History Fridge / CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers

** Dr. Blight showed many different motives throughout the series. Often, as a MadScientist to the extreme, she got joy out of seeing how much carnage she could cause from her experiments, but in a few episodes she was shown using her scientific genius to make money in unethical ways, much like Looten Plunder and Hoggish Greedly. In "Hollywaste", where her only motivation was jealousy, she attempted to destroy her sister's Hollywood career.

* "Hollywaste": When Bambi admits she's Dr. Blight's sister, almost all the Planeteers become immediately suspicious of her. Wheeler is the only one who firmly believes in her innocence, on the grounds that one doesn't get to choose one's biological family. At first glance, it may seem random and strange for him to act as a voice of reason, but on second thought, it makes perfect sense. He believes Bambi, because he can relate to her on family matters. After all, just like she didn't choose to have an evil sister, he didn't choose to have an {{abusive|Parents}}, [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic father]].

** Hoggish Greedly and Looten Plunder were, quite literally, [[Film/WallStreet Gordon Gekko]] Expy 1 and 2 – all they cared about was their business interests (well, [[VillainousParentalInstinct Greedly also cared about his son]], but that's the sole exception). They did what they did not out of malice but bottomless greed and lust for cold hard cash. Even in "Bitter Waters", where he sets up things to economically help a reservation, Plunder is trying to take advantage of an impoverished community that is desperate for a quick fix to their economy rather than genuinely wanting to help them. He spends most of the episode trying to cover up the environmental damage before the Planeteers can show it to the tribe's chairman, because that would invalidate their contract, which required that no harm would be done to the environment. Wanting to help the tribe is just Plunder's cover story.

* In more than one episode ("Summit to Save Earth" and "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E7NoPlaceLikeHome No Place Like Home]]"), the Planeteers group-hug Gaia after she has had a close call. In both cases, Linka is the first to reach her, with Ma-Ti very close behind. This makes sense given their backstories: Ma-Ti got orphaned at an early age and [[MissingMom Linka's mother was never seen or even mentioned in the show]], leaving Linka and her brother to have been raised by their father [[RaisedByGrandparents and grandmother]]. Gaia may just be the ''only'' mother figure they've had in years (or in Linka's case, maybe her entire life). It makes sense for them to feel attached to Gaia even more than their friends are.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]": Wheeler explicitly says that he got the Fire Ring eleven months ago. That means everything in the first season -- all the learning-on-the-job, all the running from one location to another, all the near-death experiences -- happened in a single year. No wonder [[KnightInSourArmor Wheeler]] is feeling [[{{Pun}} burnt out]]!

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E8OKAtTheGunfightCorral OK at the Gunfight Corral]]":

** Wheeler is probably right in his suspicions that Gaia's tale wasn't completely true. At some points, she seemed to come up with details on the fly, and as soon as she said what became of the proto-Planeteers, she flat-out refused to answer any more questions. Also, while Wheeler may not know it, she herself stated in "A Hero for Earth" that she was asleep for a century. Given that the 1940s are referred to in the show as "fifty years ago", there is no way she could have sent the rings to anyone back then, unless she traveled back in time to do so. However, ''that'' would mean Ma-Ti couldn't think he and his friends were the first Planeteers; in fact, they would have been the third or even fourth generation, depending on how long a particular team would have stayed around before starting families and finding paid jobs. So, what most probably happened was that Gaia took a peek at the real story and embellished it for the sake of entertainment.

** The climax of "Don't Drink the Water" is already laden with Fridge Horror, but Gi's story adds a different kind of emotion to the scene. When Gi was a little girl, circumstances forced her to leave behind one of her friends (a dolphin called Tisa), and by the time she could return, Tisa was so sick from the pollution in the area that all Gi could do [[DiedInYourArmsTonight was hold her as she died]]. When the escape goes wrong, she's again forced to leave a friend behind with people who have no scruples about killing, which clearly distresses her, given her tone of voice as she tells Captain Planet what happened. The short period between her escaping and Wheeler being brought safely onto the geo-cruiser must have put her emotionally through the wringer, though luckily it, didn't last long and ended better.
** Ma-Ti's story adds some more trauma to "Radiant Amazon". His unusually upset behavior and attempt to take on the villains of the week personally may not just have been because it was his home they attacked. The circumstances may also have called up memories of the night his parents were murdered.

** Secondly, while Wheeler makes a show of threatening the thug, he immediately drops the tough guy act as soon as the thug flees, not chasing after the thug to pummel him because he can, demonstrating his nobility and indicating that he was fighting only to defend.

*** Though Wheeler is impulsive and BookDumb, multiple episodes indicate that he isn't stupid. "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E1AHeroForEarth A Hero for Earth]]", "The Dead Seas" and "Smog Hog" have him coming up with workable spur-of-the-moment plans to achieve what the team needs at the moment with what they've got.

*** Before gaining is tough guy reputation on Brooklyn streets, he must have learned how to pick his fights. As noted above, he might be impulsive, but he's smart enough to properly assess the situation to avoid getting into a fight he certainly won't win.

** When the Planeteers find the villains' time machine, Gi concludes that it operates on a simple system. It might seem odd, considering that it was built by [[MadScientist Dr. Blight]], but the machine was designed and created to be used by Greedly, Rigger and Sludge, none of whom are as brilliant as Blight. Of course she'd have to simplify it for them.

* During at least one episode, Verminous Skumm, a rat mutant, calls Linka "[his] pretty little Planeteer". Hopefully, he meant that more as a [[YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive dismissive statement]] and not as a sign of an actual VillainousCrush on her.

