In Review: Quantum Leap (S1 – EP4) A Decent Proposal

Synopsis: In A Decent Proposal, Ben leaps into the body of Eva Sandoval, a no-nonsense 1980s bounty hunter in the midst of securing an elusive target.

The Story

Ben finds himself in 1981 in the body of a no-nonsense bounty hunter called Eva Sandoval. Having just captured a bounty Eva’s partner Jake takes the opportunity to propose to her, which is somewhat awkward for Ben as he does not know what Eva would do. So Ben stalls and agrees to talk about it after Eva and Jake capture their next bounty. The trouble is their next Bounty managed to get away in the original timeline and is far more dangerous than the crimes she is wanted for would suggest.

Added to all of this. Ben is getting his memory back and is beginning to remember his relationship with Addison. Of course, Addison wants to tell Ben the truth, but Magic and the others do not think it would be a good idea given that they still don’t know what it was that got Ben to agree to change the algorithm for Quantum Leaping. Added to this Ian has learned that Janice Calavicci is using her hack on their systems to try and figure out what their next move will be. This new revelation sees Magic having a chat with Ian to reveal that Sam Beckett had leaped into him when he was in Vietnam and saved his life as well as the lives of his platoon. Magic tells Ian that this is the reason that he’d pulled strings to re-open project Quantum Leap because he wanted to try and bring Sam Beckett home.

The Acting

The chemistry between Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett as Ben and Addison continues to develop and we get a little humor in this episode where Addison teases Ben about the fact that he is now seeing firsthand the types of things that women have to contend with. This was fun to see as it is in contrast to how it would have been with Sam and Al in the previous incarnation of the show. As in not better or worse, but a different perspective. Basically, I am beginning to warm up to these characters.

Sofia Pernas who we have been enjoying for her role in Blood & Treasure makes a compelling guest appearance as Tammy Jean Jessup who starts off as a petty crook but is later revealed to be some sort of criminal mastermind. Pernas plays it brilliantly and also adds a little comedy when she is pretending to empathize with Eva and Jake’s relationship situation. We also get a solid supporting performance from Justin Hartley who plays Eva’s Bounty Hunting partner Jake. 

Overall

This was another strong episode in which we see this show starting to take on its own identity while continuing to link up with the original series via the mystery surrounding what Ben was working on with Janice Calavicci. The scene where Magic tells Ian about his experience of having been leaped into was executed pretty well. I also liked Ian’s reaction to it when he says to Jenn that they are not going to let what happened to Sam happen to Ben.

Overall. A pretty good episode with a nice blend of comedy and drama. The show still has a few issues, but I feel they might well slowly get ironed out if the series is allowed time to evolve. The callbacks to the original for now seem to be working. But like most. I would like to know a bit more about Janice Calavicci.