The Legend of Zelda TV series retrospective: Episode 12, ‘The Missing Link’

“Stinging a Stinger,” “Hitch in the Works,” and “Fairies in the Spring” tested my patience as a viewer in my retrospective look at The Legend of Zelda TV series, but just as Link is rewarded for overcoming his many trials in the Zelda games, my struggle is now starting to pay off.

OK, they weren’t that bad, but I’m pleased to say that “The Missing Link” is the return to form that this show desperately needed as it quickly approaches its end.

Spirited away

There’s never a dull moment in Hyrule, with North Castle under siege by Ganon’s army of Moblins.

This episode wastes absolutely no time getting to the action, with an immediate explosion in North Castle’s courtyard and a fiery portal left in its wake. An army of Moblins charge through the flames, equipped with bows and declaring war on Link and Zelda. Their master Ganon follows, revealing his latest device, the Wand of Power, which he intends to use on Princess Zelda to transport her to his Evil Jar.

It’s a really fun and action-packed opening, with Link somersaulting around to evade the Moblins’ array of magic bolts while parts of the castle crumble around them. Meanwhile, the princess retrieves the Triforce of Wisdom from the castle in order to fight back with magic. Our heroes manage to take out some Moblins, but Ganon isn’t phased, simply cackling and aiming his Wand of Power at Zelda. She summons a magic shield to deflect the blast, but this causes it to ricochet around the castle, eventually hitting Link and causing him to disappear. Satisfied with this outcome, Ganon retreats and Zelda is left alone — or so she thinks.

The Wand of Power’s blast bouncing around lessened its impact before hitting Link, causing Ganon to steal his body, but not his spirit. This causes Link to appear before Zelda as a ghost, able to communicate with her but unable to physically interact with anyone or anything. When Spryte shortly arrives at the scene, she is unable to see Link, although she can hear him. It’s revealed that, for some reason, Zelda is the only person who can still see Link, albeit in his ghostly image.

Ganon takes aim at Princess Zelda with his new Wand of Power, which transports recipients of its beams to Ganon’s Evil Jar.

Translucent troublemaking

Spryte can’t see Link after he is turned into a ghost, but Zelda can.

There aren’t any new enemies in “The Missing Link,” with the Stalfos and the aforementioned Moblins taking center stage once again. This actually doesn’t hurt the episode too much, however, since both Link and Zelda are seen interacting and fighting with Ganon’s army differently due to Link’s spectral situation. With Link unable to use his Crissword, it’s up to Zelda to wield his weapon and engage in all of the combat in this adventure. She quickly learns that using the Crissword is not as easy as Link makes it look, and her first attempt at firing zaps out of the blade causes her to stagger and fall due to the unexpectedly powerful recoil. After some practice and some coaching from Link, though, the princess becomes a natural, sending Stalfos and Moblins back to the Evil Jar like it’s nobody’s business. At this point, Zelda can use the Crissword, bows, bombs, boomerangs, and magic — do we even need Link anymore?

Link can’t fight as a ghost, but he can still scare the opposition to help Zelda out of a jam.

Speaking of Link, he doesn’t seem too upset with his new ghostly form, making the most of the situation and using it to annoy Zelda. Enjoying his new backseat role a little too much, he takes delight in criticizing Zelda’s combat skills as she fights the Stalfos, and scares her by creeping up behind her. You better believe he’s pulling out the “Excuuuse me, princess!” catchphrase more than once, too. Never one to be outdone, though, Zelda pranks Link by offering him a kiss, causing him to float right through her as he excitedly jumps at the opportunity. It’s a funny dynamic and introduces a refreshing take on the duo’s adventures, with Zelda taking the lead while Link is forced into a powerless role.

It’s a refreshing take on the duo’s adventures, with Zelda taking the lead while Link is forced into a powerless role.

It would have been cool if the writers had taken the concept further, however. Link walks around normally as a ghost, and doesn’t seem to be able to float or fly. It would have been interesting if he could fly to out-of-reach places to somehow help Zelda as she navigates the complex depths of the Underworld, or even possess objects like a poltergeist to scare their enemies.

“No, no! You’ve gotta aim!” Link seems to enjoy his new role as teacher a little too much.

