‘Quantum Leap’ Recap: ‘Ben & Teller’

10/12/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

QUANTUM LEAP -- "Ben & Teller" Episode 202 -- Pictured: (l-r) Mason Alexander Park as Ian, Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song -- (Photo by: NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoiers for Episode 202 of ‘Quantum Leap’. To revisit the Season Two Premiere, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

When we last settled in to enjoy the wondrous NBC series, Quantum Leap, we were all left stunned by some incredible revelations in regard to why Dr. Ben Song could not contact his beloved Addison and the team during quite the dangerous leap. In that, three years had passed between Ben’s leap at the end of season one, the one that dropped him down into Russia in 1978, and the team seemingly abandoned hm. Not to mention, Addison was nowhere to be seen when the team did make contact. All of which left us wondering, how on Earth could such a calamity occur when so many people that Ben loved and cared for seemed steadfast in making sure he made his way home and well, the good news is that we didn’t have to wait too long to be filled in on such matters. For the next episode of this incredible story, dug right into that.

For ‘Ben & Teller’ immediately saw the majority of the team be reassembled by Ian and rightfully so. Because they all wanted good news, and they did not want to abandon their dear friend. But alas, they were sent home by the brass at the Pentagon when contact with Ben went silent, so they had no choice but to walk away. But Ian’s contact, immediately got the project rolling again and awakened everyone, including Addison to the reality that Ben was out there, leaping and still in need of help, and despite some roadblocks from the Feds, the kind that were handled by someone very important to Addison, progress was made. In fact, Ian was able to make contact via the projector and eventually Addison and Ben reunited as well. But while it was amazing to see the crew reassemble and learn that they didn’t willingly walk away from a near and dear friend, and love, there was still an important leap for Ben to deal with.

Because this time around Ben found himself occupying a new grandmother in Arizona in 1986, and well… she was facing a hard day. Because on this day in history, the bank she worked at was robbed and it was such a disaster of a robbery that eight people died and families were torn apart, and it was up to Ben to now keep that from happening and well, that was no easy task. Because these robbers were fierce and they had bigger goals in mind and that forced Ben, to go the extra mile to keep their fury at bay, but that presented its own set of problems. Because the raw nature of this crime, continuously kept disaster on the history books, since this seemed to be a classic case of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force. Because these cops wanted justice and these crooks wanted the world, and even attempts to get a brother and sister named Rebecca and Sean to reconcile, proved fruitless. Especially since Sean was part of the robbery crew and stood by his boss.

Which meant, Ben had to get creative in saving lives and well… he used Rebecca’s knowledge of the bank to do something quite drastic. Wherein he was able to use an old flaw in the place, one that was part of a failed expansion, to create an evacuation tunnel for all the employees to finally get them out of there in a safe manner and well… that definitely checked one important box on Ben’s checklist to get out of this hellish afternoon in Arizona. But of course, in order to complete his mission, he had to find a way to bridge the rift between Rebecca and Sean and keep Sean from becoming a bullet ridden statistic as well and believe it or not, that bold plan did the trick. For the ringleader of this nightmare opted to bring harm to Rebecca when he discovered his leverage escaped, and… Sean could not have that. Because he knew the boss man would make good on his threat, and family was family. So, he instead, put the mastermind down and his sister helped him shave years off of his sentence by taking the fall for the moment and just like that… all was right in the universe again.

But what mattered more about this story, is that it did indeed bring the team back together, and they are all on the same page once again. Which involves saving Ben from this nonstop trip through time, with some twists of course. Because this show loves to shake things up along the way, and Ian’s secrets and Addison’s admissions definitely help with that, since that will add some fascinating drama and tension in the weeks to come. But that aside, this was also quite the leap for Ben to deal with. Because the stakes were high in this one, and the margin for error was about as slim as it gets. But Ben shined every single step of the way and impressed us in the process, and that just went to show how he is continuing to grow into being a hero, and how he continues to find new ways to do the right thing and well, now that we’ve reached the end of this story… it will be interesting to see what the next leap holds from a personal perspective for Ben and see what challenges the timeline will send his way. Until next time.

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