Episode 105: Ascension

Ascension
Flash Gordon (Sci Fi Channel)
Air Date	September 14, 2007
Written by	Scott Murphy
Director	T.J. Scott
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Next episode	Episode 106: Life Source

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Overview

Vultan, leader of the Dactyls, comes to Earth searching for his missing son. Norah Gordon meets Baylin for the first time. Baylin eats turkey and tries bottled water.

Synopsis

Opening

The episode opens at Flash's house with Flash Gordon and Dale Arden discussing whether Baylin should continue to stay at Flash's house. Baylin assures them that she can "fit in", but shows that she can't when she drinks out of a water bottle by piercing it with a knife and sucking the water out. Dale then suggests that Baylin stay with her.

On Mongo, Aura talks about Flash Gordon with her servant. She tells her that the only things that Flash has impressed her with is his audacity and disrespect. But, she tells her servant, Earth is intriguing enough to go visit again, but her father would never permit it. Aura tells her servant that she has the means to go to Earth if she wanted to. She shows her servant that she kept the rift blaster that she had during her first trip to Earth. Aura says that she told her father that Baylin had it, so that he wouldn't know that Aura in fact had it instead. But she would still have to make Rankol open a rift for her. Her servant says that it may be easy to do, because of the way that Rankol looks at her. Aura is disgusted at the thought. Rankol is a deviate and has a flipper foot under his robe. Her servant makes a joke about that and Aura becomes angry, saying that just because she confides in her servant, it doesn't make them friends, as it diminishes them both. After both of them leave Aura's quarters, a man is shown spying on them. And he has his eye on the rift blaster that Aura left out.

Elsewhere on Mongo, the Dactyls are shown in a quarry. One of the them (Garus) runs to Vultan, the leader of the Dactyls, saying that he has news that may interest him. He says that Ming has a new machine that opens holes in the sky. He tells Vultan that the machine creates a doorway to another world called Earth. Vultan tells him that they need to go to Earth. Garus then tells him that they'll need a rift blaster to do so, which he had in his possession.

Back in Nascent City, Vultan and Garus threaten to kill Rankol if he doesn't open a rift for them. He agrees to do it, and the two Dactyls enter it, reappearing on Earth, in the middle of a forest. They look up at the sky and see flocks of birds, then they turn and run through the forest.

Act 1

At Flash's house, Baylin is all packed and ready to go stay with Dale. But before they can leave, Flash's mom shows up early. Baylin tells her that she is an exchange student from Europe who is studying at the university to get her master educational papers. Flash's mom suggests that they all come back that night for dinner. They reluctantly agree and then Dale and Baylin leave.

A young boy (T.J.) is shown riding his bike and picking up his backpack, which is full of spray paint cans. His mother runs out of the house, demanding to know what's in his bag. He shows her and she yells at him to come back to the house. But he doesn't, and rides his bike away.

Back at Flash's house, Flash's mom talks about Baylin, how she seems very foreign. She asks Flash what country she's from and Flash makes up a country name. Before he has to tell her more, though, Flash gets a phone call from Dr. Hans Zarkov. He tells Flash that a rift had just opened on the north side. He sees this as an excuse to get away from his mom and drives out to where the rift opened.

On Mongo, Aura discovers that her rift blaster is missing. Rankol tells her about the two Dactyls that forced him to open a rift to Earth. He tells her that they had a transit key (which is what a rift blaster is called on Mongo), one that he thought was still on Earth. Rankol deduces that Aura had been secretly in possession of the transit key, but Aura denies it. He says that he can tell that she's lying, so she admits that she did have the key. He tells her that he couldn't even imagine what would happen if Ming found out about what Aura had done. She tells him that her father must not find out. Rankol says that he can arrange it so that Ming never finds out, but he says that he must get the key back. He says that if she returns the key to him, then this will be their secret. She asks him how exactly to get the transit key back and he tells her to figure it out by herself.

Back on Earth, Flash is driving his car down a road in the forest. Baylin is with him. She tells Flash that his mother believes that they are mating and Flash says that he'll clear that up. They run through the forest until they pinpoint where the rift is. Baylin points to tracks on the ground, saying that they were made by two Dactyls. She tells Flash that the Dactyls are a tribe of vicious predators who follow the ways of the hawk. Baylin figures that they were sent to Earth by Ming as mercenaries. She warns that if they have come then they have come to kill.