* The relationships between Zarm, Gaia, Captain Planet and the Planeteers echo the show's emphasis on sustainability. Zarm, even before he shows his true colors, is only interested in the kids as short-term tools to achieve his own goals, as opposed to Gaia and Cap seeing them as family to be cared for and protected long-term. In the short term, this seems to put the good guys at a disadvantage, but in the long run, it means that [[TheSociopath Zarm]], [[LoveIsAWeakness who disdains the idea of being bound to anyone else]], keeps getting his plans thwarted by a group who have more resources to draw on and a greater reason to stick together than Zarm could ever give his occasional allies/lackeys. [[EvilIsEasy Evil may be easy]], but [[EvilWillFail it also tends to sow the seeds of its own destruction.]]

** When Gaia says she must go to the military base that the four older Planeteers are tearing apart, Ma-Ti protests, pointing out that she's now mortal, and by going there, she'll be putting herself in danger. To convince him, Gaia replies that "peace requires a brave heart". Taken at face value, these words mean ''she'' has enough courage to risk her life in order to bring her terribly misguided Planeteers back on the way of peace. However, there's more to that. Ma-Ti's power is Heart, and at that point, he's scared and feeling helpless. With that short sentence, Gaia gently makes him realize that they ''both'' need to be brave to succeed.
** Linka spotting Gaia and Ma-Ti among the debris of the missile base just in time to stop Wheeler from using the Fire Gauntlet may seem like a convenient coincidence to move the plot forward, but there's actually a good in-universe reason for it as well – Ma-Ti, whose powers make him TheBeastmaster, used the Heart Ring to summon a flock of birds, banking on Linka's love for them to attract her attention.

** Wheeler is the only Planeteer who calls the moaning, shambling mob of Bliss-addicted people "zombies". More than one episode (e.g. "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E14BugOff Bug Off]]" and "Going Bats, Man") indicates he's a horror movie fan, so naturally, when they're forced to barricade the Capitol against a slow-but-determined dead-eyed horde, a ZombieApocalypse would be one of the first things to spring to his mind. It's even more appropriate given that the modern idea of zombies as opposed to the VoodooZombie variant originated from the movie ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', a North American production.
** Verminous Skumm accidentally [[GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply hooking himself on Bliss]] not only works as LaserGuidedKarma, but also helps avert some FridgeHorror that might otherwise bother the audience. Given how much of the drug Skumm had been making over the past week, he might remember enough to recreate the recipe even after Captain Planet burned his notes, but soon afterwards, he gets addicted to a drug that has very nasty effects on the victim's mind. Even if Skumm remembered anything, it would presumably be gone by the time he's clear-headed again.

** Zarm says two times that Gaia will be "destroyed". Considering the show's overall aversion of NeverSayDie, it seems at first that he just chose to refer to Gaia and Earth with the same verb, either for convenience or out of disrespect. However, not long after he says it for the second time, it turns out that he meant it ''literally'', as according to his plan, Gaia will [[NoBodyLeftBehind turn to dust upon dying]].

* "Hollywaste": When Bambi admits she's Dr. Blight's sister, almost all the Planeteers become immediately suspicious of her. Wheeler is the only one who firmly believes in her innocence, on the grounds that one doesn't get to choose one's family. At first glance, it may seem random and strange for him to act as a voice of reason, but on second thought, it makes perfect sense. He believes Bambi, because he can relate to her on family matters. After all, just like she didn't choose to have an evil sister, he didn't choose to have an {{abusive|Parents}}, [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic father]].

* During at least one episode, Verminous Skumm, a rat mutant, calls Linka "[his] pretty little Planeteer". Hopefully, he meant that more as a [[YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive dismissive statement]] and not as a sign [[VillainousCrush he's actually attracted to her.]]

** If the alternate Gaia really had died not long before Wheeler found her, it's only logical that the other Planeteers' rings would have stopped working at that very moment (compare with "No Place Like Home", when Gaia loses her powers, but stays alive). Thus, Gi would have to save dolphins manually; Kwame would lose his one-man war to protect the last oasis; Linka would no longer have any means to stop the hungry, angry people from rioting and making things worse; and Ma-Ti wouldn't be able to get the rich to support the poor anymore.

** The timeline only returns to normal once Wheeler returns to the day he got the Fire Ring and stops his New Year's Eve self from warning his original self against taking the ring. If Wheeler had been killed running around the BadFuture (which nearly happens when he arrives in Kwame's part of the world), the messed-up alternate timeline would have become permanent.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, [[CruelMercy letting the others go after Gaia's death]] – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of [[TheBabyOfTheBunch their youngest friend]] and almost [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, except ''maybe'' for [[EmptyPilesOfClothing her empty dress]], which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]]. And they couldn't have even been comforted by Captain Planet, their [[ParentalSubstitute paternal figure]], as with the rings destroyed and without the fifth team member, they wouldn't have been able to summon him anymore. Furthermore, if you accept the episodes that imply Captain Planet is in existence and aware when he hasn't been summoned, he would have had to watch the whole thing, [[AndIMustScream unable to do anything about it]].

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E19OzoneHole Ozone Hole]]": When Kwame and the girls get trapped in ice much too close to Nukem's radiation, Linka gets a major sunburn on her face very quickly. Obviously – she's White, so she has a lot less melanin in her skin to protect her than her two friends do.

* Wheeler and Ma-Ti's friendship looks a little {{odd|Friendship}} at first glance, but on second thought, it actually makes a fair amount of sense, despite all their differences:

* Lots of people (mostly the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara) like to say that the Eco-Villains were just polluting for the hell of it, but close inspection of the series shows that most had an insidious but not-entirely-insane reason for doing what they do:

** Sly Sludge was just a lazy asshole who wanted to get rich quick. Unfortunately for him, all his "get rich quick" schemes were spectacular failures, sometimes ending with Captain Planet saving him for himself. Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that in the end he did a HeelFaceTurn, discovering that he could make some quick money out of recycling the materials in his dump site.

