Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Quantum Leap episode "One Night In Koreatown." Read at your own risk!
Quantum Leap Season 2 has shaken up the team dynamic, as Ben's unexplained three-year absence effectively ended his relationship with Addison. With her taking a break from being the holo-assistant, others have volunteered to step up and guide the hero through other challenges to prevent disaster and him being trapped in time. Big boss man Herbert "Magic" Williams was called upon in the latest episode, and the experience made me realize how Ernie Hudson is another reason OG fans who haven't kept up need to watch this show ASAP.
As one of the heads of the quantum leap program, Magic is always in the mix back at HQ, helping with research and problem-solving. This latest adventure showed a few shortcomings of that role and how a little more Magic in Quantum Leap would make an already phenomenal show even better.
Magic's Struggle With Alcoholism Was A Captivating Addition To His Story
I can't express enough how much I loved Magic's wife confronting him about relapsing into alcoholism after finding his half-finished bottle of alcohol hiding at home. To this point in Quantum Leap, Magic hasn't been portrayed as anyone other than the boss who always knows what to do at the right time. When Magic said he doesn't get "rattled" due to being a former Navy Seal, I believed him because the series hasn't hinted at anything else.
Of course, the episode is constructed around Magic feeling the pressure of being responsible for Ben's success as they both witnessed the brutality of the L.A. Riots firsthand following the Rodney King verdict in 1992. The experience reminded Magic of his own past run-ins with officers in Detroit and the frustration and powerlessness felt in the situation. That, paired with the fear of failure and losing Ben again, caused a miniature breakdown that Magic needed time to work through.
That's normal, and as a recovering addict, Magic made the right call at the end by postponing the anniversary dinner with his wife and asking if they could head to an A.A. meeting instead. Ernie Hudson really knocked it out of the park by showing a man on the brink who needed a wake-up call, and I'd love to see him deliver another performance like that in the future.
Magic Can Have More Stories Tied To His Past With Sam Beckett
There are more opportunities to use Magic in future episodes of Quantum Leap. The character serves as the connective tissue to the original series, as Sam Beckett leaped into Magic and saved several lives during Vietnam. With questions about how Ben was lost for three years and has no recollection of what happened, could the door to Sam's whereabouts be reopened?
CinemaBlend spoke to an executive producer about that and confirmed this bombshell reveal could impact Sam Beckett's story. We also had some optimistic news about a Season 2 reference back in 2021, but really all we know for certain is that Quantum Leap won't recast Sam.
With no meaningful updates on whether or not Scott Bakula would reprise his role for the new Quantum Leap, I'm left to wonder if this could hinder the most important Magic story yet to be told. He's just as invested in bringing Sam home as Ben, but will this series come and go without any resolution on that front? We can only continue to tune into NBC or with our Peacock Premium subscriptions to find out.
Quantum Leap airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Season 2 is shaping up to be just as great as Season 1, if not a little better. Here's hoping we can get a little more Magic to send it over the top, and maybe some more of that painful but interesting ride that is Ben and Addison's breakup.
