Quantum Leap -- Episode 48: Last Dance Before An Execution

Sam Leaps Into: 

Jesus Ortega, a prisoner about to be executed in the electric chair.

Objective:

Stave off the chair by trying to clear his name along with his friend and fellow death row inmate.

Date:

5-12-71

Location:

Tallahassee, Florida

Memorable Quote:
Oh God.  ~Sam

Highlight:
Great scene in the church when Al uses the little girl as a go-between to Theresa to guide her to the bullet.  One critique of the scene, however, is that Theresa is not nearly surprised enough at the girl knowing all this information and claiming to be speaking to angels -- I would expect her to be crying and falling to her knees.

Lowlight:

We learn that the bullet in the church was a "through and through" (i.e. passed through the body) but that there was another bullet that was found lodged in the sternum.  Why couldn't they have just used that bullet to prove or disprove Jesus's innocence?  Maybe it wasn't in good enough shape?  They should have made that more clear or just had the one bullet.

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• This is the first Florida leap (I've been keeping track).  That we've had 22 other states so far (including California 13 times) before Florida is somewhat surprising.
• I remembered from when I was a kid that there was one episode where Sam started out by saying "Oh God" instead of "Oh Boy," but I didn't remember which episode it was (that's why it's the memorable quote, because it's the only thing I even vaguely remembered about this episode).
• Last episode Sam was complaining and saying that he was on "the Leap from Hell" but after sitting on the electric chair, I'm sure that lying in a puddle of mud or a pile of manure was starting to look pretty good.
• I'm not a death penalty fan.  People can debate whether it's racially biased or how much it deters, but personally I believe that the vast majority of human beings are redeemable to some extent (to say nothing of those who are falsely accused).  And even for the ones that aren't redeemable, the killing of another person as punishment doesn't seem like something for humans to decide.
• A few familiar faces in this one!
• James Sloyan from The Invisible Killer and Live and Learn as the sleazeball district attorney.  He does a great job playing a sleazeball. 
• Jenny Gago (aka Santina) from On a Wing and a Prayer (and also a flashback cameo in Hind-Sight) as the rogue lawyer.
• After Sam's shocking confessional and other revelations, you'd think they'd take some time to question him some more before just executing him a few minutes later.
• I've mentioned this before, but it's amazing how Sam can be even remotely alert and coherent immediately after leaping out of such a dramatic situation. I'd need some time to process everything.

Final Analysis:

Intense, well done episode with an excellent performance from Bakula.  A good plot also -- even with five minutes left I didn't have a clue how it was going to end.  Ranking it 21 out of 48.