At an abandoned facility, T.J. and a friend are shown spray painting a wall with graffiti. His friend asks him why he keeps painting birds, and T.J. tells him that it's not a bird. It's a hawk. They hear bird sounds and look up at the sky. A hawk is shown gliding around. As they watch the hawk, the two Dactyls grab T.J. and "fly" away, leaving his friend bewildered at what had just happened.

Act 2

Flash calls Dale to inform her that two Dactyls are on the loose somewhere in Kendal.

In the next scene, the Dactyls are shown carrying the boy through the forest. Vultan stops and tells T.J. to be quiet and the boy takes the opportunity to escape. The Dactyls chase him through the forest and eventually catch him. Vultan then pulls the boy's sleeve off and sees a mark on his arm. T.J. tells him that it's just a birth mark. Vultan then says to Garus "It's him," before pushing him ahead of them, back on track to the rift.

At the abandoned facility, T.J.'s friend is being questioned by Joe Wylee. He tells him that bird men took T.J., but Joe doesn't believe him. After the kid leaves, Joe gets a call from Dale. He tells her that he just questioned a kid who says that a missing boy was kidnapped by flying bird men. When he notices a brown feather on the ground, he tells Dale to call back and asks the kid what the bird men looked like.

Back in the forest, Flash and Baylin are still tracking the "hawkmen". Baylin says that there are now three tracks, meaning that someone else was now with the two Dactyls. Flash receives a call from Dale. She says that a boy was recently kidnapped by what were described as bird men. Flash and Baylin continue to track them.

On Mongo, Aura tries to figure out who could have stolen the rift blaster from her. Her servant says that she didn't take it and Aura believes her, saying that she isn't that foolish. One of Aura's male servants is brought to her and she discovers that he is actually a Dactyl.

Back on Earth, as Flash and Baylin continue to track the Dactyls, Dale shows up in her car and runs into the forest to meet up with Flash. When the Dactyls and T.J. finally make it to the rift site, Garus activates the rift blaster, which makes the rift visible. But before they are able to run through it, Flash, Baylin, and Dale show up, meaning to stop them. But they jump into the rift anyways, followed by Flash, Baylin, and Dale who are in pursuit.

Act 3

Flash, Baylin, and Dale emerge from the rift on Mongo. The Dactyls and T.J. are nowhere in sight. Baylin guesses that they may have taken to the air. Dale asks Baylin if they really do fly, but Baylin says that they don't really "fly", but instead they use their capes to glide on the wind. Baylin picks up their path and they follow it.

On Earth, Joe gets a drawn description of the bird men from T.J.'s friend.

Back on Mongo, Aura questions the Dactyl who stole her transit key. After some persuasion, he tells her that Vultan has it. He says that Vultan needed it so he could go to Earth. Aura asks why Vultan would need to go to Earth, but the Dactyl doesn't say. Aura threatens him again, and he agrees to tell her everything.

Flash, Baylin, and Dale find the Dactyl tribe and stake it out. Flash wonders why anyone would live there. Baylin says that it isn't there home, that they are a nomadic people. They live where they hunt. Baylin tells Flash that the Dactyls are probably grouped together in one place like they are, because of Ascension, which is the initiation into the tribe, the ceremony where young warriors are tested. As part of the initiation, the young warriors are, as Flash puts it, pushed from the nest.

T.J. wants to know why he is there and what the Dactyls want with him. Vultan says that it's his destiny. T.J. tells him that he wants to go home, but Vultan says that he is home. T.J. tries to run away, but the Dactyls keep him from leaving. Vultan forces T.J. to go along with the ceremony, but before they can jump off the cliff, Flash shows up, aiming Baylin's gun at the Dactyls. He tells them that they have the wrong kid and T.J. goes with him. Vultan pleads that T.J. look deep in his heart to see that he is truly a Dactyl, but T.J. decided to leave with Flash. But, before he can go, a drone beams him up and flies away. A holographic message from Aura is left behind, telling Vultan that if he doesn't return the transit key to her by third moon then she will kill his son. When Flash, Baylin, and Dale discover that T.J. is actually Vultan's son, they find themselves in a bad situation, as the angry Dactyls surround them, closer and closer.

