In this weeks episode of The Quantum Leap Revival, Cory and Tom hold tight and learn more about each other as they discuss season 2 episode 5, One Night in Koreatown.
One Night in Koreatown:
Written by: Deric A. Hughes & Benjamin Raab
Directed by: Tamika Miller
Airdate: November 1, 2023
Synopsis:
Ben leaps in as Daniel Park, the son of Korean shoe store owner Jin Park. He asks Ben to keep an eye on a young black man, Dwayne, who entered the store asking for a pair of shoes being held for him. Daniel’s brother, Sonny, mentions that their father doesn’t trust anyone who isn’t Korean, and barely trusts Koreans. Ben gets the shoebox from Sonny, but when it feels light he opens it up to find wads of cash with Sonny telling him it’s not what it looks like.
Meanwhile, Magic has been planning a special breakfast for his girlfriend, Beth Calavicci, whom he’s been dating for a year. Magic has a dinner planned as well, but Beth worries when he has to leave and return to the project.
Back in the past, Jin starts to accuse Dwayne of stealing, but Sonny quickly comes to the rescue with a receipt while Ben hands him the shoebox of money. As Dwayne leaves, Jin threatens to call the police next time.
Back at the project, Magic readies himself to enter the imaging chamber, with Addison saying she wants to respect Ben’s wishes and will be available if they need her. Ben is feeling positive upon seeing Magic but after seeing a report on TV regarding the Rodney King trial verdict, Magic realizes that this is the day the LA Riots began, and says Ben is here to make sure Jin doesn’t die when his shoe store is ransacked.
Jin is sure that the verdict was correct, and that no matter what, the police will protect their store if anything happens. Ben pushes to close the store early, but Jin had promised a customer, Luisa Rojas, they would be open.
As Ben and Sonny discuss their father's attitude, they hear signs of a disturbance nearby. Luisa returns and tells them that the police have lost control, and they should get moving if they’re going to leave. Jin says the police recommend sheltering, so insists on staying to protect the shoe store.
At QL, Ian is sifting through mountains of information about the riots, with a lot of conflicting information due to the many different sides. They finally discover that Jin died of blunt force trauma, and that neither Daniel or Sonny were present when it happened. In the wake of his death, the two sons gave up their own dreams and tried to keep the store going in memory of their father.
Ben accompanies Luisa to her car only to find it completely destroyed as rioters litter the streets. Magic arrives with further information, saying Ben isn't there just to save Jin, but also Luisa. Together, they make their way back to the shoe store where Ben again urges Jin to leave, but Sonny and Magic both inform him that the roads have been shut down and they’re trapped. As Ben wonders how he’s supposed to protect Jin for the next six days, Jin reveals a shotgun he bought for protection. Ben tells him not to go up on the roof, and Sonny volunteers in his stead.
Magic gives advice on how to fortify their positions, given his military experience, when suddenly he receives a message that he’s needed at HQ. Beth ushers Magic to his office under the guise of bringing him lunch, and reveals an empty bottle of alcohol, expressing her concern that Magic has started drinking again. He denies it, but thinking back to when Al lost Sam, she worries that this is history repeating itself. Magic assures her it’s not, and the two agree to meet later for dinner.
As the Park family watches news reports, Dwayne returns, banging on the doors and begging to be let in. Jin refuses and Dwayne leaves, but Magic tells Ben he has to go after him because he won’t survive if the police catch him.
Sonny grows angry at his father and starts an argument, revealing he has partnered with Dwayne in a new shoe line. Jin tells him he doesn’t need to be part of the store, thinking Daniel can take over instead, but Ben reveals that Daniel has enlisted in the marines. As their father stands in shock, Ben and Sonny leave to find Dwayne.
Ben tries to give Sonny some context, explaining that their father is scared of losing his store, and his family legacy. They manage to find Dwayne with help from Magic, and remain undiscovered by the police. Ben and Dwayne head back to the store while Sonny goes to get them supplies. Magic is triggered by the situation, and quickly heads out of the imaging chamber.
Jenn and Ian show concern as they remember the last time Magic acted like this was when he was drinking heavily after losing Ben. Jenn confronts him and he opens up about being involved in the long hot summer race riots of 1967. He and his cousin had gone out to try and help people, but they were soon attacked by police officers who thought they had stolen a car. Jenn asks why he couldn’t do anything, and he explains how black families have conversations about these situations and what to do in those times.
Ben and Dwayne return but Jin begins yelling, saying Dwayne’s a criminal. Ben gets angry and shouts at Jin, telling him that all he seems to care about is the store, and if he keeps pushing everyone away he’ll have nothing left. Rioters manage to break through the boarded windows, and everyone retreat to the stockroom where they hold the door closed. After the rioters have gone, they discover the store has been completely cleaned out.