** Duke Nukem and Verminous Skumm both have the same purpose and, in fact, worked together in the past: they want to wipe out mankind as it exists and replace it with their own kind, and the fact they openly work together on more than one occasion shows they probably agree as to what "their own kind" is -- mutants deviated/evolved from normal humanity by exposure to pollution. Duke Nukem was ''vaguely'' sympathetic in that he couldn't live without radiation any more and in many ways he HAD to do what he did to survive (though this depended on the episode).
** Only Zarm, the spirit of war and hatred, wanted to destroy, despoil and kill [[ForTheEvulz just for the hell of it]]. Which makes sense -- that's why he was exiled in the first place: because he wanted to conquer instead of ruling peacefully.

* When the Planeteers all get their rings, Kwame, Gi and Linka are just doing things they normally do, and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi. What's Wheeler doing? He's stopping a thug. There's more to the scene in hindsight since while the [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart Ring]] could become the most lethal Ring if used in just the right way, of the four remaining Rings, Fire is the easiest to utilize in a potentially deadly manner and therefore can't be put into the hands of a BloodKnight. The scene shows that despite his tendency to get physical, Wheeler is most definitely ''[[MartialPacifist not]]'' [[MartialPacifist a Blood Knight.]]
** Firstly, the thug's victim isn't a rival gang member; it's an ordinary citizen who is obviously unlikely to be able to fight off his assailant. Cue Wheeler who chases the thug off. Though they don't get much interaction before Wheeler gets distracted by the ring, the guy doesn't seem to consider Wheeler a TerrifyingRescuer, despite just seeing him threaten someone, hinting at Wheeler's kinder side.
** Secondly, while Wheeler makes a show of threatening the thug, he immediately drops the tough guy act as soon as the thug flees, not chasing after the thug to pummel him because he can, demonstrating Wheeler's nobility and indicating that he was fighting only to defend.
** Thirdly, when Wheeler shows up and does little more than threaten a gang member, presumably a lifelong criminal and fighter, with his empty fist... the gang member flees like a scared rat. This means that Wheeler has A) done this before and B) kicked the daylights out of someone who wasn't as smart and didn't run. The word apparently got around: you mess with the poor, you mess with Wheeler... and if you mess with Wheeler, you end up looking for your teeth on the sidewalk. He's basically Ginger Batman. [[note]]Mind you, "Two Futures" retcons this scene to show the thug putting up a ''bit'' of a fight, though.[[/note]]

** Zarm says two times that Gaia will be "destroyed". Considering the show's overall aversion of NeverSayDie, it seems at first that he just chose to refer to Gaia and the Earth with the same verb, either for convenience or out of disrespect. However, not long after he says it for the second time, it turns out that he meant it ''literally'', as according to his plan, Gaia will [[NoBodyLeftBehind turn to dust upon dying]].

** When Gaia is getting transformed back to her normal self, Linka is the first to run to her for a hug. That makes sense, considering that she apparently grew up without a mother and that Linka's longer legs simply let her take bigger steps, and thus give her an advantage over Ma-Ti, the other member of the group who lost his mother.

** Of course, Captain Planet doesn't like Zarm in the slightest, but why is he so [[TranquilFury coldly furious]]? During his scheme, Zarm threatened and/or harmed ''all'' of Cap's {{protectorate}}s. He ruined the Earth, forced the four older Planeteers to "fight" him one by one, tried to murder Ma-Ti – and almost killed Gaia, with whom Captain Planet is really close friends and for whom he may or may not have romantic feelings.

** Also in the alternate future, when Wheeler finds out that Gaia is dead, her body is intact – not a single pollution-caused blemish or even the tiniest sign of decay. This means that unless it's different for spirits or the toxic waste somehow preserved the body, she died ''very'' shortly before Wheeler got there.

* "The Ark": When the Planeteers get teleported onto Collector's spacecraft, they're initially confused, and later – despaired that they might never see the Earth again. This alone is bad enough, but think about how ''Gaia'' must have felt. It's quite possible that her adoptive children's sudden disappearance left her distraught, if not downright ''terrified'', since at that time, she had absolutely no clue as to what happened to them.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, [[CruelMercy letting the others go after Gaia's death]] – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of [[TheBabyOfTheBunch their youngest friend]] and almost [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, except ''maybe'' for [[EmptyPilesOfClothing her empty dress]], which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]]. And they couldn't have even been comforted by Captain Planet, their [[ParentalSubstitute paternal figure]], as with the rings destroyed and without the fifth team member, they wouldn't have been able to summon him anymore. Furthermore, if you accept the episodes that imply Captain Planet is in existence and aware when he hasn't been summoned, he would have had to watch the whole thing, unable to do anything about it.

** A bit of Fridge Heartwarming: the two proto-Planeteers who get any ShipTease just happen to be Wheeler's and Linka's counterparts. It's probable that Gaia did it on purpose, implying that she knows or suspects how Wheeler and Linka actually feel towards each other, [[ShipperOnDeck and that she's all for it]].

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, [[CruelMercy letting the others go after Gaia's death]] – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of [[TheBabyOfTheBunch their youngest friend]] and almost [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, except ''maybe'' for [[EmptyPilesOfClothing her empty dress]], which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]]. And they couldn't have even been comforted by Captain Planet, their [[ParentalSubstitute paternal figure]], as with the rings destroyed and without the fifth team member, they wouldn't have been able to summon him anymore.

