the Planeteers to "fight" him one by one – which is virtually suicide – in front of Gaia. While the four older Planeteers, having elemental powers, do try to attack him – not that it has any effect on him – Ma-Ti refuses to fight, knowing full well that the Heart Ring cannot do anything to someone as heartless as Zarm. He, in turn, ridicules the boy, and prepares to kill him with an energy blast. Gaia, herself on the verge of death, tries begging for her youngest Planeteer's life, but gets flat-out ignored. She and Ma-Ti are soon saved due to Commander Clash's intervention, but at the time, she had no way of knowing it would happen.
• Allergic to Evil: Zarm's evil laugh seems capable of giving Gaia intense headaches, even if she isn't yet aware of his presence.
• Bad Future: Gaia shows the Planeteers a possible bad future should the World Summit fail. Not only will many parts of the world be destroyed and polluted, it also reveals the possibility that their new world leaders would be the Eco-villains themselves. In Part 2, this bad future comes true after Zarm sabotages the World Summit. Zarm reveals that he had transported the Planeteers ten years into the future after the failed World Summit had come to pass. The Earth is literally trashed and the Eco-villains run rampant with only a few resistance groups fighting back.
• Call-Back: In "The Conqueror", Ma-Ti said that Zarm's heart is empty. In this episode, he ultimately concludes that Zarm simply has no heart.
• The Cavalry: Just as Zarm is about to kill Ma-Ti with an energy blast, Commander Clash swoops in with a mirror and saves the boy's life.
• Changed My Mind, Kid: When their initial plan to save Gaia fails, Commander Clash first offers the Planeteers to retreat to his island with him, then walks away alone when they refuse to give up. Later, he returns just in time to save Ma-Ti from being killed by Zarm.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • During their initial fight, Gaia easily withstands all of Zarm's attacks and counters them with massive doses of his Kryptonite Factor. She's actually about to win, when he decides to cheat by targetting the Planeteers rather than her, thus turning the tables.
  • The final battle starts with Gaia holding Zarm off with little effort, until the Planeteers manage to call Captain Planet. Once summoned, he finishes the job in minutes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Gaia, of all people, towards Zarm. During their fight, as Zarm is cowering from the blizzard that she conjured in response to his energy blast, she asks him sarcastically if he's afraid of melting because of all the snow.
• Disability Immunity: This is the reason that Ma-Ti gives for not using the Heart Ring on Zarm, as he would No-Sell it anyway due to being The Sociopath.
  Ma-Ti (as tears stream down his face): I cannot stop you, Zarm. My ring is the power of Heart, which allows us to love. Heart to care for our planet and friends. (pointing at Zarm): My ring will not touch you because... you have no heart.
• Everybody Cries: When Zarm turns Gaia into an old mortal woman, the Planeteers start crying – including the team's resident tough guy, Wheeler, and the usually calm and collected Kwame.
• Eviler than Thou: Zarm clearly sees himself as superior to the other Eco-Villains. While uniting them under his command, he flat-out insults them, calling them "miserable worms" and "bumbling incompetents".
• Forced to Watch: Three instances in Part 2.
  • Soon after the beginning, as the Planeteers are leaving his spaceship, Zarm creates a transparent barrier between them, and himself and Gaia whom he captured, stripped of her powers, rendered mortal and encased in crystal not long before. Then, as if on second thought, he breaks the crystal, causing Gaia to fall to the floor with a moan of pain, while the kids can only watch helplessly.
  • Near the climax, Zarm forces the Planeteers to "fight" him right in front of Gaia. Being on the verge of death, and still powerless, she can't do anything to stop him from No Selling their efforts and destroying their rings... or from trying to brutally murder Ma-Ti before her very eyes.
  • At the same time, the older Planeteers, already having their rings destroyed and each being trapped inside a separate force field, can only watch in horror as Zarm announces Gaia's imminent death and prepares to kill their youngest teammate.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In Part 1, when the Planeteers get suspicious about the sudden change in the Earth Summit's President's discourse, Ma-Ti uses the Heart Ring on him, only to conclude with dismay that "it is like there is nothing there". Later, it turns out that the president is actually impersonated by Zarm, who in Part 2 is stated to have no heart.
  • The second Planeteer Alert in Part 1 features Commander Clash, who then teams up with the Planeteers in Part 2.
• Funny Background Event: Kwame and Wheeler's reactions to Captain Planet hugging Gaia are truly a joy to behold.
• Good Is Not Soft: Gaia has absolutely no problem with getting violent with Zarm over him trying to ruin the Earth Summit and capturing the Planeteers twice.
• Insult to Rocks: As Zarm is yelling at the birds and monkeys attacking him, calling them vermin, the incoming Captain Planet snaps back that Zarm is the vermin, and then immediately backpedals, saying that calling him vermin isn't terrible enough to be accurate.
  Captain Planet: You're trash, and this is one time I'm not recycling!
• It Was with You All Along: After escaping Zarm,the Planeteers try to summon Captain Planet, only to find their rings aren't working because Zarm sealed their powers. Gaia tells them that the rings aren't the sources of their powers, but it comes from within. By sheer force of will, the Planeteers manage to get their rings active again and summon Captain Planet to take down Zarm.
