Quantum Leap (2022) Season 2

It was good. I actually understand Ben's sympathy and rage mostly because Addison was expecting HIM to get over it. Like it's only HIS problem. So yeah, I liked that Ben was allowed to be angry and still get in the win. I like that about the show.

Good Leap. None of the love triangle this week, which is good. 4 stars.

I have SO many reservations about that. Starting with the fact that they immediately bought back the cliffhanger as a gag. It's not like the old show never did that, but I don't recall it being so blatant, and even if it wasn't, I never loved it for it.

I don't like Tom. At all. Which is a total failure of the show. He's too nice. He's too supportive. He's too understanding. I automatically don't trust him. His wife died? So my new theory is that he's using Addison to get Ben to save her life in a Leap.

This is the problem with love triangles in fiction. I should be able to like or dislike Tom on his own merits instead of hating him for wrecking my 'ship. That's a dumb reason to hate a character, and I yet I believe the show WANTS me to have that reaction. It's shoddy writing done by every TV show ever. Which is why TV as a rule is terrible.

I'll tell what REALLY annoyed me in the Leap. They couldn't even bother to have the wax dummy look like a young Tim Matheson. That actually would have been cool! Look! It's Otter! Because they didn't do that you actually notice how cheap and lame the show actually is. We actually know what he used to look like, producers.

I also was extremely angry at Tom's suggestion than the Leaper might be the Universe's sacrifice and price for time travel. Speaking as someone who was stuck with that crappy Quantum Leap ending for nearly 30 years, I do not accept that! I especially don't accept it once I remember how Ben's team was swearing up and down to bring him home last year. I wasn't on-board The X-Files saying Samantha Mulder was long-dead in Season 7, I'm certainly not on-board with this. Are the writers of this show as untalented as Chris Carter? Did it EVER occur to them how much hearing that would piss us off?!

I loved Addison throwing back in Ben's face how hard it was for her. And in Ben's defense, if he says he would have waited forever and never given up, I'll accept that. That doesn't change the fact that the woman has been through Hell, and he had no business judging her choices. And then firing her as the Hologram? Can he even do that?

She actually went into the Quantum Leap accelerator to try and save him. That's both pure commitment and pure insanity. Another word for that is love. Seriously, Ben. You are mad at the wrong person. She did everything she was supposed to.

This season is off on the wrong foot and I am very unhappy. 2 stars.

That was very good and I was relieved to get a break from the Ben / Addison drama.

I'm not sold on Magic and Beth yet. That is a VERY hard thing for a purist of the show to accept.

I loved Magic's perspective about his violent experiences with the cops in '67, and I loved the Korean Dad learning to let go of his hatred and protect the black kid who the cops were gonna shoot. I feel like one of the biggest problems of the old show is that it could only explore social issues SO far with a white guy like Sam Beckett being the Leaper. And you know, I think the producers thought they were being clever by having him Leap into minorities and "experience" racism, but it's not the same thing, and the show had been deluding itself that it was. It attempted to make a powerful statement about how random and arbitrary racist assumptions were, while proving it knew very little about the kinds of conditions that caused them to exist and thrive in the first place. The sequel series is very socially conscious and takes the matter extremely seriously. It's written by people who care deeply about the subject of social justice and explores the problems honestly and earnestly. I am proud of the show for turning into this and making its political episodes actually feel relevant to OUR world instead of saying "Look how dumb people were back then." When Magic is talking about how no matter how far things seem to ever progress, that specific kind of oppression is always there, the show has value for being relevant to our world that is, not a commentary on our world that was and supposedly isn't anymore. I am very happy the show has turned into this.

I love that Ben isn't aware the son he Leaped into doesn't actually speak Korean. Whoops.

The more the revival pleases me, the angrier I get at Scott Bakula for refusing to get involved. Shady love triangle aside, when it comes to exploring social issues the relaunch kicks the original series' ass on every level. You are NOT too good for this show, Bakula. At least not when it's actually better than the original on many different levels. 4 1/2 stars.

It's an interesting idea but I'm wondering how and why Hannah's actress is a series regular. That's makes little sense.

I complain about triangles being used to make other characters jealous but it goes for foursomes too. The notion of the woman Ben keeps running into over time IS grandly romantic. But we all know and understand her actual role is that of a narrative obstacle. Which sucks.

I'll give her this over Tom. I kind of like her. This is how triangles often work by the way. They either make the new person bad so you'll be glad when the "right" ship reasserts itself, or make the new person cool and be furious at the OG character for hurting / using them instead. I'm seeing myself being pissed at Ben in my future.

What happens when McCoy returns to his body while she's kissing him? AAAWWWKWAAARD. I did like that the episode remembered to give Ben a limp because McCoy had one. I think the revival doing stuff like that is why it's superior to the old show.

My theory that Tom is involved in this because he has a secret plan to save his wife still seems valid. And as sensitive and sympathetic as he is being portrayed, I still do not trust him.

I have a random question. Am I the only one a little surprised that Ian has a super hot girlfriend? I guess because he's gender-fluid he's technically bi, but I think the thing that troubles me is maybe they gave her to him because they figured it would be easier for the audience to accept his gender fluidity if he was in a relationship with a woman. I notice and worry about these things. And I kind of wish shows like this thought out those kinds of implications ahead of time. I'm not gonna thank the show for it.