** The climax of "Don't Drink the Water" is already laden with Fridge Horror, but Gi's story adds a different kind of emotion to the scene. When Gi was a little girl, circumstances forced her to leave behind one of her friends (a dolphin called Tisa), and by the time she could return, Tisa was so sick from the pollution in the area that all Gi could do [[DiedInYourArmsTonight was hold her as she died]]. When the escape goes wrong, she's again forced to leave a friend behind in danger, which clearly distresses her, given her tone of voice as she tells Captain Planet what happened. The short period between her escaping and Wheeler being brought safely onto the geo-cruiser must have put her emotionally through the wringer, though luckily it, didn't last long and ended better.

** During her battle against Zarm, Gaia's first move is... unleashing a swarm of butterflies. It [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway may seem ridiculous]] – her opponent has just attacked her with some ''toxic ooze'' – but earlier in the episode, Zarm himself all but explicitly states that he needs a certain, presumably high, level of pollution to exist as something more than a hologram; butterflies, on the other hand, need the air as clean as possible. So basically, Gaia was hitting Zarm with his KryptoniteFactor.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E8OKAtTheGunfightCorral OK at the Gunfight Corral]]": When Gaia says that there's been a disturbance in the time-space continuum, Wheeler asks if it means that somebody went back in time and changed history, prompting Linka to wonder how he knows that. He, in turn, [[{{Shoutout}} claims]] that [[Film/BackToTheFuture he'd seen it in a movie]]. While it is a good explanation, he might have also thought about his own time travel from "Two Futures".

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E22TeersInTheHood 'Teers in the Hood]]": When Gi finally snaps and tries to drown Zap, the gang member who shot her friend King, she seems to prolong it a bit... which might make sense to her insofar as karma. King wasn't [[InstantDeathBullet killed by the bullet]]; he and Gi (the latter by proxy) have spent all this time suffering, [[ToThePain so why not draw out Zap's punishment]] to even the scales?

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E3DomesOfDoom Domes of Doom]]": Wheeler was actually pretty lucky that he ''didn't'' manage to escape being enclosed in the dome. If he had, not only would he not have had such an easy route to reach Plunder's lair, but also, he would have been trapped in the Amazon, without any access to the closest people who know the dangers of the locale and the techniques one uses for survival.

** Boris almost had to quit using Bliss when the prices skyrocketed. The only reason Skumm let him have more was that he happened to mention knowing one of the Planeteers (Linka), which ultimately allowed Boris to overdose and die. Assuming that Linka was told (or figured it out), the utter guilt she would feel would be soul-crushing. The worst thing is that such guilt on her part wouldn't even be justified.
* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, letting the others go after Gaia's death – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of [[TheBabyOfTheBunch their youngest friend]] and almost [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, except ''maybe'' for [[EmptyPilesOfClothing her empty dress]], which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]]. And they couldn't have even been comforted by Captain Planet, their [[ParentalSubstitute paternal figure]], as with the rings destroyed and without the fifth team member, they wouldn't have been able to summon him anymore.

* “
[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E5DeadlyRansom]]”:
** For a while, Captain Planet thought that the Planeteers—- who are basically like his adopted children—- were dead, after the Geo-Cruiser was shot down by Blight and Nukem.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, letting the others go after Gaia's death – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of their youngest friend and [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]].

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, letting the others go after Gaia's death – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of their youngest friend and [[NoBodyLeftBehind certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, which would have force them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]].

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E19OzoneHole Ozone Hole]]": When Kwame and the girls get trapped in ice much too close to Nukem's radiation, Linka gets a major sunburn on her face very quickly. Obviously – she's white, so she has a lot less melanin in her skin to protect her than her two friends do.

** Wheeler is the only Planeteer who calls the moaning, shambling mob of Bliss-addicted people "zombies". More than one episode (e.g. "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E14BugOff Bug Off]]" and "Going Bats, Man") indicates he's a horror movie fan, so naturally, when they're forced to barricade the Capitol against a slow-but-determined dead-eyed horde, a ZombieApocalypse would be one of the first things to spring to his mind.
** Verminous Skumm accidentally [[GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply hooking himself on Bliss]] not only works as LaserGuidedKarma, but also helps avert some FridgeHorror that might otherwise bother the audience. Given how much of the drug Skumm had been making, he might remember enough to recreate the recipe even after Captain Planet burned his notes, but soon afterwards, he gets addicted to a drug that has very nasty effects on the victim's mind. Even if Skumm remembered anything, it would presumably be gone by the time he's clear-headed again.

** After Zarm traps the Planeteers in a toxic tornado, [[ShipTease Wheeler is shown holding Linka]]. And if you watch the whole sequence frame-by-frame, you'll notice that they were sent flying separately. This means that at some point, Wheeler must have caught Linka – presumably with no intention of letting go of her no matter what.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E3DomesOfDoom Domes of Doom]]": Wheeler was actually pretty lucky that he ''didn't'' manage to escape being enclosed in the dome. If he had, not only would he not have had as easy a route to reach Plunder's lair, but also, he would have been trapped in the Amazon, without any access to the closest people who know the dangers of the locale and the techniques one uses for survival.

** Boris had more access to Bliss from Skumm because he knew Linka as a Planeteer, ultimately causing Boris to overdose and die. The utter guilt Linka would feel would be soul-crushing. The worst thing is that such guilt on her part wouldn't even be justified.

** Ma-Ti is gentler with Wheeler than the others sometimes are; even when he corrects his older friend, he goes for a friendly, non-aggressive approach[[note]]see "Skumm Lord" and "Ozone Hole"[[/note]] rather than becoming angry or sarcastic. People who feel they're under attack (even verbal attack) tend to close up. Ma-Ti is probably the team member who is least likely to push Wheeler into defensive mode and least likely to trigger any scars he might have from his highly critical father.