Magic arrives back and reveals to Ben that he is an alcoholic, telling him how Beth helped him find his way again, and that every day is a battle. Ben tells Magic that he didn’t lose him, that he made the decision to leap, and Magic shouldn’t take the blame for it.
Ian checks in with Addison and they discuss how their future self’s decisions are affecting the team. Addison tells them that they all tried their best, never intending to cause problems, and that they need to move past what was, and focus on what’s next, which is how to get Ben home. Jenn suddenly calls Ian in a panic, saying Ziggy is freaking out. Ian finds that with Ben changing Jin’s history, someone else is going to die.
Dwayne offers Jin some kind perspective, but Jin is angry and lashes out. Dwayne pushes back, leaving Jin to grab his gun and aim it at the young man. Ben steps in between, trying to stop him, but when Jin hears sounds from the back door, he fires the weapon accidentally at Sonny.
Jin, Luisa, Dwayne and Ben carry Sonny to a nearby ambulance, as Magic plots a route to the nearest hospital. Dwayne gets the ambulance started, but the police see him and order him out of the vehicle at gunpoint. Jin steps in front of Dwayne and tells them that the boy has done nothing wrong, telling the officers to do their jobs and protect the people.
The police leave and Dwayne thanks Jin. Jin shakes his hand saying he can thank him by driving to the hospital as fast as he can. Magic reveals that Sonny survives, and he and Dwayne start a custom shoe empire, with Jin becoming their first investor. Daniel ends up finishing his tour in the marines and eventually goes to business school, becoming the CFO for Dwane and Sonny’s business. As Ben tells Magic that they will all be okay, he leaps. Now a man in a trenchcoat and fedora, a limping man falls and bleeds out as he warns Ben that they stole the formula.
Back at the project, the team rallies around Magic, and he calls Beth to ask if they take a rain check on dinner, and attend an AA meeting instead.
Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:
Who is Ben?
Daniel Park
Where is Ben?
Los Angeles Koreatown, California
When is Ben?
April 29th, 1992 (8 year leap back)
Closest Previous leap-
S01E10 “Paging Dr. Song” 1994
Closet location to Sam Beckett-
S01E08 "Camikazi Kid" 1961
S02E07 "Thou Shalt Not" 1974
S02E11 "A Portrait for Troian" 1971
S03E07 "Black on White on Fire" 1965
S04E19 "Moment to Live" 1985
Closet time to Sam Beckett-
S05E17 “Revenge of the Evil Leaper” September 16, 1987 Mallard, Ohio
C.S. Lee played Jin Park. He is best known for playing the weird and charming Masuka on Showtime's hit series Dexter. He’s a character actor appearing in many shows including Chuck, Fresh Off The Boat, and Nora From Queens. He even provided voices for the Grand Theft Auto series. Most recently he was in 10 episodes of the 21 episode series East New York (police procedural).
Danny Kang played Sonny. He was a supporting character in 14 out of 22 episodes of Insatiable (a disgraced, dissatisfied civil lawyer-turned-beauty pageant coach takes on a vengeful, bullied teenager as his client and has no idea what he's about to unleash upon the world). His latest credit is a lead in Faceless After Dark (following her breakout success in a killer clown horror flick, Bowie finds herself held hostage by an unhinged fan determined to recreate the film's fatal plot).
Benjamin Flores Jr. played Dwayne. He was a lead in the 61 episode series Game Shakers (a live-action sitcom about two 12-year-old girls who start a multi-million-dollar gaming company and take on rap superstar Double G as a business partner), The Haunted Hathaways (after being uprooted from New York to New Orleans, the Hathaways were ready to just get back to their normal lives in their new home, but little did they know that a family of ghosts had the same idea), and the TV movie Santa Hunters (four children try to claim that Santa Claus is real). Most recently, he was a supporting cast member in the Bryan Cranston series Your Honor (a judge confronts his convictions when his son is involved in a hit-and-run that embroils an organized-crime family), and was one of the main cast in RL Stine’s Fear Street (3 part movie series).
Analisa Velez played Luisa. She’s had a handfuls of minor cameo roles so far, though she did have a cameo in a movie called Inez & Doug & Kira which starred Tawny Cypress (when a bipolar woman commits suicide, her sister and her sister's fiancé become entangled in an attempt to discover what pushed her to the brink). Most recently she appeared in The Game for 15 out of 20 episodes (new players offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football, while trying to keep their souls as they play The Game).
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