I've managed to gripe about the arc and the weakness of how some of the characters are portrayed. How was the episode itself? Honestly, pretty damn great. I am unhappy with the show but the Leap Of The Week was an unambiguous win this time out.

As for Ben breaking Quantum Leap protocols, I would take that more seriously if the entire project wasn't about changing history. As far as I'm concerned the Leaper can share the information they are a time traveler with anyone they choose at any time. The entire project doesn't give a crap about the Butterfly Effect so it's a little late to be worrying about that kind of stuff.

I'm still cross with this season, but that episode was pretty watchable. 4 1/2 stars.

The original Quantum Leap was a deeply flawed television series, and honestly a great deal of it makes me cringe in hindsight. Not just the Al being a creep thing. But the original series used time travel to explore social issues. And I felt like the moral stances they took at times were clunky at best, and rang completely false at worst.

When it comes to an allegory about how stupid and arbitrary racism is, you can't beat Bele and Lokai from Star Trek. It is a Masterclass in telling horrible people "This is how stupid regular people think you are." I think Quantum Leap always tried to channel that whenever it had Sam leaped into a Black man who was victim of racism. But it wasn't the same thing or the same subtext. And I guess in hindsight I felt like the show was ignorant for thinking it was.

It seems to me part of us finding the racism against Sam so ridiculous is because he was white. And I believe the subconscious subtext is "Racists are so stupid they are insulting the wrong person!" But do you see how problematic that framing actually is? It's never actually said out-loud, but showing a white man being a victim of racism against Black people, the show wasn't necessarily showing how stupid racism was. It sort of gave off the vibe at how put-upon Sam always was and how unfair the Universe was for making him experience a fraction of a Black person's suffering for a couple of lousy days. Am I overthinking that? Possibly. But I've had over 30 years to overthink it and be unhappy about it.

I like the relaunch because it's able to put Ben in the unfair ridiculous scenario, and make the audience think the scenario itself is ridiculous. Ben isn't merely getting a raw deal. People are sincerely turning on their friends and neighbors, and goading them into getting killed for kicks and giggles, and it totally sucks. They make up lies out of whole cloth, and their idiocy is believed while their victim's honest bewilderment is called into doubt. And here's the smart thing the relaunch did here. I find that that kind lying and misinformation for political gain makes an episode about the Salem Witch Trials feel timely. You can be appalled at the stupid things these people believe. Are some of the things a huge chunk of the country currently believes any less ridiculous, stupid, and dishonest? I would argue not. The only unrealistic thing to me is Ben getting people to come around at the end. In 2023, the rainstorm would be used to prove Ben's actual witchcraft. Those specific types of liars don't back down when being called out on their lies or proven wrong. They double down and / or move the goalposts instead. The only unrecognizable part of the scenario is I believe the people during the Salem Witch Trials era portrayed here are far more rational than real world people in 2023. If that's not true, that's a story failing. If it IS true, I don't actually wanna think about it or examine it further. The allegory becomes a little too truthful for comfort then.

I thought it was great. I love that the show can explore fears, prejudices, and bigotries, without hinting that deep down it's the racists being wrong about the situation, instead of saying racists are simply wrong period. I love how seriously the relaunch takes that idea and how careful they have been to thread that needle. It's impressive. 4 1/2 stars.

I'm glad the new show is willing to take the Leaps global. The old show didn't do it often enough for my liking.

Speaking of the old show, I must have already commented that Addison is a far better hologram than Al ever was. Forget the fact that Al was a creep, Al was unhelpful, useless, and more often than not a hindrance. This is not entirely on Al by the way. Clearly writers in the late 80's early 90's simply were not able to do any better with that kind of character. Writing a hologram that's good at their job takes work and patience. Making Al an idiot is an easy, cheap laugh.

But while I'm betting I've mentioned that, I also think Ben is probably better at Leaping than Sam was. God knows, I shouldn't think this, but he's superior to Sam is SO many clear ways in just this episode alone. First off he never once starts a romance with a woman under false pretenses. Anna actually knows his real identity and agenda, even if she doesn't know what he looks like. The old show always tried to have it both ways to show that Sam was supposedly moral enough to not want to take advantage of women in that situation. But he made out with women ALL the time and slept with a lot too. And that's rape. Full-stop. So, yeah, I like the fact that not only is the hologram on the show not a lecherous creep, but the Leaper used to portray the moral contrast to that isn't totally skeevy too.

Another reason Ben is better at this is his reaction to learning he was a spy: "Awesome!" I have seen every cliffhanger of the original Quantum Leap. Not once was Sam EVER excited or happy about the clearly awesome adventure he was about to experience. His "Oh, boy!" at the end of every damn episode expressed regret and dismay, no matter how tantalizing or cool things actually were. Maybe the reason Sam was lost in time as the Martyr Leaper was because he always acted as such.

And this show is cool for having Ben realize that he had been seeing it that way too and maybe that was wrong-headed. The old show always told you what to think, which might not have been the problem it was if several of their moral stances weren't completely wrong. But this show let's us make up our own minds by raising the right questions.