** While they're under Zarm's influence, Linka, Gi and Kwame destroy a military base, and Wheeler almost blows up the nuclear missiles left behind by the soldiers, which could have started WorldWarIII – and [[KarmaHoudini none of them gets prosecuted or punished for it]]. In Wheeler's case, it could be argued that he didn't actually ''do'' anything (Linka stopped him at the last moment), but what about the others? Well, given that they were standing some distance away from the base, out of the soldiers' sight, in an area without security cameras, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to prove that they had anything to do with the destruction. Also, given that it's still early in their "career", and they're not yet famous – any prosecutor who'd try to accuse them would probably have to defend his or her own sanity, as [[CassandraTruth the idea of people causing natural disasters at whim sounds utterly ridiculous]], unless one knows about the Planeteer rings.

** Right before attacking the Planeteers, Zarm mocks Gaia by calling them "[her] precious Planeteers". Considering she's just gone MamaBear on him for threatening them, he's dead right in this observation.

** As Zarm is preparing to kill Ma-Ti, Gaia does something unprecedented – [[AintTooProudToBeg she begs Zarm for mercy over the boy]], even though she knows Zarm enough to realize it's futile. Throughout the two-parter, she barely reacted to whatever he did or said to ''her'', but the prospect of helplessly watching [[TheBabyOfTheBunch her youngest Planeteer]] get brutally murdered makes her desperate enough to plead for his life, despite being on the verge of death herself.

** The timeline only returns to normal once Wheeler returns to the day he got the Fire Ring and stops his New Year's Eve self from warning his original self against taking the ring. If Wheeler had been killed running around the BadFuture, the timeline might (and probably ''would'') have stayed messed up.

** Whether or not Plunder is Betsi's father, if he had actually succeeded at killing her, Dr. Blight probably [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge would've ripped him apart]] (maybe even literally), given that at one point, she explicitly [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes shows affection for her daughter]].

** Boris had more access to Bliss from Skumm because he knew Linka as a Planeteer, ultimately causing Boris to overdose and die. The utter guilt Linka would feel would be soul-crushing. And the worst thing is that such guilt on her part wouldn't even be justified.

** While all five Planeteers are [[ExtremelyProtectiveChild very protective of Gaia]], Wheeler has one more reason for this than the others do: in "Two Futures", he had seen an AlternateTimeline in which the consequences of his RefusalOfTheCall ended up killing Gaia. And although it's never explicitly confirmed, it's not really a stretch to imagine that ever since then, he's determined to make sure the BadFuture never happens.

* Despite [[ShipperOnDeck Kwame and Wheeler clearly rooting for them]], Gaia and Captain Planet can't be a couple, [[AnchoredShip at least for the moment]]. While she can interact with the Planeteers pretty normally (except for being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he either is inaccessible (episodes like "The Conqueror" and "The Dead Seas") or only exists when summoned (episodes like "Two Futures"), leaving the kids powerless as a side effect. Him staying around long enough to have a romantic relationship with Gaia would defeat the whole purpose of the rings. Thus, the two are better off as just friends... at least until the Planeteers can bring the eco-crises under control.

** Dr. Blight showed many different motives throughout the series. Often she got joy out of seeing how much carnage she could cause from her experiments, but in a few episodes she was shown using her scientific genius to make money in unethical ways, much like Looten Plunder and Hoggish Greedly. In one episode where her only motivation was jealousy, she attempted to destroy her sister's Hollywood career.

* In more than one episode ("Summit to Save Earth" and "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E7NoPlaceLikeHome No Place Like Home]]"), the Planeteers group-hug Gaia after she has had a close call. In both cases, Ma-Ti and Linka are the first to reach her. This makes sense given their backstories: Ma-Ti got orphaned at an early age and [[MissingMom Linka's mother was never seen or even mentioned in the show]], leaving Linka and her brother to have been raised by their father [[RaisedByGrandparents and grandmother]]. Gaia may just be the ''only'' mother figure they've had in years (or in Linka's case, maybe her entire life). It makes sense for them to feel attached to Gaia even more than their friends are.

** That scene also takes on an additional meaning after "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste." Wheeler was in the victim's position the night [[AbusiveParents his father]] drove him away from home, and got rescued by two street teens. Rather than his rough childhood and adolescence [[StoppedCaring making him stop caring]] about anyone besides himself or even becoming a StartOfDarkness, Wheeler grew up to protect others the way he'd been protected that night, further justifying Gaia's decision to give him the Fire Ring.

** When Gaia says she must go to the military base that the four older Planeteers are tearing apart, Ma-Ti protests, pointing out that she's now mortal, and going there will be putting herself in danger. To convince him, Gaia replies that "peace requires a brave heart". Taken at face value, these words mean ''she'' has enough courage to risk her life in order to bring her terribly misguided Planeteers back on the way of peace. However, there's more to that. Ma-Ti's power is Heart, and at that point, he's scared and feeling helpless. With that short sentence, Gaia gently makes him realize that they ''both'' need to be brave to succeed.

** While they're under Zarm's influence, Linka, Gi and Kwame destroy a military base, and Wheeler almost blows up the nuclear missiles left behind by the soldiers, which could have started WorldWarIII – and [[KarmaHoudini none of them gets prosecuted or punished for it]]. In Wheeler's case, it could be argued that he didn't actually ''do'' anything (Linka stopped him at the last moment), but what about the others? Well, given that they were standing some distance away from the base, out of the soldiers' sight, in an area without security cameras, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to prove that they had anything to do with the destruction. Also, given that it's still early in their "career", and they're not yet well-known – any prosecutor who'd try to accuse them would probably have to defend his or her own sanity, as [[CassandraTruth the idea of people causing natural disasters at whim sounds utterly ridiculous]], unless one knows about the Planeteer rings.

