Speculation Without Spoilers

[Sarah 103]

This is a place for theories and speculation relating only to the new series. Please keep this spoiler-free. 

[marketdoctor]

Ok, running speculation is that the point in time/space that the 2022 team found was leading to where Sam Beckett is, and they're building to getting him back (or saving his life, or both).

They could do that without Scott Bakula, but it'd be better if they did bring him back.  (I can see where, at the time the show was being filmed, it brought back a lot of memories, and he might want to make sure they do justice to the original.  Also, it could be a question of timing and/or money, but I'll just add that they should give him what he asks for.)

[chitowngirl]

For all we know, Scott Bakula is all in to return to Sam. He may be saying he’s not returning to the press, but he might be under a gag order, like any Marvel or Star Wars actors!

[DoctorAtomic]

I agree with everyone that is has to be Sam. However, I would think that the 'new code' is predicting where they think he is, so they could miss the target. Since the computer is still Ziggy, they must have all the data on leaps until the last one. And, since Beth is actually on the show, she could have said something at least to Al that she 'met' Sam in the past when she saw him. So they'd know to start there. 

[Thalia]

Until someone made a comment on the S1.03 episode, Somewhere Up There Loves Ben, I'd forgotten that Sam Beckett had a daughter, Sammy Jo.  (Well, according to the show Wiki, Ziggy is 80% sure that he's the dad.  I guess Ziggy didn't have an Ancestry dot com account.)   And that, per Al, although she did not know that Sam was her pop, that Sammy Jo was working on the Quantum Leap project, trying to help Sam get home.  

If they are going to introduce one of Al's kids, I wish they would also remember Sam's child.  

[kirkola]

44 minutes ago, Thalia said:

Until someone made a comment on the S1.03 episode, Somewhere Up There Loves Ben, I'd forgotten that Sam Beckett had a daughter, Sammy Jo.  (Well, according to the show Wiki, Ziggy is 80% sure that he's the dad.  I guess Ziggy didn't have an Ancestry dot com account.)   And that, per Al, although she did not know that Sam was her pop, that Sammy Jo was working on the Quantum Leap project, trying to help Sam get home.  

If they are going to introduce one of Al's kids, I wish they would also remember Sam's child.  

I wouldn't be surprised if they do bring up Sam's daughter. I had the random thought that Madison might be Sam's kid, only she doesn't know it.  Ben figured it out, with help from Janice, and wants to bring Sam home before the wedding.  Otherwise it's kind of a dick move to leave your party & your fiance to jump into a time machine to rescue some relative stranger, even if he's your childhood hero.  

That being said, I really like Ben.  He's a good version of Sam, here.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I think 'Sammy Jo' is a plot point you can sit on, as a showrunner. 

It stands to reason when Sam leaped as himself and essentially 'untethered', certainly, Al did everything he could to find him. I've said somewhere in the episode threads, at some point, Al couldn't locate him, and funding inevitably had to have been cut. At that point, I can see Al saying, "Kid, you did everything you could. You got your whole life ahead of you. Get going."

Also, Al may not have told her that she might be 80% Spawn of Sam. 

So you don't have to bring her in the show if you don't want, but she's in the 'back pocket', so to speak, and you don't need to draw upon the entirety of the Quantum Leap lore in 10 episodes. 

This was brought up in the E3 thread - whether Janis knows that she essentially didn't exist if it wasn't for Sam's 'last leap'. Presumably, since Al and Sam still were able to enact Quantum Leap, Al's daughters probably have good memories of Sam. Janis would only know what's going on if Beth spilled the beans. So I can buy they're going in this direction. Al's daughters would have a more personal connection with Sam than Sammy Jo. 

[Aliconehead]

1 hour ago, kirkola said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they do bring up Sam's daughter. I had the random thought that Madison might be Sam's kid, only she doesn't know it.  Ben figured it out, with help from Janice, and wants to bring Sam home before the wedding.  Otherwise it's kind of a dick move to leave your party & your fiance to jump into a time machine to rescue some relative stranger, even if he's your childhood hero.  

That being said, I really like Ben.  He's a good version of Sam, here.  

I thought Addison might be Sammie Jo after she got all choked up talking about how she was supposed to be the leaper.  It just seemed liked an outsized reaction. 
 

[DoctorAtomic]

I didn't even think of that. Would the age match up? 

A quick search would seem Sammy Jo would be too old, but Addison could be a granddaughter. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by DoctorAtomic

[marketdoctor]

I'm now wondering if the "endpoint" leap is the point where Sam was at the bar in the last episode.  Ben might be one of the miners.  (Unlikely, but it's possible someone else would be the bartender.)

I wonder if they're considering CGI'ing Ben into the bar scenes.  I hope not, but that's an option, and would explain why Bakula didn't want to, but had signed an NDA,  "Just because it fits some of the facts doesn't mean it's true", of course; there are things we don't know.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think it would be the bar as well. 

[Trini]

Sooo... does having a second season make it more or less likely for Sam to make a cameo this season?

One reason it might be more likely: they can use that in the finale to get people interested in Season 2.

[DoctorAtomic]

It depends if the final batch of episodes are in the can or not. I have no idea. Otherwise, I sure hope so. 

We have the reason why Ben leaped. The other larger context question for me would be what or who is the fixed point on the leap-map? It stands to reason it's Sam. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by DoctorAtomic

[Starchild]

On 10/4/2022 at 10:22 PM, Aliconehead said:

I thought Addison might be Sammie Jo after she got all choked up talking about how she was supposed to be the leaper.  It just seemed liked an outsized reaction. 
 

That's only because the actress playing Addison isn't very good, specifically she is not capable of subtlety.