Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Closure Encounters

In Quantum Leap 2×03, titled “Closure Encounters”, Ben leaps into the body of Agent ~~Fox Mulder~~ Robert Cook, a Project Sign member. Ben teams up with a local sheriff to investigate UFOs in the area. But are they UFOs?

Agent Ben investigates UFOs

In Closure Encounters two girls are driving a car when a burst of light suddenly throws them off the road and drives their car into a tree. One girl is in a coma and the other claims that they are aliens. It is up to Ben to figure out whether the UFO is real. The girl, who is being held captive in a hospital, is the granddaughter of the local sheriff named Woodrow Morgan.

Quantum Leap episode 3, Closure Encounters

Along with Ben, they investigate the case. The case however is frustrated by the local gangsters and they want both Ben and the sheriff off the case. The circuit judge is supposed to make a ruling on the case on Friday which gives Ben 72 hours to solve the case.

Ben has Addison by his side this time instead of Ian. Ian is really hoping that the UFOs by the way. That was a fun joke in the episode. Ben and Addison have quite a few discussions in Closure Encounters but more about that later.

While Ben continues to look for evidence. he finds out that the girls have been injected with a substance called Gamma 5. But you can only get that when you are in the army. And there are no armies around for at least 500 kilometers.

Addison is booted off the hologram but when she rejoins the team at Team Quantum Leap Headquarters, they do a little investigation. It turns out that the land owned by the gangsters is currently being leased to the military. Which means that there is Gamma 5 near town. All this was deduced by Addison who shows off her detective skills.

When Ben takes the information to Woodrow, he finds out that Woodrow is about to skip town. The intimidation from the local gangster proves too much for him and he wants to be somewhere safe. Ben manages to convince him to stay showing Woodrow the evidence of Gamma 5 and the suspicion of the military base at the spot where the girls’ car crashed.

Together with Addison and Woodrow, they meet up with the military who offer hush money. Woodrow takes it, he says that his granddaughter will receive free tuition for the college of her choice.

Ben meets Hannah

In Closure Encounters, Ben meets a waitress named Hannah Carson. There is something about her that Ben just can’t seem to let go of. She knows every math equation Ben throws at her and yet she works at a simple diner as a waitress.

It turns out that Hannah was part of a maths & physics program during the war. When the men came back, the women were fired and forced to go back to taking jobs that were below their capabilities.

You would expect Ben to leap after Closure Encounters but he didn’t jump straightaway. He did after he gave Hannah the phone number of a Princeton professor of a university program for women in maths & physics.

Hannah makes her debut in Closure Encounters

Now, I have read that the showrunners have indicated that Hannah will be a recurring character in season 2 but that she is not a time traveler. So my guess is that we will see Ben in the 1960s and 1970s. Perhaps even in the 1980s. Those are leaps I am looking forward to because I am really looking forward to seeing more of that chemistry in the show.

I theorize the following: Given the knowledge of maths and physics that Hannah Carsons has on the subjects, I think she is one of the founders of the Quantum Leap program. If so, then this is major news for Quantum Leap lore and will make a huge impact on the show. Ben has knowledge of the future and she can implement them and thereby set up the basic premise of the program. If I am correct then I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Closure Encounters

In Closure Encounters, we see Addison and Ben reunite on a mission for the first time in 3 years. Ben is troubled by the fact that Addison has moved on with her life and is seeing someone else. He rebukes her for not working hard enough to find out whether or not Ben is still alive. And instead took the easy way out by moving on. Addison has trouble finding an excuse.

All the scenes related to that are going to be interesting. This episode basically sets a precedent for the coming episodes.

Showrunner Dean Geogaris says the following about the new dynamic between Ben and Addison:

“If last season was the ultimate long-distance relationship, I think this season is coming to terms with, ‘How do you get along with one another if, perhaps, it feels like destiny is not on your side? How do you continue to work with someone? How do you take the feeling that you have for someone and do something positive with them?”

Furthermore, we will see both Ben and Addison struggle to figure out what they mean to each other now. There will be different themes throughout the season and sacrifice is one of them. What does it mean to sacrifice everything for the one you love? I could argue that Ben and Addison are endgame and that Tom will be the setup to figure out more about themselves as an individual and as a couple. Can Addison let go of Tom to be with the one she loves? And what is Ben willing to sacrifice in order to get home?

The Future of the Leaper X Program

Last season, Leaper X did everything to undo all of Ben’s good work. In the last episode of season 1, Leaper X was killed, however. So the question is: Are there more Leapers coming in the 2nd season of Quantum Leap?

When I first saw Hannah in Closure Encounters, I thought that she was going to be a new Leaper but that turned out differently.

As it turns out there will be no other Leapers this season. The showrunners are solely focused on the coming episodes featuring Ben and Addison. The future of Hannah Carson and Team Quantum Leap. Leaper X did his job marvelously and I really would like to see more of the program. I am really hoping that the show receives a backorder for a few extra episodes for this season.

Closure Encounters notes

The episode revealed that Janis Calavicci has moved on to become part of the NSA in Hawaii. I was about to say, cue the intro theme but there is no show of course about that. I would have hoped for a Magnum P.I. crossover but that show has been canceled. It also means that Janis could come back at any time. The door is wide open for a reappearance.

And who is Magic talking to at the end of the episode? He must have known the caller pretty well given the casual nature of the conversation. Time will tell!

The mystery is solved so, I am sorry but the UFOs in the episode weren’t real! Let’s just keep using SETI on our PCs to continue the search. The truth is out there!

Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode Reviews

Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 1 Review: This took too long

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Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Ben and Teller

In Quantum Leap 2x01 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 ep 2 changes character dynamics back in the present day for Team Quantum Leap.