Quantum Leap (2022)- 2x03 - Closure Encounters

As Quantum Leap settles into a new normal, the case of the week is a banger!

In 1949, Ben Leaps into Agent Robert Cook, a member of Project Sign (aka the feds who investigate UFOs). Two girls get into a car crash; Carrie, Sheriff Morgan’s granddaughter, is accused of putting Melanie, the daughter of the town jerk/resident wealthy guy, into a coma. But wait! Did aliens run them off the road!? NO! It was a secret experimental military aircraft, developed on a secret military base on wealthy guy’s land, leading to folks who stumbled too close getting drugged, all along! And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those comatose pesky kids (mostly Ben tho, who put right what once went wrong)! Ben also maybe sets the stage for the creation of Area 51? And who’s that random waitress who seems kind of cool!?

Procedural Storytelling: I get that this episode played with the existence of aliens and provided exciting military action and conspiracy theories, but the reason it worked so well was entirely down to its focus on one man’s grief. That’s what moved me to care about the procedural components of this episode, just telling a story about one old man trying to love his granddaughter while failing to communicate about the grief they share over the death of her mother. Just like in the S2 premiere (although I would argue to greater effect here), a small story embedded in something bigger was given enough room to breathe. Not every episode of a procedural is going to hit, but this one definitely did, even with drugs and serums and antidotes and other nonsense.

Serial Developments: I often complain that the team at HQ rarely has thematically relevant plots; as in, the challenges they face (personally/professionally) are rarely meaningfully connected to the case of the week, other than in the very literal sense that HQ serves as technical/logistical support. This remains an issue, with the balance of the various plots having often meant that no story really takes centre stage. It can be hard to engage with a case of the week with so much time spent with the team in the future or focused on serial developments like Mysterious Leaper X, and it can be hard to develop almost all of the series regulars in just a few scenes each episode.

At the same time, I had forgotten that S1 grounded thematic connections in Ben and Addison’s relationship. Morgan’s grief and poor communication directly contrast the grief Ben feels at losing three years and his partner, and not knowing how to talk to her. Both Ben and Morgan make increasingly impulsive decisions, culminating in a serious effort to change communication styles in both cases. It’s a bit clunky, though I do kind of love how it enables Ben to give a speech that doubles as a comment or apology to Addison (the invisible hologram). It’s unfortunate that so much focus is placed on that relationship, instead of broadly among the full cast, but it makes sense here in 2x03—since this is the first chance they’ve had to really talk about and process all that has happened. I’m happy with the choice, I just hope they branch out more.

The situation is also a reversal from S1, when Addison grieved Ben’s seeming betrayal, her sense of helplessness as the hologram, and her inability to talk to Ben about their relationship given his amnesia. Now, in S2, Ben feels helpless. It’s no one’s fault that three years passed for Addison while no time passed for Ben and, understandably, everyone has very messy feelings and reactions to the situation.¹ It’s a work in progress and gives the audience something new to engage with and think about.

Legacyquel Baggage: Well, Janis Calavicci has been unceremoniously sent to live on a farm upstate in Hawaii, where she now works for the NSA (noted in a single offhand remark from Ian). She could very well return at some point, perhaps if QL wants to explore some of the politics of the oversight committee and the involvement of various US government agencies, but, otherwise, it kind of seems like the writers were quietly signalling her exit. For me, this means a relatively explicit break from the OG series. Sam is still out there, and Magic is still a former Leapee, but Janis was our connection to Al, along with her mother Beth (played by the actress who played Beth originally). I could see Janis’ story having nowhere to go after losing Ben, and, besides, what role would she play on the team not already covered by Jenn or Addison? But still, it would have been nice to see her promoted to series regular and involved.

The Rules of Time Travel: The OG Quantum Leap often dealt with the tension between changing vs informing historical events, like when Sam accidentally helped the cops discover the Watergate break-in (Star-Crossed, 1x03), or when he inspired Buddy Holly to write Peggy Sue (How the Tess was Won, 1x05). In both cases, his involvement was incidental, but it still raised interesting questions about choice versus fate (especially since the OG series was interested in the idea that the Leaps were divinely controlled, maybe). It doesn't always make complete sense, but if you squint, it's compelling! Similarly, this episode had a moment where it seemed like Ben's intervention—i.e., suggesting a new location for the base—maybe led to the creation of Area 51. Even if the rules around this aren’t so clear, it’s a fairly enjoyable part of time travel drama.

Thanks so much for reading this week! I wanted to discuss one last potential spoilery element below, depending on your definition of casting spoilers, but, otherwise, see you next week!

Potential Spoilers if you try to avoid how casting news/information can inform storytelling:

Okay, still here? So! Eliza Taylor (of The 100 fame) has been cast as a series regular—eagle-eyed viewers may have caught her name in the opening credits. She appeared for the first time this episode in 1949 as Hannah, former wartime computer expert turned peacetime barista; Ben ultimately gives her contact info for a physics professor recruiting female candidates at Princeton. But if she’s in her 20s in 1949, in this one location in this one Leap, how could she be a series regular? I have some theories!

• I think the obvious twist is that Hannah will now, in this timeline, have become involved in Quantum Leap in some capacity, maybe as one of Ziggy’s architects

  • It’s not like this hasn’t happened before; Sam winds up fathering Sammy Jo in one of his Leaps (back when the body was Sam’s under an illusion of the Leapee), who grows up to become a member of Quantum Leap herself.

• Ben could run into her in other Leaps across her life, or she could be a Leaper too

  • Unfortunately, the showrunners have ruled out Leaper Hannah

• She could be involved in Quantum Leap still (except that 2026—3 years after the S1 finale—is 77 years after 1949, making Hannah like… 100, at a minimum).

  • If not her, then perhaps a daughter (or granddaughter)? Magic is engaged to someone, and mysteriously had to speak to someone on the phone at the end of the episode, so maybe it’s an appropriately aged 75 year old?

  • But granddaughter makes more sense, since Eliza Taylor is the regular, not the character (unless she gets Mandy Moore aging makeup from This is Us).

• A wacky far out option could be that, in becoming involved in Ziggy’s programming, maybe she’ll become a Ziggy avatar going forward. That could be neat, if Ben can now see her and someone like Addison, or if the team at HQ can interact with her meaningfully in some kind of pseudo-physical form.

1. Shades of Madama Butterfly / Miss Saigon here.