Quantum Leap Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Salvation or Bust

Quantum Leap Season 1 Episode 5, “Salvation or Bust,” dips slightly in quality, with its B plot proving more engaging than the main storyline. That said, the last few seconds kick things up a notch. 

“Salvation or Bust” expands on last week’s revelation regarding Ben remembering Addison. Quantum Leap doesn’t inexplicably repair his fractured memories but gives us morsels of recollection here and there. The show also addresses the possibility that Ben might never recover the full scope of his memories. 

Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett’s chemistry improves with each outing, and “Salvation or Bust” finds them in their most lovey-dovey state. Lee’s charisma perpetually steers this ship, and the show — this episode, in particular — leans into his innate charm. 

It’s wonderful to see the writers take the town of Salvation in a more diverse, inclusive direction. They also don’t refrain from calling out a volatile, problematic historical era with Ian’s remark about the Old West.

Again, the idea of Salvation is lovely, and it’s nice to see a place like this exist in that period. Natalia del Riego gives it her all as Valentina de la Cruz in a scene-stealing guest spot. The writers manage to create a well-crafted one-off character in a 40-minute episode. That deserves praise, to be sure. 

While the Salvation narrative has its merits, the B plot involving the team in 2022 overshadows it. We finally see potential ramifications on the horizon for the Quantum Leap project as one congresswoman evaluates Magic, Addison, Jenn, and Ian. Up to that point, we hadn’t heard a peep from their superiors, but Congresswoman Kavita Adani finding out their secret undoubtedly ups the stakes. 

It would’ve been interesting to see a tennis match-like battle between Magic and his bosses, but the writers put the kibosh on that rather quickly in “Salvation or Bust.” Sure, Magic mentions his solution might not hold for long as they could see this problem re-emerge down the line. However, much like many of the solutions in this series, this one feels too neat. 

Quantum Leap ostensibly embraces more of its silliness in “Salvation or Bust,” especially with the Old West twist. From the cheesy dialogue to the larger-than-life personas, the episode tries to lean into the quirkiness of the show’s overall premise. But it doesn’t quite get there. It retains some of that network TV pristine glossiness. 

The ending catapults the plot into a new and exciting direction and feels like the perfect reset to rejuvenate the story. With this addition of another leaper, one who seemingly knows everything about Ben, we get an added high-stakes scenario to keep things interesting. It raises countless questions. 

Here’s hoping Quantum Leap doesn’t throw too many narrative balls in the air and subsequently fumble with resolving them. 

Overall, “Salvation or Bust” brings some fun new elements to the table, but the series still struggles to break free of its cookie-cutter network TV casing. Hopefully, with the revelation at the episode’s end, we might see something that helps this continuation stand on its own without using its predecessor as a crutch.

Stray Observations: 

• Fun fact: Sam Beckett also leaped into an older gunslinger in Season 4 Episode 14, “The Last Gunfighter: November 28, 1957.” 
• We 100 percent need more of a spotlight on Jenn Chou. The writers dangling fragments of her backstory is unexpected yet welcome. Her past is significantly more interesting than what we know of the others thus far. 
• Did anyone else get Ghost vibes when Addison helped Ben shoot those cans? 
• Mason Alexander Park proves to be a shining light in this series. They’re delightful. 
• Watching Ben struggle to adapt to each new scenario after he leaps will never cease to be funny. 
• On an appearance note, this show seems determined to give us at least one scene featuring a shirtless Ben in each episode. You’ll hear no complaints on this end. 
• Does anyone ever look at Ben funny for essentially talking to himself? 

What did you think of this episode of Quantum Leap? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Quantum Leap airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC, with next-day streaming on Peacock.

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