Act 4

In Nascent City, T.J. is taken to Aura. She tells him that Vultan is his father, but T.J. says that he didn't know. The guards take his restraints off and leave him in Aura's care.

Back at the Dactyl tribe, Flash tells Vultan that he was just trying to protect T.J., but Vultan says that he did not need protecting, because he was his son. Flash asks him why he thinks that T.J. is his son and Vultan says that 13 years ago, as he held his baby boy in his arms, he saw a hole open in the sky. He thought it was a sign from the ancients and he took his son there. But when he reached out, he was pulled into the hole. Flash tells him that he knows exactly how Vultan felt, because he lost his father the same way. Flash says that he knows his father is still on Mongo and he intends to do whatever it takes to find him. Vultan tells Flash that there was someone years ago called "the man from beyond the stars", who was taken in by the Verden. Flash asks if his father is still with the Verden, but Vultan doesn't know. He then asks Vultan that if they help get his son back, will they be let go. Vultan says that there is nothing that Flash can do to help. But Flash tells him that his meeting with Aura is almost certainly a trap and convinces Vultan to let him go along. Vultan agrees, but tells Flash that he needs to change his clothes if he is to enter Nascent City. Dale and Baylin are kept prisoner and were told that if Flash didn't fulfill his promise to help get T.J. back, then they would be killed. And after a bit of time, Flash (in his Dactyl outfit) leaves to go to Nascent City.

Back in Nascent City, Flash and Vultan have their meeting with Aura. Flash gives her the rift blaster, after T.J. is released safely. But before they can leave, Rankol stops them and orders that they be arrested. He demands that Aura give him the rift blaster and she does. He tells her that he'll make sure that Ming never finds out a thing about the missing rift blaster, meaning that he'll forcibly remove the memories from the Dactyls' brains. And the three of them are taken away by soldiers.

Act 5

After being led down a hall, Vultan and Flash suddenly break free and attack the soldiers. After a fairly short fight, they run away, while being pursued by about a dozen soldiers. Eventually, they escape to the outside. But it's a balcony, with no way to get down to the ground. While Flash holds the soldiers back, Vultan tells T.J. that he is a Dactyl and that he can fly. He doesn't want to, so Flash tells them it's either try to fly or stay and get his brains sucked out by that "floating freak" (Rankol). T.J. weighs his options and decides to jump. When he does, he discovers that he can fly, just like Vultan promised he could. Flash stays behind and gets caught by soldiers. He's taken to Aura, who lets him go.

Later, after Flash meets back up with Dale and Baylin, Vultan says that T.J. has opened his spirit to the ancestors and has earned the right to be called a Dactyl. He then gives him a Dactyl necklace, signifying that he is part of the tribe. He asks Vultan if he can go back to Earth and he let's him go, saying that he has earned the right to choose his own destiny.

On Earth, Joe tells T.J.'s mother that her son his missing, but as he tells her, T.J. shows up on his bike. He tells Joe and his mom that he was just out riding his bike. When Joe asked him about bird men, T.J. feigned ignorance.

At Flash's house, Flash, his mother, Baylin, and Dale all sit down to a turkey dinner. Baylin tells Flash's mother that she's not mating with her son, that they are just good friends. After her awkward statement, Baylin rips off a turkey leg and their dinner begins.

Ratings

This episode (the fifth of the series) earned a 0.8 household rating from Nielsen Media Research.

Cast

Regulars

• Eric Johnson: Flash Gordon
• Gina Holden: Dale Arden
• Karen Cliche: Baylin
• Jody Racicot: Dr. Hans Zarkov
• John Ralston: Ming

Guest starring

• Jonathan Lloyd Walker: Rankol
• Anna van Hooft: Princess Aura
• Giles Panton: Joe Wylee
• Ty Olsson: Vultan
• Samuel Patrick Chu: T.J.

Featuring

• Shawn Roberts: Garus

External links

• "Flash Gordon vs. the Hawkmen", Zap2it blog review.
• "Flash Gordon: "Ascension" Review", IGN review.

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