In Review: Quantum Leap (S2 – Ep4) – The Lonely Hearts Club

Synopsis: In The Lonely Hearts Club. Ben leaps into the body of an ambitious Hollywood assistant whose famous client, Neal Russell, is in danger. As Ben realizes that Neal’s circumstances may shed light on his own, his working relationship with Addison reaches an inflection point.

The Story

Ben leaps into an ambitious Hollywood Personal Assistant who is working for the much-loved actor Neal Russell who was in a series of movies that Ben and Addison watched when they were still a couple. For this leap, Ben has to make sure that Neal Russell makes a scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show. It’s an appearance that the actor cancelled in the previous timeline in which he mysteriously disappeared. However, there is a bit more at stake than the actor’s Tonight Show appearance. Neal Russell’s personal life is a mess and he is trying to reconnect with his daughter as well as try and fix his relationship with his wife. Of course while Ben is trying to help Neal Russell with his relationship issues. It brings up lots of personal stuff to do with Ben and Addison’s relationship and their break up.

The Acting

We get two solid guest appearances from Tim Matheson who plays Neal Russell and Erica Gimpel plays the actor’s wife and has a really strong scene toward the end of the episode, which is beautifully juxtaposed with Ben and Addison’s relationship baggage. Caitlin Bassett puts in a really strong performance as Addison and the scene at the close of the episode is heartbreaking, especially after seeing the earlier scene in which Addison opens up to Ben about how she tried to go after him through the Quantum Leap accelerator and even spoke at his wake. It’s a really powerful performance.

Overall

The main story in this episode is pretty much about Ben and Addison’s break up and the heartbreak it has caused them, which is nicely juxtaposed with Neal Russell and his heartbreak. It’s a solid episode.