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S.O.S. is the fourteenth episode of the first season of Quantum Leap, and the fourteenth episode of the series overall. It first aired on March 6, 2023.
Summary[]
When Ben leaps onto a naval battleship during war games in 1989, he must not only navigate a dangerous rescue mission but also contend with his commanding officer, XO Alexander Augustine, otherwise known as Addison's father.
Synopsis[]
May 2, 1989: Ben leaps into Commander Rossi, on the deck of a Battleship during a live-fire drill. He is the operations officer. After the drill is over, the Executive Officer (XO) tells the Captain that a Chinese Han Class submarine is tracking them, which disappears when the drill begins.
The Captain addresses the crew and announces that they are in the East China Sea and talks tough about the Chinese. During his speech, Addison recognizes the speaker. He is all-time great Captain Bill Drake, of the USS Montana. The XO is Commander Augustine, Addison's father.
Addison explains that on this day, the Montana received a fragmentary distress call, which Commander Augustine ignored without informing Captain Drake. It turned out to be from the USS Tampa, a submarine on a secret mission. 138 sailors died, and Commander Augustine was forced out of the Navy.
Both Ben and Jenn worry that changing her father's life will affect Addison's existence. But she is already born by 1989. Furthermore, she describes him as stoic and emotionless, so nothing will affect who he is or his decision to leave Addison and her mother.
The Chinese sub reappears. Captain Drake orders very hostile actions on the sub to drive it away rather than let it observe the wargames. Commander Augustine convinces him to do otherwise. The Master Chief tries to initiate a conversation about how the Captain is "getting worse," but the XO cuts him off.
The distress call comes in. The staff seems to think it's nothing, but the XO insists that they investigate, to Ben and Addison's surprise. But Capt. Drake enters and orders him to ignore the call. It is clear that Augustine took the fall for the legendary Capt. Drake. Ben says he agrees with the XO, but Augustine needs proof.
With the help of Lt. Walker over the intercom, Ben proves that the signal's waveform is American, and the Montana moves to respond. Drake orders torpedoes fired on the sub as a warning shot, over Ben's protests. It drives the sub off. Ben and the XO go to Augustine's quarters. They view pictures of 2 1/2 year old Addison and Augustine speaks lovingly of her. The XO explains that the Drake is a great man but is having trouble with the death of his wife. Augustine, who never talked about his parents with Addison, opens up about the abusive father that he fled at age 18 by joining the Navy. He owes his career and maturation as a man to Drake. Addison wonders why her father was so cold to her growing up.
Ziggy says the sailors on the Tampa still die, just before the Montana hits a mine. Drake believes it is a torpedo and orders the XO to find the submarine in order to destroy it. The XO asks Ben to prove it wasn't a torpedo.
Jenn asks Magic to find out the full story of what happened that day, including the Chinese version from a contact of his. Magic finds out that the Chinese laid mines in the area to force secretly operating subs to the surface. But a storm caused the mines to drift to the Montana.
Ben calls Walker to run a scan that reveals the minefield. That doesn't change the Captain's order. The XO goes to discuss it with him, but they locate the sub before he gets there, and Drake gives the order to fire. Augustine drops the anchor, knocking the sonar offline. Drake orders Augustine arrested. Ziggy says that if the Montana fires, there will be a war.
Walker calls with more information about the distress call and identifies it as the Tampa. Drake asks for a helicopter to do the rescue -- which is inadequate -- so he can keep pursuing the sub.
Ben goes to the XO, confined to his quarters. He reveals that his wife doesn't love him anymore, though he loves her and Addison. She would not leave him, but he's decided to leave her so that she can be happy and Addison doesn't receive the darkness that is inside of him.
Ben and the XO break out of his confinement, eluding some guards. The guards catch up to Ben and apprehend him, but the XO gets to the CIC to stop the shooting. In a confrontation, the crew sides with Augustine. Chastened, Drake retires to his quarters and leaves the XO in charge.
There is not enough time to go around the minefield and rescue the Tampa. Ben gets the remote detonation codes from Ziggy. He calls Walker to use the transmitter with the code from Ziggy and a frequency he computes to detonate the mines. This allows the rescue to succeed.
Addison gives her father tearful words of encouragement that he can be a good father, ending with "it is going to be OK." Cmdr. Augustine repeats that line as if he heard it.
Ben is standing on the deck, waiting to leap. Walker approaches. Ben starts to thank him, but turns to see that it is Martinez. He thanks Ben for helping him in the leap. Martinez references the team's visit to him in 2022. Ben doesn't really understand, and Martinez says that's why he's going to win, then leaps.
Ben leaps into a public defender.
Cast[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- When Alexander Augustine drops the port anchor, it uses footage from the film Battleship (2012). This version of the footage applies a night filter and zooms in so the camera's point of view can shake around, and crops out the ship's numbers from the Battleship movie; the sequence in the movie begins at around 1h 46 mins.
- While the USS Montana is a fictional battleship, the Montana-class battleships were planned as successors of the Iowa class for the United States Navy, to be slower but larger, better armored, and with superior firepower. Five were approved for construction during World War II, but changes in wartime building priorities resulted in their cancellation in favor of continuing production of Essex-class aircraft carriers and Iowa-class battleships before any Montana-class keels were laid.[1]
- Addison is 2½ during this episode set in 1989. Caitlin Bassett was born March 16, 1990.[2]
- XO is short for Executive Officer.
