I was just reading the topic Sam the Killer and considered posting this there since it's closely related, but decided that it might be considered thread hijacking so I made this topic insted.
It seems that "God, or Fate, or Time or Whatever" (GFTW) considers some people's lives to be less valuable than others. There are several instances in the show when Sam leaps in where an apparently innocent person has died recently, or dies during the episode. I find this concept troubling in the context of the show ("putting right what once went wrong") and I believe it might have been better if the creators had found ways to work around such issues.
I'll cite two examples to start off and maybe other Leapers can add more. In "Play it Again, Seymour", detective Nick Allen's partner Phil Grimsley is dead on Sam's arrival, and Sam/Nick is found beside the body holding a gun, to become suspect #1 (though he is exonerated fairly quickly). Sam then has to solve the mystery of Phil's murder, to prevent himself/Nick from becoming the next victim. Why didn't Sam arrive earlier, to prevent BOTH killings, rather than just Nick's?
In "Blind Faith", Sam leaps into sightless pianist Andrew Ross. Later in the episode, Andrew's unnamed French-accented neighbor is strangled by a serial killer in Central Park. For the episode's climax, Sam/Andrew prevents the killer from murdering Andrew's girlfriend Michelle and captures him for the police. Why should Sam allow one death but prevent another? For that matter, why doesn't Sam leap in much earlier and save some or all of the killer's prior victims?
It seems that "God, or Fate, or Time or Whatever" (GFTW) considers some people's lives to be less valuable than others. There are several instances in the show when Sam leaps in where an apparently innocent person has died recently, or dies during the episode. I find this concept troubling in the context of the show ("putting right what once went wrong") and I believe it might have been better if the creators had found ways to work around such issues.
I'll cite two examples to start off and maybe other Leapers can add more. In "Play it Again, Seymour", detective Nick Allen's partner Phil Grimsley is dead on Sam's arrival, and Sam/Nick is found beside the body holding a gun, to become suspect #1 (though he is exonerated fairly quickly). Sam then has to solve the mystery of Phil's murder, to prevent himself/Nick from becoming the next victim. Why didn't Sam arrive earlier, to prevent BOTH killings, rather than just Nick's?
In "Blind Faith", Sam leaps into sightless pianist Andrew Ross. Later in the episode, Andrew's unnamed French-accented neighbor is strangled by a serial killer in Central Park. For the episode's climax, Sam/Andrew prevents the killer from murdering Andrew's girlfriend Michelle and captures him for the police. Why should Sam allow one death but prevent another? For that matter, why doesn't Sam leap in much earlier and save some or all of the killer's prior victims?
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