Cast:
- Gina Holden ... Dale Arden
- Karen Cliche ... Baylin
- Eric Johnson ... Flash Gordon
- Jody Racicot ... Zarkov
- Carmen Moore ... Joely Lavant
- Giles Panton ... Joe Wylee
- David Stuart ... Verden Man
- Anna Van Hooft ... Aura
- Jonathan Walker ... Rankol
Official Summary:
Flash and Baylin investigate a new portal, but find nothing – until a store surveillance tape that shows Lawrence Gordon, Flash’s dad, emerging from the rift. Dale suspects that they’re tracking an impostor. A stolen car leads to Washington, D.C., where "Dr. Gordon" has tracked down an old colleague; he uses a mind-probe device to extract the colleague’s knowledge and melt his brain. Flash realizes Zarkov is in danger and tells him to hide at an old family cabin. The assassin follows and arrives as Flash, leading to a Flash-versus-Flash fistfight. Though the assassin is defeated, Ming retrieves the mind probe.
Key Moments:
Baylin demonstrates an ability to defuse Mongonian bombs; she also has an especially acidic digestic system. Joe shows up at Flash’s house to remind us he exists, since he doesn’t seem to believe that the police sketch of Dr. Gordon could really be him. Ming has this cool technology which allows his assassins to shape-shift, and it works, but in the end he writes it off, apparently never to be used again. Zarkov’s fussy moment with an obscure scientist’s autographed first edition actually has a later payoff, when Baylin notices the book cast aside on the floor in Zarkov’s lab.
Power Politics, Mongo-Style:
When the assassin fails, Ming orders that his family’s water rations be cut by half. Rankol leaves to carry out this order with a glum expression on his face. Ming should be starting to realize that Rankol is regularly having doubts about Ming’s decisions, but so far is refraining from disciplining Rankol – proably a good idea, since Rankol is apparently Ming’s only minister of state.
Cheesiest Will They/Won’t They Moment:
At the end, Flash tries to make clear to Dale that he’s happy for her and Joe, and his does this so well that Dale (who’s clearly falling for Flash all over again) seems to believe him. It doesn’t help that Flash has been attentive to Baylin’s physical charms and spending a lot of time with her besides; but Eric Johnson accomplishes the neat trick of hinting to us that he’s trying to be nice to Dale, while conveying absolute sincerity to her.
Bottom Line: Worth Watching?:
Flash and Baylin are emerging as the away team for each crisis, leaving Dale and Zarkov to fret at their respective desks and run various errands for Flash. That’s not a good dynamic. It’s dangerous for Dale in particular: Flash and Baylin work well together and Dale could end up left behind in an unrequited-love cul-de-sac. The fact that the assassin could appear as Dr. Gordon implies more concretely than previously that the latter is alive somewhere on Mongo, so we can look forward to Flash finally finding him sometime this season.
