If last week’s episode of Quantum Leap was the feels episode, this week was the afterglow. Yes, I know there’s more to the series than the ship. But I’m a hard-core Ben/Addison shipper now, and I’m not even sorry about it.
Hello, Partner
When Ben finally remembered Addison (a little) last week, I admit I cheered a little. I could hardly wait for this week’s episode because I wanted to see how it would play out. I know we’re only on episode five, and so we haven’t had to wait that long for him to remember the love of his life. But “I don’t remember the person most important to me in the world” is one of those heart-wrenching tropes, and I’m glad the series got it over with quickly. Mostly.
Okay, so he remembers but not entirely. He remembers his love for her. Just not the details. I’m going to need a moment to lie down. I mean, just think about that. He remembers his love for her, but not the moments that make up their relationship. Imagine that. Imagine waking up tomorrow and being like, “I feel this overwhelming love in my heart for a nameless, faceless near-memory, but I can’t remember what brought me to this place. I’m mourning the loss of a love I can’t even remember.”
Just thinking about it makes me need to lay down. Oh, I’m already laying down? I need to lay down harder.
Of course, she remembers everything he doesn’t so him “remembering” is still somewhat bittersweet for her. However, the gaping holes in his memory make it easier for her to do a little “quid pro quo” blackmail. ‘You want to know more about how you charmed your way into my pants? Shoot the damn can, Ben!’ I love it.
I melted over seeing Ben and Addison together – as together as man and hologram can ever be, I guess (assuming you haven’t seen Her, and let’s just not go there, okay?). At the same time, I wanted to see more of them. Not just now, rediscovering their relationship…and building a new one. But this episode really set up the dichotomy between their personalities. Addison is ex-military. Ben is such a strong pacifist, he’s more apt to shooting himself than anyone else. Or even an innocent bottle or two. How did the two connect?
Plus, I want to see Ben’s game. He talked physics at his rehearsal dinner. And, yes, I’m enough of a dork that he’d totally win me over by talking about the love particle. But he was apparently never at a loss for companionship, according to Addison. (And I love that they avoided the “terminally single science geek lands hot non-science girl” trope.) I’m not about to argue that girl geeks aren’t a thing. Hell, I am one. But “can be swept off her feet by sexy quantum mechanics pillow talk” has to be a fairly niche kink.
Gimme more Ben and Addison. According to the interview with actress Caitlin Bassett, I know we’re going to see more of how they rebuild their relationship than how they built it to begin with, and that makes sense. But I still want a glimpse into how Love Particle Ben managed to sweep Addison off her feet so damn good that she fell into his bed and never left.
And if that mental image isn’t enough to make you board the S.S. Ben/Addison ship, nothing will. Also, I’m going to need the fandom to get me a ship name, STAT.
And speaking of the ship…come on, let’s not kid ourselves. Addison is clearly hoping to play “cowboys and even more naked cowboys” with Ben when he finally gets back from all that leaping. Not that I’m judging. Yeah, Ben, you knew exactly how good you looked in that getup, and everyone knows it.
Back Alley Dealing
While Addison helped Ben survive the Old West – when they weren’t busy making some pretty swoon-worthy heart eyes at each other – Magic and Company had their own problems. Blah blah blah, oversight committee, blah blah blah. I’m not saying it wasn’t an interesting plot. But I feel like the very words “oversight committee” usually prompt most people to tune out the next 20 minutes. For good reason.
In this case, it was worth not mentally checking out because it was an interesting plot. Since Ziggy probably takes as much energy to run as your average Death Star, the team’s activities couldn’t go unnoticed forever by their higher ups. Or by the politicians holding the purse strings. In fact, one has now come knocking on their door wanting answers.
To their credit, the team tries to give her the run-around. To her credit, she doesn’t fall for it. Which is all well and good, particularly since I couldn’t help but feel she isn’t going to end up being a “one and done” adversary for the group. I can’t exactly put my finger on why I think she’ll be back – first as foe and then as friend – but I definitely got that feel. Maybe because her deal with Magic is so…unresolved. Because the real point of interest in this plot was seeing how far Magic is willing to go to protect the project.
And how far is that? Well, he’ll use dirt Jen is able to uncover (and this glimpse into her character is interesting, so I’d like to see more), but not necessarily in the way you’d expect. Rather than blackmailing her as Jen intended, he offers her a little quid pro quo. Keep the project running and maybe Ben can leap into your own past and fix your greatest mistake.
Can Ben actually do that? No, not really. Though, honestly, I won’t be surprised if they change that at some point. (Or, at the very least, if he coincidentally manages to do just that because, let’s face it, it’s that kind of feel-good show.) But the greatest force in life isn’t the Quantum Leap Project. It isn’t even love. It’s hope. Which, honestly? If Magic isn’t able to follow through? May be a more cruel thing for him to offer than blackmail. Which means that Magic’s decision regarding the use of blackmail material may actually be more ruthless than even Jen intended. Note to self: Don’t. Mess. With. Magic.
What the What?
All of this leads to the end of the episode, when Ben gets confronted by another cowboy who 1) calls him by his actual name, and 2) demands Ben stop following him. I’d love to spout off some sort of amazing theory here that would blow everyone’s mind who reads it, but…nope. I got nothing. Absolutely zero good theories on this. Hell, I don’t even have many bad ones.
With the knowledge we have, the only person it makes even possible sense for the cowboy to be is Sam. Except Sam wouldn’t know Ben. I guess? Unless somehow Al’s tech was used to contact him to tell him about the current project by…someone (Janis?) for…some reason. She does have the tech now, so it’s theoretically possible.
Except it doesn’t make sense for it to be Sam because Sam was restricted to leaping within his own timeline. Unlike Ben. And I know at a certain age, everyone over the age of 30 seems ancient, but trust me. Scott Bakula isn’t that old. He was born in the 1950s, not the 1800s. Unless Janis fixed that issue for…reasons…somehow. Which, again, in the wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey world of Quantum Leap is at least possible.
But that still leaves the question of why. Sam has been bouncing from one body to another for decades. Presumably. Without any kind of holographic assistance. Also presumably. After all these years, why would Sam order Ben leave him alone? He just doesn’t want to go home? Leaping promises a certain amount of immortality? Without Al’s assistance, he hasn’t been able to leap out of Cowboy Times and has decided to embrace a life of likely premature death from dysentery?
Or there’s something he’s trying to do and Ben is trying to…help him? Stop him? But how would Ben have even found out what Sam was doing, if that’s the case? He was the one to approach Janis, after all. Why is Ben trying to help him? And why wouldn’t he tell the team?
Of course, maybe it’s not Sam. In which case…who is it, how and why is he leaping, and why did Ben go rogue in tracking him down? Unless he has personal ties to the man (or woman) in question, a random leaper out there causing trouble (or not?) seems like the kind of thing the team should know. Which suggests he has ties to the person in question…which still leaves the how and why the leaper got into this mess to begin with.
As you can see, I have more questions than answers. Way more. I really need to get in touch with some die-hard Quantum Leap fans (who better be called Leapers if there’s justice in this internet fandom) to help formulate some theories. Because if there’s one thing I know about online fandom: They’re better at noticing details and theorizing theories than the freaking CIA. Or Jen on a quest to save the Project.
Quantum Leap airs Mondays on NBC and is available for streaming on the Peacock app.
