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Let Them Play is the twelfth episode of the first season of Quantum Leap, and the twelfth episode of the series overall. It first aired on February 6, 2023.
Summary[]
Ben finds himself in 2012 in the midst of the Méndez family as they help their transgender daughter who dreams of playing on her high school basketball team; Magic and Jenn discover another piece of the puzzle of why Ben leapt in the first place.
Synopsis[]
2012: Ben leaps into a girls high school basketball team coach, Carlos Mendez, in the closing seconds of a tie game in 2012. Addison says his team loses the game. Their star, Amanda, hurts her ankle, and Ben puts in the only healthy player on the bench, Gia, who hasn't played all season. Everyone seems unsure, but the substitute player sinks the gamewinning shot.
Some in the crowd jeer the result as unfair. Ben immediately learns that Gia is trans, and also his daughter.
The team discusses Ben's decision in the locker room. Amanda, who is being scouted by Stanford, is skeptical that Gia belongs on the team. The principal scolds Ben for dividing the school.
Ian went to a neighboring high school, and doesn't realize that Ben changed the game result they remember. But they still remember Gia running away and disappearing, and says she needs an accomplice.
Gia's mom confronts Ben when they get home for making Gia the focus of negative attention just to win a game. Addison feels guilty that she didn't do anything to help her soldiers that were discharged under a short-lived military trans ban.
Ben takes Gia to her trans support group, and then to a team fundraising carwash, where Gia is harrassed by a car full of boys. Ziggy predicts Carlos will be fired. Gia considers quitting the team. The principal meets with Gia's parents and Amanda's motehr, suggesting she goes back to the bench to avoid controversy. Amanda and Gia connect for a moment. Gia overhears that the original arrangement was that Gia wouldn't be able to play in games, and she storms off.
Gia goes to the lead of the support group, who refuses to help her run away but shares what it was like to be trans decades ago. Gia's parents come to pick her up. After a heart-to-heart talk, they go to the playoff game where Ben puts her in the starting lineup. The team rallies around Gia.
Gia plays poorly at first, distracted by protesters in the crowd. Ben points out the many supporters. As the game continues, Addison invites Ian into the chamber to watch. The vice principal expresses his support for Ben, and says that as union rep he will protect Ben from career fallout. Ben leaps out as Gia hits a go-ahead shot.
Ian shares with Addison that they attempted suicide at age 13, but a coding club provided an outlet for him to heal. Addison offers her support.
Jenn and Magic go to a cafe to find a barista named Dottie, who Janis says told Ben to leap six months before he did. Dottie says that she doesn't recognize a photo of Ben, her poetry has gotten her on government watchlists, and she is reluctant to talk to them. She invites them to her poetry slam. But when Magic mentions the date of Ben's visit, it means something to Dottie, and she says she will talk to them at the slam.
At the slam, Magic realizes that one of Dottie's poems refers to someone leaping into her. Magic confirms Dottie's suspicions about the week she doesn't remember. Dotti shares her drawings of the person who leapt into her, which turns out to be Ian.
Ben leaps into a busy restaurant kitchen.
Cast[]
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Guest Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- There is a credit for Georgina Reilly but she does not appear in this episode.
- This is the first Leap to take place in the 21st century.
- The episode is unusual in that there is no update about what happens to the characters after Ben leaps.
- Morenike Joela Evans was originally scheduled to direct the episode, but due to scheduling conflicts could not do it.
- Aired the day after Raymond Lee's 36th birthday.
- The episode ends with Trans Lifeline’s phone number onscreen.
Gallery[]
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