** When she's given the chance [[SadisticChoice to save either herself or the Planeteers]], Gaia rescues the kids without a second thought – and promptly gets defeated by Zarm, [[VirtueIsWeakness who sneers that she chose wrong]] and as such, will now lose everything. However, saving the Planeteers meant that they were later able to save ''her'' in turn, while making the opposite choice wouldn't have guaranteed her victory over Zarm.

** In their first battle, Gaia was seconds away from defeating Zarm, until he decided to cheat his way to victory. Logically, she should be able to repeat [[CurbStompBattle the curbstomping]] even without outside help. Why then does she only summon monkeys and birds to distract Zarm while the Planeteers call Captain Planet? Because she's still weakened after everything Zarm has put her through and [[{{Synchronization}} due to Earth's condition]]; notice that during the escape, she eventually had to lean on Kwame to walk. Also, summoning the animals required the power of Heart, which – unlike other elements – Zarm can never counter or replicate because of being heartless.

* "Hollywaste": When Bambi admits being Dr. Blight's sister, almost all the Planeteers become immediately suspicious of her. Wheeler is the only one who firmly believes in her innocence, on the grounds that one doesn't get to choose one's family. At first glance, it may seem random and strange for him to act as a voice of reason, but on second thought, it makes perfect sense. He believes Bambi, because he can relate to her on family matters. After all, just like she didn't choose to have an evil sister, he didn't choose to have an {{abusive|Parents}}, [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic father]].

* During at least one episode, Verminous Skumm, a rat mutant, calls Linka "[his] pretty little Planeteer." Hopefully, he meant that more as a [[YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive dismissive statement]] and not as a sign [[VillainousCrush he's actually attracted to her.]]

** Making this worse? [[PoisonIsAcid Given the state of the reservoir at that point]], there might not have been a corpse to retrieve ([[IdentificationByDentalRecords or at least not one suitable for an open-casket funeral]]) if Plunder had succeeded in drowning Wheeler. Even if they had managed to retrieve a body, the fact that the Eco-Villains had polluted at least some of the water with radioactive materials might have meant they'd have to dump Wheeler's remains in a radioactive disposal site; the only thing they'd accomplish would be further traumatizing themselves by seeing [[BodyHorror the effects]].

** The timeline only returns to normal once Wheeler returns to the day he got the Fire Ring and stops his New Year's Eve self from warning his original self against taking the ring. If Wheeler had been killed running around the BadFuture, the timeline might have stayed messed up.

** Possibility #2: Assuming that "Two Futures" would represent what would happen if ''any'' of the rings (not just the Fire Ring) had no wielder, the Planeteers are bound to their positions until either the world reforms itself or Gaia can find replacement bearers (which according to at least one future episode will end up being the current team's children). Hopefully they didn't have too many plans for their futures before coming there. Even supposing that they didn't, they can't see their families (those of them that ''have'' healthy families) without a long Geo-Cruiser ride and any plans are always at risk of being disrupted by another eco-emergency.

** On a similar note, one episode has Wheeler comment that some city folk "don't see a future for themselves; territory is all they feel they have." Wheeler's impulsiveness, about which his teammates tend to rag on him, could easily have developed because he saw no long-term future for himself either.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E1MindPollution Mind Pollution]]": By the end of the episode, Linka's Uncle Dmitri [[OutlivingOnesOffspring has lost his son]]. That's sad enough, but the fact that they're alone in the house could imply Boris was his only child.
** Boris had more access to Bliss from Skumm because he knew Linka as a Planeteer, ultimately causing Boris to overdose and die. The utter guilt Linka would feel would be soul-crushing.

** [[HadToBeSharp While explaining his independent streak]], Wheeler reveals that his father constantly criticized him, going so far as to call him a worthless loser for being unable to fulfill his demand for [[TheAlcoholic another bottle]]. While the older Planeteers[[note]]Ma-Ti doesn't count, because he rarely criticizes anyone[[/note]] are more kind and have some positive interactions to balance things out, it's quite possible that Kwame, Linka, and Gi semi-regularly (if {{innocently|Insensitive}}) hit Wheeler's TraumaButton by treating him like a jerk or an idiot for not immediately understanding the problem of the week.
** The climax of "Don't Drink the Water" is already laden with Fridge Horror, but Gi's story adds a different kind of emotion to the scene. When Gi was a little girl, circumstances forced her to leave behind one of her friends (a dolphin called Tisa) and by the time she could return, Tisa was so sick from the pollution in the area that all Gi could do [[DiedInYourArmsTonight was hold her as she died]]. When the escape goes wrong, she's again forced to leave a friend behind in danger, which clearly distresses her given her tone of voice as she tells Captain Planet what happened. The short period between her escaping and Wheeler being brought safely onto the geo-cruiser must have put her emotionally through the wringer, though luckily it didn't last long and ended better.
** Ma-Ti's story adds some additional trauma to "Radiant Amazon". His unusually upset behavior and attempt to take on the villains of the week personally may not just have been because it was his home they attacked. The circumstances may also have called up memories of the night his parents were murdered.

** Wheeler, the carrier of the Fire Ring, is in love with Linka, the carrier of the Wind Ring. Their elements are complementary; wind can fuel and spread fire, while (for instance) water puts it out. Likewise, Gi and Kwame (if you see them as a couple) also have complementary elements.

