302 The Leap Home Part II: Vietnam

The Leap Home Part II: Vietnam

  • Average

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Fair

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Poor

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    31
This is another episode that I rated unfairly 6 years ago. Turns out I rated this one only as Good, when in actuality it probably does deserve to be ranked Excellent. To be honest, though, I do think this is a drop down in quality from the first part of The Leap Home.

Leaping out of the US doesn't happen often enough in the show, so I'm always interested when it happens. Here Sam finds himself in Vietnam, finally having been given the chance to save his brother's life. Now here's where I think things get interesting. I have always been of the belief that while GTFW guides Sam, it is always Sam who is actually in charge. And here's a classic example. It seems clear to me that it was Sam, not God that chose the destination of this leap. It's no coincidence he goes from his home in Elk Ridge to just hours before Tom is due to die in Vietnam. I think that's also why the mission of this leap is never 100% clear, because I don't think this one was supposed to happen.

I do like many things about the episode. I just love the feel of the episode, and the dialogue between the various characters. Due to the high stakes and personal touch, this one has gone up a grade in my personal rankings. But unfortunately, there are a couple of things that I just don't like about the episode.

First of all, the whole business with the chu hoi. It's so obvious that Tia Carrere's character is bad. I think it could have been handled better. But my main gripe with this episode is what happens to Maggie. Her getting killed just goes against what the show stands for. Here the message seems to be that a life had to be traded for a life. Maybe this was God's way of punishing Sam for saving his brother. That's what I've always read into it. And while I understand the powerful impact of those last few seconds and Al's final words, it just ends up leaving me with a slight sting of pain. I just didn't like that so much had to be sacrificed to save Tom's life.

My rating. Excellent. A powerful episode that brings this opening story of the 3rd season to a close.