Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 This Took To Long Review And Recap- Is Ben Going To Make It Home?

Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 proves this series is only getting stronger. As a kid in the 80s with a love of Scott Bakula and science fiction, I didn’t know what to think about this retooling of Quantum Leap—the first season surprised me. It had all the same heart as the original, with the same relevant social issues and lots of sci-fi technobabble. It took a couple of episodes to hit its stride, but I was won over despite my reservations. At the end of the first season, Ben was supposed to be jumping home, having saved the world with Ian’s help from quantum entanglement or with quantum entanglement(who can tell with these things).

Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 picks up with Ben leaping into yet another body. Instead of returning to the people he loves, he is cut off, confused, and still fighting for his life. Ben finds himself in 1979 on a pseudo-military mission with a bunch of misfits and malcontents. Everyone on the transport plane has something to prove or atone for. Unfortunately, their plane is shot down somewhere in Russia, and the group has to wrestle with hard truths and band together. Without the assistance of Addison or any of his friends, Ben is on his own with nothing but his gut instincts and his sizeable brain.

Manifest fans are thrilled to see Melissa Roxburgh again, even if it is on yet another doomed airplane. L.T.(Roxburgh) is fiercely determined not to fail against almost impossible odds. She is one of those on this mission because she has been relegated a misfit. A woman in the military at this time was taken seriously. Like Addison, she has a deep sense of commitment and duty that Ben relates to. Between jokes about MacGyver and taking apart radios that were cutting edge in 1979 but ancient in Ben’s time, there is a lot of talk about loss and love and the price of responsibility.

Before things get too maudlin, the Russians drive up and do what they always do. Provide a villain to focus on. You can always count on the Russians to be bad guys. They are after whatever is on the crate. Ben and his crew manage to overpower the one-car recon team, but more are coming. Ben’s knowledge of Russian may have bought them a small amount of time, but they need to move. L.T. is reluctant to leave, though without the crate. An argument ensues, and they are all forced to accept that they are decoys when the container is opened. This group was never mission-critical. They are cannon fodder, and no one is coming to rescue them because they are collateral damage. Ben is a fount of contagious optimism and knowledge to his crew.

Even when Bailey steps on a land mine, Ben is able to keep them trying. Quantum Leap always excelled because of the clever rescues the protagonist employs. Sometimes, it is his scientific knowledge. Others it is a keen investigative mind, as in the creepy episode O Ye Of Little Faith. While operating within the larger structure of what happened and how to save Ben, the villain or circumstance of the week format works well as standalone episodes and an overall series arc. Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 is no different.

There are still so many things we don’t know about why Ben was so scared in the first place, what is up with Ziggy, and what happened to Leaper X. It keeps the episodes fresh. It’s a structure we have seen before in great genre television. The original used it. The X-Files famously propelled the story along using Big Bads and mythos that were so complex it practically started the television deep dive message boards.

Those were just fledgling digital places back then, mostly populated with college brainiacs and computer nerds. They spawned the Reddits and blogs that later welcomed hoards of Lost fans. Quantum Leap Season 2 has come into its own this season. A feel-good, nostalgic story about a good guy trying to make the world a better place is just what we need, and NBC is giving it to us. That we get to let our geek flag fly in the process is a bonus.

He explains how to work together, and they all escape intact. Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 tackles the military’s unpleasant past with women and homosexuality. Toxic masculinity was a significant problem in the past and arguably still continues despite huge strides forward. Both the original Quantum Leap and this new version take a delicate approach that allows the truth to shine without being preachy or judgmental. These were problems, and injustice still exists, but this series doesn’t allow the good people to be tarnished by the behavior of bad apples. That layer of complex humanity is what sets this series apart.

The team is able to save themselves and keep the mission on track by disabling the S.A.M. satellite, and hopefully, they will all return with a renewed sense of purpose and not resentment for being used. Just before Ben leaps again, Ian appears, and Ben is thrilled until he tells him how much time has passed. It has been three years since the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2. The project has been dismantled, and according to Ian, everything has changed. We don’t know how Ian was able to find and appear to Ben, but that ominous warning is bad news for Ben.

Woven between Ben’s mission of the week is more time in 2018 when everyone was hopeful and anxious. Ben is terrified for Addison, and no one wants to lose anyone else. Sam Beckett is always on their minds, and Ben worries Addison could be next. We are no closer to finding out what information sent him leaping to save her. Always the wise, experienced one, Magic tells 2018 Ben that as hard as it is to be the one leaping, it is even harder for those left behind. Addison tells Ben he would find her if she were ever lost even though, ironically, she has been unable to find him in the future. It’s a devastating parallel that hurts that much worse because we know theirs is a love affair that literally spans decades.

Raymond Lee(Ben) continues to fill shoes few thought anyone could. He is relatable, sympathetic, good-looking, and his Ben is a hero. I want to root for him. I want Addison and Ben to get their fairy tale ending, and Magic, Jen, and Ian are compelling team members. They each bring something new to the series that is worth watching. Fortunately for the viewer and unfortunately for Ben and company, he isn’t coming home anytime soon. Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 is only getting started. Ben is lost in time, and all seems very much lost for his return. I can’t wait to see where they all end up next.

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