While the Planeteers are enjoying their daily lives on Hope Island on a relatively cool day, Dr. Blight is plotting against the Earth once again and about to use them as guinea pigs for her latest scheme. She creates a force field dome over Hope Island and starts pumping greenhouse gases into it, which eventually ends up threatening Gaia's life.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Almost Dead Guy: Or rather, an almost dead Spirit of Earth. Despite being too weak to stand – and later even sit up – Gaia manages to not only beg the Planeteers to save Hope Island, but also to advise them to aim their rings into the water, so that they can summon Captain Planet.
- Big "WHAT?!": This is Dr. Blight's reaction to seeing a huge wave rapidly approaching her speedboat.
- Breaking Bad News Gently: Though at first, Gaia tells the Planeteers not to worry about her, she's eventually forced to admit how badly Dr. Blight's heat wave is affecting her. Still, she starts by just saying she's not well, revealing the whole truth only when Ma-Ti presses the matter.
- Damsel in Distress: While windsurfing, Linka is captured by Dr. Blight so that she can't alert the other Planeteers of what's going on, then gets trapped in a pile of coal. Her attempts to break free are not particularly successful, so it's up to her friends to get her out.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Downplayed. After rescuing Linka, the Planeteers return to Hope Island to find Gaia too sick to stand without leaning on something or someone. Wheeler cradles her while she begs them to make a final effort to stop Dr. Blight, and save Hope Island.
- Domed Hometown: Invoked by Blight creating a force field over Hope Island.
- The Dying Walk: Subverted. When the Planeteers are having trouble with getting through Dr. Blight's force field, Ma-Ti contacts Gaia to ask for help. Gaia then reveals she needs it herself, walks a few steps and collapses. She comes to shortly after, though.
- Green Aesop: This episode tackles the issue of the greenhouse effect.
- Lap Pillow: When Gaia becomes too sick and weak to not only stand, but even sit on her own, Wheeler goes to one knee and uses his leg to cushion and support her head and upper body.
- Near-Death Experience: When the Planeteers return to Hope Island, Gaia begs them to save the island – and at the same time, herself – then tells them they don't have much time to do so, and faints. Her next scene sees her too weak to even sit on her own, instead lying in Wheeler's lap. She does get better, but if the Planeteers hadn't managed to summon Captain Planet, or if they had done it a few minutes later than they actually did, she would have died on the Crystal Chamber's rooftop. And if they hadn't been able to get to Hope Island in time, Gaia would have eventually drowned.
- Oh, Crap!: Dr. Blight has such a moment when she realizes that (1) her plan failed, (2) the force field over Hope Island got destroyed, and (3) the excess water is now rushing towards her speedboat as a huge wave.
- Parents in Distress: Or rather, a Parental Substitute in distress. The Planeteers have to save Gaia whose life is in danger as a result of Dr. Blight's latest scheme.
- Race Against the Clock: Due to synchronization, as Dr. Blight's greenhouse effect starts destroying Hope Island, Gaia gets increasingly sick and weak. Hence, the Planeteers must stop Blight and find a way to help Gaia before the air pollution kills her.
- Today, X. Tomorrow, the World!: As Dr. Blight is escaping with MAL in a speedboat, she gloats that despite everything that the Planeteers did, her plan still worked, and that she's going to ruin the world in the same way as Hope Island.Dr. Blight (to MAL): Just think of the disasters when I melt the polar icecaps! Today, Hope Island, tomorrow, the world!
- Uncertain Doom: In MAL and Dr. Blight's last scene, they're buried under a tidal wave. It takes until the next season to learn that they did survive.