I don't think Addison was disturbed to learn Ben and Anna were in love. I think she was disturbed to realize Anna already treats him better than she ever did. Addison treats Ben like a responsibility. Anna treats him like a miracle. Can you understand why she might feel she isn't measuring up there?

I like that Ben didn't tell Anna he loved her back. She's had years to sit with this and fall in love with him. He's only known her from his end for what, a couple of weeks? I like that this show isn't insulting my intelligence, although I will freely rescind that compliment depending on how things go forward when the show comes back.

This episode and the last were of similar quality but I liked the last episode a lot more. Maybe because Tom wasn't in it? That must have been it. 4 stars.

It was pretty good. The action scenes were tight and Kevin was kind of a funny guest character.

I still hate the love quadrangle though. 3 1/2 stars.

I think it was dreadful.

Quantum Leap used to often feel like an Afterschool Special. This was just that piled on top of that at the end.

So maybe Tom isn't evil. Which means the Love Triangle is bad for the opposite reason: It means Addison is using and hurting HIM for the crime of being introduced in the second season.

It amazes me how bad fiction is with this sort of thing. What especially amazes me is that fans tolerate it instead of raising a stink. And I don't mean the usual "Aw, Tom's wrecking Baddison!" I'm talking about people who actually know love triangles are used by shows that have run out interesting things to say and do with their romantic leads. It's especially troubling it hit Quantum Leap in season 2. I really wish people understood how bad this is for narrative fiction, and more, I wish they understood they deserve better. This will probably upset people. But not for the right reasons. And I think if fans correctly articulated that the trope is used by desperate shows running out of gas, maybe showrunners would be less inclined to make it their go-to instead. There are other ways to make a TV show interesting. It's amazing none of current TV understands that.

This sucks. 1 star.

If it had actually been Jen who was fired, I'd figure her actress was leaving the show. Magic saying he's resigning instead means the plot will thicken.

If this is Tom's last episode (and it might be) I can safely note his character was entirely wasted. Love triangles suck, by the way. I am right about that opinion.

I am not the most observant viewer, but I seem to recall Ian used to go be he / him pronouns, and in this episode goes by they / them. Is it possible the character got some criticism there from the nonbinary community, especially because the show gave them a hot girlfriend? Maybe. But I don't object to it. It will take some getting used to when writing about them though.

The Leap of the Week was weak sauce. It often is, but yeah. I thought the newslady's empathy was pretty cool, but the episode itself indulged in a lot of cliches, including the idea that reporters are crusaders for truth and justice, which me living in 2024 gives me the context to know that is a crock of poo. On every level.

For the record, it's usually Ben who is the calm, leveling influence for strangers. The episode acting like he didn't actually possess that exact skill is bogus.

Gideon's role in the episode, and his potential for being the series' Big Bad was as ultimately wasted as Tom. Frankly, James Frain feels a little long in the tooth to still be playing these types of characters.

Is it possible Josh keeps dying because he's supposed to? There IS a certain amount of fate involved in entire Quantum Leap project. This is a question Ben should be asking sooner rather than later.

Not feeling this week. At all. 2 1/2 stars.

Franchise history: This is the first time we've seen the perspective of the person Leaped into after Ben himself has Leaped. Magic is seen years later after Sam Leaped into him in Vietnam, but this is the first time we've seen it from that perspective.

The ending is infuriating of course, but the Leap itself was some of the tensest action the show has ever done. Great visual effects and stuntwork.

The end also raises questions about Hannah and Jeffrey and suggests no, this isn't the last time they'll be seen.

Off to watch the finale! 4 1/2 stars.

I am still mad we can't seem to get Scott Bakula.

The idea that Gideon is Jeffrey is horrifying, and then paradoxically I like that when Ben was about to take the hammer to the computer, he says it doesn't feel right. So he improves him instead.

Why IS this show on the bubble anyways? It's not just a great show, but it's the only network show outside of Fox toons and a couple of the Law & Orders that I routinely watch (okay I'm also admittedly following Night Court, but that sucks). It has a dedicated fandom too. Why is it in danger of being canceled? It's the best network TV show currently on the air. That might be damning with faint praise, but while that is true, its fate really should not be the question mark it is.

Double Leapers next year will be interesting (assuming the show isn't canceled) but I really hope if they consummate Ben and Addison, they only do that stuff while they are in the body of a couple. It could get gross otherwise. The old show did not mind getting occasionally gross but I minded it very much.

Al's goofy Ziggy remote that you have to hit to work makes a reappearance, and Beth tells everyone present about the final scene of Quantum Leap nobody else apparently knew about, and how she, Al, and their daughters owe the entire project. It seems very odd to me this is the first everyone else has heard about it.

I figured Jen wasn't permanently dead because Ben was trying to figure out a way to stop Gideon on the Leap itself. Still, it was the right moment of grief and a good way to demonstrate Gideon as is is currently a bad guy. Smashing the computer definitely would have been easier.

Every season finale we don't see Sam Beckett gets me grumpier and grumpier. 4 stars.