Warning: Spoilers for Quantum Leap season 2
Summary
Quantum Leap season 2’s major Ben twist gets a detailed explanation from the show’s producing team. Returning to NBC with a batch of new episodes, Quantum Leap season 2 begins in a destabilizing place for Ben Song (Raymond Lee). He has to go through a leap in Russia, without his team. And then, towards the end of the premiere episode, titled “This Took Too Long,” it’s revealed that Ben has been missing and presumed dead for three years.
In an interview with TV Insider, executive producer Chris Grismer confirms the three-year decision came from the writers room. Grismer sheds light on what went into the decision, and the benefits of handling the reveal in that way. Fellow executive producer Deborah Pratt discusses what the story means for Quantum Leap’s characters, specifically mentioning Addison (Caitlin Bassett) Ian (Mason Alexander Park), Magic (Ernie Hudson), and Jenn (Nanrisa Lee). Their quotes are below:
GRISMER: “[It] came from the writers’ room. I think it was a great way for us to not have to sit in all the fallout from the original story and just sort of get ahead to the meat of what’s going on. I really liked that it wasn’t three years for him and to watch that contrast, that struggle between two people experiencing time differently.”
PRATT: “The big question is, what happened to everybody in those three years? The fact that Ben has no recollection of three years passing is a true — I could go nerd out on you and talk Einstein’s theories of time-space continuums, but the reality is he now has to deal with everybody else’s life went on. Where is Addison? What is she dealing with? That mourning and that loss or the belief of that loss and how she kept herself together and the fact that she now has to face somebody that she thought was gone forever is a huge journey for not just Addison, [but also] for Ian, Magic, and Jenn because suddenly they have a chance to bring him home.”
How Quantum Leap Handles The Ben Twist
The premiere episode saves the clarification on Ben’s twist until the last moment. After successfully completing the objective behind his leap, Ian finds Ben. The emotion of their reunion is short-lived, as Ben has all sorts of questions. Ben observes that Ian looks different and is wearing a forlorn expression. With hesitance, Ian shares the reality of the situation: It’s been three years. Ben is thought to be dead. The Quantum Leap project is shut down.
Before Ben can even process the information, he’s sent away on another leap as the NBC reboot balances its weekly stories with the larger overall arc. But in terms of that overall arc, Ben now has a closer connection to Scott Bakula’s Sam Beckett. The updated series has been focused on figuring out what happened to Beckett, who also vanished in the original series. Ben will presumably now learn for himself what that experience can be like.
There’s also the question of how the new characters will impact the story. There’s Hannah Carson, played by The 100 alum Eliza Taylor, a complex woman “who is more than she appears to be.” Quantum Leap season 2 trailers reveal that Hannah knows about Ben’s secret, which could suggest that the three-year gap has a lasting impact on the team. It could be the case that they’ll struggle to get close again.
Source: TV Insider
