Then there are teams like Legion, endearing underdogs who’ve battled for years without a win and just want their moment of victory. Sabretooth earned them that win in this first episode back of the new series. Yes, it was followed by a devastating loss and ultimately, a knock-out, but the end result didn’t matter. They tasted victory and while it lasted, it was sweet.

Even sweeter was how visibly moved Legion’s Gabriel Stroud was by the combined efforts of his teammates and the other roboteers to get Sabretooth up and running after Aftershock tore chunks off it in a moment of what can only be described as bloodlust. “Stop!” implored Legion’s young Esme, as bits flew off her immobilised bot. Having grown up with Sabretooth’s various iterations from a tender age, you can understand her pain. It must have felt like watching the family dog get savaged by a vicious mutt.

Battle robots may even trump family dogs in the affection stakes. Team Jellyfish, a splinter-group from last series’ jazzy gilet-wearing Team Nuts, spoke gently to their bot—the fondly nicknamed “Jelly”—throughout the arena bouts. When they’re not fighting, you get the impression that these machines don’t live under a tarpaulin in the garage, they’re tucked in at night with a bedtime story (even the ones that look like the big saw you weren’t allowed to use without the teacher in DT).

Without delighting in someone else’s misfortune, there was something, well, delightful about the ultra-expensive, ultra-complicated Rapid having to withdraw from the competition while more ramshackle creations soldiered on. The lesson there? Slick doesn’t always win the race.

What does win the race, we learn, is a massive spinning disc that tears through robots like a tin opener through a can of John West’s finest, as sported by Aftershock. Father and son team Will and Ian, also grand finalists last series, maintained their winning streak by cutting what looked like a fairly effortless swathe through the competition.