Sam leaps into the life of a very popular hair stylist in Beverly Hills in 1983. Almost as soon as he enters the character of Frank, a young boy (about age 8) at the salon asks if he can go to the drugstore to get some candy. Sam (as Frank) says "Sure" and the boy is surprised. Others around are shocked, telling Frank "You know his mother never lets him go anywhere by himself. Moments later we hear gunfire. Sam rushes next door to the drugstore and finds the boy, Kyle, hiding under a counter.
The episode focuses on how a tragic incident years ago where the boy's father was killed, has traumatized his mother (Frank's live-in girlfriend) so that she refuses to even let the boy talk to the police detective investigating the murder of the pharmacist. Sam has trouble just getting a chance to get the boy to describe the killer. Finally he learns that all the boy really saw was that the man "hid money in his shoes"-and he doesn't get a chance thanks to the "I don't want to get involved" mother, to learn more detail here, details that would have let him prevent the rest of the episode.
(Spoiler ahead) As we get to the middle of the episode with no other possible suspects than the one who entered early, viewers cannot help but know this is another episode where the cop investigating the case is the killer/would-be killer. I think this is no less than the third episode like this in the series.
The killer had an ally who helped him get to the remote hideaway ahead of the mother and son, and far ahead of Sam, following behind. Somehow, Sam is able to get there just a few minutes after the others, despite being over an hour behind the mother and child according to what we heard. We wind up with an Old-West-style gunfight with a twist, as expected, but of course everything works out for our hero and the people he was trying to help.
The big plot hole here is that the original history had the boy and his mother both killed. This was without Sam being in the picture. But the real Frank would never have let the boy go to the drug store alone. Sam doing this is what made the boy a witness which led to the killer of the pharmacist seeking to kill the witness. So what caused the boy and mother to be killed in the first place?
This wasn't a bad episode, but it truly seems to be Quantum Leap Plot Formula # 1. Once again, Sam's career as his new character isn't at all tested-he never is shown actually styling or "doing" anyone's hair, although there was an early scene where he teases Al by flirting with a set of twins.
I cannot rate it higher than 6.
The episode focuses on how a tragic incident years ago where the boy's father was killed, has traumatized his mother (Frank's live-in girlfriend) so that she refuses to even let the boy talk to the police detective investigating the murder of the pharmacist. Sam has trouble just getting a chance to get the boy to describe the killer. Finally he learns that all the boy really saw was that the man "hid money in his shoes"-and he doesn't get a chance thanks to the "I don't want to get involved" mother, to learn more detail here, details that would have let him prevent the rest of the episode.
(Spoiler ahead) As we get to the middle of the episode with no other possible suspects than the one who entered early, viewers cannot help but know this is another episode where the cop investigating the case is the killer/would-be killer. I think this is no less than the third episode like this in the series.
The killer had an ally who helped him get to the remote hideaway ahead of the mother and son, and far ahead of Sam, following behind. Somehow, Sam is able to get there just a few minutes after the others, despite being over an hour behind the mother and child according to what we heard. We wind up with an Old-West-style gunfight with a twist, as expected, but of course everything works out for our hero and the people he was trying to help.
The big plot hole here is that the original history had the boy and his mother both killed. This was without Sam being in the picture. But the real Frank would never have let the boy go to the drug store alone. Sam doing this is what made the boy a witness which led to the killer of the pharmacist seeking to kill the witness. So what caused the boy and mother to be killed in the first place?
This wasn't a bad episode, but it truly seems to be Quantum Leap Plot Formula # 1. Once again, Sam's career as his new character isn't at all tested-he never is shown actually styling or "doing" anyone's hair, although there was an early scene where he teases Al by flirting with a set of twins.
I cannot rate it higher than 6.