• Kick the Dog: Making Gaia a very old mortal, turning Earth into a Crapsack World, and letting the Planeteers out ten years into the future to "enjoy" their dying planet is not enough for Zarm. Thus, just as the Planeteers are about to leave and can't stop him, he accelerates Gaia's aging significantly. Later, he's also shown mocking her mercilessly; and eventually, he makes her Planeteers play a sick game before her very eyes — "fighting" him one-on-one, which is virtual suicide — before nearly murdering Ma-Ti, who can't even attempt to fight back.
• Leave Him to Me!: Near the end of Part 2, two characters say this in regards to Zarm:
  • First, it's Commander Clash, after he swoops in with a mirror and protects Ma-Ti from Zarm's killing ray.
    Commander Clash: Out of the way, kid! This one's mine!
  • A bit later, when the battle moves to the outside of Zarm's spaceship, Gaia does it to give the Planeteers the time they need to make their rings work again. In her case, it's justified, because she's the only one of them all who can possibly match Zarm's powers.
    Gaia: Quickly, Planeteers! The power is yours! (with Tranquil Fury): I'll take care of Zarm.
• Let Me at Him!: It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but not long after the beginning of Part 2, as Zarm is talking about the prospect of both Gaia and Earth being destroyed, Wheeler tries to charge at him in anger. Kwame has to quickly grab his friend's arm and shoulder to stop him.
• Mama Bear: Gaia is absolutely furious with Zarm for threatening "her" kids and gets in an intense battle against him over it without a second thought.
  Gaia: Zarm! I should have known. This time, you've gone too far. Well, I'm gonna put a stop to it right now.
• Meaningful Look: Kwame and Wheeler exchange a knowing and approving look during Cap and Gaia's very affectionate hug.
• Near-Death Experience: Gaia and Ma-Ti, both courtesy of Zarm. They survive only thanks to Commander Clash saving the day at almost the last possible moment.
  • Gaia, due to Zarm making her mortal and very old, almost turns to dust.
  • Ma-Ti, after refusing to "fight" (as he's aware that Zarm would No-Sell the power of Heart anyway), nearly gets blasted to death.
• No-Sell:
  • When the Planeteers were shocked at the Summit Leader's actions, Ma-Ti uses his Heart power on him to read his intentions. However, he is perplexed when he felt nothing, like he had no heart. This clues them in that something is seriously wrong, and it turned out the Summit leader was actually Zarm in disguise.
  • During their one-on-one "fights" against Zarm, nothing that the older Planeteers try has any effect on him, as he easily avoids their attacks by either levitating himself or turning into a hologram.
• Rapid Aging: Zarm does this to Gaia in an attempt to both kill her and torment the Planeteers with the knowledge that they can't do anything about it.
• Sadistic Choice: At one point during their fight, Zarm makes Gaia choose between saving either herself or the Planeteers whom he trapped in a polluted tornado.
• Series Fauxnale: The story plays out very much like an endgame for the series, with the eco-villains coming their closest to defeating the Planeteers and Zarm conquering the planet, with Gaia's life at risk. The ending sees the summit go off without a hitch, hinting at a prosperous age for Earth as the summit leaders all come together on a plan to do what's best for the planet, but the series would continue for several more years after this.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: After Zarm sabotages the World Summit and created the Crapsack World Bad Future, the Planeteers try to find a way to get back their rings, save Gaia, and stop Zarm. Once they finally manage to summon Captain Planet, he sends Zarm packing, throwing him and his ship out into space. Once he's dealt with, Captain Planet and Gaia return everyone back to the present before the World Summit meeting, this time succeeding without Zarm's presence.
• Shipper on Deck: Judging by their reactions to Cap and Gaia sharing a warm hug near the end, Kwame and Wheeler are totally on board with their two mentors (and, at the same time, parental figures) being a couple.
• Ship Tease:
  • As the Planeteers are trapped in Zarm's polluted tornado, only Wheeler is shown holding someone protectively – and that someone is Linka.
  • While getting rid of Zarm, Captain Planet manages to give Gaia a quick, yet very affectionate hug.
• Tearful Smile: In Part 2, Gaia is twice moved to tears.
  • The first time is when she's still mortal, and in fact, very close to dying. While listening to Ma-Ti's little speech about the power of Heart, she smiles proudly as tears start streaming down her cheeks.
  • The second time it happens, it's after the timeline is restored to get the Earth Summit back on track. As she's observing the delegates cheer for the motivational, eco-friendly speech of the meeting's president, she smiles with hope, once again letting the tears flow.
• Virtue Is Weakness: Unable to get the upper hand over Gaia by sheer force, Zarm distracts her at a crucial moment by nearly killing the Planeteers. After striking her down, he sneers that by saving them rather than herself, she made a wrong choice. He's clearly aware that she loves them to the point of sacrificing herself for them, but he doesn't respect it in the slightest and only sees it as something to exploit.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Zarm pulls this off easily and perfectly multiple times, to the point of getting the voice just right. Most notably, he poses as the Earth Summit's president and manages to coax out the rings from the Planeteers by impersonating Gaia. The fact that he earlier has stolen the Heart Ring, thus making Ma-Ti unable to see through the ruse and alert the others until it was too late, certainly helped him in the latter case, though.
• Would Hurt a Child: In the climax of Part 2, Zarm comes very close to murdering Ma-Ti, only failing because of Commander Clash's intervention.
• You Won't Feel a Thing!: When the Planeteers are captured for the first time, Zarm laughs maniacally and tells them "this won't hurt a bit", before hitting them with an energy blast and trapping them around the crystal ball stand with a force field.