Major Spoilers.

In a word, the answer is “YES”.

The question inspired by the previous episode: could the show wrap up the entire story with just one episode left to go? Another question was, which route would they take?

Happily, they do not go the cliffhanger route.

To keep Ben from leaping, Ben leaps into Ben before Ben’s first leap. Yet that makes perfect sense. No to mention, he still needs to save Addison’s life, oh, and, prevent Armageddon. Added to the mix, he also needs to avoid messing up his and Addison’s romance. A lot of timey-wimey wibbley-wobbley stuff takes place here, and in this specific instance, they use the ‘reset button’ to good effect.

They also use a few devices to keep the suspense high. His Swiss-cheese memory keeps him from convincing them of his real identity. Ziggy remains out of action. Naturally the evil leaper returns. All the plot threads weave nicely together and resolve more than satisfactorily.

Not just Addison and Ben, but Ian, Jenn, Janis and Magic all play nice roles in reaching the endgame. Good use of Jenn having designed the security system. Although a great concept wonderfully played by Mason Alexander Park, the execution regarding future Ian helping present and past Ian solve the coding puzzle came off just a tad weak. It opens up tons of intriguing possibilities, but perhaps too many. If taken to an extreme, it eliminates the need for a quantum accelerator.

Overall, though, it’s ingenious use of the aforementioned reset button. It neatly solves the problem of Ziggy and the other leaper and avoids nuclear was as well, because presumably none of those issues exist any longer.

Which begs the even bigger – now – question of what will happen in season 2. They basically have a blank slate at the moment. Will they risk a major paradigm shift (but not really) and dare to let Ben return home? Perhaps Addison will leap per the original plan and the search for Sam Beckett will continue. For now, though, season 1 is done.

Verdict: Quantum Leap gives a more-than-satisfying conclusion plus an ever-so-slightly annoying (but well done and not in the least surprising) teaser ending leading into season 2. 8/10

Rigel Ailur

http://www.BluetrixBooks.com