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We finally know who sent Ben back in time on ‘Quantum Leap’
We've peeled off an answer from the mystery onion of the Quantum Leap revival.
Much like Sam Beckett’s fateful leap in the original series, the Quantum Leap revival also kicked off with an unauthorized jaunt through time when Ben (Raymond Lee) commandeered the machine and headed back into the time stream.
Now we finally know who put Ben up to time traveling in the first place. At least, we think we know.
**SPOILER WARNING!! Spoilers ahead for “Family Style,” the latest episode of NBC’s Quantum Leap**
We learned in recent weeks that Ben apparently met with someone who was being controlled by a leaper before his unauthorized leap, and that host had been sketching the face of the person who leaped into them. So who was it? The team did a bit of deductive reasoning and figured out the face the leapee kept seeing looks very much like an older Ian (Mason Alexander Park). So it at least seems like future Ian leaped back to the present day to warn Ben and have him leap early to try and alter the future from which future Ian came.
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We already knew, thanks to Ben’s slowly-returning memory, that he leaped early in an effort to “save” Addison (Caitlin Bassett). From what? We have no idea. It could be literal, as in she’s going to die, or it could mean “saving” her from making a decision that alters the future, or their lives. Right now, we just don’t know.
Ian is understandably still grappling with the reveal they were the one who started all this chaos in the first place, and takes the day to go and reconnect with a former flame in Rachel. After getting coffee and reconnecting, Ian processes that they must’ve had a good reason to leap back in the first place. It just takes faith in that fact, and now Ian is ready to move forward and start trying to fill in the gaps. Bring on the answers!
Ben joins the family restaurant business
Back in 2009, we realize that Ben has landed right in the middle of an Indian family trying to keep their struggling restaurant afloat. We learn the family patriarch has recently passed away, as the rest of the family is making it day by day to try and keep the bills paid. It’s a classic Quantum Leap-style family story, as Ben finds a way to help the restaurant juice its number and gain some new customers (he makes the restaurant an early adopter of Groupon, which opens up the clientele to a whole new audience), and tries to navigate the complicated family dynamics at play.
The younger sister wants more responsibility and to help shape a new menu, while the mother is afraid any changes could be the last nail in the coffin for the family business. Thankfully, Ben has a way with figuring out those situations, and helps find some new peace as the mother lets the younger daughter finally craft the menu, and Ben convinces the mother to accept help from their family as the debt is mounting. In the middle of that, the restaurant burns down, so Ben turns the big dinner night into a pop-up restaurant in the park to still keep the hype alive.
RELATED: 'Quantum Leap' producer Deborah Pratt looks back on original series cliffhanger, reviving the legacy
It seems the shady landlord was to fault for burning down the restaurant, and thanks to Ziggy we learn she’ll eventually be caught and face insurance fraud charges. As for the restaurant? The buzz from the Groupon night helps drive the restaurant into a successful rebuild.
This leap also has a personal connection for Ben, who is still dealing with his own lingering pain from the death of his mother. As Ben connects with the mother through the leap and once again feels that love, it seems to finally bring him some much needed closure before the light goes bright and the next leap kicks off.
So where is Ben going next? Onto a battleship! This is the episode co-starring Brandon Routh as Addison’s father, so definitely one to mark on the calendar.
New episodes of Quantum Leap air Mondays at 10 pm E.T. on NBC, then stream next-day on Peacock.