** That scene also takes on an additional meaning after "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste." Wheeler was in the victim's position the night [[AbusiveParents his father]] drove him away from home and got rescued by two street teens. Rather than his rough childhood and adolescence [[StoppedCaring making him stop caring]] about anyone besides himself or even becoming a StartOfDarkness, Wheeler grew up to protect others the way he'd been protected that night, further justifying Gaia's decision to give him the Fire Ring.

** Though Wheeler's complaints about having to work on New Year's Eve fit in with his fun-loving nature, his backstory makes it pretty likely that he wasn't able to celebrate many happy New Years at home. New Year's is supposed to be celebrated with loved ones, but Wheeler's family was profoundly dysfunctional. Now he finally ''has'' a decent "[[FamilyOfChoice family]]" with whom to celebrate, and Greedly's latest scheme derails it.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E1MindPollution Mind Pollution]]": By the end of the episode, Linka's Uncle Dmitri has lost his son. That's sad enough, but the fact that they're alone in the house could imply Boris was his only child.

** Aside from the fact that confrontation scenes simply look better in a dark setting, there's a good reason why Wheeler and Ma-Ti are introduced during the night, unlike Kwame and the girls. All the Planeteers originally lived in different time zones, with Wheeler's and Ma-Ti's being the closest together (several hours, depending on where exactly Ma-Ti's village is located). Thus, Wheeler stops a mugger and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi in the night; Kwame is out planting saplings in the early morning; Linka is playing bird tunes on her keyboard around midday; and Gi is swimming with dolphins in the afternoon.
** When Gi takes control of the Geo-Cruiser, we learn that she has a driver's license and Wheeler doesn't, even though he's supposed to be older than she is. This makes sense for two reasons: 1) Wheeler grew up in a poor neighborhood, whereas Gi is the daughter of two scientists; her family probably had more money to put towards things like driving lessons and 2) New York is an urban environment with public transportation; that presumably makes having (and therefore knowing how to use) a car less important. Wheeler not only had less opportunity to learn; he also had less reason.

** When Zarm introduces himself to the Planeteers, claiming to be an alien, Linka wonders how he can possibly know the human language. He, in turn, claims that it's "a simple language", but the tone of his voice is somewhat hesitant. When first watching the episode, it might be easy to chalk it up to him doing his best not to insult the Earthlings he just met. However, [[RewatchBonus upon rewatching]], it seems quite likely that Linka's question actually caught him off-guard, and he had to improvise.

** Though Wheeler's complaints about having to work on New Year's Eve fit in with his fun-loving nature, his backstory makes it pretty likely that he wasn't able to celebrate many happy New Years at home. New Year's is supposed to be celebrated with loved ones, but Wheeler's family was profoundly dysfunctional. Now he finally ''has'' a decent "[[FamilyOfChoice family]]" with whom to celebrate, and Greedly's latest scheme derails it.

* Despite [[ShipperOnDeck Kwame and Wheeler clearly rooting for them]], Gaia and Captain Planet can't be a couple, [[AnchoredShip at least for the moment]]. While she can interact with the Planeteers pretty normally (except for being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he either is inaccessible (episodes like "The Conqueror") or only exists when summoned (episodes like "Two Futures"), leaving the kids powerless as a side effect. Him staying around long enough to have a romantic relationship with Gaia would defeat the whole purpose of the rings. Thus, the two are better off as just friends... at least until the Planeteers can bring the eco-crises under control.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E1AHeroForEarth A Hero for Earth]]": Aside from the fact that confrontation scenes simply look better in a dark setting, there's a good reason why Wheeler and Ma-Ti are introduced during the night, unlike Kwame and the girls. All the Planeteers originally lived in different time zones, with Wheeler's and Ma-Ti's being the closest together (several hours, depending on where exactly Ma-Ti's village is located). Thus, Wheeler stops a mugger and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi in the night; Kwame is out planting saplings in the early morning; Linka is playing bird tunes on her keyboard around midday; and Gi is swimming with dolphins in the afternoon.

** When Zarm introduces himself to the Planeteers, Linka wonders how he can possibly know the human language. He, in turn, claims that it's "a simple language", but the tone of his voice is somewhat hesitant. Given that he's posing as an alien, it might be easy to chalk it up to him doing his best not to insult the Earthlings he just met. However, upon rewatching, it seems quite likely that Linka's question actually caught him off-guard, and he had to improvise.
** Linka spotting Gaia and Ma-Ti among the debris of the missile base just in time to stop Wheeler from using the Fire Gauntlet may seem like a convenient coincidence to move the plot forward, but there's actually a good in-universe reason for it as well – Ma-Ti has used the Heart Ring to summon a flock of birds. He must have either known or guessed that they'd attract Linka's attention.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E1AHeroForEarth A Hero for Earth]]": Aside from the fact that confrontation scenes simply look better in a dark setting, there's a good reason why Wheeler and Ma-Ti are introduced during the night, unlike Kwame and the girls. All the Planeteers originally lived in different time zones, with Wheeler's and Ma-Ti's being the closest apart (1 or 2 hours, depending on where exactly Ma-Ti's village is located). Thus, Wheeler stops a mugger and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi in the night; Kwame is out planting saplings in the early morning; Linka is playing bird tunes on her keyboard around midday; and Gi is swimming with dolphins in the afternoon.

** Possibility #2: Assuming that "Two Futures" would represent what would happen if ''any'' of the rings (not just the Fire Ring) had no wielder, the Planeteers are bound to their positions until either the world reforms itself or Gaia can find replacement bearers (which according to most future episodes will end up being the current team's children). Hopefully they didn't have too many plans for their futures before coming there. Even supposing that they didn't, they can't see their families (those of them that ''have'' healthy families) without a long Geo-Cruiser ride and any plans are always at risk of being disrupted by another eco-emergency.

