Quantum Leap Season 2 Ended With a Bang! What’s Next for Ben and Friends?

Quantum Leap’s action-packed, double-episode finale was a becoming finish to a season that was heavy on explosions, paradoxes, and the Seventies.

Perhaps to make up for a second season that stumbled at occasions in its pacing, the finale kicked issues into overdrive with continuous motion set items and bombshell revelations.

So! Let’s dig into what occurred this season, the place it left, and what all of it means for Ben and the remainder of the Quantum Leap staff. 

The majority of Quantum Leap Season 2 occurred in or across the Seventies, however the episodes that includes Hannah moved past that decade and have been virtually cinematic of their look, really feel, and material (Aliens in New Mexico! Nazis at Princeton! Spycraft in Cairo!).

Ben and Hannah could not have loved a lot time collectively throughout his leaps, however they greater than made up for that in adrenaline.

The finale lastly introduced collectively this season’s seemingly random essential storylines/plot threads: Ben Song’s frequent leaps into Hannah’s timeline and Ian’s theft of the quantum chip that jeopardized each their job and your entire Quantum Leap program.

It seems that Hannah was really the hyperlink between each of those storylines: her adventures in time with Ben led to her determining the “swap code” that would save him, and her son Jeffrey created the quantum chip required to find Ben in time.

After some twisty problems, Hannah’s formulation creates a “Butterfly Effect” that saves Ben’s life but in addition resets the current timeline in some uncommon methods.

The finale ends with Ben nonetheless unable to return dwelling, however one very attention-grabbing change is that he’s now accompanied by Addison, who’s a fellow leaper and not a hologram.  

The finale left the remainder of the staff in a good place general: Jenn, most notably, is not useless, and Janis Calavicci will get to remain residing in Hawaii (till the staff wants her once more).

Magic and Beth Calavicci are nonetheless a couple, which hints that Magic’s ingesting drawback by no means resurfaced on this new timeline, and Ian is free to give attention to refining Hannah’s swap code now that they’re not on the hook for company espionage.

The Quantum Leap venture is secure (because of main venture donor Jeffrey/Gideon Rydge, who’s now not evil!), everybody appears comfortable and employed, and none of them seem to recollect the earlier harrowing timeline we watched all of them dwell by throughout Season 2. 

Except for Addison.

It’s hinted that this is because of her being within the imaging room throughout the “Butterfly Effect” occasion, however a higher motive would possibly merely be that Addison deserves to retain her reminiscences as a result of she went by a greater emotional wringer this season than some other character on the present.

Addison Augustine realized that Ben really wasn’t useless for three years, handled how that affected her new relationship with the ex-military Ben lookalike, and nonetheless needed to be Ben’s hologram whereas working by her personal anger at this information.

She typically needed to take care of pouty, jealous Ben prior to now (and pouty-jealous Ben’s lookalike within the current), then skilled jealousy of her personal as soon as she realized that Ben was in love with Hannah.

Oh, and she additionally acquired engaged.

Ben had a busy emotional arc this season, as nicely.

He needed to work by his anger at Addison for shifting on, mourn the top of their relationship, and watch her be with another person (who appears A LOT like him, however pointing that out would possibly sound peevish, so good work restraining your self there, Ben!).

He fell in love with Hannah, which meant having emotions for yet one more girl he could not spend greater than a few hours with at a time.

After a lot time spent in her personal model of “leaping” by emotional states all season, it is becoming that Addison turned an precise leaper within the finale.

However, this growth opens up SO many questions!

Was Hannah’s swap code mistaken? Are each Addison and Ben caught in time now? Are they at all times going to share missions?

Where is the sequence rigidity going to return from now that Ben has a companion — Addison, no much less? — on his leaps? What will likely be Quantum Leap Season 3’s enemy or ticking clock, and how will that have an effect on the staff again dwelling? 

Magic’s stepping down within the unique timeline of the finale opened up some attention-grabbing prospects, resembling when Jenn took over as interim director.

This can be a actually good everlasting place for her since her present job as head of digital safety appears to depart her sitting round a lot. This has been helpful relating to her interactions with Ian (their banter is a spotlight of the season) however leaves a nice character vastly underused.

I assume having Jenn be the official hologram can be a step in the correct course by giving her extra issues to do if Magic stays the venture director on this timeline.

Now that Ian is not risking their (or their ex’s) profession by stealing quantum chips, is their essential storyline going to be making an attempt to save lots of each Ben and Addison? Is Ian going to should contact Hannah by some means, both within the current or the previous, to repair the swap code?

If it needed to, would this episode work as a sequence finale?