Zelda holds her own for the most part, until a Stalfos grabs her from behind and holds her in a double-shoulder lock. At this point, Link finally makes himself useful and scares the Stalfos (who can not see Link) by yelling at it. Interestingly, this is the first and only time we hear a Stalfos speak, as it anxiously inquires as to where Link is and screams upon hearing him. A number of Stalfos are also seen reporting Zelda’s arrival at the Underworld to Ganon. Their voices are raspy and weird sounding, and honestly, it’s kind of funny.

Love is in the lair

It turns out Zelda loves all of Link’s teasing and flirting, really.

As Ganon receives news of Link and Zelda’s arrival at the Underworld, he reveals that “Zelda could only see Link if…if she was in love with him!” First of all, Len Carson’s delivery of the follow-up line, “Zelda in love with Link? Augh! How disgusting!” is hilarious, as is the fact that just the thought of romance alone is enough to sicken Ganon. He’s such a typical cartoon villain, committed to the ways of evil, and I love it.

There have been several hints throughout the series that Zelda may have feelings for Link, so Ganon’s revelation may not come as much of a surprise. For example, Zelda actually accepted a few of Link’s many requests for a kiss (though they are still interrupted, as the running gag demands), and she even demanded one in “That Sinking Feeling” when overwhelmed with the romantic setting. It’s surprising that Spryte could not also see Link earlier in the episode, considering her constant flirting with him, but this may just indicate that Zelda’s love is much deeper and meaningful than Spryte’s. As obvious as it may seem, it’s interesting to have confirmation that Link and Zelda’s flirtatious relationship may go beyond just being friends. Had this show continued with a second season, it could have been interesting to see it unfold further.

Link, who is meanwhile hiding in Ganon’s lair with Zelda, is thrilled upon hearing this news. He immediately begins teasing Zelda and fails to contain a joyous outburst, which alerts Ganon to their presence.

A big bang theory

As Zelda defends herself against Ganon’s large army, Link returns his spirit to his body, which was held captive within the Evil Jar. Reanimating himself and scaring the Stalfos guarding it, he orders the skeletal foe to give him a bomb, which Link then detonates within the jar. The Evil Jar explodes in climactic fashion, spilling out a flood of water that washes away Ganon and his many servants.

“The Missing Link” feels like the series’ true finale.

With the reveal of Zelda being in love with Link, and an explosive ending to the episode, “The Missing Link” feels like the series’ true finale. Strangely, it is, in fact, the penultimate episode before “The Moblins Are Revolting” ends the series. In that episode, Link and Zelda’s relationship isn’t explored any further, which is very odd, and the Evil Jar is also functioning as normal. It’s not hard to imagine Ganon rebuilding the Evil Jar before the events of the following episode — or getting his minions to do it for him, which seems more likely — especially as his lair has been destroyed and rebuilt many times during his fights with Link and Zelda up until this point. Even so, the major events of “The Missing Link” feel lessened when followed by another story that doesn’t progress with its themes.

The Evil Jar explodes, causing Ganon’s lair to crumble. It’s the perfect way to end the series, or so you’d think.

Not only do I feel that “The Missing Link” should have been the ending, I actually believe that it was the ending the writers originally envisioned. Everything about the episode’s structure makes it seem that this is the case, and Zelda Wiki cites this episode as having the final production number, supporting my theory that this was meant to be the true finale.

If indeed I am correct, it’s hard to say why the decision to rearrange the episodes would have been made. To clarify, quality certainly isn’t the issue; “The Moblins Are Revolting” is another great episode, and a fine one to end the series on in terms of entertainment value, but it doesn’t have the same prominent sense of closure that “The Missing Link” offers.

Not missing a beat

Great work, princess!

It’s fitting that this episode is called “The Missing Link,” as it restores everything that felt missing from the previous three episodes: adventure, magic, monsters, and mayhem.

Ganon is also at his finest, this time immediately waging an assault on Link and Zelda instead of crafting a long and overly complicated scheme. It begins and ends with (literally) explosive scenes, with absolutely no filler in between.

It’s also a fantastic episode for Zelda’s character, who proves she is more than capable of handling herself and learning new skills in the fight to defend the Triforce. One of the greatest things about The Legend of Zelda TV series is that we get to see Zelda partake in the action, and “The Missing Link” is perhaps the best example of this. While the series already peaked for me with “Underworld Connections,” “The Missing Link” is a close second favorite.