** Though Wheeler's complaints about having to work on New Year's Eve fit in with his fun-loving nature, his backstory makes it pretty likely that he wasn't able to celebrate many happy New Years at home. New Year's is supposed to be celebrated with loved ones, but Wheeler's family was profoundly dysfunctional.

* The relationships between Zarm, Gaia, Captain Planet and the Planeteers echo the show's emphasis on sustainability. Zarm, even before he shows his true colors, is only interested in the kids as short-term tools to achieve his own goals, as opposed to Gaia and Cap seeing them as family to be cared for and protected long-term. In the short term, this seems to put the good guys at a disadvantage, but in the long run, it means that [[TheSociopath Zarm]], [[LoveIsAWeakness who disdains the idea of being bound to anyone else]], keeps getting his plans thwarted by a group who have more resources to draw on and a greater reason to stick together than Zarm could give his occasional allies/lackeys. [[EvilIsEasy Evil may be easy]], but [[EvilWillFail it also tends to sow the seeds of its own destruction.]]

* Despite [[ShipperOnDeck Kwame and Wheeler clearly rooting for them]], Gaia and Captain Planet can't be a couple, [[AnchoredShip at least for the moment]]. While she can interact with the Planeteers pretty normally (aside from being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he either is inaccessible (episodes like "The Conqueror") or only exists when summoned (episodes like "Two Futures"), leaving the kids powerless as a side effect. Him staying around long enough to have a romantic relationship with Gaia would defeat the whole purpose of the rings. Thus, the two are better off as just friends... at least until the Planeteers can bring the eco-crises under control.

* Lots of people (mostly the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara) like to say that the Eco Villains were just polluting for the hell of it, but close inspection of the series shows that most had an insidious but not-entirely-insane reason for doing what they do:

* Ma-Ti [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway gets mocked by certain factions of the audience]] because his powers usually work better for support than for offense. However, it makes sense. By Ma-Ti's own definition in "Summit to Save Earth", Heart is meant for loving and taking care of other beings, whether by communicating with them, understanding their feelings, or enlisting assistance from passersby. Ma-Ti's power is meant to be supportive.

** When four of the Planeteers turned away from Gaia, she became mortal and apparently lost her powers. How was she able to use Zarm's crystal ball, then? Because she didn't lose ''all'' of them; she still had access to the power of Heart, thanks to Ma-Ti staying loyal to her. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower "The greatest power of all"]], indeed.

* "Two Futures": Wheeler explicitly says that he got the Fire Ring eleven months ago. That means everything in the first season -- all the learning-on-the-job, all the running from one location to another, all the near-death experiences -- happened in a single year. No wonder [[KnightInSourArmor Wheeler]] is feeling [[{{Pun}} burnt out]]!

** Making this worse? [[PoisonIsAcid Given the state of the reservoir at that point]], there might not have been a corpse to retrieve ([[IdentificationByDentalRecords or at least not one suitable for an open-casket funeral]]) if Plunder had succeeded in drowning Wheeler. Even if they had managed to retrieve a body, the fact that the eco-villains had polluted at least some of the water with radioactive materials might have meant they'd have to dump Wheeler's remains in a radioactive disposal site; the only thing they'd accomplish would be further traumatizing themselves by seeing [[BodyHorror the effects]].

* "'Teers in the Hood": During the climax, Zap is fighting like crazy to keep his head above the water Gi is stirring up with her ring. Obviously, she could have used her power to keep him completely underwater and drowned him much faster, meaning she was ''allowing'' him to struggle. She didn't just want him dead, she wanted to draw out his suffering first, which gives an even scarier subtext to her argument with Wheeler:

* "Two Futures":

* "Mind Pollution": By the end of the episode, Linka's Uncle Dmitri has lost his son. That's sad enough, but the fact that they're alone in the house could imply Boris was his only child.
* The Planeteers' backstories provided in "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E1And2MineIsTerribleToWaste A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste]]" add some depressing realizations to multiple other episodes:

* Linka's only stated to come from "The Soviet Union" and later on "Eastern Europe". It's highly possible she might be Ukrainian or Belorussian, rather than Russian.
** The pilot gives further credence to this since when Wheeler remarks, "Love your accent, babe. You Russian?", Linka's response is a disdainful "Soviet. Please, go avay", implying that she is NOT Russian and finds the assumption insulting.
** However, in the German dub (made after the fall of the Soviet Union), as well as in the Russian one, Linka is unambiguously stated to be from Russia.

* Ma-Ti occasionally shows telepathic abilities when Captain Planet is present, and therefore his ring has no power (e.g. "The Ultimate Pollution" and "Energy Vampire"). However, in "Radiant Amazon", the show demonstrates that his grandfather also has telepathic abilities. Ma-Ti could have inherited them. In fact, that could even have served as a secondary reason why he ended up with the Heart Ring; if he's already telepathic, he would have practice and suffer the least disruption as a result of suddenly being linked to the others.
* Ma-Ti gets mocked by certain factions of the audience because his powers usually work better for support than for offense. However, it makes sense. By Ma-Ti's own definition in "Summit to Save Earth", Heart is meant for loving and taking care of other beings, whether by communicating with them, understanding their feelings, or enlisting assistance from passersby. Ma-Ti's power is meant to be supportive.

** When Zarm introduces himself to the Planeteers, Linka wonders how can he possibly know the human language. He, in turn, claims that it's "a simple language", but the tone of his voice is somewhat hesitant. Given that he's posing as an alien, it might be easy to chalk it up to him doing his best not to insult the Earthlings he just met. However, upon rewatching, it seems quite likely that Linka's question actually caught him off-guard, and he had to improvise.

** Wheeler’s recklessness: