Thank, quite literally, goodness. Flash’s friends (and the King of the Hawk Men who has gone from a sadistic rapist who had Flash tortured with hot metal and forced him to shovel atoms into a blast furnace to a loyal and loveable member of Team Flash) have arrived to save the day.

Luckily, Zarkov has a sex toy in his belt and is willing to throw it at the fire breathing dragon monster.

Blimey! The batteries must’ve been faulty because the fire breathing dragon monster is blown to smithereens.

The high priest is appalled.

Zarkov examines Flash and concludes that he must’ve been drugged. He gives Aura a disapproving look and she replies with indigestion.

"I can revive him" says Zarkov with gravitas, "but I can’t promise to destroy the effects of the drug" he adds, giving Aura another disapproving look.

Team Flash and Team Aura return to Ming’s throne room where the Merciless Family reunion goes well.

The Tin Man brings Flash Gordon before the Emperor of Mongo.

Still in an amnesiac state, Flash is ordered to choose a bride.

Will it be Dale?

Or will it be Aura?

It turns out to be neither as Flash doesn’t recognise anyone. Barin deduces that this forgetfulness was caused by the potion of forgetfulness. Barin is appalled.

Aura sees her chance and whisks Flash off for a bit of mind moulding. Ming seems oddly fine with the idea of having a son-in-law who he keeps trying to kill and who keeps trying to stop him being evil.

The King of the Hawk Men – who seems to have taken the role previously given to the King of the Lion Men, possibly the actor playing Thun had a bout of appendicitis – says there is witchcraft at work. This coming from a man who rules over a city suspended in mid air. Vultan is appalled.

The King of the Hawk Men is bundled off by the Tin Man and his guards. Dale is trying to hide from Ming’s roaming hands but he isn’t fooled for long and is stroking her shoulder before you can say ‘old bald pervert’.

The King of the Hawk Men is locked in a prison cell with nothing to do but pace up and down and check that the bars won’t bend easily.

Meanwhile, Aura’s brilliant plan to convince Flash that they are going out together continues apace. She’s taken the rather unusual step of inviting Dale to join her as she fills Flash’s head with false memories.

Dale just stands there and lets Aura lie to Flash. She really is stoopid.

The second half of Aura’s plan is even more brilliant – she and Dale go off to lez it up while Flash has to pretend not to be interested.

And the third piece of this fantastic stratagem – convince Flash that he really loves Aura, go off and lez it up with Dale and leave Flash with an Aura look-a-like whose job it is to ply Flash with drink. There is literally no way this can’t end well for the Princess.

Aura and Flash are alone (I made up the lesbian tryst to get more hits for the website) but Barin and Dale interrupt. Barin says Zarkov wants to see Flash in his laboratory. Flash recognises the name Zarkov. Dale and Barin are appalled.

Flash doesn’t know who Barin is either. This means only one thing – he’s really in love with Zarkov.

Aura convinces Flash that Barin is his enemy and the two have a manly sword fight.

Barin wins when Zarkov creeps up behind Flash and helps Barin knock him out. That man has great friends.

They take him to the laboratory and put him on a folding table. Zarkov then lowers a light tube and this will apparently give Flash back his memories.

Meanwhile, back on Earth…

…the scientists have developed a new transmitter which is nine times more powerful than the old one. They send a message to Mongo. Zarkov finally gets a signal on his phone.

These two men are overcome with emotion at hearing Zarkov’s voice.

In Ming’s throne room he decides enough is enough. He orders the Tin Man and his guards to execute Flash Gordon. Aura is appalled.

Zarkov continues trying to send a message home. "Zarkov. Doctor Zarkov calling. From Mongo. From the Planet Mongo" he says over and over again. It gets quite annoying after a while.

Flash is awake.

But the execution squad has arrived.

Flash is put against a wall and they take aim.

He is quite obviously about to be shot to death. There is no way out.

Apart from the fact that he’s just teleported away.

The guards flee in terror. They’ve obviously never seen a matter transmitter before.

Apparently neither have the audience as that’s it for this week.

This is a new twist – the cop out coming the same week as the cliffhanger. It keeps you guessin’ this serial does.