Dr. Blight comes up with a new scheme — swap bodies with Gaia to steal her powers. Unfortunately for the bad doctor, this is far from enough to stop Gaia from continuing to protect the planet.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- And I'm the Queen of Sheba: When Gaia tries to explain to the team that she's in Dr. Blight's body, Wheeler snarks that in that case, he's Captain Pollution.
- Apologetic Attacker: After dealing with a crisis at a nuclear power plant, Captain Planet starts chasing Dr. Blight's aircraft, correctly assuming that Blight is to blame for the whole thing, but having no idea of her scheme to swap bodies with Gaia. As such, Gaia-as-Blight tells MAL that while they must defend themselves, the Captain is to be treated gently.Gaia (softly): This is gonna hurt me more than it does you.
- Briar Patching: Gaia-as-Blight tricks Blight-as-Gaia into striking Captain Planet with lightning so he can power the machine needed to switch their minds back, by convincing her that lightning can destroy him.
- Brought Down to Normal: Gaia after having her mind placed in Dr. Blight's body, rendering her a normal human.
- Continuity Nod: The team still remembers Captain Pollution, despite him only having appeared twice.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Evil detecting monkey, really. Suchi was scared of Blight-as-Gaia, sensing something is very wrong with her. When faced with Gaia-as-Blight, Suchi instantly latches onto her, realizing she's the real Gaia.
- Evil Running Good: Dr. Blight fools the Planeteers into believing she's Gaia, so that she can use the powers of nature against Earth.
- Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy: This is what Blight-as-Gaia tries to cause in the Planeteers by giving them one "mission" after another. She does succeed to a degree, considering that they need quite some time to realize something is really wrong.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: The whole episode revolves around Dr. Blight switching bodies with Gaia in order to abuse her powers for her own benefit.
- A God Am I: Blight while in Gaia's body as she uses the powers of nature without restraint.
- The Gods Must Be Lazy: The episode helps explain the common viewer complaint that Gaia shouldn't need a team of teenagers, given that she can just fix everything herself. Blight-as-Gaia's attempted radical ecological alterations (first on her list being to turn the Sahara into a garden) would ultimately end up being just as destructive as the stuff Blight usually does, addressing why Gaia didn't do that herself. Furthermore, Gaia in Blight's body spends the episode fixing ecological problems with Blight's technology. It seems that while she could use her own power to fix the world, she'd much rather teach mankind to clean up after themselves instead and being in Blight's body gave her the chance to show humanity it was possible.
- Good Running Evil: After some initial confusion, Gaia manages to fool MAL into believing she's Dr. Blight, and takes command of him and Blight's aircraft, so that she can gain the Planeteers' trust and undo Blight's mind switch.
- Grand Theft Me: The episode features Dr. Blight kidnapping and switching with Gaia's body. This backfires on her when Gaia spends the episode fixing ecological problems with Blight's technology.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Gaia still manages to find a way to make Dr. Blight's scheme backfire, using her own technology to help Earth and tricking her assistant MAL into doing more.
- Idiot Ball: Blight creates a machine that allows her to switch bodies with Gaia, does so and starts using her powers to "improve" the environment for the hell of it... yet apparently gave no thought whatsoever to the fact that after the switch, Gaia is now in her body. Not only is Gaia free to wander around her base, but Blight didn't even inform MAL of this. Naturally, not only does Gaia use Blight's gadgets to fight back with MAL's assistance, she even tricks him into continuing to do so after they switch back, claiming it's "all part of [her] scheme".
- No Matter How Much I Beg: Gaia and Dr. Blight are in a "Freaky Friday" Flip. However, Blight didn't tell MAL of her Evil Plan, due to being angry with him at the time. As such, he doesn't question a single word when before switching back, Gaia-as-Blight instructs him to do a bunch of eco-friendly things, no matter how much she (or rather, the real Blight) tells him to stop later.
- Poor Communication Kills: If Dr. Blight had told MAL what her plan of the week was, he would have known not to pay attention to Gaia-as-Blight, regardless of whatever she might have said.
- Refuge in Audacity: When Gaia-as-Blight orders MAL to tell her what their aircraft can do, he's surprised, to say the least, because Blight (the real one, that is) was the one to design it, and so should know exactly each and every part's purpose. Gaia immediately gets into her role and makes him obey.Gaia-as-Blight: Are you questioning my orders, MAL?!
MAL: P-perish the thought, Doctor. Systems check coming up, posthaste. - Right for the Wrong Reasons: When he's summoned to deal with a crisis at a nuclear power plant, Captain Planet spots Dr. Blight's aircraft nearby and deduces that the whole situation must be her fault. His conclusion is indeed correct, but at that time, he doesn't yet know of the "Freaky Friday" Flip between Gaia, who in this case was actually using Blight's technology to help the Planeteers, and Blight, who arranged the crisis from Hope Island, using Gaia's powers.
- Voices Are Mental: Subverted. After the switch, Gaia and Dr. Blight retain their original voices, but have to fake each other's mannerisms in order to fool (respectively) MAL and the Planeteers. Thus, Gaia-as-Blight uses a raspier tone with MAL, while Blight-as-Gaia attempts to speak more softly and sweetly when talking to the Planeteers. The kids do notice something is off about the two, but are too tired to really think it over and connect the dots.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Dr. Blight seems to think she can do a better job than Gaia; see The Gods Must Be Lazy above. Gaia even lampshades that in her own warped way, Blight means well in this case.
