Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Ben and Teller

In Quantum Leap 2×01 Review, titled “Ben & Teller”, Ben lept into the body of a woman named Lorena Chavez in her 70s who works at a bank and is eagerly awaiting the birth of her grandchild. Quantum Leap episode 2 changes character dynamics back in the present day for Team Quantum Leap.

Ben & Teller is a hostage drama

Ben leaps into the body of Lorena Chavez who works as a teller at a bank. Her boss is Rebecca, played by Janet Montgomery of New Amsterdam fame. While the two chit-chats about the soon birth of Ben’s grandchild, three customers walk into the bank and while it looks like they are just there as customers, guns are drawn and a hostage situation starts.

The three hostage takers are soon done but when they count the money, it is a meager $8500, and divided by 3, it is about $2800 per person, which is, according to the leader of the three, not enough.

So they talk to the bank workers to ask where the vault is and they manage to get one to talk. Meanwhile Ben has gotten company from Ian, who is assisting him through holocomms.

According to Ian, the criminals have to get away from the bank as soon as possible. In order to save the future. Little did both know that one of the hostage takers was the brother of Rebecca.

Rebecca tells Ben that she has not seen her brother since she left for college. When she got back, things changed. Sean turned cold towards her but she couldn’t put her finger as to why that was.

Meanwhile Ben tries to de-escalate the situation by aiding the hostage takers and even gets them to release 2 hostages. 1 security who was badly bruised and a pregnant woman who fell. They let them go so that the situation wouldn’t turn into a homicide rather than a robbery with hostages.

Ben and Teller to the rescue

Ben is the mediator between the criminals and the police who are asking what the robbers want. They want a helicopter and a 5-minute headstart.

But rather than getting that helicopter, the police are positioning their snipers. The criminals notice that too late and now it’s Ben who asks to get the hostages to safety. In a room where there are no windows.

The criminals agree and they take them to a meeting room. But little did they know that the room was the result of a failed expansion of the bank. Ben has the hostages put a carpet on the bottom of the door in order to muffle the sound while Ben takes down the drywall so the hostages can escape the bank. And all credits go to Ben & Teller.

Sean rescues Ben and Rebecca

While the hostages get away, Ben and Rebecca don’t. One of the hostage takers finds them and threatens to shoot them. But it is Sean who rescues his sister by shooting his accomplice. In that moment Sean realizes he has messed up his life.

Sean and his henchmen have all gone to jail, Rebecca picks up Sean after he has done his time.

My thoughts on Quantum Leap 2×02

Ben & Teller is the second episode and while I thought it was going to take a while longer, Team Quantum Leap reunites in this episode. Albeit with a few twists and turns.

First of all, Ian contacting Ben wasn’t a coincidence. Ian apparently left a computer running in hopes of finding Ben. I would love to have someone like Ian on my team. Someone who never gives up and continues where others have stopped.

Then there is Jen who is undercover but drops everything as soon as she hears Ben is back. But Jen is also the one who calls out Ian about the ‘computer he left on to find Ben’ so there is a little more going on about the finding of Ben. But what could it be?

I think that Ian just went underground with the project and maybe has even closed a few shady deals with people he shouldn’t have been involved with.

And then there is Addison. After burying Ben in an empty casket, Addison moved on. She feels alive again but the moment she sees Ben, it brings up unresolved feelings she has had ever since Ben died. Addison has joined a police squad and is working with Tom Westfall. Westfall is going to be the new member of Team Quantum Leap.

And I am wondering how that will work. Tom has the director of the FBI on speed dial and can go places Magic can’t go. But then again Magic’s connection to the higher-ups was brought on screen rarely in the first season of Quantum Leap so it was never fleshed out. Then what role is Tom going to play? And the bigger question is: Is he dating Addison?

I would not blame Addison for dating Tom. She buried the casket, Ben was never found and presumed dead so the only logical thing to do is to move on with life. And that is what she has done or at least it looks like that.

Ben & Teller puts relationships to the test despite it only being the second episode. I can’t wait to see what the future brings. But this episode sure is a good first step in a new direction for character dynamics.

The only thing that annoys me about Ben & Teller is the fact that I find the time jump of 3 years is a bit lazy of the writers but then again, they have found a new take on it. For Team Quantum Leap 3 years have passed but not for Ben. It is interesting that they would use quantum theory for the show.

Is Tom Westfall going to replace Magic on Quantum Leap

It was recently announced that Quantum Leap will have a new team member named Tom Westfall. It left fans wondering if he would be Magic’s replacement but according to the showrunners that is not the case. Instead, Tom will be more administrative and complete Magic’s work.

“[Tom is] alongside Magic on more of an administrative level, and you’ll see [in] Episode 2 what that means,” Martin Gero explains. “But no, we would never get rid of the legendary Ernie Hudson, who continues to be an incredible presence on the show. In fact, we get to learn even more about Magic this year. We really have the space for it in such an incredible way.”

And according to the other showrunner, Dean Geogaris, Tom will be Magic’s soundboard.

“Tom gives Magic another person to talk to, and to talk about a subject that we didn’t get to talk to that much in Season 1, which is the greater purpose of a project like Quantum Leap. We get to see and hear Magic’s perspective on, ‘What is the technology really about and what are we supposed to do?’