Quantum Leap -- Episode 87: Revenge of the Evil Leaper

Sam Leaps Into:

Liz Tate, an inmate in a women's prison.

Objective:

Free Alia from her fate as an "evil leaper."  Solve a prison murder case and clear Liz's name.

Date:

9-16-87

Location:

Mallard, Ohio

Memorable Quote:
Now give me one good reason why I should believe you.  ~Vivian
How long have you known Liz?  ~Sam
Long time.  ~Vivian
Would she make up a story like this?  ~Sam

Highlight:

As with all these Evil Leaper episodes, I enjoy the moment of discovery -- in this case it's toward the end when Sam and Zoey touch and see themselves for who they really are.  The episode up to this point is pretty slow, but after this moment all hell breaks loose and the last 10 minutes are fantastic.

Lowlight:

No way would that dragon lady prison guard give Sam and Alia that much time to talk by themselves in the closet.  There's even enough time for Sam to put Alia under hypnosis!  

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

• This episode was directed by Debbie Allen who we saw in Private Dancer.
• 1987 is the latest year that Sam ever leaps into.
• 21:10 mark: Ziggy is called "she" by Sam and then "he" by Al, but it's been pretty firmly established up to this point that it's a "she."
• I'm not familiar with Carolyn Seymour's work (the actress who plays Zoey) outside of QL, but she's great.
• Hard to imagine a prison guard being as helpful as Vivian is to Sam and Alia.  She doesn't even mind when Sam puts a fellow guard in a choke hold and then punches her out!

Final Analysis:

Despite being my least favorite of the Evil Leaper episodes, I still enjoyed it and gave it a solid ranking of 23 out of 87.  Though the ending was exciting, it was also abrupt, and I would have liked to see more of a resolution and closure involving Alia (e.g. showing her on a beach somewhere enjoying life).  Nevertheless, I'm still a big fan of the Evil Leaper trilogy, and the evilness of Zoey and her master battling Sam across time makes for a compelling and epic set of episodes.