Written by: Margarita Matthews
Directed by: Chris Grismer
Airdate: April 3, 2023
Synopsis:
At the Quantum Leap project in 2023, Ian finally picks up a signature for Ben, but it then disappears before reappearing again. Janis explains the quantum accelerator is confused because Ben traveled to the future, and that Ben told her that his last leap was supposed to be to the past, so whatever he is doing in the future, it can’t be for long.
Meanwhile in 2051, the accelerator tries to pull Ben away from the future, but Ian tells him to fight it. Ian reveals that they are the only one from the project left, with nuclear war being the least of their problems. Ian explains that the government blamed Quantum Leap for society collapsing, a scapegoat to blame due to them changing things in the past. Martinez was sent into the past to kill Addison, who leaped in the original version of history. Once Ian leaped to warn Ben, they returned to find that the government had destroyed their quantum accelerator. Luckily, Ian developed a way to beat them, coming up with a piece of the code they weren’t able to finish earlier. They tell Ben to give it to themself in the past, with the message that they need each other, before Ben is finally pulled away. He now finds himself in 2018, at the Quantum Leap project, as himself.
Addison arrives and Ben delivers Ian’s future code, but the current Ian isn’t sure how to use it. Meanwhile, Ben runs into 2018 Addison and finds it’s the day of their first date. While 2023 Addison accompanies them, she warns Ben that they have to follow the original history or they might never fall in love. Ben says that if they do follow that history, Martinez will know exactly where to find them.
On the date, Ben is nervous but he and Addison get along well, until 2023 Addison tells him that Martinez has been detected. Instead of sticking to the date plan, Ben tells 2018 Addison that they need to go. 2023 Addison pleads with Ben to not say anything, Ben reveals all before telling her to go home, lock the doors, and arm themselves, while he runs off to intercept Martinez.
At the project, Janis explains that they won’t know the effects of what Ben just did due to them being inside of a quantum bubble and Jenn tracks Leaper X to the Quantum Leap headquarters in 2018. Addison is upset with Ben for interrupting the date and possibly derailing their future, but Ben assures her they will be together. However when he gets back to the project, 2018 Addison is there to take him in.
Ben tries to convince her to trust in their relationship, but right now he is just a crazy coworker to her. She asks who the hologram is, but she doesn’t believe him when he says that it’s her from the future, and that he leapt instead. Ben tries to use his law of entanglement speech to get her to believe him, but as he moves her gun aside she fires and shoots a fire extinguisher, causing a distraction that he can use to get away. 2018 Jenn shows up and initiates a lockdown, but unfortunately Leaper X has already been detected in the building.
2023 Jenn enters the imaging chamber to help Ben get away from her past self. 2018 Jenn and Addison talk about Ben and how he seems nothing like their Ben, more confident and sure of himself. Ben reaches Magic’s office, but Martinez is revealed to have leapt into him. Addison enters the room with her gun trained on Ben, and due to his memory loss, Ben is unable to answer the team’s personal questions and they put him in confinement.
2023 Magic visits Ben from the imaging chamber as he breaks down about how he’s helped all these people through leaping, but he can’t help the one person he needs to. Magic directs him to get a pen and tells him to write “turtle time” on the wall. 2018 Ian and Jenn uncover the code from 2051 Ian. Martinez confronts Ben, he reveals he knows he will never get home, because the plan was his idea. His goal isn’t to kill Addison, but to destroy the accelerator and to kill them all because one way or another, no matter who he takes out, the project continues. Ben tries to grab Martinez but he punches him, not realizing that Ben grabbed his pen.
Upon writing on the wall, Jenn and Ian know Ben is who he says he is because of Jenn’s private code for meeting her future self. 2018 Ian states that the code looks like a video game cheat code, sparking a thought in 2023 Ian. 2018 Addison is brought into the fold and faces off against Martinez who has just programmed the accelerator to implode. As Addison has him at gunpoint Ben attacks him, but he gets a shot off, hitting Addison. The fight spills over into the accelerator where they both rush at each other and vanish.
They find themselves back at the Island Asylum in 1954, with Ben reasoning that the accelerator is tracing their path. The two continue their fight with Ben taking the brunt of the punishment, but then they leap again, finding themselves on The USS Montana in 1985. As they begin to face off again, Ben remembers his training as Danny Hill, and gets his own punches in, getting the upper hand before they leap again, this time back to 1879 Salvation.
Meanwhile in 2023, Ian believes the code will allow Ben to restart the 2018 leap again, and do things right. They begin inputting the code but get an error message, something that the 2018 Ian is also facing in their time. As they try and work out why, they realize that their far future self wasn’t offering an affirmation, but an instruction that they need each other. With Addison recalling the quantum entanglement story, Ian realizes that they and their other incarnations all exist as one and they input the code at the same time.
In 1879, Martinez gets the win and holds Ben at gunpoint as a shot rings out, and Martinez falls, shot by Salvation bar owner, Frankie.
With the code now entered, Ben leaps and finds himself back at the beginning of the day in 2018. After a brief joke from Addison, they search for a way for Ben to leap. Ben asks if he can do things the way he wanted to on their first date, reasoning maybe they didn’t do things right originally and she agrees. Ben confidently strides out, embraces 2018 Addison and kisses her as he leaps.
Back in 2023, the accelerator powers up as Addison eagerly awaits Ben’s return.
