The original show actually had an episode similar to this. The kids had done a lot of work but the problem didn’t seem to be getting any smaller, and they were starting to feel demoralized. Then the villains stepped in to offer a devil’s bargain: A set of gloves which were individually much more powerful than any of the rings but could only be worn if the rings were removed.
No rings means no Captain Planet, but now each of the kids was as strong as he is. They didn’t need him anymore. They didn’t even need each other anymore. And they definitely didn’t need to keep cleaning up pollution when they could just destroy the factories instead. It wasn’t long before they split up and began engaging in eco-terrorism throughout their respective territories, creating lots of chaos for the villains to capitalize on.
I forget exactly how the episode ended. I think the heart kid refused the glove and went on a journey to get the band back together, and something happened where they needed to summon Captain Planet and they were forced to give up the gloves. There was probably some message about how violence looks like an easy solution but it just makes things worse, and progress isn’t always obvious, and if we all just work together we’ll get there eventually.
But then there was another episode where a bunch of scientists created a simulation of Earth to predict how the environment would turn out and it all ended in nuclear war, total ecological collapse, and mass extinction with nothing more optimistic than a “Maybe we’ll figure it out before it’s too late. Maybe.”
The original show actually had an episode similar to this. The kids had done a lot of work but the problem didn’t seem to be getting any smaller, and they were starting to feel demoralized. Then the villains stepped in to offer a devil’s bargain: A set of gloves which were individually much more powerful than any of the rings but could only be worn if the rings were removed.
No rings means no Captain Planet, but now each of the kids was as strong as he is. They didn’t need him anymore. They didn’t even need each other anymore. And they definitely didn’t need to keep cleaning up pollution when they could just destroy the factories instead. It wasn’t long before they split up and began engaging in eco-terrorism throughout their respective territories, creating lots of chaos for the villains to capitalize on.
I forget exactly how the episode ended. I think the heart kid refused the glove and went on a journey to get the band back together, and something happened where they needed to summon Captain Planet and they were forced to give up the gloves. There was probably some message about how violence looks like an easy solution but it just makes things worse, and progress isn’t always obvious, and if we all just work together we’ll get there eventually.
But then there was another episode where a bunch of scientists created a simulation of Earth to predict how the environment would turn out and it all ended in nuclear war, total ecological collapse, and mass extinction with nothing more optimistic than a “Maybe we’ll figure it out before it’s too late. Maybe.”
Man, I watched the show, but I don’t remember those episodes.