Ben Quantum Leaps into a gunslinger legend who is past his prime to save a town called Salvation in 1879. But who is that guy at the end? Are there more leapers? If yes, is this an evil one or a messenger who warns Ben to go back?
The wild, wild Quantum Leap west
Living in the wild west in the early days of the USA as someone with different skin color, or different sexuality, or whatever that doesn’t make them fit the norms, was difficult.
But not in Salvation. Salvation is a small town that allows you to be whoever you want to be. Whatever race, sexuality, and more you are, Salvation is the town to be.
But of course, paradise has its’ own snakes and Salvation is no different. The city is on the verge of bankruptcy because of a railroad company that wants to see money or they’ll demolish the town.
And the city is terrorized by someone named Josiah McDonough. He is this town’s Bufford Tannen, a Back to the Future reference for people who grew up in the 1980s. But McDonough is a bit meaner by taking hostages.
In order to save Salvation, Ben leaps into former gunslinger Diego de la Cruz and comes up with a plan to make sure that Salvation survives for generations to come. The only issue is: Ben is a pacifist and Diego is not. So what do you do then? Yes, you Quantum Leap away. No wait, that’s not until later.
Pacifism is not a bane
Exactly…you let Ben handle it and hope that nobody gets killed. But with all great plans, come a lot more problems. And this is no exception. Ben tries to get the deputy sheriffs of Salvation on his side but they all get bribed by McDonough and Ben is once again left empty-handed.
Shooting lessons and trying to develop a killer instinct doesn’t work for Ben as he stays true to his nature; That of a pacifist.
The plan that Ben comes up with is an easy one. Capture McDonough and let authorities pick him up. The bounty on McDonough’s head is $10,000, a king’s ransom. And that should also be enough to pay off the railroad company. Ben’s plan succeeds but Salvation’s people come back and tell Ben that the $10,000 is nice for a first payment.
With the help of Addison and Ziggy, Ben informs them that there is a copper mine nearby and ready to be claimed by Salvation.
“It would be good for phone lines in the near future.”, Ben says. To which people reply: “Those talking boxes will catch on?”
Of course, this is 1879 and Ben has knowledge from the future. And before Ben Quantum Leaps into another body, someone comes up to him and goes:
“I know everything about you, Dr. Ben Song from the year 2022.”
The Evil Quantum Leaper or is it Quantum Reaper
We don’t know who the guy was that talked to Ben. But his words we will remember for a long time:
“You made a serious miscalculation coming here, Ben,” the stranger spat. “I know everything about you, Dr. Ben Song from the year 2022. I know what you’re doing, but if you value your life, you need to stop following me. Do you understand?”
And now I am wondering; Do we finally have our season or even series arc? Much like Rittenhouse in Timeless or Lex Luthor in Smallville.
If memory serves correct, the Quantum Reapers were tied to a secret organization with no name who tried to wrong every right Sam made in the original Quantum Leap show.
If it is the same organization but updated then I really hope that the current writer’s team will actually bring it to life on the small screen. We deserve more depth for the show. And adding such a team would be amazing.
All I know, and I had to look it up, is that the computations are run by Lothos. Which is Ziggy’s nemesis.
Who’s to say that that organization is not run by Sam Beckett because that is his only way home? With the help of Janice, who is seemingly building her own Quantum Leap accelerator. If so then it is a huge twist that I can only dream of.
Addison and Ben explore their relationship
Ben and Addison had some great moments together. Despite the Quantum Leap team’s warnings to Addison that she’s not to tell him about their life together.
Ben asks about their first date. To which Addison replies that they worked together and one night he asked her out. One thing led to another and she never left his house after that first date.
The Quantum Leap team warned Addison against telling Ben or triggering his memories before he used the accelerator. There is no way of telling if Ben had good intentions or bad ones. And what’s his deal with Janice anyway?
Who else is in on it? Maybe that Quantum Reaper holds some answers before the season break. According to the showrunner of Quantum Leap, the Quantum Reapers will definitely come back.
Magic, Quantum Strings along everyone
While Addison and Ben are in the Wild West saving Salvation, back in Quantum Leap headquarters, Magic gets a visit from higher up, it’s Congresswoman Kavita Adani. She wants to talk to Ben but as we all know why Ben is absent.
While Team Quantum Leap tries to hide the fact that Ben made an unauthorized leap Adani figures it out anyway. And Magic explains what happened.
To ensure that she will cooperate with the team he promises her to make sure that her brother will be alive after he was killed in a car accident in a car Adani drove.
Ian and the rest of the team protest and tell him that nobody controls leaping yet. To which Magic replies: But she doesn’t know that!
This can only go wrong obviously. There is no way to control a leap so this seems like a case of overpromising and underdelivering. How will Team Quantum Leap, and in particular Magic, be held accountable for congress?
What did you make of the episode? Did you like the setting? And were you surprised that Quantum Leap could travel back so far in time? I was! Please drop me a line Leapers!
