NBC’s Quantum Leap reboot just aired its midseason finale revealing the real reason behind Ben’s decision to keep diving into the past. Popular belief pegged him as trying to save Sam Beckett, thus tying the original and the reboot, but Ben is trying to save someone much closer than him.
The 2022 series was recently upgraded to a full season on NBC, bringing its total count for season 1 to 18 episodes. Episode 8, titled “Stand by Ben,” landed Ben at Sierra South Academy in 1996, where he teamed up with fellow teens to escape the abusive camp and expose its true nature.
The physicist, seeing the reunion of the campmates, felt another flashback about his mission testing the limits of Quantum Leap and breaking them all to save the people closest to him. He realizes he’s the one who appointed Janis’ help, and she is working with him to save Addison.
Before explaining further why Addison needed saving and what good it would do to jump through the past, Ben’s next jump kicks in, and he was gone.
It makes a lot more sense why Ben jumped on the day he got engaged to Addison. It was as if he was promising to return to her before diving into one of the riskiest projects that probably cost his predecessor’s life.
The flashback suggested Janis’ involvement as her only choice, meaning the danger also extends to Calavicci.
But who could pose such a fatal threat to Addison and Janis? How did Song know about this mysterious tragedy in the future? How do his time leaps in the past connect to an event which hasn’t taken place yet?
Let’s tackle these questions one by one based on what we know.
We know there is another leaper on the loose, Martinez. He studied Quantum Leap in depth, after Sam Beckett changed his life’s course by leaping into him when he was a soldier in Vietnam. Maybe he is the one who’s putting Addison, Janis, and even the project, on the line?
Or perhaps Martinez was the one who warned Ben in the first place, but that seems less plausible given that Ben was actively pursuing him up till episode 5. Could it be a future version of Ben who might have warned the present Dr. Song about the danger his to-be-wife will face?
The answers to these questions can only be revealed in January 2023, when the show returns from its hiatus. But for the time being, let us focus on a couple of questions we can answer.
Ben’s mission to save Addison, Janis, and the Quantum Leap project confirms that by changing the past, Ben is looking to change the future, with the butterfly effect in motion.
In episode 6, Ian explained how the leaps in the past would serve as the momentum to propel Ben into the future. Thus, his leaps so far are creating an opportunity for him to save everything he holds dear in the upcoming season 1 part 2.
The details of Ben’s mission will finally come to light after the midseason finale when the show returns from its break on January 2, 2023.
About Quantum Leap
Based on the 80s science fiction series of the same name, Quantum Leap is a revival series created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt.
The series follows the events thirty years after Dr. Sam Beckett disappeared into the Quantum Leap accelerator. The project has been revived and a new team has been tasked with solving the mystery of the machine.
The show premiered on September 19, 2022 on NBC.
Source: NBC
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