[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Quantum Leap Season 2 Episode 10, “The Family Treasure.”]
At first, it seems like the latest Quantum Leap is going to just be about bringing a family together—and acceptance of one sibling, who comes out as non-binary, with a bit of help from Ben (Raymond Lee) with words not yet used in 1953, but then we reach the end, and there are a couple of shocking moments in a row.
First of all, Addison (Caitlin Bassett) and Tom (Peter Gadiot) start the episode by telling the others of their engagement—and plans to get married that day! “I planned a wedding once. Once was enough,” she explains. After, Tom checks that she’s sure they’re not rushing things. “If there’s one thing I have learned from all of this, it is do not wait to live your life,” Addison says.
She doesn’t get the chance to tell Ben the news, but maybe that’s a good thing, considering she decides at the end of the episode that Tom was right and she did get caught up in the moment. She wanted him to sweep her away, “but I just think we both underestimated what me being back here would mean. I just need some time,” she admits. “This time, does it also include space?” he asks. “I think it probably should,” she says. She offers to stay in Jenn’s (Nanrisa Lee) spare room, but he’s going to head back to DC.
“I knew I was rushing you,” Tom says. “I knew it, that the more time you spent in the past, the farther apart things felt here in the present. I started to worry about the future.” Addison insists it isn’t about Ben. “You take that time. I think you’ll come to a different conclusion,” Tom says before walking away. So, what will that mean for Addison and Ben?
Well, Ben’s busy writing a letter to his new love interest, Hannah (Eliza Taylor), to warn her of her husband’s heart defect so it’s fixed before he dies. He then gives that to the sister of the person whom he’d leaped into and asks her to mail it after May 1, 1970, but never asks about it again. Will he be able to save Hannah’s husband?
But the biggest surprise comes back at the project. Ian (Mason Alexander Park) had turned to Rachel’s (Alice Kremelberg) boss, Gideon, for the quantum chip they used to find Ben when he was missing for those three years (no time passed for the leaper). Now, Gideon knows there’s a mole, Rachel alerts Ian, and he has someone searching everyone’s offices. “Once he finds me, he finds you, he finds everything,” she warns them. Jenn tries to find a hacker to tangle with Gideon, but no one wants to bite. “That was the only way to find Ben,” she reminds Ian of the choice they made.
The episode ends with Rachel walking into Quantum Leap, but there’s no time for Ian to be relieved. “He’s here,” Rachel says right before Gideon walks in—and James Frain plays him! “She’s fine. I told her I wasn’t upset. I totally get it. Water, bridge. Jenn, it’s good to meet you,” he says, walking over and introducing himself. “Wow, look at this place. This is something. Ian, it’s good to see you.” Uh-oh!
Quantum Leap, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC