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Missing Linka
Season 4, Episode 04
Missinglinka144
Linka kisses Wheeler goodbye.
Air date October 2, 1993
Written by Richard Mueller
Episode guide
Previous
I Just Want to Be Your Teddy Bear
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The Unbearable Blightness of Being

Missing Linka is the fourth episode in the fourth season of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The story is by Nick Boxer, Sean Catherine Derek and Laren Bright. It was written by Richard Mueller.

Eco-villains[]

Add details here.

Plot Synopsis[]

While the other Planeteers deal with a toxic spill in small-town USA, Linka gives up her ring and returns home to be with her grandmother, who has become mysteriously ill. Will the Planeteers be able to continue their noble quest without the power of Wind?

Episode Summary[]

As the sun rises over a smog-filled community, Dioxin Benzine tanker trucks rush by. Unable to see clearly, and going to fast, they crash, fall off a cliff, and rip open, spilling their contents. The scene cuts to the Planeteers flying in the sky; and Linka inconspicuously pulls out a letter to look at, but Gaia appears, telling them to go to the spill. They arrive at the disaster, where the involved parties are more concerned with pointing fingers. The Planeteers try to warn the mayor against moving one of the crashed trucks, urging him to wait for cleanup crews to arrive, but the mayor refuses. The truck further rips and spills its contents, and several people are injured. Annoyed with the ignorance and pride of the parties involved, they summon Captain Planet, who is weakened by the toxins enough to return to their rings. Linka and Wheeler combine their powers into a laser to seal up the tanks, and Gi uses her water to cool off the metal. Covered in the toxins, the Planeteers take off their protective suits, and Linka's letter falls out. Wheeler jokes about the letter's origins, asking who the "Mishka" in the letter is, but Linka explains it's a letter from home; half her home town is sick, and she feels she must go home.

They fly to her hometown, which is now a shanty-town of run-down buildings and dilapidated structures. The old iron mine is almost tapped out, and most of the town is unemployed, though there is a new recycling plant. They land, and Linka is greeted warmly by Mishka, revealed to be a very handsome man, causing Wheeler to become red with jealousy. The man explains to Linka that even the animals have become sick. Linka leaves the group and leaves the ring with them. She goes and comforts her grandmother, as the rest of them leave.

Outside, a group of angry people surround the owner of the recycling plant, claiming that its presence has contributed to the town's plague. Although he pleads that his recycling plant causes a fraction of the pollution the mine did, the townspeople refuse to listen to reason, claiming that the mine contributed to most of the town's prosperity. No one will listen to Linka either, as they feel she deserted them. Linka goes to look around and is followed by a bundled stranger. She turns around to see a runaway cart falling after her in a narrow alleyway. She instinctively goes to use her ring and realizes she no longer has it and runs. The stranger pulls her to safety before running away. Mishka then comes to find Linka.

Back with the rest of the Planeteers, they work to stop the toxins from spreading to the groundwater. Based on the data Linka sent her, Gi tells Kwame that the recycling plant shouldn't be making people sick, but the iron mine definitely concerns her. Meanwhile, Linka feeds her grandmother soup and tells her how she too, is curious about the iron mine. Her grandmother warns her that she's been away for a long time, and things are not the way they were. Back in the US, Ma-Ti returns and tells how Wheeler is taking Linka's absence hard. Gi links the sickness to heavy metal poisoning from contaminated drinking water. Kwame finds the two towns similar in fate, as both water supplies are in danger. They propose a temporary fix for the problem, by absorbing the toxins to slow the seepage before the cleanup crews arrive. Ma-Ti contacts the townspeople through his ring to bring sandbags and shovels to form a layer of sand, although the mayor is initially skeptical that the people care enough to bother. To his surprise, a large group of locals show up with the supplies requested, and he thanks the Planeteers for their help.

Linka is running in the mine and finds the man who instigated the arguments with the recycling plant owner. She tricks him and enters the mine. She falls, crossing a shaft filled with water, and is knocked unconscious. She is again saved by the mysterious bundled stranger, who runs away again after she comes to, and Mishka comes back for her. They find her clothes stained with water and mine waste, and realize that the practice of dumping waste into the mine has contaminated the groundwater, causing the town's sickness.

But it seems they are too late: an angry mob storms the recycling plant to close it down. As they wreck the plant, they accidentally break the regulators, and a boiler begins to overheat. They evacuate before the building seals itself, but Linka and Mishka are stuck inside. The mysterious bundled man breaks in to save Linka once again and returns her ring. She realizes it is Wheeler. Between wind, fire, and Mishka's brute strength, they break free just in time. They call Ma-Ti and summon Captain Planet, who freezes the malfunctioning boiler before returning to the rings.

Now confident with what is causing the illness, doctors can help the sick recover and the man who accused the recycling plant apologizes. Linka still plans to stay in her hometown, and the Planeteers bid their farewells to her one by one - except Wheeler, who receives a Matryoshka doll from her grandmother. She has a hard time saying goodbye to him and instead runs up to him for a passionate kiss.

Linka's grandmother convinces her to go with the Planeteers, thanking her for saving the town and reminding her that as a Planeteer, she can save many other towns. Linka accepts, leaving her home to find her friends already waiting for her. Wheeler teases Linka about having to leave Mishka behind, but she then teases Wheeler for being jealous of Mishka, who is actually her elder brother.

Planeteer Alerts[]

First Planeteer Alert
Alert

Ma-Ti: Toxic chemicals get shipped through cities and towns everywhere.
Gi: But many places don't have plans for dealing with chemical spills.
Ma-Ti: Contact your mayor or fire department to find out if your town is prepared. Right, Suchi?
(Suchi chitters)
Kwame: If there is a plan, find out how it works.
Wheeler: If there isn't, you and your parents can urge officials to start one.
Captain Planet: Make sure your town isn't caught unprepared. Plan ahead. The power is yours!

Second Planeteer Alert

Gi: Careless development has destroyed much of the Louisiana Black Bear's home, and only a few are left.
Kwame: But in some countries, bear organs and parts are still in great demand.
Gaia: We should pass laws to make trading in bear parts illegal.
Captain Planet: We should protect all animals whose habitats are threatened. Kids, write your government representatives. Your letters can save teddy bears and endangered animals around the world. The power is yours!

Significant Moments and Facts[]

  • The episode's title is an obvious pun on "missing link".
  • In this episode, Linka and Wheeler share their first kiss.
  • Linka's grandmother gives Wheeler a traditional Russian Matryoshka doll as a gift.

Quotes[]

None yet.

Gallery[]

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