Fans of ambiguous endings is perhaps glad with this episode serving as the top of the sequence, however there are sufficient threads left to drag to benefit a third season.

The finale cleared up many of the “Why” of Ben’s relationship with Hannah (when it comes to her creating the swap code, and her son being the Big Bad that wanted to get defused), however it’s a little odd that it was Addison and not Hannah who joined Ben on his leap on the finish.

If the sequence signed off by having Hannah and Ben leap by time collectively indefinitely, which guarantees much less of a give attention to returning dwelling than on exploring time with a companion.

But coping with the ending we have, wasn’t there a huge situation in Season 1 about having two leapers energetic on the identical time with Leaper X?? And now we’ve two, not simply within the ether however on the identical leap?

At first I assumed Addison was going into the accelerator to swap with Ben because it appeared that was the one strategy to deliver him again dwelling, so that might proceed their star-crossed lovers storyline the place one in every of them would at all times be a hologram.

It’s nonetheless unclear precisely the way it’s working that they are now collectively on a leap, however it did not appear troubling to the staff again within the current.

This thought might work as a sequence finale in that the Quantum Leap venture is steady, and the staff members again dwelling are simply residing their lives and preserving the lights on for the leapers.

This type of takes the main target off the Butterfly Effect that was touched on once more within the finale.

We realized, on an episode-by-episode foundation, how Ben’s actions prior to now have an effect on the futures of his leap host and the individuals round them, however apart from the Hannah storyline, nothing on this season actually hinted at an underlying, save-humanity type of motive or sample to his leaps.

In quick, Ben and Addison may not realistically have the ability to preserve leaping for the remainder of their lives; would not there come a level the place they’ve mounted all that may very well be mounted with out going again and saving everybody who’s ever lived/died?

And at that time, what would occur to them? Would they have the ability to return to their current, would they’ve to decide on a previous time interval to dwell in, or would they only stop to exist? 

Also, probably not talked about on this season: unique leaper Sam Beckett. My first thought on the swapping-out-Ben thought was that by some means Sam has to remain misplaced in time to present Ben a likelihood to return to his actual life, and we’re handled to a visitor spot from Scott Bakula.

That now appears unlikely since Sam has technically been on the market concurrently Ben for the previous 4 years, so except *he is* the ghost within the machine (actually), he is not eligible to be Ben’s swap buddy.

What would possibly occur if we get a Season 3?

The finale units up a clear slate for a true give attention to determining the massive “Why” behind the sample of Ben’s leaps.

Now that we are able to considerably loosen up concerning the characters within the current since all appears sorted there, maybe there’s a new formulation that Ian and/or aged Hannah can create to chart all of Ben’s leaps and to see what Ziggy’s final aim is.

*Is* that aim to search out Sam Beckett? Or are we shifting even additional away from the unique sequence?

Also, will Janis Calavicci lastly get a recurring spot within the sequence, aside from as a handy frenemy??

She’s been used as a connecting thread to the unique sequence however was largely absent in Season 2–except, after all, to swoop in and save everybody that she supposedly hated final season.

I really feel like the brand new sequence must make a choice about how they are going to deal with the shadow of the unique sequence as an alternative of preserving it as a backup plotline since that is the way it’s feeling proper now.

Maybe the unique sequence’ mythology was wanted to carry the reboot’s hand for the primary season, however it’s now a present with a forged and premise that stands by itself. I really need some closure for Sam Beckett, however not on the expense of the brand new sequence. 

Final Thoughts:

Would the swapping factor work for Sam, too?? Who would take his place, or is he now the connective glue of historical past and has to remain misplaced in time??

Who would be the new hologram? Will it’s like a Hologram-of-the-Week state of affairs, with visitor stars from the present-day world of the present?

Ben appeared to leap into many army and/or authorities figures this season; might this be a trace as to what could also be behind Ziggy’s “random” leap dates?

There was just one “ripped from the headlines” historic episode this season concerning the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Did stepping away from that kind of episode enhance or detract from this season?

The quantum chip was the MacGuffin of this season, popping up when handy (or most INconvenient) for the plot/characters. It got here round ultimately, however it was type of an “Oh yeah, that’s a thing” for many of the season.

What was up with the witch episode????***

This season featured the primary time Ben tried to speak throughout timelines (Hannah’s letter). Was THIS act the actual “Butterfly Effect” of this season, exhibiting that Ziggy’s “rules” are there for a motive? Or would doing extra of such a factor assist get Ben (and now Addison) dwelling?

What did YOU consider how this season wrapped up and how that factors to what’s subsequent for the present?

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